International Travel With Kids

** Disclaimer - this entry is low on humor and wit and high on information!**

Notre Dame (Paris, France)

As we began planning our trip to Europe, I was hoping to find a book, blog or website titled “One Month In Europe with Boys Ages 11, 8 and 6.”  Unfortunately, I was never able to find such a resource.  There are several helpful books, blogs and websites that were helpful and I spent a lot of time pouring over them. 

Now that we have survived a few foreign countries, I can reflect back on what was helpful while traveling with young boys.

Musee De Louvre (Paris, France)

Most important is STUDY, STUDY, STUDY.  Research and read all you can ahead of time.  It was probably good that we planned our trip ourselves because it forced us to find out as much information as possible.  There is a wealth of information available in all sorts of places.  I will not attempt to review them all here.  We found the Rick Steves guides to be our favorites.  He has a website with podcasts and his guides are very helpful.  We followed practically all of his tips and he almost never lets us down.  One suggestion he has is to read the books and then remove the pages that you will not need while you travel (use every effort to lighten your load).

Our Rome guidebook after removing the sections that we would not need on the trip.

Another tip is to become friendly with your local librarian.  The librarian at the boys’ school gave us the books that the school library had on hand for the sites we planned to visit.  Also, the children’s librarian at our local public library was very helpful in suggesting current holdings and even ordering brand new books just for us!  Since we read many books about Anne Frank before visiting her Secret Annex in Amsterdam, the boys were able to understand and appreciate what they were seeing.  The same was true of many other sites we visited.

This is not a book we read ahead of time but one we found in the Amsterdam library.
We can't read it but it is obviously about Curious George!

Reading as much as you can ahead of time prevents you from becoming overwhelmed when you reach your destination.  You will not have to stand at the entrance with your mouth hanging open trying to figure out where to go and what to do.  For example, we tried to squeeze in a quick visit to the British Library at the end of the day.  I knew it closed at 6PM.  While the children were playing at the local playground, I was able to review the information that I had already studied to know exactly where to go and what to do.  I knew which Underground station to go to, which stop to get off at, which exit to use, which way to turn down the street, how far to walk, what the building looked like, which library entrance to use, which hallway to turn down  and which artifacts we wanted to see when we got there.  It was good to walk with confidence and breeze in like we knew what we were doing.  We got there 12 minutes before closing and were able to see the Gutenberg Bible, Magna Carta, original Beatles music, and much more!

British Library after closing time.

However, do remember that traveling with children is a completely different ballgame from traveling with adults.  Keep their interests and stamina in mind when preparing.  Also, be aware that some things that seem like no-brainers may not apply when traveling with kids.  For example, everything we read said that bicycle was a great way to travel in Amsterdam.  It is… if you are an adult and have no fear!

Traveling by bike in downtown Amsterdam is like riding in the middle of the street in downtown New York during rush hour without helmets.  It is VERY scary to say the least.  Combined with not knowing the traffic laws and the inability to read the signs can lead to a very dangerous combination.  We had not bothered learning how to use the tram system because we were sure we would be using bikes.  However, we quickly learned that using the trams was not that difficult and we should not have been afraid to use them.

Unfortunately no photos exist of us biking in the really crazy sections... we were focusing
on staying alive and not photo documenting!

As we were planning, we were unsure how to organize all of the information we were accumulating.  We eventually devised a system that has worked very well.  We have two three ring binders with numbered tabs.  We are gone for a month so using a set of 31 tabs worked perfectly.  We place the information for that date behind that tab.  For example, everything we needed to know for July 1 was placed behind the “1” tab.  We insert tickets and other loose information in sheet protectors.  Another benefit of this method is that we discard items along the way when they are no longer needed.  This notebook has turned into our most important item and we fondly refer to it as “Le BOOK”.

We do not have a photo of "Le Book" but a copy of the itinerary is the very first thing you will find inside.

Another planning/preparation tip is to prepare both your mind and your body.  You will do A LOT of walking during international adventures.  As I was hauling a suitcase, backpack and heavy purse to the train station today I was thinking that I ordinarily walk only about six steps from the door to the car!  We have walked and biked too many miles to count.  Thankfully we prepared ahead of time by getting ourselves into shape.  I did a Couch to 5K program and went from not being able to run at all to being able to run 20 minutes nonstop in just about 8 weeks.  After the boys got out of school, they had daily exercise requirements that included running.  As a result there has been little complaining about walking endless miles.  I wish that I had brought along our pedometer.  It would have been nice to encourage the boys with a daily report of how far they had walked.  There are iPhone and iPod pedometer apps, but with no research ahead of time, we have not found one that we really like.

The board in our kitchen that lists the daily requirements for the boys.

We have also learned that it is VERY important to pack lightly.  It was helpful to not have to check any luggage for the trans-Atlantic flight—time was saved and no bags were lost!  When we arrived, we were able to easily fit everything into the taxi.  We just traveled from our apartment to the Underground then to the Eurostar station and boarded our train.  I am not sure how we would have navigated all of that with lots of luggage.  You will absolutely have to climb many stairs in the stations.  We have 5 people and 5 carry on bags.  That is more than enough luggage.  Only 3 of those bags have clothes.  The other two have books, gadgets and gizmos and room to pick up stuff along the way.  We were very selective in what we brought and that has paid off.

Everlie's carry-on size suitcase with clothes... lots of room left for personal items.

We create quite a scene going down the street (here we are in Paris) with all our kids and luggage but we
can easily manage since we don't have too much.

One of our favorite tips is to dress everyone in matching/coordinating shirts.  Yes, we know we are not necessarily fashionable, it is very corny, and the boys will hate it when they are older, but it is by far the absolute best tip for traveling with children.  We have done this for many years and it has always worked very well.  Anyone who sees us, knows that we all go together.  People make room for us to pass as a group and make sure that we are able to get on subways, trains and planes all together.  I have found it makes words unnecessary many times as people can obviously tell that there are five of us-- two are adults and three are children.  That is especially helpful in places where you do not speak the language.

A red day in London (Everlie is wearing a red tank top that is visible below her shirt).

A blue day in Paris.

I highly recommend convertible pants for everyone.  It took a while to find some for everyone and they are not necessarily cheap but they are worth every penny.  These are the pants that the legs zip off or cuff up to convert to shorts.  Also, look for pockets that zip.  We have not had to use a money belt because we can securely zip up our belongings.  They are also lightweight.  They dry very quickly as well.

Enjoying chocolate coins (rewards for completing the treasure hunt) outside Westminster Abbey.  Not long after this photo was taken, the pants were converted to shorts.

One of our best investments has been very thin hooded jackets.  We are traveling in July and although it is not freezing cold, we have been cold at times.  It has also rained A LOT!  We also have really soft light jackets that can go underneath for an extra layer.  We always carry these with us either on our body in or in a backpack.  Since we have hoods on our jackets we have not needed umbrellas.  Umbrellas would be nice but that would be another thing to pack and it would be very difficult to navigate the very crowded streets with all 5 of us toting umbrellas (and at least 3 of us would mostly use them as weapons anyway).  Once again, it is nice if the jackets are bright matching colors.

There are a few other items that are helpful to have along.  Although you can find everything you need while you are traveling, sometimes it is difficult to find a grocery store at the time when an item is needed!  I did pack one spare roll of toilet paper and we are saving it for super emergencies.  We almost had to use it one time when we thought we bought toilet paper and bought paper towels instead!  We have had no washcloths and very few towels provided so far.  I brought a few washcloths but wish I had packed a towel or two.  Make sure to order electrical adapters ahead of time.  Clothespins have been very handy.  We also brought several card games with us.  I have a deck of Uno in my purse and have whipped it out on occasion to keep us busy while we are waiting for things.

These were unique drying racks that were provided in Amsterdam

We had timed tickets for The Queen's Gallery (Da Vinci exhibit).  The guards would not let us in until the precise moment of the entry ticket.  We passed the time outside of Buckingham Palace by playing Uno!

 And finally (much to my dismay) it is nice to have a few gadgets, gizmos or brain-rotters along.  We have found that iPod touches are fantastic.  They are small, self-contained and also serve as cameras, Kindle readers and GPS devices.  The boys do not carry them when we are out and about but they do get to play with them in the evenings and when we are on the trains/ planes.  They have been worth their weight in gold.

On the train from Amsterdam to Paris.  Brain rotting in progress.

Most importantly, relax and have fun.  Create special memories that will last a lifetime.  We believe travel is one of the best gifts we can give our children.

Tower Bridge (London, England)