travel with kids

A Family Adventure: Channel Islands Kayaking with Kids

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Last summer I was offered an opportunity to visit one of the few national parks in California I had yet to visit, the Channel Islands. Upon looking at the itinerary I noticed that an entire day was dedicated to kayaking around the island of Santa Cruz..in the sea! I was terrified to be honest. I had never kayaked, much less in the sea.

The water in California is not warm even in the height of summer and I was super nervous about the possibility of flipping my kayak. Now, add in that I would be doing this with my equally scaredy-cat 6 year old who prefers hot tubbing to actually swimming! And there you have it, the scene is set for our adventure at the Channel Islands kayaking with kids.

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Exploring Lassen Volcanic National Park (with Kids)

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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.

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Fun Sacramento Kids Activities Perfect for a Weekend Visit

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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.

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Tips on Planning a European Family Vacation

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One of the most stressful parts of travel for many people is the process of actually planning the trip. This is particularly true if you are heading abroad with your family for the first time. You want everything to be just perfect. But, the logistics involved in planning a trip to Europe can be quite overwhelming. I have found the more prepared you are, the more likely your trip will go off without a hitch. This all takes a lot of time, patience and skills in list making!

To help you get started on planning your dream trip, read on for my suggestions on how to get started planning a perfect European family vacation. So get ready to eat authentic Italian food, visit monuments you have only read about in books and make your travel dreams come true.

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.

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Tips for Flying with a Baby: Carry-on Essentials

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Flying with a baby is daunting for most parents. Preparing and packing carry-on essentials is one of the most important aspects for your baby’s first flight. In my son’s first 2 years of life we traveled from India to Ireland to the US and back racking up platinum status with Delta! After so many flights … Read more

9 Excellent Universal Studios Hollywood Tips for First Timers

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Planning a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood? If so, make sure to read our Universal Studios Hollywood tips for first timers before you go! It will make a huge difference in what you get out of your first visit. It has taken us 5 years of living in Los Angeles, but we finally made it … Read more

The Cliffs Resort Pismo Beach | Luxury on the California Coast

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On our recent trip to San Luis Obispo Country with SLO CAL Tourism, we had the amazing opportunity to stay at The Cliffs Spa & Hotel in Pismo Beach. If you are headed to the San Luis Obispo area, there are many cool options for places to stay, but none compare with the luxury, location and fabulous service provided at The Cliffs Resort Pismo Beach. We would highly recommend it for your next visit or even if you are just passing through on a Pacific Coast Highway road trip.

Read on to find out why we loved it so much!

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Top 5 Things to Do in Dublin with Kids

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Top 5 Things to do in Dublin with KidsVisiting Ireland is a dream destination for many families and almost all visits include a stay in the nation’s capital city of Dublin. While Dublin is mostly thought of for it’s literary history and it’s lively Temple Bar scene, there is a great deal of appeal here for families as well.

We have been lucky to visit the country countless times over the last 15 years to visit family and have experienced most of what Dublin has to offer – touristy and not. Over time, a few favorites have popped up that holds the attention of the littlest one in the family.  These are our tried and tested favorites that our son has wanted to visit again and again each year since he was 3!

While these may not necessarily be the major tourist attractions you have on your to do list, I can guarantee they will provide fun for the entire family! Without further ado, our top 5 things to do in Dublin with kids. 

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Our Summer Alaska Adventure

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Our Alaskan Summer AdventureFor the 4th year in a row, we have been so lucky to spend a week of our summer with friends who live in Texas. My son, being an only child looks forward to this week with his two buddies as much as I look forward to having adult time while the kids are occupied.  Not only is it wonderful to get to travel with our friends and share these summer experiences together, it is so amazing to spend time with a family who has the same love for adventure, travel, the outdoors and photography that we do. For me, it really is a highlight of my year, so I hope we are able to keep it up for many years to come.

Our first year, we took a quick 4 day trip to Yosemite Valley. That trip started my son’s absolute love of the National Park System and even more so, created his obsession with being a park ranger when he grows up. Year 2, we went all in with a 10 day road trip through Arizona and Utah. This was a super fun trip that took in so many different landscapes as well as tested our abilities to travel on an extended basis together. Year 3 took us to Oregon where we traveled to the Central and Southern areas of the state. By our kid’s accounts, that trip had the best accommodation options on any of our trips!  And year 4 – a week long (for them, 10 days for us) road trip catching the major sites of Alaska by land.

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Guide to Legoland Water Park

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Guide to Legoland Water ParkGrowing up in Texas, my summers were spent at the local pool or the water park, so I was super excited to finally take my son to his first water park. With hot summers, Southern California has a great selection of water parks to experience, but they are not all ideal for young swimmers. My research led me to Legoland’s Water Park as the perfect place for a first water park adventure. It is perfectly geared towards young kids who are all over the spectrum in swimming abilities. My son loves to play in water, but is still getting his confidence in deep water. Legoland’s Water Park looked to be the best place that would allow him to safely play on his own, while also providing opportunities to challenge himself.

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10 Electronic Free Activities for Kids 5-12

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Electronic Free Activities for Kids 5-12One of the first adages of flying with children is give in to the screen. Allowing your kids more screen time during travel makes life easier for everyone, but what do we do now that governments are moving to ban laptops and iPads from some international flights? In my post a few years ago, I outlined our favorite electronic free activities for babies to pre-schoolers, but what about elementary aged children? This is the age group that is of particular concern for families who have gotten used to handing over the iPad for long flights, no longer bringing bags of stuff to entertain them.

You need a backup plan. Here are some tried and tested items to have on hand to entertain your kids while traveling. Sadly the loser in the whole thing is you. Gone are the days where you can enjoy your quiet time while your kid is happily engaged with the iPad for 12 hours! 

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5 Family-Friendly Destinations in the Mediterranean

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  Choosing the perfect place for your next family vacation can be tough. You want somewhere that has something for everyone to enjoy and doesn’t break the bank. Perfect family-friendly destinations typically have a good range of amenities and facilities with infrastructure that makes life easy for travelers. Parents often worry about safety, food options, accommodation … Read more

7 Top Tips for Road Trips With Kids

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One of our favorite ways to travel is by taking a road trip. It is the perfect way for the whole family to spend quality time together while exploring different destinations. There’s no worry of public meltdowns on planes, trains or buses—that’s not to say, however, that meltdowns won’t happen though!

Road trips with kids can help families reduce costs on their vacations; you don’t need to fork out for expensive airfares for everyone and you can pack a cooler for picnics along the way. Although, I must admit, while some kids may be excited to sit in the car for hours at a time, others can get bored incredibly quickly. Below I have shared some handy tips o help you plan your next (relatively) hassle-free road trip whether it is just up I-5 or across the country. Also check out these helpful tips on what to avoid while planning a road trip. 

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Arenal or Monteverde? Which is better?

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Arenal or Monteverde? Which is betterPlanning a trip to Costa Rica is a bit of a challenge considering how much there is to do, not in just one area, but in every region of the country. Many visitors opt for in-land adventure activities followed by time for relaxation on the beach. While considering where to go in-land, you will invariable come across Arenal/La Fortuna and Monteverde as being top destinations for a classic Costa Rican adventure. Given the unique appeal of both destinations, it’s no wonder that for visitors with limited time, the question quickly arises – which is better? Should I go to both or just one? I had this question over and over while planning our trip, so I decided to do both just to check them out. I cannot say which is better as that almost always amounts to personal preference, but I can provide details on what both places have to offer so that you can make the most informed decision possible. 

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World’s Best Family Road Trips

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World's Best Family Road TripsRoad tripping is a quintessential part of life in many countries around the world. Growing up in the US, we often think of road trips as being an American thing (don’t we think that about all things!), but through my years of traveling around the world, I have seen how it’s part of the fabric of so many societies. One of the things that families throughout the world seem to have in common is their love of road trips!

Check out the top road trips around the world that my fellow family travel bloggers have recommended. Next week I will share the best road trips in the US (in case you were wondering why they are not here!).

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Top Stops from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway

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Top Stops from Belfast to Giant's CausewayIreland is a spectacular country with breathtaking coastal scenery from the Wild Atlantic Way to the Cliffs of Moher and up to along the Antrim Coast in the north. With so much natural beauty, it’s difficult to decide just which road trip you should undertake on a visit.

One of our favorites is the Causeway Coastal Route from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway. To complete the entire circuit along the coast, it could take up to a week if you wanted to see everything. However, the most popular part of the Causeway Coastal Route is from Ballycastle to Dunluce Castle, which corresponds with the most spectacular part of the drive. That said, there are interesting sites to see outside of that small portion if you have the time and can ignore your GPS screaming for you to go inland for the quicker routes!

During our last visit, we only had 3 days for our mini road trip to Northern Ireland. Attempting to fit as much in as we could during that time, we made detours off the coastal roads in areas where there were fewer attractions, taking in some of the Antrim coast’s top stops along the way. Below are our highlights from Belfast to Giant’s Causeway along the Causeway Coastal Route.

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Top Destinations in Costa Rica from Liberia Airport

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Top Destinations in Costa Rica from Liberia Airport
Photo via Flickr

In planning my yearly birthday trip, it came to my attention that there is a direct flight from Los Angeles to Liberia, Costa Rica on Southwest Airlines. I knew that Southwest had begun flights to Costa Rica, but hadn’t really checked into it. Instead I constantly search for direct flights to San Jose, which are few and far between and always expensive. For some reason I just couldn’t open myself up to flying into Liberia. Boy did I miss some opportunities!

I am so excited about this discovery though. Why? Timing and Price. The direct 5 hour flight on Southwest Airlines leaves at 2:10 pm daily from Los Angeles, which means it is perfect for a long weekend getaway. Even more importantly, if you book this flight in advance it is about the same price as a round trip ticket to most places inside the US, making a quick trip to Costa Rica even more feasible.

Since heading off to Costa Rica for a long weekend doesn’t seem that doable to many people, I thought I would share a few destination options to get you started on your trip planning. These individual destinations can easily be combined to make a week or longer trip as well.

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Where to Eat in Tucson with Kids

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Where to eat in Tucson with kidsIf you follow us regularly, you will know that finding options for meals while traveling is one of my least favorite things to do. It’s the one part of traveling that I don’t enjoy. Being in a new city, surrounded by an excess of options that I’m not familiar with, sends me over the edge! It’s true. But I have to say that on our trip to Tucson I found it very manageable in terms of eating. Perhaps it’s because Tucson is a classified UNESCO city of gastronomy and loaded with delectable options? Or maybe it was the abundance of Mexican food scattered throughout town? Apparently, there is a wonderful 23 mile stretch of amazing Mexican food there. I did not know this in advance, so will have to return to investigate this further!

Either way, food options were plentiful and even random places we happened upon were really good (and cheap!). I must admit I am not a foodie. I am pretty simple when it comes to food. I like comforting authentic food in a fun, welcoming atmosphere that is conducive to eating with children. If that is you too, then read on! These were some of our favorites in Tucson, including some must try local’s favorites. 

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Go on Safari in Santa Rosa, CA

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Safari in Santa Rosa, CaliforniaLong before we looked to go to Africa for safari, I had my eyes on a little known place in Northern California called Safari West. The Sonoma Serengeti as some call it, is unlike any wildlife preserve you will have visited before. Experiencing Africa-esque glamping style tent cabins and wild animals dotting the rolling hills of wine country is pretty extraordinary, especially so close to home.

But I know you are wondering, how can there be wild African animals just outside of San Francisco? Does it feel authentic? Is it really worth it or is it just a glamorized zoo? My thoughts exactly. Read on to find out more and hear all about our experience.

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Guide to Legoland California

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Guide to Legoland CaliforniaEven though we live only 90 minutes away from Legoland in Carlsbad, it has taken us years to finally get there. My son isn’t a lego fanatic, so we weren’t pushed to make the trip. I regret now that it took us so long to get there. Being annual passport holders at Disney just up the road, we know the amusement park thing well. Don’t think of Legoland as a rival of Disneyland, but as a totally different entity that needs to be enjoyed in addition to the larger parks up the road.

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