These are your first holidays as first time parents, and you're covered in doubts and concerns. Most likely, you'll get goosebumps just by thinking about changing diapers on the beach, feeding bottles at any hour in the museum´s line or a baby that can't catch any sleep for the whole flight.
Don't let any of these fears keep you away from your dreamt holiday destination. Even though many of these situations can happen when you're travelling with a baby, you´ll also enjoy having your kid around and you'll learn to see every place with a different perspective.
So leave all concerns aside because travelling with a baby is possible. In fact, many travellers choose to live hundreds of adventures in the company of their children.
Among the following lines you´ll discover some of these travellers and their tricks and tips to travel with babies and remain happy.
Patience is the mother of every travel with kids – El Pachinko
Pau García is a travel journalist, blogger and father of two children. Teo and Oriol have become Pau´s travel buddies as well as the main characters of his blog, “El Pachinko”.
From his experience he has learnt that “it´s great to start a trip with everything as planned as possible, but you need to keep in mind that children are completely unpredictable. There are situations where fatigue, curiosity or simply boredom will make them act chaotically.”
“In those moments”, continues Pau, “it's important to stay calm and be able to redirect the situation.”
Travel light, travel better – Makuteros Family Run
Antonio and Sara travelled, together with their two daughters, all across the asian continent first, from China to Australia, before starting again their journey in America from Ecuador to Peru. Along all those kilometers, they found out that the key for backpacking parents is to travel with light luggage.
The reason? “It´s important to be able to move comfortably, and have your arms free to control the kids whenever it´s necessary, in order to make sure that moving around doesn't become a nightmare.”
They also recommend that, when kids get a bit older, they should be encouraged to carry their own backpack to make sure they learn to be organized and responsible with their belongings.
Become an expert in minimizing risks – My Family Passport
Sandra is a Catalonian mother that hasn't stopped travelling since the arrival of her three sons. She firmly defends that it is in fact possible to travel with children, you “just need to make some adjustments”.
For example, for her it´s mandatory to “minimize the risks when practicing any activities that can get complicated” such as taking a plane, having stopovers…
Her advice is to look for flights that are either direct or have the lower number of stopovers as possible. If it can be managed, it helps trying to make the stopover match the children´s sleeping hours.
If you can't find it wherever you go, just take it with you from home – Mola Viajar
Adrián and Gosia love to travel, as you can see by their blog´s name (Mola viajar = Traveling is cool). And, after Daniela´s arrival, they have kept enjoying this passion just as much –if not even more- than before. For them it´s very important to make their daugther feel like home wherever they go, so that's why they take with them from home anything that they're afraid not to find at their destination.
“Fruit in Japan is very expensive so we brought a bit from Spain, as well as some diapers to be covered for the first days. We also threw in some baby food and pacifiers, which are usually harder to find in Asia”.
Siesta time is sacred – Locos por los viajes
Mari Carmen and Gustavo are two passionate travellers who weren't willing to abandon their dreams of seeing the world after the birth of their daughter Iris. That's how this little girl, despite her short age, has more seals in her passport than many adults.
For them it´s vital to respect the baby's rhythms. “We can't wake up early and start touring even before sunrise or getting back to the hotel after midnight. Timetables change when travelling with a baby”.
“Babies have their own timetables and you have to respect them. Even though we always say that babies adapt very well to every situation, it's important to let them keep their routines as much as possible”.
What is obvious is that, if they can do it, so do you. So don't panic and organize your next holidays calmly. Nobody knows your baby better than yourself, so keep his habits and needs in mind and just adapt your plan to them.
When you get back from your trip you´ll realize it hasn't been that hard and that you will have enjoyed some wonderful days with your baby discovering new places and living new adventures.
