travel with kids (36)

Airport Travel with Little Ones

Vacations can be exciting. And for parents who feel the need for a break away from work and all of the stress, it can be one of the most relieving times in your life. However, traveling with young children can almost put all of that that stress right back into the situation. I know that traveling with kids through airports can be seem little daunting, and with kids, it may seem a little impossible. However, there are some quick tips for you to make your vacation trip run as best as it can when t

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Family Whitewater Rafting Adventures in Costa Rica

Family-rafting-on-Pejibaye-River-300x200.jpg?width=266Looking for a Costa Rica family adventure out in nature? Spend a fun-filled day splashing in the mild rollercoaster rapids of the Pejibaye River.

The beautiful, tropical Pejibaye River is a tributary of the mighty Reventazon River in the Turrialba Valley, just two hours from San Jose. Its low-key Class 2-3 rapids (in the lower section) make it a great introductory whitewater rafting trip for beginners and children (ages 8 and up). The three-hour river trip gives you spectacular scenery of coffee

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Family Travel in Costa Rica

The entire country arguably could be considered one hugBoys-with-spider-monkey-at-wildlife-sanctuary-199x300.jpg?width=199 outdoor classroom – filled to the brim with amazing nature and exciting adventure. For this reason, Costa Rica has become one of the top family vacation destinations in the world.

All in one small country you can find warm tropical weather, beautiful beaches along two oceans (Pacific and Caribbean), rainforest, cloud forest, volcanoes, rivers, and fascinating wildlife that is actually “in the wild.”

For families looking for a safe, educationa

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by Kyle McCarthy with Kaleel Sakakeeny

With demand for family-friendly summer vacation destinations,  multigenerational accommodations and organized tours at an all-time high according to industry sources, the moms behind the first TMS Family Travel Summit decided to look at what “family travel” really means.


They found that the classic married couple with two kids, or more technically, the “married-couple-biological-children” family represents less than half of all American families. Single pare

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Our guide Elina was born and raised in downtown St. Petersburg, and is an Art History scholar, making her the perfect person to offer both a local's insight and academic's expertise. She's also a parent and has joined us today to offer advice on how to enjoy all of St. Petersburg's cultural offerings while balancing the interests of younger travelers. photo
(click to enlarge)


Are you planning a trip to St. Petersburg with your little one(s) but all the programs you see are full of places of interest f

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In a previous post, New Media Travel  asked “Why Is Hotel Content So Boring?”
The point was that hotels, airlines, and often the entire travel industry, are inclined to present images of the perfect family: a leggy blonde mother, two gorgeous light-haired kids and a handsome, fit dad playing in the blue water.

Or, lest they offend anyone, their glossies and web images are full of empty hotel pools, empty dining rooms and empty lobbies.

Why?

Hotels report that showing a racially mixed family o

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Are you stuck for ideas on what to do with your kids when half-term starts? Here are some things you could consider doing to keep the little ones busy:

 

‘Frozen’ the pop-up experience

Are your children fans of the popular Disney film Frozen? Then they may enjoy this show. Take your kids on a trip to Arendelle itself and enter a magical ‘Frozen’ winter wonderland. Princesses Elsa and Anna provide musical performances and visitors can dance, sing and play around the stunning frost-inspired decoratio

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According to theatrebreaks.co.uk's recent poll studying UK Theatregoers theatre-going preferences, family-friendly shows such as Wicked, Disney's The Lion King and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are what we most want to see in London's West End.

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You can see our colourful infographic at http://www.theatrebreaks.co.uk/top-uk-shows-seen-see/

TheatreBreaks.co.uk asked over 3200 UK theatregoers what shows they have enjoyed and what shows they think they would like to

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'Babymoons,' Booties and B&Bs

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Jennifer and Craig Ruckert, a very attractive 30-something couple, were sitting in front of a terrific fire, enjoying some great cheeses and local wines, a regular pre-dinner ritual  at the Tidewater Inn, in the laid back, classy Connecticut shore town of Madison.

Except Jennifer wasn't drinking wine. She was nursing a sparkling-something drink because she's pregnant with the couple's first child.

"This is a special weekend for us," she said. "This is the weekend we pick a name for our baby, a

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Family Travel: How Safe is Your Child’s Playground? 

Summer time and the traveling’s easy.

And as any traveling family will do, at some point in their journey they’ll just opt to forget the big sights for the day, and  play in a playground.

If they don’t, they should.

Hanging out in playground is a great way to get to know the locals, the scenery and just enjoy each other as a family.

Often I found that a few hours relaxing and picnicking at a playground were more valuable to my family t

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Drugging Kids on Flights

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Would you sedate your child on a flight? 
Are parents who do so wrong?


Not long ago, a Wall Street Journal  article  reported that many parents "drug" or sedate their kids on planes so they'll be less bothersome for the parents, flight attendants and fellow passengers.



The drug of choice seems to be Benadryl, and while it does calm kids, often putting them out for hours, it has awakened others to what might be an abusive practice.



The testy responses to an About.com (and other) postings on t

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Traveling With Teens and the Birth of Empathy

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The birth of empathy between siblings is a beautiful thing to witness.  One of the many unexpected joys of living abroad is watching the way such a powerful experience changes your children.  For the better.  Kids who travel together, learn to rely on each other in a deeper way than life in suburban America demands.

When we left for Italy, Katie and Matt were fifteen and eleven.  At that time they were attending different schools, played different sports, had different sets of friends, and had de

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There’s no event that most families look forward to more than their annual summer escapes together.

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Perhaps it’s downtime at a glorious beach paradise.  Or maybe a trip to a big city, taking in the exciting sites.  Even some adventure travel, with lots of wonderful activities in the great outdoors to savor.

However, for my wife Sue and I, summer vacations weren’t experiences that inspired warm Kodachrome memories.  Our kids may have had a blast, but for the two adults on the team, the vibe that su

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Figuring out a way to get my kids to learn how to ski exhausted me.

 

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It was mainly the tedious, multi-faceted preparation/research process that freaked me out, like deciding on a destination that was easily accessible from my home in northern New Jersey.  And choosing a resort that was appealing, well-reviewed, and as parent-friendly as it was kid-friendly.  And making sure that other activities were available to keep my 14 year-old son (Eddie) and 11 year-old daughter (Lee) occupied after their

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Best Costa Rica Fall Family Vacation Ideas

Family-travel-to-Costa-Ria.jpg?width=192November means autumn school breaks and Thanksgiving week in the USA. It’s time for your fall family vacation.

This year, be ahead of the learning curve and visit one of the world’s largest “outdoor classrooms” in the sun and tropics of Costa Rica. Imagine discovering animals and plants that you have never seen before with your family... a terrific bonding experience and good school report material too! Costa Rica is one of the safest countries in Central America, and a main reason the nation is

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Looking for a family-friendly summer vacation destination?

Travel-Excellence-family-travel.jpg?width=199Family travel is changing as the demographics of families change around the world. No longer are there only 2-parent 2-child families. Traveling families today could be single moms or dads with one or more children, multi-generational families, families with two dads or two moms, and more. According to recent travel industry research, 80% of families want to try new destinations and 75% want to make sure that destination is easy to reach.

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photoAs I started to plan our family’s big summer road trip yesterday, I recognised a giddy sensation I hadn’t felt in a while: it was the happy feeling I get whenever travel plans begin to take shape. Budget constraints mean this year’s trip will involve driving rather than flying – but with the spectacular Pacific Northwest in our backyard, this is no hardship. Our family includes two children, aged 6 and 3, plus dog and cat (both of whom will thankfully be staying behind).

Roadtripping has become
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 Angkor Wat is one of the most beautiful and fascinating places on the planet. Made by the Khmer kings in a process that lasts almost 4 centuries, this magnificent area has been abandoned and hidden by the forest. Re-discovered by a French man about 150 years ago, Angkor Wat is ready to become one of the most visited archaeological and artistic sites on the planet.
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Kids love Angkor Wat
We booked a family adventure tour  with ACTIVETRAVEL CAMBODIA (ATC), a member of ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA. ATA has sever
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Social Media Powers Family-Travel Trends

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by Kyle McCarthy (Family Travel Forum) and Kaleel Sakakeeny


Forty-four per cent of adults bring children (and grandchildren) along on leisure travels. Taken as a group, they take more trips per year (4.5)
than business travelers (3.9), Gen Y (3.9) or Gen X travelers (3.5), according to the 2012 Portrait of American Travelers (MMGY Global/Harrison Group).

Parents, fueled by social media, are becoming more vocal, more demanding and more interested in what travel businesses can do for them and their

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Business Travelers Want to Ban Kids From Planes

Not so long ago we stumbled upon an online chat where the subject was banning children from flying, or at least banishing them from flying in business class.

So we were not completely surprised at the USA Today Travel article that said 74% of UK-based business class travelers get annoyed at children on flights, and that airlines should provide children-free flights,  or at least flights for those over 18 years old.

The survey of 1,000 business-class
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