All,
I am planning for a trip to Spain with my wife and son. He is about 2yrs old. I wanted to know if some of you have had experience with travelling with such a young kid. I need some practical tips on hotel rooms, train/bus travel/food etc. Any help will be good.
Thanks.
Here's Rick's advice on that: click
Why not try a dry run? Drive down the coast or maybe Fly down to Southern California for the weekend. See how he adjusts to the weekend trip. If he cannot take a car or short plane ride, imagine the trip to Spain.
Try to find a flight to Spain that's in his bedtime hour. That way he'll can get some sleep.
For food, unless he is particularly fussy or allergic to a lot of stuff, let him enjoy the local flavor. Pack some cookies or similar items in your pack, so he'll have a snack if its no possible to get him food. Remember, in Spain, restaurants are not opened til 8, 9, sometimes 10 pm. You should bring Zip Lock bags so when you eat lunch, you can pack a late afternoon snack for him til dinner.
Kent and Michelle thanks for the tips.
I will see what we can try out before our Spain trip.
Surely having fruits and munchies handy will be a very helpful. He like milk a lot and I am not sure how he will adjust to the diff taste of milk there.
I will read more thru Rick's notes.
Take an umbrella stroller so he can nap in it and have a seat when he needs it. Hotel rooms are easy at that age. Many have cribs to lend. At that age, I'd take some duct tape for some basic childproofing. We think that traveling with our child has made a huge difference in her flexibility and joy of trying new things.
Azim, I am lactose intolerant and found that I didn't have any problems in Barcelona or Madrid (or in Germany or Italy). They seem to process the milk differently perhaps?
It tasted the same, but not as creamy as our whole milk.
In London, however, I had problem digesting it. Go figure.
I thought Ricks notes were pretty realistic,, he didn't sugar coat it and make it all seem fun and easy,, but he offered some good tips.
As a mom of three , I didn't travel 5 miles from my home without a diaper bag stocked with crackers, change of clothes, and juice ,, I mean, if we got stuck anywhere for more then 10 minutes my kids were set. I used to go to the playgroup with a bunch of other mothers, at the park, some kid always either barfed on themselves, fell in a puddle or was starving,, the other moms always knew I 'd just happen to " have extra socks" etc.. LOL
At a campground we used to have "membership" to,, there was a knock on our RV was evening,, a lady I had never met was there and said " my child has a fever and everyone here says you'll have some baby tylenol" of course I did, I had the whole bloody drugstore with me.. LOL
Azim, your son is two, which is good since he will be able to eat some local foods, but, it is also bad since he will not be cont.
.. he will not be happy just sitting in a stroller all day like a younger baby,, so make time everyday to go to a park and let him run around !!
We have a 21 month old son and travel with him all the time. Snacks are a must. You will be able to replenish once you arrive, but I always bring enough for the plane ride and first day. Bring a few new books and things for him to do. Bring a mini first aid kit -may not be able to find tylenol etc. Rent an apartment if you can, even if it is a 1 bedroom. It is nice to be able to put the baby to bed and then stay up in another room. Show him some books about trains and buses before you leave. It may get him excited about riding on a train or at least become familiar with them.
First make a list of everything you want to do on the trip and then cut into 1/4ths. I am not kidding. We have always traveled with our son 5months, 9 months, 2 years, 3 1/2 years. We do because we have family in Europe but it is NOTHING like the backpacking days of yore BC.
If he fits into pull ups then I would go that route, lots of snacks. If you don't mind lugging your big SUV stroller through the airport then don't worry about it over there, most Europeans use these huge strollers that they leave up on the busses and subway, get a seat for him on the train, that way you will have room to stretch out. Most hotels seem to have some sort of crip arrangements but we have always been co-sleepers so stiking him in bed worked best for us.
Don't be afraid to let him try new things. My 3 1/2 has a more diverse palatte then most adults simply because he has been eating oysters, BLUE cheese, squid, and boar pate since he he was a babby.
Have fun!
Hi All,
Thanks a lot for the response and tips. I will do my best to follow-up and hope that it all works out.
Thanks again.
