Solid advice here:
Traveling abroad with young kids: Our approach
A friend asked this on Twitter, and it got me thinking about our approach. To a lot of people, unless it’s a resort, taking kids abroad sounds challenging, expensive, and anything but rejuvenating. We’ve found the opposite. Our foreign trips are easier, cheaper, and more more rewarding and replenishing than our US holidays. Gradually, over regular trips to Latin America, a few Western Europe visits, as well as Canada and Vietnam, we’ve figured out some things that work for us. On the chance they work for you too, here’s our list.
Find the family Venn. I like to investigate unfamiliar, off-the-beaten path locales, eat amazing food, and have time for reading. Jeannie prizes beauty and sun and calm. Our kids want swimming, zip lines, animals, chicken nuggets, and pancakes. There is not a whole lot of overlap here. The trick is to find places that intersect a little each day. For instance, we’ve found that as long as the kids get regular swimming and adventure parks, they’ll tolerate the grownup excursions. It took us several trips to get the intersection right (and of course the kids shift as they grow older). So, be patient, and look at the inevitable failures and moments of misery as a learning experience for the future.
Traveling abroad with young kids: Our approach – Chris Blattman