family travel

Family Fun with CityPASS Seattle

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Seattle CityPASSIn researching for our recent trip to Seattle, I soon began to realize how many family friendly attractions there are in the city. There is so much to do and see in Seattle, that our to do list was growing exponentially by the day. Our visit to Seattle occurred during the cold and rainy winter season, which meant our normal MO of urban hiking and exploring outdoors wasn’t going to be quite as available. Luckily, many of Seattle’s famous attractions are indoors.  In looking at all of the things we planned to do, it became apparent that the amazing array of activities offered with the CityPASS Seattle passbook was the way to go.

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Planning a Trip to South Africa with Kids

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Photo via Flickr

This year is my 40th/10th (leap day baby) birthday. I decided I wanted something epic. For years the plan had been to go to Tibet to chill with the monks, but with the addition of a child on the scene, I realized that the chill in February might be a bit too much. Instead, our sights turned to Africa, one of only 2 continents I have yet to step foot on. And so the planning began!

I’m not one to shy away from destinations because they are ‘difficult’ or ‘dangerous’, but we definitely have felt the odds stacked against us more than once in planning this trip with a child. Here is some of what you need to know when planning a trip to South Africa with a child.

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Year in Review | 2015 Summary

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Year in Review: Sunset at MalibuI’ve been slow to do my year in review post. Instead I took the holidays off to just *be* with my family and not worry about writing or visiting places that I would later have to write about. It was a nice and much needed break after a year of going going going and writing writing writing.

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Farm to Table, Fijian Style

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Farm to Table, Fijian StyleOne of the most unique adventures on our recent trip to Fiji was our Food Safari at the Nanuku Auberge Resort. Let me start by saying, I am not a foodie. I am actually not even an adventurous eater. I save that for my husband and apparently now also my son. What I do love is to get out of the confines of resort life to actually experience the places we visit. With less than cooperative weather during our stay at Nanuku, our options for outside exploration were somewhat limited. Dying to get out to explore, we opted to experience Nanuku’s Food Safari excursion.

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Hotel Review: Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa

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Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa

Fiji is a destination that people dream of visiting, often that dream persists for much of their life mainly due to the perceptions that Fiji is solely a honeymoon destination or one for people who have a lot of money. On the contrary, Fiji can actually be an affordable vacation at anytime during your life and yes, even with children in tow!

On our recent trip to Fiji, one hotel that I pursued on my own to visit was Koro Sun Resort & Rainforest Spa. I had attended a presentation by Tourism Fiji where their representative spoke of the new Floating Bures and the wonderful family friendly vibe of the hotel which included a nanny for children. I was sold and had to see it for myself!

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My Top 7 Travel Essentials

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Travel Essentials
Photo via Flickr

As I began packing for my next trip I realized that I have a few essentials that go with me regardless of my destination. Many of these items, in some form, have been coming with me for the last 15 years! If they are this essential to me, perhaps you will also find them useful in your travels.

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Places to Visit in Kerala with Kids

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Places to Visit in Kerala with KidsIndia is one of those places that so many people dream of visiting. However, that dream often dies when children come on the scene. Everyone says “NO, you can’t go to India with kids!” Actually, you can.  I won’t lie, a trip to India will be challenging, but it will fill your heart and soul like no other place on earth. Kerala, in the South of India, is a wonderful mellow introduction to India for the whole family.

From lazing on beautiful beaches, hiking in mountainous tea plantations to exploring the jungle and cruising the backwaters, a trip to Kerala is a dream for outdoor families. Without massive highways or crowded cities to contend with, a visit to South India can be full of quiet serenity, which is usually not synonymous with travel in India! 

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Tips on Traveling with Other Families

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Tips on Traveling with Other FamiliesWe recently returned from our yearly joint family summer trip. Three children. Five adults. Three Generations. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about our trip this year. Last year we stayed in the gorgeous Yosemite Valley for 4 days. Short and sweet. It was amazing. Everyone had a blast. We were ready to try another year of co-family travel. This year, however, our trip was slated for 10 days in 3 different places!  Pre-trip jitters aside, it turned out amazing. With our positive experiences of co-family travel, I thought I would share some of our lessons learned to inspire you to travel happily with other families.

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Our Mini Spain Road Trip: Madrid to Barcelona the Long Way

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Cuenca: Madrid to BarcelonaSpain is an enchanting country with so much to offer visitors. Most tourists tend to stick to the well beaten paths of Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Granada. These are amazing destinations, but we wanted a little something different to add to our experience of Spain. Instead of taking the train or driving the long boring stretch of highway between Madrid and Barcelona, we went the long way. Our route off the beaten path took us to a Spanish village set perched on a cliff, an old medieval hilltop town, a long forgotten ghost town from Spain’s civil war and through many more rural villages nestled in between fields of olive and grape plantations, before reaching the bustling and enchanting Barcelona several days later.

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How to Fly with Spirit Airlines

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I have survived my first Spirit flight! And you know what, it wasn’t so bad. Flying Spirit is not for everyone, but for the budget conscious it is fantastic option. Without the low fares available on Spirit Airlines, it would not have been possible for our family to go away for a quick Mother’s Day weekend. I … Read more

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with Kids

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One of the main reasons we chose the Big Island over the other Hawaiian Islands was to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. My son had seen a brochure about the park at a friend’s house last summer and has wanted to go ever since. Turns out, this was the highlight for all of us. There is so much to … Read more

Insider’s Guide: Best Shopping in Mumbai

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The Insider’s Guide to Mumbai series is loaded with information to help you visit and explore this expansive and vibrant city like a local. After living as an expat for so many years, I found that to really get to know a city quickly you need to stay outside of the tourist zones and hang out and eat where the … Read more

The Most Beautiful Hotel in Udaipur – Devi Garh Palace

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Devi Garh Palace (Udaipur, India) The difficult part of living abroad is that eventually you have to leave. When our time was almost up in India, I knew I had to fit in a few more places from my never ending (India) bucket list. One of these was the beautiful (and expensive!) RASS Devi Garh Palace … Read more

5 Easy Hikes for Toddlers Los Angeles

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Hiking is the thing to do in LA. Before moving here I didn’t think that hiking with kids was even possible, especially once they were too big to carry and no longer interested in the stroller. As a baby you can carry them and older kids can walk, but what do you do during those few years where your … Read more

Vasquez Rocks with Kids

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My son woke up saying he wanted to go on a hike and I knew immediately where we should go. Vasquez Rocks.  It has been on our to do list forever. All I knew about Vasquez Rocks was that it’s great for kids who like to climb rocks and that an episode or portion of Star Trek had been filmed there. … Read more

Insider’s Guide: Top Restaurants in Mumbai

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The Insider’s Guide to Mumbai series is loaded with information to help you visit and explore this expansive and vibrant city like a local. After living as an expat for so many years, I found that to really get to know a city quickly you need to stay outside of the tourist zones and hang out and eat where the … Read more

What are kid friendly destinations?

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One of my fellow family travel bloggers posted a question on their Facebook page a while back asking where people thought of when they thought of kid friendly destinations. My initial response was Costa Rica, mostly because we were in the midst of planning a trip there. But then I realized that every place is kid friendly … Read more

Things To Do in LA over Winter Break (Updated 2015)

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This upcoming winter break is the first break at my son’s school in over a year that we do not have travel plans. After our India trip and a very busy fall, we have decided to stay put and spend our break exploring areas of LA that we never have time for. Although I would venture to … Read more

10 Top Tips on Travelling to India with Kids

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  Travel to India without children seems daunting to most people, much less with small kids in tow. However, traveling to India with kids can be a rich and rewarding experience for the entire family. Yes, it can be difficult, but I have to say that it is not that much harder than a trip … Read more

Family Friendly Hiking in Palm Springs at Indian Canyons

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A trip to Palm Springs for most people means sitting by the pool soaking up the sun, shopping and maybe visiting a few kid friendly attractions (if you have kids). For us, it means driving back and forth to Joshua Tree (or Joshman Tree as my preschooler says) to explore. My son is not the … Read more