Have you ever wondered when to take the first international trip with your kids? Are they old enough to go abroad? What will be the hardest part? Can you fly with a baby? How about a road trip? With fellow family travel bloggers, we evoked our memories of our first vacation with our babies. Don’t forget to check the most family-friendly cities in Europe too!
Japan with a 5-month-old
Written by Shelley from Travel-Stained
For our first international trip, we took it relatively easy and took a short 2-hour flight from our home in Seoul, South Korea to Kansai Airport in Japan. She was just 5 months old (but really 3.5 if you consider that she was born 6 weeks early)! We ambitiously explored 3 separate cities in 4 days and used buses, trains and our feet to get around.
We ate world-famous Kobe beef at its source, wandered all over the traditional city of Kyoto looking for geisha, and visited the free-roaming wild deer in imperial Nara. Highlights were undoubtedly Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto, and the never-ending line of red torii gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine.
She handled most of the trip beautifully, proving that she truly was born to travel. She wasn’t fazed at all by the challenging new environments, people and almost constant stimuli.
She reminded us of the return home that she was only 5 months old. First with an explosive diaper, which had to be changed on a moving bus on the way to the airport, and then with a near meltdown on our Peach Aviation flight home, caused by simple exhaustion.
There’s not much I’d change about that inaugural trip to Japan, except to slow things down a little. As we’ve continued to travel as a family, and gained more experience, we’ve realized a slower pace is better for all of us. Now, at 33 months of age, my little traveler has taken 40+ flights and visited 12 countries around the world, including Thailand, Italy, Albania, and Dubai to name a few. And she’s just getting started.
South Africa and Namibia with an 8-week-old
Written by Elaine and Dave from Show Them the Globe
8 weeks after the arrival of our first baby, J, we left Ireland to spend Christmas 2017 in South Africa and Namibia. We toasted Christmas Day at the top of Table Mountain, celebrated New Year’s with a picnic in the Winelands of Stellenbosch, drove off road to a remote corner of Namibia to explore Fish River Canyon and chased the Big 5 on safari in the Madikwe Game Reserve close to Botswana.
Our first family trip was incredible and J flourished during our month on the road. The best part was the uninterrupted family time away from the distractions of everyday life. Staying in hotels, eating out and having our laundry done meant all the usual time-consuming chores were taken care off and we focused on bonding, having fun and enjoying getting to know our new arrival. It was bliss!
Of course, there were moments when our bravery waned. We’d gotten the all clear for J to travel so we didn’t have any concerns in that respect but, as the departure date approached, we wondered if we were a little crazy to have planned a trip so far away from home with a tiny baby. At times, I even considered canceling, especially when questioned if we were crazy for the umpteenth time when we mentioned our Christmas plans!
Thankfully, our love of travel and adventure won over. We couldn’t resist the excitement of showing J the globe and the trip was as close to perfect as we could ever have hoped for.
The Maldives with a 3-month-old
Written by Shweta from Zest In A Tote
When my husband booked a week-long trip to the Maldives as a gift to me before I rejoined work, I was overjoyed! A week at a luxury resort in the Maldives. Yayy! But the grandparents and extended family members were horrified. ‘The baby is just 3-month-old, how can you take her so far?’, was a common emotion. Only the pediatrician was supportive. “Travel now, it will get tough as the baby grows to be a toddler”, she said. Wiser word hasn’t been said.
As it happened, the trip turned out to be perfect. We had taken a flight via Colombo and the baby rested well in her carry cot and did not fuss even during take-off or descent. My 3-month-daughter was entirely on my feed so no hassle of carrying of milk bottles and sterilizer or thinking of baby food on the trip. I ate plenty of healthy food in the Maldives, both local seafood, and international cuisine. She slept 16 hours in a day so it gave me enough ‘me-time’ to relax on the beach, read, go for a heavenly massage at the spa, go for morning walks which were enough to see plenty of marine life in the crystal clear waters of Maldives, even try snorkeling.
Would I do something different? No, there is no hardship in traveling with a young baby to a beach resort. Travel the world with your kids and travel as early as possible. I have taken my (now) 7-year old daughter to plentiful of trips within India and overseas.
Switzerland with a 6-month-old
Written by Rashmi & Chalukya from Go Beyond Bounds
European Road Trip with a 3-month-old
Written by Katalin from Our Life, Our Travel
After taking several weekend trips in Lapland, at the age of 3 months, we were prepared for the first international journey with our little boy. We planned a road trip covering 10 countries in 3 months. We started driving from Finland, through the Baltic States and Eastern Europe. Our final destination was Croatia and Montenegro at the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Besides exploring and resting, another non-hidden purpose of the long drive was to introduce M to his grandparents in Poland and Hungary on the way.
The most challenging part was to divide the driving days rather equally, and never spend more than 5 hours in the car on the same day. It required detailed planning and adding unusual stops to our itinerary. For example, we stayed at one farmhouse home-stay in Estonia and visited Banja Luka in Bosnia. We really enjoyed exploring lakeside spots and beaches, whether they were in Masuria, Poland, or at the magnificent Kotor Bay in Montenegro. M loved every form of water. Even fountains in Lublin, Łódź, and Gdańsk fascinated him for long minutes.
Our best advice is to get to know your little one(s) and plan and continuously adjust your trip (and life) to their needs and interest. Maybe you won’t see the highlights of the city, but you will discover other hidden gems in the area.
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I had to read your post because I have to say for a long time I was traumatized by our trans-Atlantic flight with our son who was 15 months old at the time. It wasn’t his first flight but it was his first very long flight. However, the month-long trip that followed went without a hitch and the flight back home was calm. So our experience didn’t stop us from traveling with him. But it has for sure taught me one thing. To be compassionate towards parents traveling with babies who might be having a difficult time on the flight.