Have You Considered Traveling With Young Kids?
Are you curious whether they would do well on a long haul flight or how they will feel being in a country that speaks a different language?
I have a 7 year old daughter. Before, I became an Agent at The Joy of Travel we always took her on “Fun in the Sun” vacations. We felt like it was easy to jump on a plane and fly three hours to Mexico!! For the most part, she has always done very well on a plane. She has been flying since she was five months old.
During an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse she was introduced to the Eiffel Tower. She said, I wanna go “iffel tower”!! My reply, maybe one day we can do that. Keep in mind she was probably 2 or 3 years of age at that time.
Well… this past August her dreams of seeing the Eiffel Tower became a reality. We set off on 3 night Paris/4 night London Itinerary. We did an Independent Tour that included Daily Breakfast, Hotel Accommodations, Transfers, Train Tickets, a Local Host at each destination, and a short guided tour on the 2nd day in each city. Let me just say….it was our FAVORITE trip. She did amazingly well on the airplane. She watched movies, colored, played on her iPad, and then slept for 7 hours. In each city she was a trooper, one day we even walked 12 miles. We covered a lot of ground on our 3 night stay in Paris. We paid extra and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower….awe inspiring views of the city. Our Local Host in Paris arranged a visit to the Palace of Versailles and a dinner cruise on the Seine River. The dinner cruise was very lovely, and the cruise coordinated the timing just right so we saw the Eiffel Tower light up as the cruise was drawing to an end. In Paris, we visited the Louvre, the Arch De Triomphe, the Fashion District, Notre Dame Cathedral, and our two most favorite experiences were the ones the Local Host arranged for us. London is a wonderful city to visit on your first time in Europe. The people are very friendly, helpful, and speak in language that we understand. London is an awesome city to explore with children of any age. Our hotel was in the most convenient location. As we walked out of the hotel lobby we were staring at Big Ben. Walk a few steps farther, and we were ready to ride the London Eye. On our first day in London, our Local Host instructed us on the Subway system. I must say, once we figured out how the “tube” lines worked…we were able to navigate all over the city. We experienced the Changing of The Guards, visited the Tower of London, gazed at Buckingham and Kensington Palace, took a famous black cab, ate at a Local Pub, Harrods, strolled around Covent Garden, rode the London Eye, saw the Houses of Parliament, and so much more. We definitely would like to go back to London and stay longer. It’s a city that you could spend 6-8 nights and feel like you haven’t seen it all.
We loved that our Independent Tour included a short guided tour on the 2nd day in each city. It helped us devise a plan on what we wanted to visit on the remainder of our days in that city. Also, the guided tours include VIP Access and Skip the Lines. Having a Local Host in the hotel lobby was a plus. The Local Host can assist with the purchase of attraction tickets, dinner reservations, and there to answer any questions you may have. All the hotels were kid friendly. I highly recommend traveling with your child or children. Traveling with children exposes them to various experiences of faraway places. If you are on the fence about traveling with your child or children…don’t hesitate!! Contact me or one of our other Agents at the Joy of Travel to plan your family friendly vacation.
- Meredith Carrell
Learn more about Meredith here >