International Travel with Kids: You Can Do It!

We are 3 days back from a magnificent trip to Amsterdam and Budapest.  Moira and Gabor’s wedding was lovely and fun and raucous and for me, very emotional.   While many of my close friends have married, this was one of  the first ones where I felt like I knew the groom on a personal level well enough to feel strongly that this was such a good match.  Not that my other friends had bad matches- only that I haven’t spent much time with their husbands-to-be.  (Roisin and Nate would be a notable exception to this).  The toasts, the slide shows, the dancing, the dry rose wine all ensured my eyes were puffy from happy tears a lot of the evening.  My arm is scraped from hugging my Moira in her spiky sequined gold dress.  I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

 There are so many stories from such an epic trip, but I want to start with Johan.   I must note that Johan is an amazing traveler.  Such a good sport.  So agreeable and open to experience the world.  I wish we could all be like him. 

 I learned a lot about travelling with a soon-to-be-school-age kid and so I’m going to share some of that new-found knowledge.

·         Take overnight flights that depart at the kid’s bedtime and dress him in his pajamas for the journey.

·         Plan just a morning and evening excursion so he has time to rest and regroup during the afternoon.

·         Every country in the world has little corner markets that sell ice cream bars.  Stop often and buy.  The kid will be able to walk at least another mile after he has one.

·         Rent an apartment rather than a hotel room.  This will give everyone space to spread out, often times a DVD player for some kid-friendly movies and downtime, and kitchen access so you don’t have to eat out at every meal.

·         Kids can find something on the menu at almost every restaurant.  But don’t limit the kid to French fries and cheese-toasties.  You’d be amazed how much goulash soup a kid can eat when that’s what is set in front of him.

·         When travelling outside the U.S., it’s ok to say yes to fruit juice more often that you would at home.

·         Don’t underestimate what a kid can appreciate.  Given the age-appropriate background information, a 5 year old can appreciate and find meaning in visits to historical sites.  We took Johan to the Anne Frank house and had discussed in basic and broad stroke terms the significance of the place before going there.  He was engaged and interested during our entire visit.

·         Make everything an adventure.  Can’t catch a taxi?  Make it a game!  Stuck in a thunderstorm and drenched?  Point out the puddle for splashing in!

·         Take boat rides whenever possible.  Bring along an extra map for the kid to play pirate ship.

·         Give positive reinforcement.  When the kid is walking nicely and being cooperative, point it out regularly!

·         Accept that you might not make it to every important tourist site while having a kid in tow.  Prioritize the ones you really want to see and be ok with that.

·         Find a playground.

·         Invest in good walking shoes for the kid.  Even though he’ll outgrow them soon, would you really want to walk miles and miles in Target shoes?  No.

·         Buy a bunch of interesting items at the dollar store before travelling and whip them out at various points during travel when the kid is bored and cranky.

·         Ask the kid what he notices-  what smells and looks and tastes different?  What things are the same?

·         Teach the kid a few words of the language of the country.  Little ones saying please and thank you in the local people’s language seems to make smiles inevitable and helps bridge language gaps.

·         Let the kid choose where to go for dinner one night, even if it means everyone has to have mediocre pizza. 

·         Remember how wise little ones can be.  When I asked Johan how he communicated with the Hungarian children he made friends with on the boat ride down the Danube, he said “Well we couldn’t understand each other’s words, so we just wrestled!”  We might all do well to never forget the universal language of roughhouse play. 

 Happy Travels!