How to Enjoy Family Road Trips

As a family, we regularly drive to Florida (about a 14-16 hour road-trip) and here is a list of tips that work well for us:

• The month before we travel, I buy four new reading books and four new coloring or sticker books and crayons. I pack  these in my backpack and bring them out as surprises during the trip. Diapers, wipes, paper towels, and a spare outfit for each child also go in my backpack.
• The day we travel, each of my boys packs his own backpack with:
• two of their favorite DVDs
• their favorite handheld games (I really like the educational games that come with the LeapFrog Leapsters)
• two reading books
• two of their favorite toys
• some snacks and a couple of drinks (small bags of goldfish or Envirokidz bars work well because they aren’t too messy in the car, and I like Honest Kids juice as well)
• Around 5 p.m. of the travel day, we bathe the children, brush their teeth, and put them in their full length pajamas. Around 6 p.m., we start to drive. In the car they take turns choosing DVDs to watch, or they choose to play with one of their backpack items. We rarely have any trouble with them arguing once we put in the DVD rotation rule.

My husband and I take turns driving through the night. Usually the children are asleep by 8 p.m. and stay asleep until we arrive the next morning in Florida. My biggest challenge on these drives has been feeding my children healthy meals. We always tend to stop at fast food places. This has been easier in the last year as McDonald’s added healthier choices to their menus.

It’s really important for me preserve the memories associated with family vacations, so my children will have those memories when they are older. I want them to remember how hard I tried to be a good mom.

 What are some of your family’s favorite vacations?

Joanne Lang is a mom of 4 boys, a wife, and the founder and CEO of AboutOne, an online family organizer that turns your phone into a remote control for your life, working with your existing calendar and contact tools so you can automatically organize, store, and share family memories and household paperwork. Through web and mobile apps, AboutOne guides you along the path to organization, rewarding you along the way for meeting your organizational goals.

Photo from Flickr

How to Travel in Costa Rica with Your Family on a Budget

Hanging Bridges

This is a must-do in Costa Rica. These are hiking tours along huge bridges located over the forest; some of them are almost a mile long. You can explore the rain forest around the Arenal volcano or explore the cloud forest in the middle of the mountains of Monteverde.

Manuel Antonio National Park

This is one of the best national parks of the country and you don’t need to hire a guide. The paths are well marked and there are tons of wildlife encounters as you walk in the middle of the rain forest.

Beaches

Costa Rica has plenty of beautiful beaches where you can sit back and relax for free—over 800 miles of coastline!

Renting Bikes in Puerto Viejo

Another great way to explore over 15 isolated, untouched beaches surrounded by rain forest is to rent bikes. For around $10 you get to rent a bike for the whole day. Kids love this!

Central Parks

Each village has adorable central parks where the locals hang out. Buy your kids some ice cream and crumbs to feed the pigeons and you’ll have one of the most memorable moments of your whole vacation.

Do you have any good travel tips for families on a budget?

Marina K. Villatoro is an expat living and traveling in Central America with her family for over 10 years. She blogs all about her family’s adventures and life at  TravelExperta.com. With all their miles under their belts, she’s written a useful family guide book for traveling to Costa Rica with kids - tested and approved by her family!

How to Make Travel Organized and Easy

Here are 12 tips to make travel with your family more organized:

Reservations

1. Beware of bedbugs! Check the Bedbug Registry before you make any hotel reservations. The Bedbug Registry is a free, public database of user-submitted bed bug reports from across the U.S. and Canada.
2. Don’t be the only one not taking advantage of the “2 for 1  special.” Do your research ahead of time. Often there are coupons and discounts available for popular attractions and venues that can be found through a simple online search.
3. Don’t get sold out; make dinner, spa, and other reservations before you arrive.

Packing

4. For airline travel, employ “the rule of fractions.” If there are four people in your family, pack a fourth of each person’s clothing in each piece of luggage. If luggage is lost or stolen, everyone will have enough to wear until it’s found.
5. Plan your wardrobe around three pairs of shoes (think metallic). If you can pack one pair of shoes for all of your night time outfits, one pair of shoes for your day time wear, and one pair of sneakers, you have simplified and lightened your load.
6. Consider traveling with pop-up laundry hampers for your whites and colors. Your hotel room will look much neater, and at the end of the vacation, pack the dirty laundry and fold up the hampers.
7. For longer trips, ship toiletries to your destination one week in advance through an online drugstore such as drugstore.com. If you order enough, you may even qualify for free shipping.  You’d be surprised how much sunblock, diapers, and shampoo can weigh.

Important Things to Remember

8. Carry prescription medicines, cameras, laptops, and any expensive jewelry on-board with you.
9. Charge cameras before you leave home, make sure you know how to operate them, and that they are working properly. Bring extra batteries and memory cards if needed.
10. Remember that all family members, even babies, need passports for travel outside the US.  Make copies of your passports and important documents, and keep them separate from the originals.
11. Bring a jump rope. You can always find a corner of the airport to let your child get rid of excess energy before boarding the plane. And, you can use it to exercise if you can’t get to a gym.

When You Arrive

12. Put a piece of hotel stationery in your children’s  pockets. Even older children and older travelers may forget where they’re staying if they get lost, particularly in a foreign country.

How do you stay organized when you travel? 

Barbara Reich is a professional organizer based in New York, NY. Her tough love approach turns organization and clutter from chore to lifestyle. To find more tips from Barbara, please visit www.facebook.com/ResourcefulConsultants or www.resourcefulconsultants.com

Malawi is called the “Warm Heart of Africa.” The people are friendly and eager to help you any way they can. You will find that most people in the city speak English. In the more rural areas, it is harder to communicate but that doesn’t stop the people from wanting to connect with you.

The country of Malawi is landlocked and set among rolling hills and vast countryside. There are 9 National Parks and Animal Reserves in the area. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went there, but found that there were a lot of fun activities and places to visit. There is shopping, wild life reserves, game drives, dining, and site seeing trips.  Most of my trip was spent touring different medical facilities for work, but we were still able to get out and see this beautiful county.

Two Cities to Visit in Malawi Africa

I stayed in Lilongwe and Blantyre while I was in Africa. Here are some highlights of each city:

Lilongwe

Lilongwe is the capital city of Malawi. I associate Lilongwe with these 5 sites and activities:

1.) Lilongwe Natural Reserve: We were not able to visit this reserve but Malawi is known for its birds and beautiful vegetation. You can see by the picture above how green everything is right now. This is their rainy season. The average temperature while we were there was around 80 degrees.

2.) Lake Malawi: This lake is set around rolling hills. It stretches from the Northern tip of of the country to its Southern region. Some of the rarest tropical fish in the world are unique to this vast lake.

3.) Farmer Markets: We were able to walk the streets and shop at a local farmer market. The market offered many different goods from clothing, cell phone cards, blankets, linens, bags, backpacks, and live chickens. We walked across the river to the food market where fresh produce was in abundance. I have never seen such beautiful vegetables.

 4.) Souvenir Shopping: I found that it was helpful to have small denominations of US currency, or Kwach, when shopping for souvenirs. Most stores and shops do not accept Visa. Many of the local people display their goods along the side of the street. They have figurines, paintings, furniture, and many other useful items for sale. Most of the locals prefer that you pay in US dollar.

5.) Dining: One of the best restaurants we ate at while we were in Lilongwe was a Chinese restaurant called the Green Bamboo Garden. Our group decided to all share a variety of entrees. One of my favorites was the spicy fish dish.

Blantyre

When I think about Blantyre I think of these 4 must see sites and activities:

1.) Rural Villages: One of the highlights of my trip was visiting the rural villages of Blantyre. We were there seeing how UNICEF and the Malawi Ministry of Health was providing pneumonia treatment to these resource-challenged areas. This was one of the few times we were able to communicate and talk with the Malawian people.

It touched me to see women, just like me, caring and taking preventative measures to make sure that their young children were able to get the medical care they needed.

2.) Majete Wildlife Preserve: We went on a game drive guided by a scout while we were in Blantyre at the Majete Wildlife preserve. This was a great way to experience the diverse terrain of the Great Rift Valley. On the drive we were able to see many different types of animals: elephants, a black rhino, buffalo, monkeys, and an impala. The reserve in 2003 was almost completely devoid of any animal life. It has taken 9 years of hard work to bring this park back from total extinction. Each year new animals are being added to the park. They recently brought in two leopards. It was extremely hot the day we went, so the animals were not as visible as we would have liked. This can change on any given day, so I would definitely add it to your must see list.

3.) Mount Malange: We drove from Lilongwe to Blantyre, which is about a 3 hour drive. This is a great way to see the the terrain of Malawi. We saw many different mountain ranges, landscapes, and villages. Malawi has 9 different National Parks and Wildlife Preserves. Evergreen forests are present from its plateaus.

4.) Set foot in Mosambiek: While we traveled from Lilongwe to Blantyre, we were able to jump out of our vehicle and stand in another country, Mosambiek. The country didn’t look that much different than Malawi, but it was fun to say that we were able to travel two countries in one day.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa. Crime is very low. I found the people to be very friendly, helpful and patient. My trip to Africa this time was for business, but I would not hesitate taking my family here for a vacation. I loved being able to learn about the landscape, culture, and the country’s  health care system. It is a wonderful place to visit and I plan to return someday.

Where do you and your family like to go on vacation? Have you ever been to Africa, what part of Africa?

Photo Credit: Matthew Feldman, Research Associate for IVAC

Jill Greenlaw has a banking background. She gave that up 17 years ago when she got married and started having kids. She loved being a stay-at-home mom while raising her four beautiful children. A few years ago, Jill went back to work in sales. She is now working for the Mom It Forward team as their Community Manager. She loves her job. Her interests include camping, motorcycling, boating, photography, reading, cooking, and traveling. Put her in flip flops anywhere warm and she is happy.

5 Los Angeles Day Trip Ideas

Beaches

Going to the beach is an essential element of visiting Los Angeles. The cheapest beach to go to is the one that has free or almost free parking. The coastline off of Pacific Coast Highway(PCH) between Santa Monica and Malibu offers free parking on the side of PCH, but make sure to read the signs carefully to ensure that you are legally parked.

Additionally, Santa Monica State Beach has almost free (short term) parking parking of $1.00 for one hour or $2.00 for two hours. The rest of the beaches in L.A. will run anywhere from $6.00 – $12.00 for parking depending on the season, which is still almost free compared to spending the day at Disneyland. Be sure to check the water quality at your chosen beach before getting into the water at HealtheBay.org.

Trails

Los Angeles is surrounded on three sides by mountains which offer hundreds of miles of hiking trails with breath taking vistas, babbling brooks, and waterfalls. Some of our family’s favorite hiking trails include Solstice Canyon in Malibu which boasts an 180 degree view of the Pacific Ocean,Temescal Canyon in Pacific Palisades which includes a waterfall and a creek with numerous picturesque climbing trees, and Stough Canyon in Burbank that overlooks the San Fernando Valley.

Check out LAMountains.com for a full listing of hiking trails and to find the trail that is perfect for your family. Many of these trails offer free public events such as full moon hikes, marshmallow roasts, stargazing, etc., so be sure to check out the Hike & Event calendar at LAMountains.com if your family is interested in these types of activities. Hiking in L.A. is almost free. The price to park ranges from $6.00 – $12.00 and in some cases, it is possible to park alongside the road for free.

Museums

Los Angeles is home to some of the best museums in the country. One of our favorite museums is the California Science Center. This is an amazing hands on museum that children absolutely love and the admission is free.

We also love the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, which is conveniently located across the street from the California Science Center. The cost of admission ranges between $5.00 – $8.00 for children and $12.00 for adults. That is almost free! The Getty Center and the Getty Villa are free. These museums offer exhibits in art, culture, architecture, and gardens ,as well as free educational programs for families and children. Keep in mind, that parking is not free and fees may vary.

Wetlands

Ballona Wetlands and Madrona Marsh are open to the public and are free. Parking is also free! Ballona Wetlands is located near the Pacific Ocean in Playa del Rey. It is a nice place to take a walk and escape the fast pace of the city. It is also a sensory adventure for the family:  seeing turtles sunning themselves, hearing the croak of bull frogs, smelling the sweet primroses, and feeling the warmth of the sun.

Concerts

The following is a list of free concerts held every Summer in Los Angeles:

• Grand Performances Summer Festival
• Twilight Dance and Music on the Santa Monica Pier
• Sizzling Summer Nights at Griffith Park
• L.A. County’s Free Concerts in Public Places
• Summer Sessions Outdoor Music and Garden Concerts for Kids at the Getty Center
• Levitt Pavilion Free Music Under the Stars in Pasadena

What fun trips do you and your family like to take?

Featured image photo courtesy of Flickr.

Tracey Lenac is the founder, editor and publisher of Raising California, an online magazine that highlights elements of holistic, organic, GREEN lifestyle choices along with homeschooling and spirituality.   She is also the founder of Soul Centered Kids in Los Angeles, California, where she teaches soul centered skills such as meditation, reiki and yoga to children of all ages and developmental abilities and the founder of The Souls of Boys, an online store specializing in non violent, non toxic, soul centered toys, books, media and resources for boys. Tracey has a Master of Arts degree in Education and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is also a registered Reiki Master/Teacher, organic gardener, the mom of two boys and a secular homeschooler.

Transportation to San Pedro

To get to San Pedro, you must fly to Belize City and either take the water taxi or a puddle jumper air plane. The water taxi was a short hour and 15-minute ride and half the cost, so we opted for that route.

Travel Tip: The water taxi makes one quick stop at Caye Caulker before arriving at Ambergris Caye. Remember to stay on the boat at this stop.

Ambergris Caye Accommodations

We found Trip Advisor to be the most helpful resource for locating a hotel on the island. Depending on what you are looking for, the island has accommodations that can meet every family’s vacation needs. We stayed at Banyan Bay at the south end of the island.

Although it was a little ritzy for my taste, we loved our ocean view, that the hotel had a good restaurant on site with breakfast included, and that it was a one-stop shop, sporting golf cart and bike rentals, a full service spa, and a concierge who could arrange ocean adventures for you.

Travel Tip: If you want wi-fi, air conditioning, and TV in your hotel room, be sure to check ahead and ensure the hotel has those amenities as not all do. Also note that most swimming pools are not heated.

 San Pedro Restaurants

San Pedro is known for its lobster. Lonely Planet books have never failed us in recommending the best restaurants when we travel. Located right on the sea, the Blue Water Grill lived up to the Lonely Planet’s recommendation and the Sea Grill was a perfect selection.

Getting Around the Island

Getting around town is fun. The island is only 5 miles wide and 25 miles long, so you don’t see too many cars.

Most people rent or own bicycles…

…or golf carts.

Travel Tip: I highly recommend renting a golf cart. It is a fun way to see the entire island and get around town. If you are staying for a week, I suggest the weekly rental. Otherwise, most places rent by the hour.

Grocery Stores

Eating out for every meal, especially in the peak travel season, can be pricey. Fortunately, Ambergris Caye sports a nice grocery store with lots of familiar US brands. I’m not sure what I’d use a cake mix for while on vacay, but it was nice knowing we could grab snacks and bug spray at a moment’s notice if we needed to.

Travel Tip: Most places in Belize accept credit cards, US dollars, and Belizean dollars.

Scuba Diving and Other Activities and Attractions

Belize is all about sea activities. With the reef a half a mile off the coast of San Pedro, most visitors explore via scuba diving, SNUBA-ing, snorkeling, or in a glass bottom boat. Companies like Ramon’s Village, organize trips to places like the Blue Hole and Sting Ray Ally for water enthusiasts.

Travel Tip: If you are looking for nice beaches and body surfing, head to Hawaii or other Caribbean beaches, like Magen’s Bay on St. Thomas. While San Pedro is surrounded by beaches, they are grassy with smooth water (no waves), and not ideal for playing in, especially for kids. The real water adventures are near or at the reef and beyond, further out or deeper down.

The Most Important Part of the Trip

Planning and taking a family vacation requires lots of work and can be stressful. My main advice is to plan well in advance and then let the Caribbean breeze get to you and unplug and relax while you’re on the island. Make time for moments with your kids and your spouse. Life at home can wait!

What are your favorite winter destination locations? Where do you most like to go on family vacation to unplug and unwind?

Culture

The capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax, flies under the radar much of the time. On first glance, it’s a sleepy, coastal city supported by agriculture, fishing, mining, forestry, and natural gas extraction. With Scottish/Irish heritage strongly imbued in the region, Haligonians (as they call themselves) celebrate their ancestry with lively music on just about any day of the week. Often, you’ll find rock with Celtic themes at one of the lounges dotting the downtown area, and the whole bar will be singing along. You’ll feel right at home in no time. Incidentally, one musical legend and one legend-to-be both hail from Halifax:  Denny Doherty, the lesser-known male founder of The Mamas and the Papas; and chanteuse Sarah McLachlan.

Festival

If there is any chance you’ll take the leap and go to Nova Scotia soon, try to get there for the Nova Scotia Ice Wine festival, February 2-12. Jost Vineyards is one of my favorites, and they will be participating with their award-winning ice wines. The festival’s location is up the highway from Halifax, but with such peaceful, rolling scenery, why not take the drive? Admittedly, when Nova Scotia is awash with the jewel tones of the autumn, it’s more interesting. However, to me, this province is beautiful all year since there are so many sounds, tastes, and sights to take it throughout the area.

Nightlife

Go to Halifax and have a lobster, which is exported by the planeload daily from the area, or fresh mussels at The Five Fisherman. Catch a hockey game at the Halifax Metro Centre with the local fans of the Halifax Mooseheads. Take a walk and wander around the cove. Chat with the locals. From unique boutiques and gift shops to bustling malls and districts, wherever you go in Nova Scotia, you are sure to find exactly what you are looking for to keep the family entertained.

If you love it the way I do, you’ll start making plans to return as soon as you can.

Have you ever visited Nova Scotia? If so, what was your favorite part of your visit?

Kristin works full time for SITA, is a mother of a sweet 2-year-old boy and wife to a fantastic 6th-generation Texan, living in Austin, Texas. Loves: her baby boy, airplanes, airports, classic cars, sports, Italy, and dessert; not necessarily in that order. Never met a cupcake she didn’t like. You can reach her via Twitter @AustinKVS or via her blog http://www.twocannoli.com.

O

Buon appetito.  I look forward to my next visit to Rome, my family in tow.

Where are your favorite travel locations? Do you travel for fun or for business?

Kristin is a mother of a sweet 2-year-old boy and wife to a fantastic 6th-generation Texan, living in Austin, Texas.  Loves: her baby boy, airplanes, airports, classic cars, sports, Italy, and dessert; not necessarily in that order. Never met a cupcake she didn’t like.  You can reach her via Twitter @AustinKVS or via her blog http://www.twocannoli.com

Surprisingly, we found that rather than a luxurious hotel with eager staff at our beck and call, we were staying at something called an eco-resort. In tents. I’m not complaining, as they were nice tents with amazing ocean views, and we each got our own. As intended, the primativeness allowed us to truly appreciate and focus on the things we were being shown.

3 Technologies that Enhance a Vacation

I’ll discuss three of the handy technologies we used. In a few days, I will go more in depth in a post over at my own site, Dadventurous.com. Please come over and check it out.

Windows Phone

Keep in mind that for the most part we didn’t have phone service, but that didn’t mean our phones weren’t useful. The camera on my Samsung Focus (and pretty much any smartphone these days) can take higher quality pictures than the first digital camera I purchased 10 years ago (and I couldn’t surf the web on my camera). The phone is lighter, has much better storage, and even costs less than my original camera.

This particular device allowed me to take a picture almost instantly, even when the phone was locked. And, of course, it also records video! As I mentioned above, we did not have consistent internet or phone service on the island, but whenever we came into range, Windows Live allowed us to snap the pic and then immediately share it via Twitter, text, email, and even Facebook.

Portable GPS

We were also outfitted with a BackTrack GPS made by Bushnell. This light yet rugged device fed us the simple real-time stats such as  location, distance, and speed. But the fun part is that the information is all stored, allowing you to download it to your computer. I can now pull up virtually my entire trip and see a Google map of my travels as well fun information like elevation, temperature, and speed. Using a similar device, I recorded every single run I did last ski season down to the slightest turn (and fall).

Ruggedized Laptops

I heard of these before, but never saw one up close and personal. The demonstrations took place on the beach, right there in the sand and surf. We used a few different units including the Panasonic Toughbook, and each one was as sturdy and durable as they claimed. We poured water on them, buried them in the sand, and even threw one against a tree. They all continued to work as if they had never left their desks. Finally there are computers I would feel comfortable letting my kids use.

This was just a sampling of the devices and technologies we used to enhance our own Caribbean adventure. We would have had fun no matter what, but the technology our trip even better.

What tech devices do you bring with you on vacation? How do you use technology to enhance a vacation?