A Few Suggestions

• If child in under one year old, make sure you travel with a pacifier or bottle to ensure that baby's ears don't pop when the plane takes off or lands.
• Bring more than enough diapers and wipes.
• Travel during bedtimes or nap times.
• Check the weather a few days before you travel to ensure that you are packed appropriate clothing. 
• If you are traveling by plane, make sure you inform the airline that you are traveling with a baby or toddler. When you check in, remind them about the baby and/or toddler to ensure you have boarding pass for him/her or them. 
• When traveling by plane, arrive earlier than recommended as you may need to wait in line to get a boarding pass for child and check in the stroller.
• Bring a blanket or a comfort item for child, I found this very helpful with my son.
• Bring formula for baby and snacks and beverages including milk for toddler. Most airlines will provide a beverage for toddler but its best to be prepared with your own beverages.
• When they are infants and babies, driving or flying in the plane is mostly about comforting the baby but when they are toddlers it is about comforting the baby but also entertaining the baby, so bring toys, play games in the plane, bring magazines or books, coloring sheets, etc.
• Have a passport for baby or toddler if you plan to leave the United States. They last up to five years.
• If you are traveling overseas, you have to pay 10% of an adult plane ticket for a lap seat. Make sure you book the lap seat at the same time you book adult seat. If you wait to the last minute you will be paying 10% of a last minute plane ticket.
• If you are traveling to a city you are not familiar with, it's best to book at least a 3-star hotel to ensure hotel amenities such as restaurants, shops, portable cribs, refrigerator, babysitters, etc. 

First stop... Honolulu, Hawaii!

When our son was 3 months old we took him to beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii. It was a 7 hour direct flight from Phoenix. I was on maternity leave so I decided to make the most out of my maternity leave and go to Hawaii.

We took off in May which is an affordable to time to travel to Hawaii. We arrived during the week and took of during the week to make our trip more affordable. Our infant flew free.There were various conveniences in traveling with him, including a family lane through inspection. Our baby didn't cry at all. He just laid in my arms. We had a seat for him but he felt more comfortable in my arms.

At the Beach

We were there for five days, four nights which gave us plenty of time to see the city.We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It is a very child friendly hotel, they had many restaurants, animals on exhibit (penguins, flamingos and parrots), shops. They provided us with a crib. The rooms are very nice and spacious inside and we had a beautiful view of Hawaii from our porch. We also went to their Luau. I recommend this hotel to those traveling with children because it caters to families.This resort is very nice that you don't have to leave it as there is a beach, pool, shops, replicas of Japanese icons, and some shows such as fireworks and dancers.

On our drive to North shore

Traveling with an infant is perhaps the easiest time to travel with children. They are not very demanding and they really just sleep most of the time. Doing things around the city was easy. We put our baby in a stroller and walked around the city. We visited most of the "tourist" locations such as North Shore, the International Marketplace, Chinatown, Dukes, and the Pearl Harbor Memorial.

His first time in a pool!

The sun in Honolulu is very strong, it feels very hot and can easily burn you. We had our son wear a hat, brought an umbrella for him, put sunblock on him and avoided spending too much time in the sun. We would lay out for 40 minutes and then cooled off in the pool or in the hotel. The waves weren't very high so he was able to splash his feet in the water for a little bit. We laid out in North Shore later in evening as the sun was going down.

 Pearl Harbor Memorial

Hawaii is a pricey city for tourists so I recommend that you try some of the local places to save money and for a more local experience. We found a couple good restaurants farther from our hotel with decent prices and good food. They also have lunch trailers around the beaches were you can get delicious steak and rice. Overall, Hawaii is delicious.

Traveling with an infant is fairly easy. You just need to make sure you are well prepared for the flight. You need to ensure that you have enough diapers, formula, and change of clothes. Hawaii is a beautiful place for nature lovers. If you are up for adventure, there is no better adventure than taking an infant to Hawaii. Happy beach travels!

Welcome!

I love traveling with my toddler. I will share tips on traveling with young children. Welcome!