family travel

The 11 Best Things to Do in Bangkok with Kids

by

From the infamous Khaosan Road to ladyboys, Bangkok may not spring to mind as being the most child friendly city. However, if you stay outside of the backpacker tourist zone, you will find ample opportunities to explore, learn and experience an amazing side of Bangkok with kids.

I have loved Bangkok since my first visit more than 10 years ago and couldn’t wait to share my love of the city with my son. It’s always fun to revisit places with the fresh eyes of a child as well as look for things that may not be on every tourist itinerary but would be super fun for kids.

Read more

Making Hoi An Lanterns with the Lantern Lady

by

Hoi An, located in central Vietnam, is known for two things, tailors and beautiful silk lanterns! When you visit, you must experience Hoi An lanterns in some form or another. You can do this by just walking through the streets admiring the brightly colored lanterns hanging over head, by launching your own candle lit paper lantern on the river or by making your own beautiful Hoi An lantern.

During our visit, we ended up doing all three. Wandering around Hoi An soaking up the beautiful lanterns that are seemingly hung from every tree and strung across the roadside is magical. You feel like you are walking into a fairytale. While this is fantastic, our favorite experience of all was making our own silk Vietnamese lanterns with The Lantern Lady.

Read more

Gap Year: Month 4 Recap – Bangkok, Hanoi & Hoi An

by

A bit late, but here we go, our gap year recap for month 4! January has been a short month of travel since we only left the US on the 15th, but it has been full of adventure and feels like we have been gone for ages already!

Read more

Guide to an Unforgettable Overnight Halong Bay Cruise

by

If there is one thing you do in Vietnam, it should be spending the night on a Halong Bay Cruise. This UNESCO World Heritage site in northeast Vietnam, known for its picturesque limestone islets jutting out of the shimmering emerald water, is mesmerizing.

During our visit, we were not lucky enough to have the crystal clear blue skies as shown on the postcards around Hanoi, but that’s just part of the allure of this area. You never know what you will get, but it will be magical nonetheless!

While many visitors make the 3 hour trek to Halong Bay for the day, it really doesn’t do the area justice. Even if you are on a budget, an overnight Halong Bay cruise is one part of your trip to splurge on. It is a must visit on most Vietnam itineraries for good reason, it is spectacular!

We spent hours researching the best overnight Halong Bay cruises and will share all the information with you here!

Read more

Travel Planning: A Resource Guide

by

Last week, we talked about researching where to go, but we didn’t delve into the nitty gritty of where to research flights, accommodation and things to do. This is an extension of research, but also begins to get into the logistics of travel planning. Logistics is another thing that I love about travel planning. Details, details, details.

Below I provide my favorite resources for finding flights, car rentals, accommodation and more.

Read more

The Best Gamboa Tours with 9 North Panama

by

One of the best places to visit in Panama is the Gamboa rainforest along the Panama Canal. There are many Gamboa tours offered from Panama City, as well as through the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, but the best tour in Gamboa is one that gets you close to the amazing biodiversity that this area is known for.

During our visit to the Gamboa rainforest, we checked out several boat tour options. Hands down, 9 North Panama Safaris was the best. If you love animals, serene nature and photography, you have to take one of their boat safaris along the Panama Canal and Lake Gatun.

Read more

Gap Year Recap (Month 3): Panama, SLO CAL & Home

by

Our third month of Gap Year travel was a bit different than what most people would do while taking a year off. We started off the month in Panama and then came home for 3 days to then set off again on a quick media visit to San Luis Obispo County a few hours north of Los Angeles. Finally, a few days before Christmas we were home for the holidays!

Cian had always said he was fine to miss school and fine to go away for the year as long as he could be home for two of his favorite holidays – Halloween and Christmas! So we made sure to make that happen. As much as I would have loved to keep on traveling from Panama all the way down to South America, I knew that he needed to be home for the holidays even if we couldn’t participate in all the holiday activities he normally likes.

So, here we go for our recap!

Read more

An Amazing Adventure in a Pismo Beach Dune Buggy

by

One of the best family activities you can experience in the San Luis Obispo region is a day out trying your hand at the Oceano Sand Dunes with a Pismo Beach Dune Buggy rental.  According to my 8 year old this was the most epic adventure we have experienced to date!

The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area is one of the last remaining parks in California that allow off roading. This little stretch of beach on the Central Coast offers a unique day out that you can’t find in many other places. Visitors come from all over the state and beyond for the ability to drive their all terrain vehicles, 4×4 trucks and of course dune buggies on the natural sand dunes here.

I mean who hasn’t dreamed of frolicking around pristine sand dunes where there are no roads or rules on what you can or can’t do? Read on to see how this scaredy cat mama fared on the dunes of Oceano.

ADVENTURE: Off-Roading on Sand Dunes // NATURE:  One of California’s Most Unique State Parks // ADRENALINE: Driving in a Bowl 

Read more

Learn Spanish in Panama with Habla Ya

by

The main focus of our 6 week journey through Central America was to take Spanish classes throughout the region. After a few weeks of taking spanish classes in Guatemala, we headed to further south to learn Spanish in Panama with Habla Ya.

Learning Spanish in another country is a great way to fully immerse yourself into the language as well as have the opportunity to practice every day in real life situations. Our experience traveling through Central America learning Spanish was a great way to learn about the different countries, local ways of speaking as well as sample different types of instruction.

Read more

Luxurious Nature Hotel in Flores Guatemala

by

After almost 3 weeks in Guatemala exploring by bus, tuk tuk and our own two feet, we were looking for a luxurious retreat to end our trip. In my search I happened upon Las Lagunas Boutique Hotel, located just outside of Flores Guatemala on a small lagoon in the middle of the jungle.

Las Lagunas has everything you want in a nature retreat – gorgeous surroundings, wild animals, spectacular food and exceptional service. It is the type of hotel you will continue to dream about returning to for years afterward. You might even make a trip to Guatemala *just* to visit this luxurious nature retreat.

Read on for our review and why we think it should be a must visit on your Guatemala itinerary.

Read more

Gap Year Recap (Month 2): Guatemala, Costa Rica & Panama

by

It has been a month since we set off on our second adventure of our gap year and our first month of full backpacking type travels. (You can read last month’s recap here if you missed it.)

In the past 30 days we have been to Guatemala for almost 3 weeks, a short 4 days in Costa Rica to meet up with Paul and 1 week in Panama.

Overall I have to say it’s been amazing and all I had dreamed it could be. We have had so much fun, seen so much, learned so much and just enjoyed being together.

Cian really is an amazing travel partner. He keeps me grounded when I’m losing it, is always happy go lucky and ready for an adventure which helps me muddle through when I’m feeling negative about something and he just LOVES it all. It has been an absolute pleasure to show him some of my old backpacking towns.

We have made mistakes and are slowly figuring things out, but overall, I can’t imagine ever going back to our regular day to day life! Of course we will have to I guess.. 🙂

Read more

Learn Guatemalan Backstrap Weaving on Lake Atitlan

by

One of the top things on our to do list in Guatemala was to learn traditional Guatemalan backstrap weaving. My 8 year old son loves to weave. Having used a cardboard loom for years and a few varieties of floor looms on our recent trip to Wisconsin, he was excited to learn how to use beautiful Guatemalan fabric in a traditional way.

Conducting my diligent research I found many places that offered weaving demonstrations all over the country, however not a ton of classes, even less for children. There were two options that looked promising, however one was in Xela, a town not on our itinerary and a private lesson in Antigua that was geared more towards longer term classes and was very expensive. However, a visit to San Juan la Laguna on Lake Atitlan provided just the opportunities we were searching for in order to try our hand at weaving in Guatemala.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Read more

5 Family Friendly Things to Do in Clearwater Florida

by

Heading to Florida? Make sure you check out all the amazing family friendly things to do in Clearwater Fl with kids and without! Florida is a family vacation paradise with its abundance of natural beauty, white sand beaches, vibrant cities and of course the biggest and best amusement parks in the country.

Last year I visited Clearwater Florida for a conference and fell in love. So when Expedia.com asked me to share all of the great family friendly things to do in Clearwater to inspire you to book your next family trip there, I jumped at the chance to share my love for this part of the United States.

Clearwater is on the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s west coast not far from Tampa Bay, making it easily accessible even from the West Coast of the US. Visitors flock to this part of Florida for its continual sunshine, crystal clear waters and perfect beaches. In addition, Clearwater Beach has a great range of hotel options, making it ideal for family holidays.

Trying to figure out what all to do in north Floriday? My friend Rob has a great post on planning a north Florida vacation!

Read more

Our Gap Year – Month 1 Recap

by

It has officially been one month since Cian and I set off on our worldschooling adventure for 2nd grade. This first month is not very representative of how our year will go since we were crisscrossing the globe with pre-booked trips. It’s been a busy month moving from one time zone and climate to another each week with little down time to recover. But it was fun!

For you, me and posterity, here is a recap of how our month shaped up.

Read more

Icelandic Rye Bread – Geothermal Baking at Fontana

by

One of the coolest aspects of Iceland is the insane amount of volcanic activity happening on the island. It is often called the land of fire and ice due to the more than 30 active volcanoes as well as the many glaciers dotting the landscape.

As one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, it is not surprising that it also has a great deal of geothermal activity. From geysers to hot springs and boiling sand pits; Iceland has so much happening under the ground! This hydrothermal activity is one of the ways that help make Iceland habitable. They have been able to harness this amazing power of the earth by generating 30% of its electricity from geothermal water.

The popular tourist circuit, the Golden Circle is largely centered around the different geothermal and hydrothermal properties that Iceland is known for. In this region, visitors can see a geyser erupt, soak in hot springs as well as see the awe-inspiring and powerful Gulfoss waterfall.

An additional sight on the Golden Circle worth stopping at is Laugarvatn, which is a town that lies on a hot spot, aka an active geothermal area. In the village and on the lake, boiling water erupts into several hot springs. The hot springs have been used for cooking, bathing and house heating since 1929. Even today, the entire town gets all of its electricity from the hot springs.

There are a multitude of amazing things to do in Iceland with kids, but every itinerary should include a visit to Laugarvatn which can also be done as a day trip from Reykjavik. This unique stop on the Golden Circle allows visitors the chance to soak in beautiful thermal hot springs as well as see and taste Icelandic rye bread baked in the ground in hot boiling”lava” sand.

Read more

The Dream: An Amazon River Cruise with Kids

by

I wake up hearing the rain pound my windows. The rain is so loud that I feel like I am in an open air canopy with only wilderness surrounding me.

My bed rocks and rolls slightly, enough that I question whether I am still on the boat or if this is in fact all a dream. My semi-lucid state is punctured when I knock a beetle the size of a half dollar off my arm in panic.

It’s not a dream, I am really still here in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, staying at a luxury lodge after spending a week aboard the Jacare-Acu exploring the depths of the Rio Negro and the Amazon’s flooded forests.

Amazon River with Kids
Amazon River Cruise with Our Whole Village & Katerre

The purpose of our visit here is to find and experience the most authentic Brazil, exploring the flora and fauna on the majestic and mysterious Amazon River with several other families.

Read more

A Family Travel Tour: The Why & How of Group Travel

by

What comes to mind when you think about taking a tour? A flag carrying leader moving you from massive buses to cheesy tourist attractions leaving you feeling like herded cattle?

While this does still exist, these days there are a ton of amazing family travel tour options focusing on adventures for the whole family that are worth investigating.

My travel style has always been staunchly independent. I enjoy the excitement of exploring off the beaten path locations as much as the difficulties of being lost or trying to find my way around a city.

However now with a child, I find that I don’t always have the time or flexibility to be as independent. And while historically, I’ve not been a fan of tours, I have found myself moving towards family travel tours more and more these days. With an only child, it’s become apparent my son enjoys traveling with other families as a way to have instant playmates and to share his travel experience with a peer.

This summer I set out to explore what it means to travel on a family focused tour with two different companies in two different parts of the world. One was organized through a small local company on the Amazon River in Brazil orchestrated through Our Whole Village which is part agent part operator. The other was through the large international tour operator, Intrepid Travel.

Read more

Portable WiFi Hotspot: Internet on the Go

by

As a traveler blogger, I’m constantly in need of WiFi when I travel. I have researched portable WiFi hotspots that are country specific, like when I went to Ireland I used an Ireland specific travel Wifi hotspot and when I was in India, I used Trabug, a mobile phone solution. While these were great solutions for those specific trips, with a solid month of travel in 3 different countries looming, I knew I needed something better than localized service. I am happy to report that I have finally found an awesome solution to providing global WiFi for me and my son when we travel – SkyRoam Solis.

Portable Wifi Hotspot provides great value all over the world, including in the Brazilian jungleThis orange portable WiFi hotspot is a lifesaver. If you are American you probably already know that AT&T isn’t the greatest phone company when it comes to international data plans, but I just haven’t wanted to switch since I have been with them forever, (probably the exact reason why I should switch!) which meant that I was left floundering and constantly on the hunt for free WiFi on our travels.  This is no bueno when you are traveling solo with a kid and need to get around easily and quickly.

Skyroam Solis to the Rescue!

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Read more

Exploring Lassen Volcanic National Park (with Kids)

by

Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of California’s least visited parks. It is located about 5 hours north of the Bay Area, 3 hours north of Sacramento and 1.5 hours east of Redding. It’s location is most of the reason it is less visited than other parks and the fact that it is covered in snow for much of the year. With many of its trails only open from July-Oct, it’s tough to get a visit in when the park is fully operating.

Lassen National Park with kidsEven with the difficulties of visiting, what awaits you is California’s version of Yellowstone, a boiling, bubbling volcanic dreamland. A park dedicated to its volcanic history, it has 4 types of volcanos all in one place as well as sulphur steam vents, boiling mud pots and stunning views over the surrounding areas. Furthermore, it provides a vast network of trails through forest landscapes, around lakes and up volcanic peaks with some even connecting to the Pacific Crest Trail.

In short, Lassen Volcanic National Park is mesmerizing and should be on everyone’s California wish list.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Read more

Fun Sacramento Kids Activities Perfect for a Weekend Visit

by

The state capital of California, Sacramento, loaded with history, is often overlooked as a great family weekend getaway destination. This is too bad since it’s filled with fun, family friendly activities that also include a little bit of learning too!

The city got its start during the 1849 Gold Rush and later served as the state’s political hub. The city has everything to keep a family busy and entertained from nature to transportation and beyond! Here are some of our favorite Sacramento kids activities that we think should be on the top of any itinerary to the government center.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Read more