Tips for travelling with children
VIETNAM | Monday, 6 February 2006 | Views [2028] | Comments [13]
Sigh. Now we are back home.
Apart from Bali and various round-the-world trips to see family, this
was the first time we have travelled extensively as a family. We are a
family of four with two children aged 1 and 3. We were quite disappointed with the Lonely Planet book on travel with children: it seemed to be a collection of 'look we did it, isn't that great' stories and anecdotes rather than any particularly helpful advice on what works, what doesn't and why. Maybe everyone has such a different perspective that this isn't possible, but, for what it's worth, here are our tips and lessons learned:
resilience
We were surprised at just how resilient our children could be. Even on the difficult travel days that left us exhausted, we didn't have any whinges or tantrums. They seemed to love the whole experience of travel, with all its boats, planes, tuk-tuks, jumbo's taxi's , buses, smells, languages and people. Nothing seemed too hard for them and they seemed quite disappointed to be home and back to normality. We met almost no foreign families on-the-road in Vietnam, but heaps in Laos, particularly in the 2 - 5 year age bracket, which is probably a result of a country with almost no traffic. Having said that, we also met a few people in Laos with very young babies ... which we didn't (don't) believe is a very good idea as they are definitely more vulnerable.
book ahead
For most of the trip we used the net and email to find accommodation and book ahead, even if this was just 24hrs ahead. The few times we didn't, it all works out as it inevitably does, but it is difficult to scour a place for somewhere to stay with two young kids in tow!
get the largest room you can
We found it was well worth the extra expense to get the largest room available, preferably a suite of two rooms. A bathroom ensuite was, in our view, and essential with two young kids. When you have just arrived and are getting sorted, the ability to have the kids look after themselves without getting in the way for half an hour was a godsend.
take a changing mat
When you gotta go you gotta go. Funny how adept you get at changing nappies in the park, on the bus seats, in restaurants, on the beach and everywhere else with no privacy. Changing rooms? Public toilets? Not a chance.
antiseptic hand wipes
We took small packs of Detol antiseptic handwipes. These aren't your common variety but are specifically antiseptic. Priceless when you have kids playing with other kids in the river or in the dust getting absolutely filthy ... and then the food arrives. Hard to get once you are away from home so use sparingly. We took two packets and could have done with three, for the 4 weeks we were away.
Sun protection
We found a small collapsable umbrella invaluable, especially in Asia. Apart from hats and sunscreen, it provides easy protection for a baby in a backpack on a bus or when a baby needs a nap (everywhere and anywhere).
talking about 'home'
We found very early that 'home' simply became wherever we were staying that night, so there was never (ever) "Dad, I want to go home", which is pretty amazing when you think about it. We just said, "Let's go home now" and went back to the guesthouse or hotel.
toys
We took a small bag of trainset components. We found this highly useful because, apart from a familiar and comfortable connection with his home world, the boys had to construct the thing anew each and every day and had hours and hours of fun with it. Which is really useful when you want a day off and are getting hotel staff to look after your kids.
how to remain mobile
We took two strollers and a baby backpack and found both essential at different times, even if they are a bit bulky to travel with. We found in some places both kids used the strollers but in others, strollers are nigh impossible (Old quarter of Hanoi, hiking up to temples) so then our 3 year old had to walk and out came the baby backpack. Couldn't have travelled as well without either. Having said that, our 1 year old is already walking quite well, so this is probably the last time we'll take the baby backpack.
take a good first aid kit (& travel insurance of course)
Food allergies. Cuts. Burns. And all the other stuff that might have happened! The bottom 25% of one rucksac was our medical kit. Priceless. And travel insurance. The weird thing about travel insurance are all the situations you get into that you can't possibly think of in advance and have never thought of until they happen. In our case, apart from the minor bill from the hospital for our younger son's burn't hand, we might have been well and truly stuffed if we couldn't have then taken our flights to Vietnam or got home quickly. It would have cost us thousands. As it turns out we didn't need to, but the point is you don't even imagine such a situation until it happens.
Tags: travel with children, hoi an, cyclo, transport, family, memories, adventures
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