What Is the Right Age to Start Travelling?
A few years ago I got bitten by the travel bug. I went on some crazy, long journeys and loved every minute of it. After having lived a fairly routine sort of life for so long I suddenly discovered the pleasure of exploring the world on a shoestring and couldn’t get enough of it.
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Then a couple of great things happened at almost the same time; I started working from home and my wife got pregnant. Both pieces of news were warmly welcomed but there was an unexpected side effect. Now that I was working from home I theoretically had all the time in the world to travel as much as I wanted to. In fact, I could even have moved lock, stock and barrel to the Philippines, Mongolia or Patagonia if I had wanted to and (I was quite tempted).
However, with a small baby now part of the family we found our travelling was instead cut down to zero. Now that she is a little over a year old we are itching to get on the move again, and we just aren’t sure whether it is the right time or where to go to. To try and help, we devised a list of the most important issues.
Food and Hygiene
Clearly we won’t be going to somewhere like India, which is famed for being a wonderfully enticing destination but where tourists need a strong stomach to minimise their time spent in the bathroom. Avoiding countries where the food is really different from what we eat here is important, so that rules out pretty much the rest of Asia, Latin America and Africa I would imagine. A friend took his 2 year old to Palma Nova in Majorca, while I also know someone who went with a young family to Portugal. I think these are safe sounding destinations for a little girl who loves to eat.
Things to Do
Actually, my daughter finds things to do no matter where she is. After all, there is always dirt to pick up, bugs to chase and weird objects to try and stuff in her mouth. However, I still think a resort with kid’s games and a safe playing environment is the best bet. A city break somewhere like Barcelona or Rome sounds really tempting but I am just not sure that she would find much to interest her and might end up overwhelmed by it all.
The Cost
We used to dedicate the best part of my wages to travelling but now nappies and milk take up that position. The truth of the matter is that looking after a child is an expensive business and now any big purchase we make for ourselves needs to be thought about carefully. To make things more complicated we can’t even go on one the shoestring trips we made in the past. Staying in a cheap as chips hotel and eating a supermarket sandwich for dinner is fun for adults but not so much for a 1 year old. She needs to be somewhere safe and clean and where there is decent food on offer. Actually, I think I am beginning to see why holiday resorts in places like Spain and Portugal are so popular with families. I used to wonder why people would go there instead of somewhere which sounds a bit more exciting. However, when there is a baby in the family your priorities change and a welcoming and good value resort can be just what you all need. It seems as though she is at a good age to enjoy this kind of holiday after all and before long she will be old enough to make the important decisions on behalf of all of us anyway.
For a terrific family holiday somewhere like Monte da Quinta will give you everything you need to enjoy the break.
Category: Travel Tips
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