Travel

Family Travel

Even harder than going to the grocery store with kids is traveling with them!

Whether it is by car, bus, train, or plane we have discovered a few ways to survive.

Booking Travel

Like so many other families we now book almost all of our travel online. One thing that has helped us survive is buying a whole “vacation package” from one site.  Several competitive online companies provide this option. We have found that some of the best are kayak.com, Orbitz.com, Travelocity and of course Expedia.com. You definetly need to shop around to see which has the best rate. Use the “flexible date” option to see how changing your plans by one day can save you 1,000’s of dollars.

Some credit cards, such as Citibank’s Premier Pass, offer a conceirge service to book the most competitive flight for you, and many times at a discount. Also of course, see if you can use “Thank You” Points to book and pay for your trip. For more information on this, visit a great site on banking called http://www.insiderbanking.com

Flights

No matter what time of year it is never fun flying with kids. With long lines, cancelled flights, and crowded airports, flying with a family is just not fun. Remember the days when the pilot would come out and give your child a tour of the cockpit? Well, those days are numbered!  

Saying that, we have found some family friendly, and unfortunately some not so family friendly airlines, to fly.

Who are the best airlines?

By far the best international airline we have flown is British Airways They were baby, child, and parent friendly! Every time we have flown them they have provided us with whatever we have needed (which is saying A LOT in this day and age).

We have also flown other international airlines such as Air France & Cathay Pacific, which were both incredible! Both airlines actually booked us in a row with no one else there so we could all move around and not bother other people.  

Other good domestic airlines include Continental and Delta. They have also helped us with our special family needs while flying.

My other “mommy friends” have told me JetBlue is also quite good and the individual tvs help entertain little ones.

As with all travel advice, call ahead to see if the different airlines can accomodate you (especially with getting the bulk head seats so your child is not pounding on the seat in front of you!).   
  
Who are the worst airlines?

By far the worst airline we have ever flown was Spirit Air! They have long lines, CHARGE YOU $20 for every bag you check in, and you can never find someone to help you!!! I am sure that as airlines keep cutting back, I am sorry to say we will keep adding to the list of the worsts. No wonder we prefer to drive!     

Car Rental       

We have found the cheapest car rentals at Hotwire.com. There are also many “last minute” deals at alamo.com. As a family we tend to book the “mid-size” SUV and then request an upgrade by searching for coupon codes on the Internet. This upgrade allows us to usually receive a “full size” SUV when we are traveling. If you book often with the same agency many times they will offer you complimentary upgrades and/or a discount on upgrading your car the day you pick it up.

Of course most of us now travel with a car seat, but you can book one through the car rental company and now you can even rent them at many airports or through taxi services (which means one less thing to lug around).

Hotels

There are definitely some “family friendly” hotels that we have found in our world wide travels.

One of the best experiences we have ever had is with the hotel chain Westin. At our last hotel stay they provided a crib, rollaway bed, bottle warmer, and refigerator at no cost to us. This enabled us to have all the things we needed without the stress of being away from home. Call your hotel ahead to ask them whether or not they provide these and other services for kids (including a kids club).

If you want to make sure you are making the best decision about your hotel, check out tripadvisor.com to see the rating of different hotels and review vacation packages.