3 KIDS TRAVEL’S ABC

We keep on filling the list with new ideas (the latest ones is marked in green)

A for ACCOMMODATION: Pick an accommodation where it is room for kids to be kids. We have earlier have had great luck with cottages from Child Friendly Cottages / @CFcottages.

B for BIG FAMILY: Check apartments or suite-hotels to be able to stay together, pre-book seat on airlines to avoid stressful situations, talk about what activities can be fun for everyone and how to make sure everyone get some “special for you” time.

C for CHILD SAFETY: Agree upon where to meet if you lose each other, write your phone number on the kid’s forearm, and leave a hotel card and/or your business card in their pockets

D for DIARY: Give the kids a notebook and some crayons to draw/write down stories from the trip. They will love to look at it when they return home, and also comes handy when talking to friends/grandparents about their experiences. Check our Travel Diaries post for more tips.

E for EXPECTATIONS: Make sure you talk to the kids about the trip so they know what kind of trip to expect. This will make it much easier to have fun.

F for FLEXIBILITY: Start the planning well in advance – the planning is half the fun! However, make sure to have flexibility for when you like to do what (and not get too fixed on the ideas you had before you had any experience from the place)

G for GOOD TIMES FOR EVERYONE: Plan for activities that all can enjoy. To go shopping for new shoes for Mom can make
both Mom and all others in the family very frustrated.

H for HISTORIES: Make small histories from the places you visit to make it easier for the kids to remember the different places you visit. Maybe they can draw the history in their Travel Diaries?

I for INSURANCE: We highly recommend you to have travel insurance covering ALL family members. A great assurance if some of you get sick or you are so unlucky that clothes/valuables are stolen

J for enjoy the JOURNEY: Instead of rushing from A to B make sure you enjoy the time spent in the car/on the train or plane. Check our blog post about Car Travel tips.

L for LUGGAGE: Pack as lite as possible to make it easy to move around and ask the kids to pack their (limited!) toys/books/music collection in their own backpacks.

L for LOCATION: Choose accommodation close to amenities such as transport, parks and attractions. A good view and a balcony can also be smart since parents most of the nights like to stay up a few more hours than the kids.

M for MAKING MEMORIES: Take photos, bring some souvenirs home but most important of all explore the destinations together to build joint memories for later chats and nostalgic talks 20 year from now.

N for NETWORK: Search your network to see if you have somebody with local knowledge of your destination. They can recommend the best play grounds, the local restaurants, the best beaches, all to fit your personal taste.

T for THEME SONG: A few weeks before departure search for a song which you one way or another connect to the place you go. Let the whole family listen to the song before, during and after the trip. Play it loud in the car and sing along with your kids – it will make you smile.

…..more letters to follow

Festivals – a lot of fun for the whole family

The trend is that more festivals make an effort to make the kids feel as welcome as the grown-ups. Why not visit a festival on your next family vacation?    Our favorite  festivals and annual happenings for kids in all ages. We hope to hear about your best tip as well.

April

USA, Houston: Houston Childrens Festival – Shows, concerts and a lot of fun for kids. Check their web page:  Houston Childrensfestival

June

NORWAY, Oslo: Mini-ØYA , a music festival dedicated for families and kids. The volume is lower than in an ordinary festival, but the feel-good atmosphere is great for both kids and grown-ups with a lot of activities in addition to the concerts (such as theaters, crafting station, dance performances and more). The favorite amongst our little troupers. We highly recommend you to put it on your to-do-list.

5 tips on how to deal with jet lag

Kids’ travel diaries to keep the memories

To gather the thoughts before, under and after a trip we recommend introducing a Travel diary to your kids. This can be used as early as 4-5 years old since a drawing can be as informative as a long text.   Before our last summer vacation, many Saturday mornings was filled by looking for pictures on the internet, print them, draw them and cut & glue them into the book.  During the vacation, the kids where tired after long days filled with activities and in the evening they often found it calming to sit down and draw/write in their little books.

We expected the kids to forget about the books after returning home, but they have been very proud of their work (and they should be) and have brought the diaries with them to show to both their grandparents and friends at school/ daycare.

Some ideas:

• Draw the best part of the day
• Write about what we have done today
• Find a postcard and stick in the book
• Draw the food/ice-cream/cookie/fruit you had earlier today
• Include tickets/receipts from attractions/restaurants
• Write a wish list for tomorrow

Since pictures can say more than thousand words, we will keep this blog post short and sweet and instead show you some photos for inspiration:

 

 

New York City – an experience for the whole family

5 Must-do activities for small and not that small travelers in New York City:

Many is reluctant when thinking of taking children for vacation in a big city – but even if you have only slightly played with the idea of taking the kids to New York City, we have only one advise: Just Do It!

The kids will love it, and we are sure you will too – but remember to pace yourself – small feet get tired in a big city and walking from store to store is not a great adventure for the little ones.                                                        

1. Visit the Central Park (1, 2 or 3 times…..):

    

Plenty of large playgrounds, the zoo from the Madagascar movie, an amusement park for the smallest children and plenty of shade on a warm summer day.

Our 5 favourite day(s) trips around Ålesund, West Coast of Norway

We have tried many different ways to travel with kids, and even if we from the time before kids were used to jump from one place to another we have now realized that the family vacations where we have established a base camp have been much better for both grown-ups and kids. Thus, we will make some blogs where we look at nice day trips from a specific location, and first “vacation base” is Ålesund:

Giske, Godøya & Alnes Fyr,

On the tip of Godøya, an island just outside Ålesund, you find a small lighthouse turned into a small cafe and local art gallery. It is just a 20-25 minutes’ drive from Ålesund.  Drive in the direction of the airport, but as soon as you have driven through the first tunnel (actually taking you under the fjord) you turn left to Giske and Godøya. Giske is as flat as Godøya is hilly, and is most famous for its summer music festival (see under Calendar for more info). Giske also have a very nice beach for the ones brave enough to go for a swim. Depending on how much time you like to use and the age of your kids you can stroll along the coast, go for a hike over the mountain, rent a small boat to go fishing or choose to stay over a night in one of the “rorbu”(fishermen cabin) available at Godøya.

   Photo: Rune Saether

Strandafjellet

Also known  as the snow powder paradise of Norway, Stranda is approx. 1.5 hours away from Ålesund (included a 15 minutes ferry ride where the kids can test out the famous “Svele”, which can be compared with an American pancake). The ski area has a separate area for kids and both kids and grown-ups can rent all different kind of ski equipment. Enjoy a day in the slope and remember to stop up and enjoy the view! If you like to stay a some days you can either stay at Stranda Hotel  or check out one of the cabins closer to the ski area (feel free to contact us if you like more detailed advise of where to stay).
 

Photo from http://www.strandafjellet.no

5 favorite activities in Ålesund Town, Norway

Ålesund is a town located on the West Coast of Norway, a 6-7 hours’ drive north of Bergen. It is a good starting point for visiting Geiranger, Trollveggen and the Alps of Sunnmøre, but is also worth some attention for its own beauty. We think Ålesund is a good place to be when traveling with kids. We have been there many times, and have picked 5 activities for the whole family to enjoy.

1. Fjellstua
If your kids are big enough, you cannot be in Ålesund without walking up the 415 steps to Fjellstua, on top of the Aksla, the “city hill”. Ask all to count the number of steps and see how the numbers differ from each other when you after a while reach the restaurant at top. Here you can buy the local “svele” (almost like an American pancake) and enjoy the view of the town, the fjord and the islands around. The stairs start in the middle of the small City park, where you by the way also find the best play ground in town. Why not stop here on your way back? If you are two or more grown-ups, you can let the kids play and take shifts to visit the Art Gallery just in the other corner of the park, Ålesund Kunstforening.

Oslo – a perfect travel destination for kids

 

OSLO is small enough to easy get an overview but big enough to give you and your kids plenty to do. We like to share the activities we like the most in this “green city”:

 

Visit Frognerparken

In addition to a lot of impressive stone statues of people in all ages and in all sizes which is we think the whole family will find amusing, the park also have one of the best play grounds in the city. We recommend to visit the playground at other times than Saturday/Sunday mid day since it at this time can be very busy and difficult to keep track of your kid(s).

Take the tram no. 1 to Frognerseteren (passing the Holmenkollen Ski jump on your way)

Take the Subway/local tram to Frognerseteren. Enjoy the splendid view and a cup of hot chockolate and the Norwegian “vaffel” cake from the local cafe. In the winter, rent toboggans and enjoy “Korketrekkeren”, a great toboggan slope ending very close to a tram stop

5 tips to make the car trip better for everyone

Who have not experienced the kids start fighting before you even have left the neighbourhood? With some preparation you can make the time in the car better for everyone. Bring these tips with you next time you are planning a car trip.

1. Don’t be in a rush – instead try to make the trip as an integrated part of your family vacation. Remember that the kids are strapped down in those car seat and the build up of energy can be massive. Take breaks and let the kids run around for a while. Why not check if there are some places of interest along the road you have not checked out before? (sometimes we forget to check out our own vicinity)

2. Experiment what time of the day is most suitable for your family. Some kids fall asleep in the car and others like to stay up and look at everything happening outside the window. If the kids do not mind to sleep, why not leave late in the afternoon and enjoy some quite time in the front seat when the kids are sleeping in the back?

Why you should visit Norway this fall

5 reasons for bringing your kids to Norway this fall

1. The nature is astonishing at this time of the year, and the capacity at the mountain cabins open for everybody to use are very good. Check out how you can travel with kids  in the mountains for a very reasonable price. Turistforeningen has cabins all over Norway, and make it possible to walk from one cabin to the next. All cabins have fire wood available and food for sale. Kids love to explore the nature, but with cold nights it can be good to sleep inside in a warm cabin instead of in a tent.