Inspirational Traveling Families
In case anyone else is worried that their travel days are either numbered or has been seriously hindered I thought I’d share a few of my inspirational “traveling family” stories that contradict a number of commonly held beliefs.
Commonly held belief #1: You can’t travel with a newborn
We met a young couple in Argentina who was on their third month of traveling with their first baby. He was 1 month old when they first left Canada. They'd backpacked around Spain and Italy and then flew to Argentina where they had rented a car and were camping their way across the country.
They were so happy and relaxed and their baby was a very content little guy who was clearly used to being around lots of different types of people. They said that traveling with a baby opened so many doors, especially in the family-oriented countries that had visited. They also mentioned how special it was to be able to spend that time together as a family. Their tips to me were:
- Take trains not buses when you can because it’s easier to walk around with if the baby gets fidgety.
- Family-run guest houses not hostels or hotels
- Pack very, very light. One HUGE backpack for them and one regular sized on for the baby.
Commonly held belief #2: You can’t do any extended trips if you have children
We met a German family in Chile where they had just arrived after traveling for almost a year throughout South-East Asia. Their 3 kids, one of which was only about 1 year old, were having a blast and seemed very self-sufficient. They were continuing the older kids' schooling themselves to make sure they didn’t fall behind.
Commonly held belief #3: You can’t take your children places where they will be exposed to certain types of disease/infection.
We encountered two families on remote “Little Corn Island” in Nicaragua. One couple was working at a local guest house and had their 1-2 month old with them. The other couple had a child that I would say was about 4 yrs old.
All traveling families have to weigh the risks for themselves and, for some, an island with minimal medical facilities and exposure to certain tropical diseases is off limits. For those who feel the risks are really not that extreme, such as these two families, the island was a great family adventure.
Whether or not I would be comfortable doing any of these things I don’t know but I was happy to see people who were going on these types of adventures as a family and loving every minute of it.
~Laura
Labels: backpacking, kids, newborn, travelling, trips, vacation
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