I've Moved!

Please come and see me at my new website:

www.jetlagandmayhem.com

I Want This!: Travel toys website 'My Travel Surprise'

Sometimes you come across a great idea...think that's just what I need...and then you realise that of course this company is based in the UK and you can't get hold of this product in Hong Kong!

My Travel Surprise sells fun & interesting toys to take on holiday.  Knowing that kids loves receiving presents (and parents are happy to oblige in shutting their kids up on a flight), the company even wraps them for you.  Genius.

I know my nearly 4 year old would love the Sticky Mosaic craft project and the Princess Magnet Set for long plane journeys.

Check out the shop here:  http://www.mytravelsurprise.co.uk/

Delivery within UK only

The Big Texas Roadtrip - November 2012

We try to do a 2 week US road trip annually.  Our mission to visit all 52 states and to eat at all the restaurants from the TV show, Man Vs Food!

This year it was the turn of Texas.  I have written previous posts on planning road trips and I promise you, with careful preparation, you & the kids will have a great time.

Our route took us:

Hong Kong - Los Angeles - Fort Worth - Dallas - Austin - Lost Pines - San Antonio - Houston - Los Angeles - Hong Kong

I'll share my thoughts on each of these cities in separate posts but this truly was a road trip to remember.  Certainly for all the Texan BBQ we managed to eat!

Here are some top tips:

• Don't be spontaneous.  Plan your trips well e.g. book hotels and advise on crib/rollaway requirements
• Get a Sat Nav in your hire car
• Check when attractions are open.  We drove 30 minutes to Sea World San Antonio, only to find out it was closed
• If you can, book suites in hotels.  You can get reasonably priced 1 bed suites in the cheaper hotel chains.  It is nice to put the kids to bed and then relax in your own room.
• For jetlag, get your kids on local time asap
• Try to pack light.  If you are on the move every few days you will be bringing suitcases in & out of your hotel on a regular basis
• Don't move too quickly.  Stay 2-3 nights per destination to allow yourself some relaxation time
• Limit car journeys to under 5 hours
• Get a car with an inbuilt DVD player or bring your own
• Buy/borrow a decent stroller (double if you have 2 or more).  We borrowed this fantastic Graco stroller from a neighbour which carried my toddler and baby comfortably

Hiring a Car
http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/hiring-car-for-your-roadtrip.html

Check your visa requirements
http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/travelling-to-us-check-if-you-need-esta.html

Flight Reviews
http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/flight-review-cathay-pacific-hk-lax-12.html

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/great-resource-for-kid-friendly-travel.html

Texas 2012 Road Trip Blog Posts
Fort Worth

Children's Area at Heathrow T4

Look what my mum saw at Heathrow Terminal 4.

Has anyone been?  Is it good?  Let me know!

Meanwhile here's a great link to kid facilities at other UK airports:

http://blog.kidstravel2.com/2011/06/just-how-family-friendly-are-uk-airports/

Marrakech with a 16th mth old

Take a leaf out of Ortal's book and head for exotic climes with your toddler. Here's her review of a trip to Marrakech with her gorgeous 16 mth old Vincent:

Ortal & Vincent in the grounds of the Koranic School

Marrakech is super baby friendly and accessible, everyone wants to stop you!
You need to know your child as it's very busy and not great to let them out for a run when you are in the market, but if you know they will be distracted by the sights and sounds; horses, camels, motorbikes, cooking smells, bustle etc then it's doable.

Speaking French helps when travelling with a child there but not essential.

Flight & Airport

• Booked flights online with Ryanair to Marrakech
• Checked-in online which was quick and easy
• Priority boarding on plane
• Made to drink the water in Vincent's sippy cup at Security
• Vincent was very well behaved on the plane (pack carefully - have snacks, books, games etc with you)
• Expect a long queue at immigration on Morrocco side

Accommodation

We stayed at the very reasonably priced Riad Marrakech Puchka:

http://www.en.riad-marrakech-puchka.com/

We booked the hotel by email and taxi transfers were provided from the airport.  As there was nobody else at the Riad, we all had our own rooms with ensuite, very large and beautiful design.  The hotel provided a travel cot.

The hotel has a plunge pool and jacuzzi.

There is no official 'restaurant' but you can eat your meals there if you give advance notice.

It is lovely and this was my 3rd visit.  However, having now met the owners, I wouldn't return as they are quite strange and were very rude to my mum!

Things to do

• Check the weather before you go.  I had seen it wasn't going to be great so I found: http://www.kawkab-jeux.com/  We spent 2 rainy afternoons at this play centre, probably Vincent's favourite part of the trip!

• The Jardin Marjorelle continues to be one of my favourite places in the city, it is very good for a child to run about although the attendants did worry about Vincent touching the cacti!

• The Saadian Tombs are a great sight and historicaly fascinating but we didn't linger as it wasn't too child friendly and was very busy
• The best places I visited with the boy in tow were the Koranic school and next door, Marrakech museum which was very safe for him to run and crawl around, there was lots of space and it was safely enclosed so I could drink it all in

Flight Review: Virgin Premium Economy London to Hong Kong

Who:  Me & Sky (14 mths)
Where:  VS 200 London Heathrow to Hong Kong, Premium Economy
How Long?  11.5 hours, departs 9:30pm arrive 5:00pm the next day

Precheck In
I chose Virgin's Premium Economy over BA as I was able to book an aisle bassinet seat.  For some reason, BA would only let me have a middle bassinet seat (no thank you)

Check In
It's a bit of a scramble at T3's Virgin Check In area.  Designated desks for Premium Economy.

Security
This was dreadful.  We were ushered into a 'Family Lane' which despite being half the size of the normal queue, took twice as long due to parents being stopped to 'test' milk, unpack strollers, tend to crying babies etc.

Onboard
I took the stroller to the Gate and was given Priority Boarding as I had a baby.  I transferred her to my Ergo baby carrier and then trudged aboard.  The plane was an old A340-600 but I do seem to equate old planes with bigger seats.
Seating was 2-4-2 and I had the aisle seat of a '2'.  As luck would have it, there were some empty seats in Premium and the guy seating next to me, moved leaving me with an empty seat beside me.

Seats in Premium Economy are roomy and recline quite far back.  The seat was not in the best condition however and the tray table was dirty.

The Premium Economy pack contains an eyemask, pen, earplugs, socks and toothbrush.

The stewardesses were helpful and filled up her bottle with milk whenever requested.  They weren't overly attentive (as I have experienced on other flights) but would appear quickly if I pressed the call button.

Food was pretty awful and I wasn't offered anything for Sky. Luckily I shared my meal with her and had packed snacks.  The drinks service was good and they regularly offered water.

I hadn't packed much to keep her entertained. She was quite happy to crawl around at my feet, eat the inflight magazines, mess around with the window blind and play with the remote controls.

Bassinet/Sky Cot
You need to request this before you fly and then keep requesting at Check-In/Onboard to make sure they allocate you one.

Virgin's Sky Cot was an odd contraption that looked like a sunken car seat.  On the outbound flight she wasn't that comfortable in it but on this flight, she slept a good 7 hours.  I did have to spend about 10 minutes rocking the bassinet and also draping us both in a blanket to provide darkness!  Check here for dimension's of the baby cots and also weight/height restrictions.

Don't panic... she always sleeps with her comforter over her face!

On landing in Hong Kong, my stroller was at the door of the plane although I did have to wait about 10 minutes for it.

Read my review of Heathrow's Terminal 3 here:

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.hk/2012/12/heathrow-terminal-3-review-aka-utterly.html

Here's what I packed in my Hand Luggage on this flight:

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.hk/2012/12/what-i-packed-in-hand-luggage-12-hour.html

Ideas for weekend away from HK: Taipei!

Supermum of 2 boys and pregnant with her 3rd, my friend Franny hit up Taiwan's Taipei for a long weekend from Hong Kong and here's her review below:

Taipei is a fantastic Asian city to visit with a family, everyone should go!  My husband bravely took our 3.5 year old, 21 month old and 6 months pregnant wife to Taiwan for 4 nights at the end of October and I would whole-heartedly recommend it for a short family holiday.

Flight
The flight from Hong Kong is just over an hour, the city is easily reachable from the airport, and literally everything we did was very very easy

Hotel
We stayed at the Riviera Hotel  It's a business hotel that I wouldn't normally have considered, but it was recommended by a friend who has been staying there regularly for a decade, and as we booked last minute, a lot of the bigger international chains had no availability for the family sized room we needed. The Riviera's executive rooms have an outer room where we had a cot and a single bed set up, which was separated from the decent-sized bedroom by the bathroom and a short corridor.  For a young family it was perfect as there was no door to close between the two, my husband and I could see through to where the children were, but we could actually have an evening, watch TV and hold a conversation without having to worry about waking the boys.  The breakfast buffet was good and the hotel had a cute rooftop garden growing vegetables and herbs for use in the kitchens.  The hotel is opposite the city's beautifully maintained and very interesting Fine Arts Park.  It was also very reasonably priced.

Getting Around
We only took taxis to and from the airport, using the MRT for everything else as it was so easy, even with a pushchair.  There are well-signed lifts and escalators.  There is no HK style scrum to get on the trains, just orderly lines.  People leapt out of their seats when they saw I was pregnant and the boys were entertained and given gifts by people on virtually every journey.  The MRT also produces a fantastic map of Taipei which is worth getting early on in your trip - we didn't find an English version until the last few days.  The train lines go a long way and it is very easy to get out of the city and into the hills.  The city itself is very green too with loads of gorgeous parks.

Things to do
Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park was fantastic for the boys: flying a cheap kite in front of Taipei 101, lots of bubble-blowing and ice cream, and some very impressive displays of breakdancing to gawk at.

Taipei Zoo - Asia's biggest apparently - was busy on a sunny Sunday, but at only $HK50 for entry, children under 12 free, we couldn't really complain.

You can get a gondola directly from the Zoo up to the tea-growing area, Maokong which was a lovely cool and breezy spot to enjoy some Taiwanese food and tea.

I would have spent more time at Taipei's famous night markets given half the chance, but they were a bit too crowded for 2 hungry little boys.  They happily stuffed themselves on sticks of fruit, but didn't really experiment further than that.

Public toilets are numerous, clean and best of all, often featured a family toilet, with a normal sized loo, mini-loos for toddlers and changing tables all in one large room.

What I packed in hand luggage: 12 hour flight to London with 13 month old

Who:  Me & Sky (13 mths)
Where:  London to Hong Kong
What:  Virgin VS200 Premium Economy, departs 9:25pm arrives 5:00pm next day
How Long?  11 hours

I took my Maclaren Volo stroller to the gate then switched Sky to the Ergo. Below is a list of what was packed in my hand luggage bag (which they actually weighed at the Virgin check-in desk - this has never happened to me before!)

• 2 empty milk bottles (I asked for milk on plane)
• 1 baby book
• 3 dummies
• 1 nappy pack with 5 nappies, nappy sacks, 1 half empty pack of wipes
• Spare sleepsuit & vest
• Spare plastic bag
• Food bib
• Cereal bars & fruit snacks
• Baby's teddy
• Grobag
• Baby medicine (3 sachets of Calpol, 3 sachets of Nurofen, 1 bottle Piriton)
• Tissues
• Eyemask
• Notepad & Pen
• Passports & airline loyalty cards
• Chewing gum
• Camera
• Keys, phone, wallet

Heathrow Terminal 3 Review - aka utterly rubbish for kids

I have recently flown with Virgin from London to Hong Kong which means I had the pleasure (?) of departing from T3.  Unlike T5 which still gleams of newness, T3 is very rough around the edges and not that pleasant a travel experience.

Firstly it's a myriad of elevators and walkways from the carpark to actually enter T3.  Virgin has a huge area for check-in which can be a bit of a bun fight as there's no easy queueing system.  Unless you are flying Upper Class, where you are whisked away to a secret swanky lounge and your own security, you then trudge around the corner to join the masses at security.

On seeing a lone, anguished parent and a screaming child, a friendly face appeared and ushered me through to the 'Family Lane'.  Big mistake.. huge...  If you have this choice, don't take it!  I promise you, even if the queues for security on the other lanes seem longer, you will get through faster.  In the Family Lane, everyone is taking 10 minutes to unbolt their stroller, tend to screaming children, taste all their milk etc

Once through, there are the usual shops and a few good eateries.  There is no designated children's play area that some of the other airports have.  As mentioned in another post, I recently received an 'Airport Angel' card through Natwest and I had googled to see what lounge that would give me access to.

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.hk/2012/11/airport-lounges-relaxing-way-to-start.html

The No 1 Traveller lounge is pretty good, nowhere near as posh as the actual Business Class lounge but there was free food & drink and lots of room for my baby to crawl around.  If you are travelling with older kids there is a family room with a TV and table football.

Here is Heathrow Airport's Guide to their facilities across all Terminals:

http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/childrens-facilities.html

Keeping babies amused on a flight

The internet is awash with people's advice on keeping babies amused on a flight.  I'm about to do a 12 hour flight with my 13 mth old and am already dreading it.  It's that awkward age where TV won't occupy them for long and THEY JUST WANT TO CRAWL/TODDLE AROUND THE CABIN!

Here's some good ideas for keeping kids amused on a plane:

http://www.deliciousbaby.com/journal/2007/nov/16/ten-tips-keeping-toddler-occupied-plane/

I particularly liked No 10.... 'Barf Bag Puppets'!

Super kid friendly Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport

There's nothing we love more than a child friendly airport.  There are those that have it (hello Schiphol) and those that do not (Heathrow Terminal 3 I'm talking to you).

My parents recently transited through Amsterdam's Schiphol and took some pictures of the great facilities on offer.  If you want to encourage people to use your capital's airport as a hub then this is what you need to do (hello Heathrow i'm talking to you again)

Schipohol Airport has a large area called Holland Bulevard.  Apart from a casino (!) and a museum that closes at 5pm, there are some themed rest areas designed to look like a lounge. 

 There is a library with both adult and children's books and seats with video screens. 

Great kids play area

Baby Facilities

There is a large room with several curtained pods containing seating and a cot. There is also a kitchen area !!

For more information, check out:

http://www.schiphol.nl/Travellers/AtSchiphol/AirportFacilities/TravelWithKids/InfantsAndTravel/BabyCareLounge.htm

Review of Princesa Yaiza Hotel, Lanzarote

This review comes courtesy of my fabulous friend Deborah who travelled to Lanzarote in September with her husband, twin girls (3.5yo) and baby boy (6 mths).

Booking
Booked direct with hotel via telephone +34 928 519 300
Flights booked through http://www.easyjet.com/en
Transfers organised through the Princesa Yaiza who also provided car seats.

Room
The Royal Kiko Suite was amazing.  The suite had 2 bedrooms; one with a King sized bed and the other, a 'child themed room' with 2 single beds.  In there, the hotel had gone to the trouble of putting 2 pink beanbag chairs for the girls as well as a kids' welcome kit.
The suite also had a lounge area and a kitchenette with steriliser, kettle, sink and big fridge.  In the lounge, the hotel provided a lovely cot with a mobile.

 Children's room in the Royal Kiko Suite

Baby Stuff!
This is where the hotel excels.  They provided the following, all included in the price of the room:

• Changing table
• Bath seat
• Monitor
• Steriliser
• High chair
• Simple buggy
• Bathroom step-up
• Baby cook
• DVD player/ Playstation 3

Kikoland

http://www.princesayaiza.com/en/kikoland/facilities

This is kids' paradise with multiple kids pools, playground, soft play and Kids Club.  The Kids Club looked a little bit grubby but there were lots of activities going on.  They run a Kiko disco every night for the kids and there were lots of shows e.g. Disney Princess show which the girls enjoyed

Food

There is an amazing breakfast buffet.  However, there aren't many inexpensive dinner options and most restaurants don't open until 7.30pm

In conclusion... on the positive side

We would definitely go back. The hotel is extremely family friendly and good value for money (we went off-peak).  The staff are fantastic and make an effort to learn all the children's names.  It's the little extras like having an onsite photographer who can do family portraits (no obligation to buy) that make this place special.

...on the negative side

Don't expect a super luxe, contemporary hotel.  The hotel is nice but could do with a bit of freshen up.  Also, the children's suites are in the family block which is over the road from the pools, restaurants etc.  The hotel provides a decorated subway to get there but it is still a long walk and therefore not so easy to  pop back up quickly to your room.

Product Revew: Baby Polar Gear Booster Seat

What do you do when there isn't a highchair?  Feeding a wriggly baby on your lap isn't much fun. 

First we tried the Gro Travel Harness. It's a clever contraption: essentially a cloth harness that you can strap to the chair. However, although its incredibly lightweight it's really not that comfortable for a child to be in for too long. 

So we upgraded to the Polar Gear Booster.  More bulky, but much more comfortable. It has the same seat as the Gro harness, but it is all joined on to a booster cushion. This makes it much more comfortable and stable. It was a great piece of kit on holiday, and also came in handy on a theatre trip.

Available to buy online at lots of places.  Check out Polar Gear's website

www.polargear.com

Retails on Amazon.co.uk for £18, link is below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-Polar-Gear-Booster-Seat/dp/B0037253S2

Flight Review: American Airlines LAX to Dallas FW (3.5 hrs)

Who:  Me, Daisy (3.5), Sky (1) and husband
Where:  American Airlines 2450, LAX to Dallas Fort Worth
How long?  Approx 3.5 hours

If you are transiting from International to Domestic at LAX, allow yourself plenty of time.  It took us approx 1 hour to pass through Immigration, collect our bag and then join the lengthy queue at Customs.  It is only a 5 minute walk from Tom Bradley International Terminal to the American Airlines Domestic Terminal.

Check In
Checked in our bags and received our tickets at the Transit desk.  Once at the Domestic Terminal, we were told our stroller was too big and we had to check this in (always make sure have your baby carrier on hand in case this happens!)

Onboard
The flight was on time and we were all seated together (take note Cathay Pacific....)  There were no bassinet options so we kept our baby in the Ergo baby carrier. 
No entertainment so make sure you bring your own books & DVDs
You can buy food & drink onboard or do what we did and buy an overpriced sandwich at LAX
Friendly & courteous staff
This 737 had a 3-3 configuration and our Economy seats were fairly roomy.

 Keep your baby carrier with you, in case you have to check in your stroller

Airport Lounges - a relaxing way to start your trip

One of the perks of flying with my husband is his Marco Polo Gold Card.  When I'm alone with the kids, I've normally got them crawling around the floor of the gate eating Starbucks muffins.  With my other half, he's got access to the Cathay lounge at Hong Kong Airport and to One World lounges globally.

Whilst they won't always let us all in (I think the rule is one guest), having lounge access can ease the stress of a long flight ahead.

Our recent experience in HK's Cathay lounge, ahead of a long 12 hour flight was fantastic. I got the girls fed and one of the waitresses continually brought over snacks and water for them and gave me food to take in my bag for the journey.  I was able to get my sneaky glass of wine in, steal lots of magazines and water for the flight and generally relax.

Even better was during our 2 hour layover in LAX - the American Airlines Admirals Club (part of One World) has a Children's Playroom.  Absolutely invaluable after a long flight, the kids were able to let loose and we could relax with complimentary food, drinks & wifi.

Children's Playroom - American Airlines Admirals Club - LAX

Don't miss out on lounges...  regardless of what class you fly, it's worth checking:

• Does your airline loyalty card allow you access into a lounge?
• Does your credit card allow you into a lounge e.g. some Amex Cathay holders can access Priority Pass Lounges http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_HK/ffp/cobrand
• Does the airport have a lounge that you can pay to use? This could be worthwhile if you have a lengthy delay
• If you fly economy regularly, is it worth you buying a Priority Pass or Airport Angel card with access to lounges worldwide? 

https://www.prioritypass.com/ 
http://www.cpp.co.uk/airport-lounge/

Flight Review: Cathay Pacific HK-LAX 12 hrs - Premium Economy

Who:  Me, Daisy (3.5 y), Sky (1y) and Husband
What:  Cathay Pacific CX 884/5 Hong Kong - Los Angeles

Cathay have recently introduced their Premium Economy seats on selected routes.  On our recent US roadtrip, we decided to pay the extra on our 12 hour (15 hrs on return) flight to LAX.  I often wonder if it's worth paying the extra but in Cathay's instance, I would say yes.

Pre-check In
Some advice - hassle both your travel agent and the airline to make sure you are seated together and if you have a baby, seated in the bulkhead.  A week in advance of my trip, I called my travel agent and discovered that we weren't all sat together.  I am fed up of this happening, I don't understand why airlines can't allocate families to sit together on booking?  I decided not to let this stress me out as long as one of my 3 seats was in the bulkhead, surely at check-in or onboard people would swap with us....

Check In
As my husband is a Marco Polo Gold member, we used the Business class check in (there is also designated Premium Economy Check In).  The check in assistant wasn't that helpful. He couldn't get us seated together but promised we did have one bulkhead seat.  Unfortunately when we got on the plane, we realised that was not the case....

Boarding
Premium Economy can board first with Business & Marco Polo members although I do find with small kids, they'll often give you priority boarding regardless of class

Onboard
Premium Economy is sandwiched in between Business and Economy and takes up about 6 rows. On our 777, the configuration was 2-4-2.
Seats are noticeably larger and allow you to move them quite far back.  As in Business, you get served drinks before take off.
Surprise surprise, our 1 allocated bulkhead seat (the other 2 seats were in the row behind) had no bassinet table in front of it.  Luckily some kind passengers agreed to swap around.  However, having paid extra for Premium Economy and also being Gold Marco Polo, I do find this unacceptable that the check in staff were inept at ensuring that the only baby in the Premium Economy section had the bassinet seat.  Rant over.
The Cathay entertainment system was excellent with a varied selection for adults & kids.  You also get the Business Class noise cancelling headphones (useful for cancelling our your toddler).

 Bigger seats in Premium Economy

 Don't forget to pre-order your child's meal.  This was spaghetti with meatballs.  Quite a lot of sugar in the meal although I did confiscate the Snickers before she saw it.

We just about squashed our 10.5kg one year old in the Bassinet. 

 

Premium Economy passengers receive a small pack by Goods of Desire containing eyemask, earplugs, toothbrush and socks.

My toddler was also given a Cathay Kids pack with lots of stickers.

Hiring a car for your roadtrip

For the last 3 years we have taken the kids on US roadtrips.  Unlike a European roadtrip, this means my husband can go all out with his pick up truck fantasies.  My only rule is that he has to be capable of parking it.

• When choosing a car hire firm, it's worth checking any loyalty programmes you belong to and see if you can get any special deals e.g. Gold Marco Polo members are entitled to a free car upgrade if they book on Avis
• Call the car hire company and ask if that really is the best price they can give.  We managed to get a huge discount just for asking this.
• You can pick up & drop off from any city although it will be cheaper if you do it from the same place.
• Request all your kids carseat necessities
• Request DVD player if necessary
• Print booking confirmation
• Pack drivers licence

Actually picking up your car can be quite a long, tiring feat.  If you have just come in off a long flight and can't face a drive, don't do it. Stay at an airport hotel and pick up the car in the morning.

On our Texas roadtrip, we picked up our car in downtown Fort Worth and it took us approx 1 hour to get everything sorted.  Even though we had all our paperwork printed, the customer services assistant still seemed to be querying the price we were given. There are also lots of decisions you need to make in terms of insurance, designated drivers etc.  In addition, the car didn't come with the child seats installed, instead we had to carry them outside and put them in ourselves.

US Road Trip Planning: 2 Weeks in New England with toddler - Planning

By Georgina Sturmer

US Road Trip Review:  2 Weeks in New England with a Toddler

Planning

We chose New England as we love going to the USA on holiday.  It wasn't too far (only 7 hours flight and only 5 hours time difference) and the driving distances are relatively short between destinations.  We were there in early September which was ideal as older children have gone back to school, but it is before the fall 'leaf peeping' tourist season.

We booked most of our accommodation in advance and opted for suites (often known as 'efficiencies' in more budget American hotels) so that we could have a separate sleeping area from our toddler.

Read more about our New England Adventure:

Flight Review with British Airways to Boston
http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.hk/2012/10/flight-review-british-airways-london.html

Beginning in Boston (Part One)
http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/10/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new.html

Midcoast Maine (Part Two)
http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new_2.html

Relaxing in Cape Cod (Part Three)
http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new_8080.html

US Road Trip Part 1: 2 Weeks in New England with Toddler - Boston

By Georgina Sturmer

US Road Trip Review:  2 Weeks in New England with a Toddler

Beginning in Boston 

Boston is a great city to begin a trip.  The airport is a short journey into town, you don’t need a car at all and it’s easy to get around with a buggy. 

Hotel

We spent two nights at the John Jefferies House in (www.johnjeffrieshouse.com).  The hotel is in a great location and is pretty good value for central Boston, with suites available at around $200.  The breakfast was basic (just some pots of coffee and a few pastries) but that suited us fine.  Our room was small and dark and the hotel was difficult to access with a baby and suitcases (a flight of steps to get into the main entrance) and the staff where pretty unfriendly.  We wouldn’t stay there again, but it is nicely located. 

Activities

• The Freedom Trail is a yellow line painted on the pavement that guides you on your own walking tour around the city.  It is buggy friendly and takes you around all the main sites.  We stopped off in Quincy Market for coffee, and in North End for lunch.
• The original Cheers Bar is located in Boston.  Total tourist trap, but a fun place to pose for some photos and have an easy toddler friendly meal.  Boston Public Garden is lovely to walk around and play, our toddler loved playing with the ducks at the ‘Make Way for Ducklings’ sculpture

Read more about our New England Adventures:

Planning our New England Road Trip

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new.html

Flight Review with British Airways to Boston

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.hk/2012/10/flight-review-british-airways-london.html

Midcoast Maine (Part Two)

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new_2.html

Relaxing in Cape Cod (Part Three)

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new_8080.html

US Road Trip Part 3: 2 Weeks in New England with a Toddler - Cape Cod

By Georgina Sturmer

Relaxing in Cape Cod (Part Three)
There's a reason why people up sticks and head to Cape Cod in the summer.  We were only there for 5 days and we saw a collection of stunning beaches and lovely towns.  We were looking for the toddler friendly 'holy grail' of a small town by the sea with a high street, beach and decent accommodation within walking distance.  We opted to stay in Hyannis, the commercial hub of Cape Cod.

Hotel
We searched through the beach houses available via www.Homeway.com and found Bay View Cottage www.capecodbayviewcottage.com  The cottage is a (smallish) 2 bedroom house that is technically in West Yarmouth but within walking distance of all the main attractions in Hyannis and just a few hundred yards from the small Bayview beach (which has a small set of swings).  It was perfect for us, and the owner, Patty, was incredibly helpful - she even babysat for us.

Activities
We spent most of our time playing on the beach, eating and drinking.  Our favouites in Hyannis were Fresh Ketch www.freshketch.com - great lobster mac & cheese) and Spanky's Clam Shack (average food but lovely view at the marina www.spankysclamshack.com)  Further afield in Chatham we had lovely sandwiches at Chatham Cookware and an outstanding lunch at Hangar B www.hangarbcapecod.com  The beach at Chatham was absolutely stunning, although parking can be a bit of a pain.

Read more about our New England Adventure:

Planning our New England Road Trip

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new.html

Flight Review with British Airways to Boston

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.hk/2012/10/flight-review-british-airways-london.html

Boston (Part One)

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/10/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new.html

Midcoast Maine (Part Two)

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new_2.html

US Road Trip Part 2: 2 weeks in New England with Toddler - Maine

Mid Coast Maine (part two)
Coastal Maine is stunning, peppered with quaint seaside towns, beaches and lobster shacks.  We spent 2 nights in Kennebunkport, 2 nights in Portland and 3 nights in Bar Harbour.

** Boston to Portland
We drove up the coast, taking in the pretty Nubble Lighthouse in York and the cute high street in Ogunquit.  Our first impressions on arrival in Portland weren't great, as it seemed a bit desolate but once we had wandered around we could see that it is a fun, trendy town on the sea, more gritty than the cute towns you pass along the way.  With hindsight we might not stay there again with a toddler, as we didn't get to fully enjoy the cool bar and restaurant scene on offer.

Hotel
We stayed at the Marriott Residence inn
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/pdxri-residence-inn-portland-downtown-riverplace/
I would recommend highly - had a huge room, great breakfast, laundry room, nice indoor pool to splash around in with our toddler and helpful staff.  The only downside is the car park is a short walk around the corner and there is an extra charge ($12 per day)

Activities
We were hoping to go and see the Portland Sea Dogs play baseball but decided against it due to the weather.  I also think that it would be more suitable for older children who are happier to stay still.

• We ate and drank well in Portland, although it is more geared to trendy young people than families with children.  Highlights included beers at Three Dollar Dewey http://www.threedollardeweys.com/, chips at Duckfat http://www.duckfat.com/ and dinner at White Cap Grille http://www.whitecapgrille.com/
• Shopping at the Maine Mall, which isn't too far out of town.  The carousel and 'Build a Bear' workshop were a hit with our little girl
• Portland Children's Museum http://www.kitetails.org/ was a definite highlight.  It's not so much a museum, as a really fun educational play area.

**Portland to Bar Harbour

We carried on up the coast to Bar Harbor, stopping off at the Maine State Prison Showroom in Thomaston.  Definitely worth a look for some interesting souvenirs, followed by lunch at Watermans Beach Lobster http://www.watermansbeachlobster.com/  Enjoy the pecan pie but beware of portaloos!

Hotel

We spent 3 nights at the Quimby House B&B in Bar Harbor.  Lovely place just slightly set back from teh main street, with very reasonably priced efficiency suites.  The hotel had a small outside play area and was right next door to a friendly organic supermarket.

Activities

• We drove into Acadia National Park, but the weather was pretty poor when we were there so we didn't see many of the sights
• There are plenty of boat trips taking tourists out to see the lobsters, seals and whales.  We weren't sure whether our toddler could handle a long boat trip so we opted for the shortest one that we could find.  The Miss Samantha boat tour lasts 1 hr 45 mins, although unfortunately that was too long for us as our little girl cried most of the way and puked halfway through....
• Bar Harbor itself has lots of nice little shops and great places to eat.  Our favourites were breakfast at 2 cats http://www.2catsbarharbor.com/intro.html and Jordans (both on Cottage Street) and takeaway pizza from Rosalie's.

** Bar Harbor to Kennebunkport

We headed back south again and rented a cabin for one night, just to break the journey at Point Lookout http://www.visitpointlookout.com/, near Lincolnsville.  We hadn't booked in advance but it was a great choice.  We had a really sweet 2 bedroom cabin in the woods. There is no restaurant on site but there is a gym.  The following day we headed on to Kennebunkport, stopping off in Freeport for some shopping and a delicious lunch at Linda Bean's http://lindabeansmainelobster.com/

Hotel

In Kennebunkport we spent 2 nights at the Nonantum Resort.  This is a lovely old fashioned American family hotel and we had a suite in the main part of the house.  We would definitely recommend the hotel although the outdoor pool is quite small and the lift is very annoying - it's tiny and so old that you have to call someone from reception to operate it for you.  The hotel restaurant was in range of our baby monitor so we took advantage and ate there both nights.  The food was great and there was a lovely, friendly atmosphere with live music.

Activities

Kennebunkport is another sweet coastal town, with the added cachet of being home to the Bush family, along with some other very wealthy Americans.  We just enjoyed wandering around taking in the peaceful scenery and beautiful (massive!) houses.

Read more about our New England Road Trip:

Planning our New England Adventure

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new.html

Flight Review with British Airways to Boston

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.hk/2012/10/flight-review-british-airways-london.html

Beginning in Boston (Part One)

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/10/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new.html

Relaxing in Cape Cod (Part Three)

http://jetlagandmayhem.blogspot.com/2012/11/us-road-trip-review-2-weeks-in-new_8080.html

Kids Travel Blog Recommendation - Baby Loves to travel

I've found a great kids travel site called:

http://www.babylovestotravel.com/

It's written by an Australian lady with 2 kids living in the UAE with her Canadian husband. She has loads of great articles and Travel Questions.  Here's an interesting one on coping with jetlag:

http://www.babylovestotravel.com/airtravel/little-observations-on-jet-lag-and-toddlers/

I want this! Kids Travel Sickness Lollipops

Keep your kids quiet and ease travel sickness?  Yes please

Every toddler loves a lollipop and what better to keep them quiet on a plane than give them one of these on take off....

I bought a pack for my upcoming flight to LA this weekend.  Will keep you posted as to how effective they are.

Weekend away from London: week in Cornwall with 17 mth old

By Georgina Sturmer

Sometimes you just need to get away from London without the hassle of flights and jetlag.  In October, however, you can't rely on sunshine, so we wanted to stay where we knew that we could entertain our toddler, come rain or shine.  We spent 4 nights at Bedruthan Steps in Mawgan Porth, followed by 2 nights at the Red Barn near Bude.  Here's what we thought:

Bedruthan Steps
http://bedruthan.com/
This hotel bills itself as a luxury family friendly hotel with a stunning view across the Atlantic.  And they really know what they are talking about.  We stayed in a villa suite (with a separate room with 2 bunkbeds and space for a cot) which had French windows leading directly out to an outdoor play area. The food is excellent, with one restaurant catering all day long for family meals (with bibs, plastic cups and sippy cups all available) and another restaurant open for grown ups to enjoy a nice meal without the kids.  Jamie Oliver's Fifteen is nearby, as are lots of gorgeous beaches and other good places to eat. We had a few minor gripes, for example, there are lots of stairs to get from the main hotel area down to the villa rooms which is a bit of a hassle with a little one.  But all in all, this is the perfect place to relax and have a proper holiday.

View from room 111 at Bedruthan Steps

The Red Barn
We found this place http://www.venn-farm.co.uk/redbarn-01.asp on the Baby Friendly Boltholes website http://www.babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk/ and stayed there for 2 nights after Bedruthan Steps.  After the ease of Bedruthan, it was a bit of a shock to the system to have to cook for ourselves (and our toddler!) again but other than that, the Red Barn was lovely.  The main living area is spacious and very stylish, with 2 decent sized bedrooms (one Master with a double and one Twin with space for a cot) and a lovely bathroom.  The whole place has been kitted out to a really high standard the owners obviously take great pride in what they do.  The kitchen is lovely to cook in, and the lounge has a great selection of DVDs, games and books although the TV is a bit small.  If you're lucky enough to have sunshine, there is a BBQ on the decking and if not there is a fire in the lounge which kicks out some serious heat.  We were provided with a travel cot and a highchair, and stairgates which were incredibly useful.  Our little girl loved playing in the garden and visiting the chickens each morning to find eggs for breakfast.  If you do choose to stay here, and we would recommend it, just be careful as you drive up to the property.  The single lane track gives way to an even narrower driveway, so just hope that you don't bump into anyone coming in the opposite direction.

Four Seasons Family Travel Blog

Did you know that the Four Seasons has a family travel blog?  Neither did I.

But it's actually very interesting.  Of course it's a walking advert for Four Seasons Hotels.  And yes, the contributors are Four Seasons employees who probably get to travel at discounted rates and have top notch service thrown at them.  However, they do offer some interesting ideas on where to go with kids

http://family.fourseasons.com/

Jetset Babies - Baby supplies shipped to your holiday destination

Here's an interesting idea....  A company that will ship baby supplies to your holiday destination.
I came across this website by accident and if you are travelling within the US and concerned about luggage allowance etc, you should definitely check it out.

http://www.jetsetbabies.com/index.htm

The company offers a wide range of goods from food & drink, baby toys, bath time, diapers to pool toys.  Simply check with your hotel that they will receive a package on your behalf and then place your order at least 14 days prior to your visit.

The website mainly focuses on US travel but it does offer shipping internationally.

Trip Review: Sri Lanka with a 1 year old

A big thank you to Samar for her wonderful report on travelling to Sri Lanka with a 1 year old.  Sri Lanka has long been on my bucket list with dreams of curries, elephant safaris, tea plantations and golden beaches....

Sri Lanka Review

We decided to go to the Cultural Triangle as we're a little bored of beach vacations.  The biggest issue with this is the long drive from the airport.  150km takes 4-5 hours.  We specifically booked flights that meant we would be driving during my daughter's nap/sleep times so in the end the drive wasn't that bad.  Basically the roads are single lane, poorly paved, if at all, and all going through little towns so slow traffic.  But lots of fun/interesting stuff to see along the way.

We stayed at Ulagalla Resort, an eco friendly place on 50 acres near Anaradhapura:

i-escape.com/ulagalla-resort/overview

We chose it because we wanted a private pool villa and loved the rest of the atmosphere.  We were not disappointed!  Gorgeous place - lots of natural wildlife - iguanas, monkeys, birds, peacocks all around us, and the most amazing staff of any resort we've ever stayed.  They would sweep in and take our daughter as soon as she started to fuss and walk her around and play with her so we could eat in peace. She loved all of them. The food was delicious and the chef prepared all my daughter's salt-free with no problem. The veg is all from their on-site organic garden.  One day we even went with the chef to pick our own veggies from the garden and then had a cooking demonstration.

The sights were totally worth it and we were able to do them quite easily with our 1 year old.  Sigirya - a palace on a mountain known as the Machu Picchu of the East was our favourite - we climbed the 1300 steps with our daughter in a carrier.  Anaradhapura and the cave temples at Dhumbulla were also fantastic.

Loved our trip - wish there was a direct flight to Colombo (currently you have to stop in Singapore) or we would have booked another one - this time to the beaches perhaps.  People of SL are truly wonderful - friendly and warm and helpful.  Would definitely recommend that people go before the roads are paved and it gets busier - we didn't see many tourists and loved that!

More Hand Luggage Tips from www.traveling-kids.blogspot.com

This lady writes a great travel blog.  If you are travelling to Canada, make sure you give it a good read as she is based out of Vancouver and has lots of advice.

I'm really trying to pack the best hand luggage of my life for our Texas trip next week!  Here's the advice from Traveling-Kids.Blogspot.com

http://www.traveling-kids.blogspot.hk/2011/01/what-to-pack-in-your-hand-luggage-when.html

Family Friendly Chiang Mai

I've mentioned in a previous post that Dragonair have started direct flights from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai - hooray!

Sassy Mama recently stayed at Le Meridiens, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.  Check out the article here:

http://sassymamahk.com/sawadika-family-friendly-chiang-mai-and-chiang-rai/

On offer are temples, markets, Tiger Kingdom, Monkey Centre, Crocodile Farms....

For older kids you can't beat the elephant trekking and a day at thai cookery school

If you have unlimited cash, stay at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai.  Their Gecko Club welcomes children 4-12 and offers complimentary games and activities daily.  If you wish to nurture your own culinary genius, why not pack your kids off to the Gecko Club and enrol yourself at their onsite Cooking School?

Toddler milk on vacation

My sister gave me a great piece of advice following her recent New England Road Trip.

If you are travelling with a milk drinking toddler, pack some 'Growing Up Milk' in your suitcase.

There are lots of milk products on the market but I have just bought:

Whilst liquid restrictions mean I might not be able to take this on the plane, at least I'll have this at the ready once I get my luggage.  It will save you having to make a dash to the nearest supermarket or even wait for room service to bring up milk.  And if you're even more organised, test it out on your toddler before your trip!

Five Star Kids

My great friend Adam recently chanced upon an Australian kids travel magazine in an airline lounge.  Entitled 'Five Star Kids', it has some great ideas on where & how to travel with your kids super luxe style.

There's an online version here:

http://www.luxurytravelmag.com.au/FiveStarKids

I am particularly inspired by Bronwyn Ridgeway's article on travels in India:

http://www.luxurytravelmag.com.au/India

Luxury houseboat - yes please!

Packing List: 2 week US roadtrip with 16 mth old

Who:  My sister Georgina, her husband and 16 mth old daughter
What:  2 weeks travelling around Boston & New England in September

What I Packed in Suitcases
Clothing - Vests, sleepsuits, day clothes, socks, buggy blanket
Buggy - Citi Mini Baby Jogger
Travel Highchair - Baby Polar Gear Booster Seat
Swimming - Swim nappies, UV swimsuit, inflatable ring
Changing - Nappies, nappy sacks, cotton wool, baby wipes, hand gel, disposable changing mats
Toiletries - Nail scissors, bath thermometer, calpol, teething granules, Karvol, shampoo, bubble bath, hairbrush, toothpaste
Toys - Couple of soft toys, favourite book and stacking cups.  The cups are so versatile as you can play with them in the hotel, bath or at the beach.
Food & Drink - Bottles, bottle washing up brush, spoons, toddler milk, finger food, sippy cup, bibs.  Also an ice pack, tupperware and small freezer bag.  Most of the places we stayed at had a freezer so I would keep the ice pack in there when were in the room and then use this to pack snacks & meals.
Baby Monitor - BT150 which can play music and displays temperature
Shoes - sandals, jelly shoes (which she refused to wear)
Sleeping - Grobags, travel cot sheets
Reins - Littlelife Toddler Animal Daysack (which we didn't end up using as she is not yet steady enough on her feet)

What I wished I had packed
-  Car Window sunblind.  We didn't think of bringing ours and I really wish I had done to keep the sun out of her eyes on long car journeys.

What I didn't bother taking
Car Seat - we just rented one directly with our Hertz car rental
Travel cot - we booked most of our accommodation in advance and in each case we had a crib (cot) or pack & play (travel cot)

What I packed in hand luggage
Travel documentation - Passport, insurance details, red book
Clothing - change of clothes for us all.  When she did vomit onboard, my husband was absolutely covered in sick
Changing - Nappies, nappy sacks, baby wipes, hand gel, disposable changing mats
Food & Drink - Bottles, toddler milk (preordered Boots airside), snacks, sippy cups

Flight Review: British Airways - London Heathrow to Boston with 16 mth old

Who:  My sister Georgina, with her husband and 16 month old toddler
What:  British Airways BA0239 departs Heathrow 7.30pm and arrives 9.40pm.  The return leg BA0238 departs Boston 8am and arrives Heathrow 7.25pm

Check-In and Departures
Heathrow Terminal 5 is pretty easy to navigate for families:

• Family friendly lanes at security
• Baby milk and food available to preorder from Boots
• Plenty of places to eat, Carluccio's landside, and Wagamama, Giraffe and Plane Food airside
• Plenty of baby changing facilities that are separate from the male/female toilets so that you can go in together

Boston Departure (International Terminal) was pretty basic.  Baby changing facilities were in the toilets so you can't go in there together (dad was pretty happy to get out of nappy changing duties).  They made me taste my baby formula at security and I could not see anywhere in the terminal to buy more formula (or baby supplies).

Bassinet

BA offers 'car seat' for older babies that fits in the same place as a bassinet in the bulkhead seats.  They generally carry enough of them on board, but just in case there weren't enough, we asked for one at check-in, at the gate and when boarding as well.

Onboard

The car seat was big enough for our (large) 16 mth old but she wasn't totally happily sleeping in it. She spent the flight partly on our laps and partly playing on the floor. We lined the car seat with our Moorck baby hoodie which did keep it nice and cosy and also acted as a barrier when she vomited everywhere.

Arrival

We were greeted on arrival in Boston with an horrendous queue that was over an hour long.  We waited for a few minutes with an overtired baby and no buggy (you have to wait until baggage reclaim to collect it) and I then went up to the front to ask to be let through as we had a young baby and they let us through straight away.  Taxis into town are easily available and pretty affordable.

Travelling to the US? Check if you need an ESTA

My friend was headed to the US on a business trip via Vancouver.  Having been planning my own US road trip I mentioned the word ESTA to him....  His response, Esther?  Who?

Well here's the thing... if you are travelling to the US under the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) YOU REQUIRE AN ESTA!

Luckily most applications get a response immediately so you don't have to panic.

Check here to see if your country requires you to have one:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html#countries

Here is the form for your ESTA:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

To complete the online form, have all your family's passports (children require ESTA), wallet and travel details e.g. Flight Number, Address on Arrival

An ESTA will cost approx USD $14 and you can pay by Credit Card.

For further questions, check out this useful site:

http://www.essentialtravel.co.uk/magazine/q-and-a/esta.asp

I Want This!: Kidz Gear Headphones

My daughter always complains her headphones are too big on planes.  So when my friend Claire showed me a pic of her son with his funky Kidz Gear headphones, I knew I had to get them....!

http://www.gearforkidz.com/