Planning a family vacation

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1. managing expectations

While traveling with a little one (or little ones) is wonderful, it is a drastically different experience from pre-child trips. Once you accept that you will be digging in the sand, not resting on it; playing in the pool, not floating on it; and that “happy hour” is any time your baby or child is not demanding one on one attention; you are ready to start planning.

2. setting up for success

What things are absolutely necessary for you to have a good vacation? For one person it might be a trip to the spa, while for another it might be an afternoon of uninterrupted reading. May we suggest:

• If you are traveling with a partner, plan to take turns watching your child so that each of you can have some time to pursue something you enjoy.

• Consider bringing grandma, aunty or another caregiver along to do a little babysitting.

• Find out if your preferred hotel or resort offers certified babysitters, at what cost, and if they need to be arranged in advance. Hotel babysitting services can sometimes be very expensive so you could also research outside agencies. Please see the following North American directory for a babysitter on vacation.

• A baby or kid’s club can be a great option, but be sure to find out the cost, what the age requirements are, if they are fully supervised, if you need to pre-register, and if it will be in operation during your travel dates (some are only offered during high season).

3. where to go

Traveling with a child may require you to put extra thought into your destination and type of accommodation, especially if you have a newborn.

Thing to consider include:

• proximity to good medical care
• access to clean drinking water (especially if you are formula feeding)
• childcare options
• vacation home rental versus hotel or resort

This is not to say that you can’t go anywhere you want. Travel magazines are full of stories about amazing travelers who circumnavigate the globe with a baby in a sling. It is advisable, however, to either choose a destination relatively close to home or in a country with a very high standard of medical care until your baby is at least six months old.
Traveling with a child may require you to put extra thought into your destination and type of accommodation, especially if you have a newborn.

4. safety first

If you do make the decision to travel to a less developed country, or a tropical location, we recommend looking up your destination on the website of the Center for Disease Control in case there are any medical advisories you should be aware of (Malaria, Dengue Fever etc.). On the website, you will find advice on how to minimize your risk, suggested vaccinations, and recommendations on types of medications to bring with you. If necessary, plan to visit a travel health clinic at least 6 weeks prior to your trip. Bring with you the immunization records for each family member. Use the following links for a list of travel medicine clinics in the U.S. or in Canada (in Canada they are often referred to as Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres despite the fact that they vaccinate for a variety of travel related diseases).

Should you be interested in other information, such as the current political climate or any serious weather advisories in the region you plan to travel to, you can research your destination through the U.S. State Department or Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.

5. can you drink the water?

In many fantastic vacations spots, the tap water contains microbes that can cause diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration if ingested (think Mexico). You can still travel to these places with your baby or small child, but you need to give some thought as to how you will deal with this inconvenience. Carefully chosen accommodation (ideally with a water filtration system), or a well tipped maid bringing you copious amounts of bottled water can also make this job much easier.

The following steps will reduce your risk:

• Use bottled or purified water, a brush and dish soap to clean any of your child’s bottles, cups, bowls, and utensils. After washing, sterilize all of these items. For information on how to do so, please consult the babycenter. com website.

• Use only sterilized water for teeth brushing and wiping sticky hands and faces.

• Do not let your child have anything with ice in it unless you can be sure the ice has been made from sterilized water.

• Make sure your child does not swallow any water when in the bath or shower.

6. are children welcome?

Does the accommodation you are considering welcome children by providing rooms and services that will make your trip easier? A family friendly hotel or resort will offer some, if not all of the following features and amenities (ideally without an additional charge) :

• high chairs and booster seats

• cribs and playpens

• child proofed rooms

• baby monitors for loan

• gradual entry pool

• llfe jackets

• toys

• babysitting service

• baby or kids club

• large rooms with a private sleeping area for your child

• adjoining rooms

• kitchenette or fridge and microwave

• complimentary laundry service for kids or in-room washer and dryer

• room service

• baby menu, kids menu or buffet

• in room entertainment system

• coffee maker for bleary eyed, sleep deprived parents

When researching a hotel or resort, it is also helpful to spend some time reading reviews specifically from families. Tripadvisor.com, and  Family Vacation Critic are both decent resources.

7. love your room

With a child now sharing your space, you need to think about the location, layout and size of your room within the hotel or resort.

The most important consideration is where you will be when your child is sleeping. Having accommodation with a separate bedroom, walk in closet where you could fit a crib, or a living room with a sofa bed, allows you to still enjoy this time. Even a nice patio where you can retreat to can make all the difference between being on vacation, and feeling like you are a prisoner of your room. Many parents we have spoken to (as well as the author) have spent evenings holed up in the bathroom with a bottle of wine watching a movie so as not to disturb their child; but generally this is not ideal. The long and short of it is that if at all possible spend the extra dollars and get the suite, the one bedroom, or the adjoining rooms rather than a single standard room.

Depending on your personal style and the temperament of your child you may also want to:

• request a room away from the noise of the elevator/bar/restaurant

• request a room away from other guests so you do not need worry about a screaming baby disturbing anyone

• request a room close enough to the amenities that you can use a baby monitor while you child is napping(not everyone is comfortable doing this of course)

8. vacation home rentals

Many parents find renting a house or apartment a much more convenient option than a hotel. The benefits of a home rental  include: more privacy, more space, a lower per night cost, laundry facilities, a kitchen, and the ability to have meals and naps on your schedule, not on that of a hotel. Several popular vacation rental companies include  VRBO.com, and Airbnb.com (be sure to use the ‘kid-friendly’). Also worth taking a look at is KidandCoe.com which features some very special family properties

There are several potential drawbacks to vacation rentals of course. Booking it may require a little more time and work than a hotel as you are often dealing with an individual owner. Another consideration is that since you now have the ability to do more for yourself, you may find that you spend a lot of your trip cooking and cleaning. For a price, however, anything is possible. If needed, you can arrange maid service and plan to eat some of your meals in restaurants. You could also hire a babysitting or nanny service to give yourself a break once in a while. Some home and villa rental companies even offer a concierge service that can help to arrange things for you such as pre-stocking the kitchen with groceries. For a list of reputable villa rental agencies around the world, please see this Travel and Leisure article.

If the property you have selected does not have certain things that you need such as a crib, almost every city has a baby equipment rental company. The following link will provide you with a directory of baby equipment rental companies in North America.

9. passports for international travel

If you are traveling internationally you will need a passport for everyone in your family no matter how old they are (this includes newborns). The processing time for a passport in Canada is about 10-20 days and in the U.S. it is about 4-6 weeks (although in both countries it can be done in as little as a few days for a higher cost). Give yourself ample time since the application is lengthy and there is nothing worse than being a week away from travel and not having your documents in order. For more information on getting a passport, consult the website for Passport Canada or the US Department of State. If you already have a passport, make sure that it does not expire within 6 months of your trip as this is generally frowned upon by foreign governments.

Single parents planning to obtain a passport for their child will be expected to present a copy of the court order establishing custody and guardianship. Also important to note is that regardless of custody or guardianship, if only one parent is traveling internationally with a child, they may be asked to provide to customs and immigration a notarized letter of consent signed by the other parent. Please see the following link for an example of a letter of consent.

10. visas for international travel

In addition to presenting your passport, some countries require that you have a tourist visa for entry. To find out if you need one for your travel destination, check on the following government website links for Canada and the US.

11. programs that will get you through the airport faster

More than the flight itself, one of the most dreaded parts about airplane travel with babies, toddlers and kids, is the security screening process. While there have been small improvements over recent years (such as the fact that children no longer need to remove their shoes), the new TSA Pre expedited screening lane is making things much easier for qualified passengers and their children 12 years and under. These pre-screened travelers are allowed to leave their shoes, light outerwear and belt on, keep their laptop in its case, and their 3-1-1 compliant liquids/gels bag in a carry-on,when traveling through one of 115 designated airports across the U.S.A. and most recently Canada (Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto with Air Canada).

There is a bit of a laundry list of things required to participate in the program including either a personal invitation from TSA-Pre, or membership in the following trusted traveler programs; CBP Global Entry, SENTRI and NEXUS. You also need to be flying domestically in the U.S. on one of the following airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways and Virgin America (or on Air Canada between the U.S.A. and Canada). Still, if you can qualify it can be a real time and stress saver.  For more information on the program see the TSA Pre website or for entry through another trusted traveler program, see the GOES website.

12. travel insurance

We all know that buying travel insurance is important when traveling out of country, but your chances of needing medical, cancellation or trip interruption insurance are much more likely when traveling with a child. A serious medical problem out of country can easily cost you more than $50,000 especially if you require an ambulance or an air evacuation.