10 Places to Visit in Ireland with Kids

It’s incredibly easy to think of Ireland as a place for “seasoned” tourists to take bus tours or for young singles on self-directed “pub tours”.
But the Ireland I know is welcoming for the entire family, filled with a centuries old magic just waiting to be discovered.
For nearly a decade I have been traveling with my children. My eldest daughter’s first flight was to Ireland. As we have crossed the country in the years since her first trip, we’ve discovered many amazing places – and have many more on our “future visits” list.

1. Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher seem a very obvious choice. The most popular tourist destination in Ireland, people have been coming here for hundreds of years to take in the incredible views.
Before walking up to the cliffs – a bit of a hike – be sure to stop in the Visitor’s Centre. The Atlantic Edge exhibit is well worth the time.
Kids, and even adults, will enjoy learning about the history of the Cliffs and how bird eggs were collected from the cliff walls.

2. Killarney

Jaunting Cart in Killarney National Park

The tourist town in Southwest Ireland – and for good reason. Killarney is often the starting point for many tourists who plan day trips around the Ring of Kerry.
Nestled next to the city centre is the edge of Killarney National Park, which includes Ross Castle, Muckross Abbey and Traditional Farms, and miles of walking and cycling trails.
Killarney is a terrific base for day trips through the Gap of Dunloe and the Beara Peninsula. Add in shopping, dining and lively pubs and it’s very easy to spend your entire vacation in this single area.

3. Lough Gur / Ballyhoura

Donkey Sanctuary

Quite possibly one of Ireland’s most magical – and least visited – areas. Lough Gur lies just south of Limerick City. In this small area you’ll find Ireland’s largest stone circle, the entrance to faerie land, castle ruins and incredible archeological sites. Easily, an entire days’ worth of exploration and discovery.
The Ballyhoura Region, of which Lough Gur is a part of, covers much of County Limerick and the northern portion of County Cork. A popular area for hikers and mountain bikers, you’ll also find Ireland’s only Donkey Sanctuary, which is fun and free to visit.
Rambling Houses across the area will teach you Irish Dancing or maybe even how to play the Irish whistle or bodhrán.

4. Kylemore Abbey

Photos of breathtaking Kylemore Abbey in Connemara inspire many adults to visit Ireland. But few realize that the grounds of the Abbey are incredible place for children. The paths throughout the grounds feature fun play areas for kids.
While the adults will marvel at the Walled Victorian Gardens, the kids will see a fabulous place to run and explore. The gardeners are always happy to answer questions and the tea shop provides a relaxing spot for a cuppa and a bit of chocolate.
If you are very adventurous, enquire about mountain hikes behind the Abbey. Not for the faint of heart, but the views are unbelievable!

5. Dingle Peninsula

The Dingle Peninsula

Often overlooked in it’s neighbor’s (the Ring of Kerry) popularity, the Dingle Peninsula offers quite a lot for families. One of the largest draws is the town of Dingle’s resident dolphin, Fungi.  A terrific Oceanic Aquarium lies just by Dingle Bay.
Driving the peninsula leads to a stone age fort, bee hive huts and the Gallarus Oratory. Views are just as dramatic as you’ll find on the Ring of Kerry.
The Dingle Peninsula is a Gaeltecht, or Irish speaking area, so you’re likely to pick up a few Irish words, as well.

6. Giant’s Causeway

Will you believe the scientists, who say the Giant’s Causeway is the result of an underwater volcano, or will you trust the Irish legend that says it was built by Finn McCool as a path way to Scotland?
After visiting the miles of octagonal stones along the Antrim coastline, it’s likely you’ll choose the Irish legend.
For those looking for adventure, follow the Antrim Coast Road, a narrow, often single carriage-way drive that hugs the Antrim coast providing some of the most breathtaking views in Northern Ireland.
Include a stop at the dramatic ruins of Dunluce Castle or, for those who enjoy a thrill, cross the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

7. Lough Boora Parklands

The Lough Boora Parklands were once a prime peat mining area. Now those acres of land are public space, filled with art that can be appreciated by all ages.
Wander the pathways on foot, or rent a bicycle. And bring bits of bread to feed the ducks and geese that call the park home.

8. Clifden / Sky Road

Enjoying the traditional craic

Though maybe not as white-knuckling as the Antrim Coast Road, the Sky Road near Clifden offers incredible views – and a few heart-racing moments as well. At times the road seems like it must fall off the edge of the cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean, and then the road widens, providing a place to stop and enjoy the spectacular scenery.
The village of Clifden is called the Capital of Connemara. Filled with shops and pubs, it’s the perfect place to dance the night away in a pub to traditional Irish music (yes, kids are allowed in the pubs!). And the beaches of Mannin Bay are a terrific place to hunt shells and sea glass.

9. Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

One of Ireland’s best preserved tower houses, Bunratty Castle is the center of a folk park filled with traditional Irish cottages as well as a small village filled with traditional shops and a pub.
Wandering the grounds leads to a beautiful walled garden, a piggery, plenty of animals and even a play area featuring a wooden castle.
Bunratty castle can be explored top to bottom and hosts a Medieval Banquet nightly. For families with young children, I recommend Traditional Irish Night, which is filled with music, dancing and craic (pronounced “crack”; Irish for fun and entertainment).

10. Phoenix Park / Dublin Zoo

Many visits to Ireland begin and end in Dublin. But Dublin is not all about the pubs.
One place in the city that will surely please kids of any age is Phoenix Park. Over 1700 acres, Phoenix Park was originally a Royal deer park. You’ll still find deer and other wildlife throughout the park as you explore on foot or bicycle.
Also within the park is the Dublin Zoo, playgrounds, a flower garden, and tea shops. Phoenix park is truly a relaxing oasis in the center of bustling Dublin.

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Travel Lessons with My Family

Travel Lessons with My Family

In the past year or so I’ve traveled more than ever, for both work and family reasons:

• A tour of southern Europe with 5 of our kids
• NYC (with a vegan tour)
• Maui with all 6 kids
• Japan, on an awesome train trip and cherry blossom festivals with Tynan and some new friends
• NYC with all 6 kids, again sampling the vegan delights
• Portland & Eugene for the World Domination Summit and to visit family
• Los Angeles with all 6 kids

For me, a person who enjoys staying home and enjoying the simple pleasures, it’s been a bit crazy. I don’t normally think of myself as a traveler, but the evidence is against that. I’m a traveler now.
And during it all, I’ve been taking notes. I’d like to share them with you here — my lessons learned in the past year or so of traveling.

Traveling Lightly

For me, the traveling lightly philosophy isn’t just in what you pack (though that’s a good part of it), but in how you approach travel.
Here are some lessons learned:

• For most people, a backpack of 24-, 18- or even 16-liters is enough. I’ve traveled with a 16-liter backpack for weeks with no problems. I think we tend to bring more because of fear that we might need more.
• Wash clothes in the sink and hang them overnight. Bam. You just eliminated the need to bring a lot of clothes.
• My packing list: I wear jeans, underwear, a T-shirt, socks and shoes (of course), and then pack 2-3 more underwear, another T-shirt/workout shirt, workout shorts (that I can run and swim in), 2 more pairs of socks, minimalist running shoes (that don’t take up much space), a Macbook Air and iPhone (with Kindle app so I can read books), cords and some toiletries. If it might be cool, a sweater or jacket.
• I wear the same jeans over and over, and just wash them once every week, hanging them up at night to air out.
• Packing lightly means traveling more easily, not having to drag around a roller bag or luggage. Honestly, you don’t realize how much this costs you in energy and happiness until you go without all the weight. Trips become easier, packing and unpacking takes a few minutes, and you aren’t tired or grumpy.
• Traveling lightly also means you don’t plan out as many things to do, but instead just research possibilities. What do you do each day? You look at the possibilities, and explore. You might just walk around and see what there is to see. Don’t worry about a schedule.
• Traveling lightly also means avoiding the tourist traps. Some tourist attractions are genuinely worth seeing (great art and architecture), but otherwise, just see the city and people watch. You avoid the lines, and again you are lighter and happier.
• It also means resting. Built into each day: slowness and rest stops and picnics and lounging in parks and stopping to just be in a place.
• Walk a lot to explore, and try public transit. Also go for a run. These are the best ways to explore a city.
• Finally, let go of expectations. If you’re going to a great city like Rome for the first time, you probably have an idea of what it is like. You’re wrong, and because it won’t match your expectations, you might be disappointed or frustrated. Instead, go in with curiosity, to explore and to really see. You’ll enjoy every trip much more.

The Funnest Stuff

Here are some highlights that I’ve loved:

• In New York City, definitely don’t miss Hack the Museum. My friend recently started these super fun tours of the Met, and I took my whole family, not because I like tours (I usually hate them), but because they make a normal museum experience into an extraordinary one. Highly recommended.
• In Portland, go on a run in Forest Park. Really lovely, miles and miles of trails through a real forest, right within the city limits.
• In Japan, go during Cherry Blossom season, because it’s gorgeous. It gets crowded, but people watching is part of the fun. You also don’t need to go on the exact weekend when they have the festival, because Cherry Blossom viewing (hanami) seems to go on for weeks. Go with a few friends, lay down a blanket or tarp, bring Japanese picnic food and drinks, and have an amazing time.
• In Rome, St. Peter’s Basilica blew me away with its grandeur.
• The Cinque Terre in Italy — five towns tumbling down cliffsides into the Mediterranean, linked by a train and walking trails — were beautiful and worthwhile.
• Sunbathing on the beaches of Antibes (southern France) was very nice, and I loved the romance of being where Hemingway and Fitzgerald also played around with their hip friends.
• In NYC, we truly love Candle 79, Candle Cafe, Hangawi, Blossom, Dun-well Doughnuts, Babycakes and the Cinnamon Snail. Vegan heaven.
• People watching: Central Park in NYC, beaches at Antibes and Barcelona, Osaka Castle, Ueno Park in Tokyo, Hachiko statue at Shibuya Station in Tokyo, Williamsburg flea market.
• In Japan, you can buy a weeklong train pass and ride the bullet trains everywhere. Tokyo is amazing, but there are other great places, from Osaka to Kyoto and Uji to Miyajima to an organic tea farm outside of the town of Fujieda, that you should definitely see. Bullet trains (shinkasen) are amazing.
• Portland has amazing vegan food! My new friend Ami Baio, a Portland vegan, took me and some friends to some terrific places: Canteen, Portabella Vegan Trattoria, Blossoming Lotus, SweetPea bakery, and the vegan mini-mall! Oh my goodness. All are highly recommended.

Traveling with Kids

Traveling with kids isn’t always easy. But we love traveling with ours. Here’s what we’ve learned:

• Talk to them before the trip about mindset. We explained to them that things will go wrong, we’ll get tired, we’ll walk a lot, we’ll get lost. It’s all an adventure. If they have this adventure mindset, things will go much easier.
• Talk to them about complaining. Again, we’re on an adventure, and complaining isn’t a part of that. Instead, be grateful you’re in this new place, exploring and seeing amazing things.
• Bring sketchbooks. We brought sketchbooks to NYC and would take breaks in the park and draw. Lots of fun!
• Walk a lot at home, for training. Our kids walk a fair amount here in San Francisco, so when we travel and walk a lot to explore, they don’t tire so easily. They still tire, but at least they’re in decent shape.
• Rest. Kids need rest. Build that into the plan each day.
• Gelato — they’ll go anywhere if you reward them with gelato!
• Let them help with the planning. If you’re just dragging them to places you want to see, then it’s boring. But if they helped plan out the trip, including a list of places to see, they’ll be more interested.
• Be each other’s tour guides. When we went to MOMA, we each picked an artist, learned about it, and then had to explain the artist to the others, like a tour guide.
• Get an apartment. We used AirBnB to get apartments in each city. It’s more comfortable for a large family, and cheaper than getting several hotel rooms, plus we could get groceries and cook at home for some meals, rather than eating out all the time. Also, there’s often wireless internet and washer/dryer (if you choose well).
• Kids can travel light too. Our kids each brought a small backpack each, one that they could carry (our younger ones had really small backpacks). They’re responsible for their own stuff. We’ve experimented with this on several trips, and it works out well.
• Give the kids responsibilities. They’re not passengers sitting back enjoying the ride — they’re helping plan and find their way around public transit and pick restaurants and get us to trains on time, etc. They’re learning to travel, and as adults they’ll be really good at it.

These are just a handful of the lessons I’ve learned. I’ve loved every place we’ve visited, and have met some lovely readers in each city, and it’s been excellent. Thank you to everyone we’ve met.

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Traveling with School-Age Kids

BEFORE YOU LEAVE:

* Start the trip a couple weeks before you leave by marking the days off on a calendar. Waiting can be very exciting.

* At the same time, make a list of what to pack, You decide on the type of clothing, but let the children choose their favorite items. A week before departure day, go over the list and clothing choices with the kids to make sure everything fits and is in good repair.

* Let the children have their own bags, such as a back-pack or a small carry-on with rollers. A couple of days before the big day, let them pack their bags. Let them include a small favorite toy and book to read. In your carry-on bag, pack hard candies, gum and wet ones. Your bag will also include a surprise toy for each child in case of unexpected wait times at airports or train stations and a disposable camera for the kids.

* The night before departure, at bedtime, discuss safety and security rules, like where to meet if you get separated and who to call if the adults get sick.

* Decide on how much money the kids can spend each day for anything they want.

* Make an itinerary of each day's plans and include a couple of activities that are flexible and optional. Make time for free time. Also include hotel numbers, contact names, confirmation numbers and transportion information.

ON THE ROAD

* If you are traveling by car, bring pillows.

* Keep the kids occupied with the I-Spy game, or the game where everybody takes turns naming countries in alphabetical order until one by one they run out of countries. Let the children create a game. Like count how many red cars on the highway, or how many convertibles.

* Stop frequently at rest stops. Let the kids jump and stretch and run to burn energy.

* Have snacks handy, like dry cereal, pretzels and trail mix. Fill a cooler with ice and bottled water.

* To keep the kids from whining in restaurants and in stores, make rules ahead of time on how much junk food they can have and what the budget is for meal times in the restaurants. Decide before you go in what they can or can't order off the menu. For example, desserts might be more than your budget can handle, so agree to buy a chocolate bar in the gift shop and leave the $5 chocolate cake in the display case.

* If you're flying to your destination give the kids gum to chew and buy favorite magazines for everyone. See if your doctor will recommend an off-the-counter decongestion tablet if the kids have sinus problems. The change in air pressure can be painful. Ask for the bulk seats for more leg room and take advantage of pre-boarding. Chances are good that the pillows and the blankets won't be gone.

ONCE YOU ARE THERE

* Review your safety rules.

* Each day have your itinerary handy but be flexible with a few attractions. Let the kids decide whether to go see the dinosaur museum or science center, whether they want to go to the beach or to the zoo. If they disagree, find something else on the trip that they don't mind eliminating and do both the beach and the zoo.

* Save time each evening to relax in the pool.

* Have the children save stubs, tickets from theatres, programs and maps of sights and attractions to make a scrap when they get home.

ON THE WAY HOME

* Let the children review the trips activities in a journal and mark with a score board on the way home.

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17 Tips for Flying with Kids

17 Tips for Flying with Kids

It’s enough to make parents stay at home and play endless games of hide and seek in the house instead of venturing to a new city or country for a family holiday.
Flying with kids can be disastrous. We all know how much people who fly without kids complain about those who fly with children. The thought of their glaring eyes has you crumbling at the knees.
If something goes wrong, you are a long way from help. What if they get sick? What if they don’t stop screaming? What if there isn’t enough food? What happens if they won’t fall asleep? What if they just want to run up and down the aisles screaming?

Is it really worth the hassle?

I say yes. In all my years of flying and travelling, I do not ever recall being disturbed by another child.
I’ve been irritated by a few adults plenty of times though.
Kalyra and Savannah have been flying since they were only a few weeks old. We’ve only ever had one issue that lasted about 20 minutes.
Kalyra had just turned two. We were flying to Puerto Rico and caught a 6:30am flight from our home at the time Raleigh, North Carolina to Atlanta. There were plenty of men and women in suits preparing for their morning meeting or trying to get a few extra hours of shut eye before trying to broker big deals.
Kalyra had just hit independence age and when it was time to put on her seat belt for take off she was having none of it. The high pitched screeming started. Craig and I crumbled in terror, thinking only of the annoyed flyers around us (to be honest I don’t even think they were).
We had an arsenal of strategies we tried, none of them worked, yet through it we remained calm and composed so she knew it was alright. The crying eventually died down and soon enough she could take the belt off and she was back to being an angel frequent flyer.
Flying with children isn’t really that bad. You can easily put systems and strategies in place to help your child cope and to train them to be good flyers.

Respect and Patience

It comes down to teaching our children respect and good manners and for childless flyers to have a smidgen of patience and tolerance.
Flying is public so you have to expect children may be present and might lose the plot. You can’t ask them to leave, and while I understand that this can be frustrating, especially since you have paid for a ticket, the best way for you to get through the flight is to manage your self.
You usually cannot control what others are doing, you can however control how you react. I think the Dalia Lama says it best, whenever he is put through a challenging experience, he sees it as an opportunity for him to practice the art of patience and compassion.
Mediate and say, “Thank you for this opportunity for me to learn patience and compassion. “
Trust me. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll end up enjoying your flight regardless.

But Parents,

You have got to teach your children manners and respect. They have learn to consider those around them.
I know you’re pulling your hair out and you just want to give up because they haven’t listened after the 100th time, but you can’t. You can’t sit on your entrainment system and ipad while your kids are kicking the seat in front of them and screaming down the aisle. A stern word and a few consequences almost always work. Take them into the toilet for time out if you need to. That should shut anyone up!

17 Tips for Flying with Kids

There are three essential keys to helping your children have a good flight.

1. Preparation and Planning

99% of the time your child will be irritated, cranky or screaming because they are either:

1. Tired
2. Bored
3. Hungry

Pack enough food, enough toys and provide opportunity for them to rest on the plane.

2. Communication

You must talk to your child before, during and after the flight, so they know exactly what to expect.
Describe the experience of flying from checking in, to boarding, to seat space, meals, entertainment, sleeping arrangements, playing, and then disembarking. Depending on your child’s age you can also talk through potential problems and solutions. What do you think you can do if you start getting bored? What about if you are hungry?
Get them really excited about it, let them know it is a big adventure. Practice at home. Watch cartoons or movies if you can.
As you go through each procedure during the flight, talk to your child so they are prepared and comfortable:
“We’re just checking in now and the lady is going to take our bags. We have to line up here for boarding, we must be patient as we wait our turn. Oh yippee, look the hostess is coming with food!”
Check in with them throughout the flight as to how they are feeling and what they might need.

3. Training from an Early Age

The worst thing you can do is delay flying with kids because you are frightened of it. It will only be worse when it is time to take the plunge as they won’t know what to do. Train them as early as you can.
Our girls are such great flyers as they have been doing it from birth. They know the procedure, what to expect and how to manage themselves.
Just take a look at how Savannah, who was 17 months at the time of recording this, boards a plane. She gets it at an age when some children aren’t even walking yet.

 4. Distract Them from Their Fears

I have a fear of flying that I am learning to overcome. I hold Kalyra’s hand during take off. This helps take her mind off the fear and transfer that to having an important job of easing Mummy’s fears.

5. Book a Bassinet for Babies

This was so helpful flying to the States when Kalyra was only nine months old. She loved having her own bed and would sit up and give the royal wave to the passengers. Pre-book this when you book your plane ticket, as are limited numbers.

6. Get Organized

As soon as you board the plane, get organized and settled in with every thing you need. Have essentials stored in the pockets and under the chair. Now you don’t have to climb over everyone or wait until the seat belt sign is off to get what your unhappy child wants.

7. Have a Surprise Bag of Treats

Go to the $2 store and buy a bunch of toys, wrap them and every couple of hours allow your child to unwrap one and play with it on the plane. This is such a great way to turn a boring plane flight into a treasure trove of fun.

8. Go for Walks

Every hour take your child for a walk up and down the plane. Not only is it essential for your health and sanity to stretch your legs, but your child will love all the attention they get form the other passengers.

9. Have Quiet Activities to Occupy Your Children

You can’t go wrong with colouring books and pencils. Pack a couple of their favourite story books for quiet reading.

 10. Ask for Help

If you are struggling ask the air hostesses for help. They are usually wonderful at helping parents with their children and may even be able to give you a break.

11. Take Snacks on Board

Every airline and flight is different now in regards to what food is supplied. Take plenty of food and water with you on the plane, just in case.

12. Have a Movie Marathon

Kalyra loves watching movies on the plane and she does for most of the flight. Flying to LA with her is a breeze. Allow your children to watch a lot of movies. It will get them excited about flying – it sure does for me! If you have an ipad, have a few movies ready for in-flight entertainment.

13. Play Entertainment Games with Them

Kalyra loves it when we sit and play the memory game and Pacman with her on the in-flight entertainment system. It’s quiet bonding time. You can also do this if you have an ipad.

14. Help Them Get Settled to Have a Sleep

Let them lie on your lap, put the pillow down for them, and snuggle them up in the blanket. Do whatever you can to help them sleep; trust me you will appreciate those couple hours of rest time yourself.
Keep to their regular bedtime routines as much as you can: dress them in their pyjamas and have their favourite bear with them for snuggles.

15. Have Them Sit in the Middle

Have you seen the movie Flight Plan? Then you’ll know why I am recommending this one. For safety keep them sitting between you and your partner in the middle seats. This way you know if they are trying to get out into the aisle without you!

16. Help Their Ears on Landing

Babies have not yet developed the ability to equalize their eardrums naturally. If you have ever felt this pressure on your ears before then you’ll know why so many babies scream during landing. Breastfeed/feed your baby or have them suck on a dummy.
For older children let them chow down on chewy food.

17. Comfort Them

A cuddle and a few calming words or hushed lullabies does wonders for comforting our children. Flying is such a new experience they might feel a little anxious. Help them to feel safe and secure. It’s the best way to settle them down.
 
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5 Reasons Why Travel with Kids Creates a Better Traveling Experience

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5 Reasons Why Travel with Kids Creates a Better Traveling Experience

Traveling with kids ain’t all bad. Seriously. Take it from us, the good times of exploring near and far don’t have to end once you become a parent (which many people believe unfortunately).

Believe it or not, there are some great benefits to traveling with kids. They force you to evolve your style of travel, and in my opinion, usually for the better.

1. They force you to SLOW down

My number one travel tip I generally give people is to SLOW DOWN and spend more time in fewer places. When you travel with kids, you basically have no choice but to plan for a slower pace than you might usually attempt if traveling solo or as a couple.

They force you to be realistic about what you can and can’t do in the time frame you have. They don’t allow you to cram too much in to your itinerary (if you do you learn that lesson pretty quickly), and for the most part, I recommend you set the pace of your trip to what your youngest child can handle.

Plus, on road trips they force you to build into your agenda time for stops along the way for snack breaks, toilet breaks and play time – often this leads us to stopping at small towns or beaches we would never have visited.

Other benefits of slow travel:

• You Spend Less Money – the more you move around by taking flights, buses, trains or road tripping the more you spend on tickets and fuel. Too much transport can really eat into your budget.

• The less you feel you have to see, the more enjoyable and stress-free for EVERYONE.

• You get to know a region well – instead of racing from one end of a country to another, or tearing through 6 countries in 6 weeks, you’ll get a better feel for a place and learn about the best things to see and do, and build a connection with the locals.

• Less Burnout – having to pack and unpack, deal with many airports, bus terminals, boarder crossings and even visa issues can lead to burn out.

2. They force you to MEET PEOPLE

Kids are incredible ice breakers for conversations, and they can be best friends with total strangers within 5 minutes. Us adults, well, we can stand distant from others for hours, even days minding our own business without ever saying hello.

Kids, they just look at each other and they’re off playing like long lost cousins.

When our kids start playing with other kids, of course we then engage with their parents, it’s rude not to right? And it’s an easy conversation starter.

Because of this, we’ve met so many other interesting travelers we may never have had a conversation with, which can lead to friendships or at the very least, the sharing of tips and stories.

Same goes for meeting the locals in foreign countries. From our experience, people just come up to us and start interacting with our kids, and in Asia they steal your babies! Be prepared for your children to be picked up, cuddled, and have photos taken of them in some foreign lands. Breathe, and enjoy the new experience of meeting friendlily strangers.

3. It’s an Excuse to Stay in Apartments

Before kids we never considered staying in apartments as a budget accommodation option. It was mostly cheap hotels or hostels. But now we love staying in apartments, whether it’s inner city or on the beach, and it’s mainly because of our kids we gave them a shot.

Most big-city hotel rooms were not built for families with young kids. They usually have no refrigerator or microwave, floor space is at a premium, and neighbors can hear every tantrum.

But with an apartment you get more space, thicker walls, a kitchen, a washing machine, and separate bedrooms. These extra facilities, especially on a long stay, can make your trip so much more enjoyable. Try it, and even consider sharing a 4 bed apartment with another family to really make it economical.

4. They force you to stay in safe / central locations

When it was just Caz and I, we’d often stay wherever we got the cheapest price, and sometimes those neighborhoods were out of the way or in dodgy locations. Especially creepy coming home late at night.
Now that we have kids we are conscious of staying in a safe, central locationthat’s also close to local attractions, food outlets, the beach, the park, and all preferably within walking distance.

This has a flow on effect of saving us time and money in getting to places, and provides more options for cheap local eats, especially if we’re staying in a hotel or motel as we don’t want to have to eat in their expensive restaurants.

5. They force you to go on ROAD TRIPS

Before we left on our road trip around Australia, we seriously considered doing a big trip through Asia. That was until we spent 2 weeks in Thailand where the only real option was using public transport to get around the country.

Savannah, at 2 years old, was tough to deal with in Asia and we longed for having our own vehicle and going at our own pace.

Road trips are AWESOME, and especially awesome for families. By having your own vehicle and a place to store your stuff, and you have LOTS of stuff with kids, it makes for a more pleasant experience than having to load and unload everything constantly on planes, trains, mini-vans, tuk tuks, you name it.

And by having the flexibility to stop when you want to stop, to be able to slow down or speed up, or divert from your initial route, is priceless. You can’t do that so much when relying on public transport.



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11 Tips for Taking Children to Public Places

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11 Tips for Taking Children to Public Places

1. Get them used to it

The best way to have children that behave well in public settings is to get them used to it, and start them young – just like we mention in our 17 tips for flying with kids.
We’ve been taking the girls since they were born, so its a normal thing for them to eat at cafes, or restaurants or attend public festivals and events.

2. Have your bag of goodies

Have a stash of pencils, colouring books, writing and reading books and a few small toys in your bag – make sure they’re not super noisy.

3. Visit child friendly places

Seek out restaurants with playgrounds or kiddies corners. Attend festivals or events that have programs or areas for kids.
We found some amazing family friendly wineries, cafes and breweries in Bright and the High Country. And we picked out a few fave cafes in St Kilda on the beach. The girls could play in the sand while we sat close by enjoying a coffee.
You’ll find staff much more interactive and helpful at child friendly places as well. I love the ones where they pick up the girls for cuddles and whisk them around the room to say hey to all the tables.

4. Plan for the right times

Go early for dinner. If you are at an event, get there when the right kids shows and entertainment is on. Leave at the time when darkness falls and the kids are over it. (I’m pretty sure you will be too!)

5. Make sure they are well fed and settled

Have a bag full of food for them, or if eating out, take the first 5 minutes to order their meals and have them delivered straight away. Settle them in before you do anything else. Get out all their toys and play things. Explain where they are.
Show them the toy/play area and let them know what they can do. Remind them how to behave. Pour them a glass of water, ask them if they need anything else, and then sit down.

6. Let them order their own meals

My Mum thought it was hilarious when she came out to dinner with 2 year old Kalyra, who ran her finger down the menu like a food critique and chose fries for her meal. Now Savannah loves to do the same.
It’s a ritual they love to perform, and we make an effort to encourage them to order with the waitress and say please and thank you. Kalyra’s stepping up to now pay as well (so she can pocket the change). When children feel they own the experience, they are more likely to behave.

7. Talk about good social behaviour and public manners.

Remind children about appropriate behaviour in a public place and why.
Each of us need our space and peace to enjoy our meal or entertainment. It takes a lot of time and effort and is a pain, but its worth it in the long run (Don’t we say that about every parenting job?)

8. Let them sleep in the stroller, on the chairs or on the floor.

There has been the very rare occasion that we’ve put the girls on the floor, almost under the table to sleep. Whatever works. Let them sleep and you enjoy yourself. Shame that our children are almost out of that stage.
We generally have to go next step.

9. Remove them from the area

There’s nothing like a bit of time out. If you’re child is slipping into melt down mode (we experienced this at the most important temple in Bangkok ) walk out of the public space, find a tree to sit under and wait till they calm down.
Remind them of good behaviour and how the other people around them don’t want to hear the noise. It’s good for them to learn about consideration for others who share your space. Let them run around a bit if need be. Talk about the problem and find the solutions.
A good 10 minutes of quiet talk and cuddles with Savannah usually calms her down.

10. If all else fails give them the ipad/tablet

You know all those things you said you WOULDN’T do when you were a parent. LOL. Yeah right. Greatest 10 minutes of bliss you’ll ever have.

11. No seriously, if all else fails pack your bags and go home.

You really don’t want to disturb the peace and good times of those around you. It’s really not fun for you or your kids either. When the expiry has been reached just head for the beds!
You really shouldn’t be afraid to take your children out to public places. There are sometimes I’d be happy to crawl under the chair with the outbursts and tantrums, but we usually can get it under control quick.

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