Relax! It's Your Family Vacation -- 7/12/02
By Mary Buck, CRRL Staff
I recently attended a conference in New York City. The original plan was that I would go alone, but then my husband decided it would be a great idea for our two children to spend time with their New York cousins. So off we went in the family car with our 4-year-old and our 10-month-old daughters.
And it all turned out well! While I was at the conference, they visited the Central Park Zoo and my husband's sister and her kids. We spent a day together going to the Chelsea Market, a First Communion party, and FAO Schwarz.
The trip turned out so well because we had read a bunch of books from the library on travelling with kids. Top suggestions gleaned were:
- Have plenty of age-appropriate toys and activities in the car for each occupant. (No, the adults may not take tranquilizers!)
- Take long and frequent breaks.
- Break the trip up with an overnight stay if you are travelling more than 6 to 8 hours.
- Plan activities that everyone can enjoy.
- If you want to enjoy adult-oriented activities, hire a baby-sitter. Don't expect a small child to enjoy the Toaster Museum or Aida!
- At your destination, take it slow and take lots of breaks - you don't have to see it all in one trip.
Two more things that were NOT mentioned in any of the books I read:
- Take stamps for postcards. We couldn't find a stamp (or an open post office) to save our lives, and this was in the big city of New York!
- Leave really, really, really early in the morning - before 6 a.m.. Little ones take long naps in a car in the early morning. This allows you to cover lots of miles before you must take the first potty break! Plus, traffic in New York is really light, especially when you're leaving the city!
Emboldened by the success of this trip, we are now thinking of driving to Illinois next summer to visit family. We'll be checking out more books from the library to help us plan what sites to see along the way!
Books in the Library
Family travel books are of two sorts; they cover how to travel with kids in general or they offer suggestions for where you can take a vacation. The first sort offer invaluable tips on how to survive your trip, and the second kind set you dreaming of places you've never seen!
- 100 Best Family Resorts in North America by Janet Tice and Jane Wilford
Adult Non-Fiction 917 On 2002
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The 100 best resorts in Canada and the United States. Ever hear of The Tides? It's within a half-day's drive from Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock River. The kids can enjoy the Crab Net Kids program while you enjoy the spa services! (Visit www.tidesinn.com for more information.)
- Educational Travel on a Shoestring: Frugal Family Fun and Learning Away from Home by Judith Waite Allee and Melissa L. Morgan.
Adult Non-Fiction 790.191 Al
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Just what the title says. Learn and travel at the same time.
- Fodor's Family Adventures by Christine Loomis
Adult Non-Fiction 917.304 Lo
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This book covers more than 700 great trips for families. Trips are laid out by activity: biking, cattle drives, covered wagon adventures, snorkeling and diving and so on.
- Frommer's Family Vacations in the National Parks by Charles Wohlforth
Adult Non-Fiction 917.3 Wo
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There are several national parks within driving distance of our area, including Cape Hatteras National Seashore and The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Just reading about these, and all of the other parks, makes you want to pack up and go!
- Have Kid, Will Travel: 101 Survival Strategies for Vacationing with Babies and Young Children by Claire Tristram
Adult Non-Fiction 910.2 Tr
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Talks about everything from low-maintenance clothing to jet lag to emergencies. If she didn't think of it, it's not going to happen on your trip!
- How to Take Great Trips with Your Kids by Sanford and Joan Portnoy
Adult Non-Fiction 910.2 Po
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Covers planning trips that are age-appropriate, how to pack, saving money and how to make sure everyone eats and sleeps well.
- The Penny Whistle Traveling With Kids Book by Meredith Brokaw and Annie Gilbar
Parent Shelf 910.2 Br
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Packed with great advice on how to choose a vacation, what you need to do before you leave home, games for travelling, and ideas for you and your kids to create a record of your trip.
- Travel With Children by Cathy Lanigan
Adult Non-Fiction 910.202 La
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Lonely Planet offers a book for travel with kids from 0 to 18, in two parts: before you go and where to go.
- Travel With Your Baby by Fodor's Travel Publications
Adult Non-Fiction 910.202 Tr
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Ideas and tips for successful trips with babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The checklists are great planning tools!
On the Web
Many of the destinations listed in the books have their own web sites. To find them, go to a search engine, such as (www.google.com) or (www.yahoo.com) and type in the name of the park, resort, hotel or site that you wish to visit.
- Family Travel from Parent Soup
http://www.parentsoup.com/travel
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Lots of links to lots of information. Articles range from educational activities for your kids while you travel to how to pack defensively.
- FamilyFun Travel
http://family.go.com/travel
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The vacation finder lets you pick a target area and type of activity and then generates suggestions. Look for Virginia activities under the geographic heading, the South.
- Thomson Family Adventures
http://www.familyadventures.com/usa/sub_menu_frameset.html
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You can book trips through them, subscribe to their free newsletter, or just browse the trips they describe in the Destinations section to get ideas for places you'd like to visit!
- Travel for Kids
http://www.travelforkids.com
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Bills itself as a guide for planning vacation trips with children as fun adventures. Get tips on kid-friendly must-see's, discover hidden treasures, and learn insider secrets for holidays in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. The United States section is very sparse (unless you really like California), but the other countries listed have lots of ideas.
- Travel With Kids
http://travelwithkids.about.com
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An About.com guide packed with travel ideas for travel with kids from 0 to 18. Check out the Budget/Freebies link for money-saving ideas or the Farms/Dude Ranches link for information on farms you can visit in Europe!
- Traveling Internationally with Your Kids
http://www.travelwithyourkids.com
- Travel tips, destinations, guide book suggestions, even a section on what to do if you move abroad make this site a goldmine of information.
Click here for ALL of the columns!
CRRL Patrons: Use the library's online catalog to reserve any of these titles or call your local branch to check them out today.
Web site visitors: Print out this book list and use it as a guide on your next visit to your local library.
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