Should We Travel with Kids?
- sarahags
- Oct 1
- 9 min read
Should we travel internationally with our kids? How early is too early? Is it hard? Will I see anything? I have been asked these questions numerous times by new parents and those who are ready to think about traveling again, or who simply want to give it a try now that they are in a financial position to do so.
Our daughter Ellie, who is 50% of the creative behind this site, is currently 11; she has been to Europe twelve times (9 different countries, Italy 5 times) and Mexico many times. She was 8 months old when she flew to Europe (Italy, to be exact) for the first time. My 8-year-old son Henry has been to Europe nine times and Mexico six times. I know this seems boastful – typing it out is a bit embarrassing to be honest, but I want you to know who you are dealing with and how much these lucky little gnats have traveled.
The way we travel internationally (see post on traveling vs. vacation) means staying in apartments or hotels depending on the location, making our own food some of the time, renting cars, getting into the tempo of a place. This is our family activity – the kids aren’t massively into activities or sports yet (this is not to say we are not overly scheduled during the school year, because we are – we just make travel a priority), so we have time to travel in the summer or during holidays.
A quick note about this being our activity – we have never traveled internationally without our kids. Obviously, we traveled before they came along, but once they did come along, we just loaed them up too. They have gone everywhere with us. When they were little, I would not have dreamed of leaving them (I would have had to be sedated to get on a transatlantic flight while my babies were at home) and now, they would be so offended if we went somewhere without them. Again, I know this isn’t for everyone – parents need a break. But our philosophy is we travel as a family. As my kids get older, I realize just how short our remaining years are with them still at home.
Let’s get to those first questions I posed, and the ones I get the most often. Should you travel with your young children? YES! If you traveled before having kids (and even if you didn’t), and you enjoy it, do it now. What is stopping you? Well, that is the question, isn’t it? Is it the age of your children? I am often asked how young is too young. This will probably get me in some trouble, but I like my babies to have at least a few rounds of vaccines before I plop them on an international-bound plane. A few years ago, a severe measles outbreak occurred in Europe. My two-year-old hadn’t had his second round of measles shots, of course, but the CDC recommended that anyone traveling to Europe that summer should get the booster and younger kids could get the second booster early. We went back and forth with our pediatrician’s office, sharing the CDC recommendation, and they agreed to give it to him. Was it absolutely necessary? Probably not, but it gave this momma peace of mind. So, a good immunity to preventable diseases is essential for us.
Vaccines are not my only concern. Another is that babies can sleep for a good chunk of the night; this just flat out makes the trip more enjoyable for everyone. Another benefit is that they can sit up in restaurants and enjoy the scenery. The first night in our gorgeous villa in Vagliagli (tiny village just outside Siena), the owners made us a 3-course dinner. My 8-month-old daughter was able to sit up in her travel highchair and eat mushroom pate and loved the artichokes. Later on in that trip, she could be found gnawing on a pork bone in a cute country restaurant, after she polished off some tartufo pasta and cacio e pepe. Sure, we had to take turns walking her around a dark piazza in Rome because she was done sitting quietly, but we ended up making friends with a rowdy family eating dinner outside.
Another positive for taking smaller babies is they can be carried in an Ergo or similar carrier.
We have taken a stroller exactly once to Europe and it ended up not making the next flight with us. Strollers are kind of a pain anyway. Just a few months ago, we were at Knossos in Crete and we encountered a family with a giant stroller (or what seems giant in a country where there are few of them) and it was impossible for them to maneuver. I also know this isn’t for everyone, but I breastfed my babies for a ridiculously long time, so we didn’t have to worry about packing formula or getting warm water, etc on a 10 hour flight or while walking through a ruined monastery. Finally, babies under two years old fly for FREE! This, in and of itself, should encourage you to get going.
I think we have covered the “too young” worry, but if you have more questions on that, send us a note. Look for our tips on surviving an international flight with babies. The statement I get the next most often is “they won’t remember it. Why would you take them?” Honestly, this is usually from passive-aggressive acquaintances and not from people who want to travel. While I could say “oh, that’s not true. My child is a genius – she will totally remember,” I usually say, “that’s not really the point.” And it’s not. The point is that children who learn to travel early travel better later on. It becomes part of their lives. They grow up not knowing any different. It expands their little brains, makes them more flexible, with routines, food, sleeping, language. They are lovers of learning and differences. Oh, and parents want to get out and explore the world, too – that’s important! Fulfilled parents make better parents. We also want to travel with our kids; we don’t want to leave them behind.
Also, it’s just plain cute when an 18-month-old learns to say “Obrigada!” to every waiter in Portugal. This has about a 90% success rate in waiters wanting to carry your baby around the restaurant. Will your babies remember this? Nope, and that doesn’t matter. I can say without hesitation they love hearing the stories and seeing the photos. They sprinkle foreign words into their daily lives, without knowing any better. They don’t think one culture is superior to another. They WANT to travel. Now, my 11-year-old has Duolingo and is working on her Italian as I type this.
The next two concerns go together. Parents worry this will just be too darn hard and they won’t see anything on their trips. Is it hard? Absolutely, it is. But, so is staying home. If you’re going to be changing diapers and keeping a toddler entertained, you might as well be doing it in Italy. Many parents worry about their kids getting sick or hurt. Yes, this happens. And when they get sick? Search out the nearest English-speaking pharmacy. We have had to do this on nearly every trip, and pharmacists are incredibly helpful and friendly. Pharmacists in Europe can usually get you what you need. Even if you don’t find one where they speak English you will have a good story. Did you know athletes' foot can be referred to as foot mushrooms (champignons) in France? Neither did we until we needed some cream. But that is absolutely what we call it now. Or you go to the hospital. I’ve had to ride in an ambulance to a hospital where no one spoke English after I split my face open on a cheese table at the weekly market in San Remy, France. The story would be perfect if a world-renowned plastic surgeon was in town from Paris, but I had the intern from Marseille. And he did great stitching up my face.
Give your kids the chance to show you how tough and flexible they can be. Give yourself a chance to show the same thing.
Is it difficult to fly for hours with toddlers? Yup, but not as bad as you think; honestly, the parent apprehension is usually worse than the trip itself.
Do you have to change the way you travel now that you have kids? Sure, and that is just fine. Odds are you won’t be spending 3 hours over a delicious multi-course dinner in Paris anytime soon. That’s ok. There is time for that later – trust me, it goes so fast. Will you have amazing meals, which you now share with kids? Yes, and with the season we are in with our kids, we can do 2-hour dinners with no problem. Will you be sipping wine on a rooftop in Florence with your toddlers? Probably not but crack open an amazing bottle on your villa patio and watch the kids blow bubbles and do sidewalk chalk as the sun sets. Trust me, it’s actually better. Has your way of traveling changed? You bet it has and so have you.
The second half of this concern is one I’ve felt myself – you won’t see anything because… babies/toddlers/kids, whatever. We have adjusted our expectations exponentially since having kids. Granted, when babies are under a year old, you can still do most of the tourist sites, as they sleep in the carrier much of the time. When they get older, this gets trickier. Naps are critical, as is eating, and not overloading their little brains or legs. Our goal when they were walking on their own was to visit two sites per day: one in the morning and one in the afternoon, or two in the morning, with a long afternoon nap followed by a fun walk in the evening before dinner. Now, we play it by ear, but we can do 2 or 3 big things in a day if we are feeling up to it. A great deal of this is just human – what are we in the mood for? And sometimes we get it wrong. This past summer we were able to spend a week on Crete and the one site I most definitely wanted to see was Gortyna (I will not bore you with its amazing history here, just know it was an important place). It is not on many tourist lists. No cruise shippers and one bus of visitors the entire time we were there. Approximately 75% of the site remains unexcavated and is located in an olive field. I was in heaven. My son? Walked in and sighed, “Oh great. Another steaming hot pile of rocks.” Oh well – you win some, you lose some.
We are not the “see all the things” family. We do not think we can sleep when we are dead or taking it easy is for when we are home. We don’t care about seeing all the top sites. We take it easy when we need to take it easy. We do not rush around on the first day or two due to jet lag reasons. We usually have one big goal for the first two days of our trip. We also don’t force the kids to see “all the things” (I despise that phrase anyway). We also throw in some ice cream, gelato, pastries, chocolate shops (you get the picture) as needed. We have found we now seek out different things, maybe not the most Instagrammed or popular tourist site, but a quiet neighborhood fountain or park. These are things we would have never taken the time to see without kids, and they turn out to be our favorites. But, we have also had great experiences in some amazing museums that I thought my kids would get bored with immediately. These pleasant surprises have included the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the same in Naples, the Bargello in Florence, and the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.
Before kids, we had been known to travel for weeks at a time, seeing whole countries or regions, hitting 2-3 sites per day, hiking up and down mountains, or through ancient temples for hours. Was this great? Heck yes, and we saw 37 countries together. But, things are different now; we are different. I’d even argue better. We are parents and we are trying to be adequate ones at that. We like to travel with our kids; we think it is important.
I hope I have alleviated a couple of your apprehensions about traveling with young kids. Over the next few posts, I plan on addressing where and when to go, how to survive the plane ride, and how to travel with kids in general (what to pack, etc). My kids will chime in on ALL of this to give their perspective, because that is why you’re here.
As we have time, we will add tips for all the places we have been – where we stayed, what we ate, what we liked, what we didn’t, what we might do next time.
Thanks for reading! Drop us a note if you have suggestions or questions or just want to share where you’re headed next
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