Trip Ideas By Activity
There are so many ways to vacation with your children.
City explorations, museum sleepovers, condo-style rentals, road trips, mountain and lake cabins, beaches, cruises, and all-inclusive vacations stretch budgets. Resorts run the gamut from moderate to pricey. Staying midweek or during shoulder season saves money.
Dream trips—African safaris, Galapagos treks, polar bear watches—deliver the thrill of wildlife encounters but at a hefty price. Farmstays, state and national parks, and hikes through Costa Rican rain forests let you enjoy animal encounters at a fraction of the cost.
Time travel fascinates kids. At living history parks, march with the militia and meet pioneers. In Europe, tour centuries-old castles, climb atop medieval walls, and stroll streets laced with 18th-century buildings. Go back millions of years to the dinosaur era. Satisfy your kids’ curiosity by going on a dinosaur dig, walking in dinosaur footprints, and ogling fossils of these fierce critters in museums.
Build sandcastles at the beach, canoe and fish at a lake, get tossed, twirled, and dropped on rollercoasters at an amusement, ski downhill, or snowshoe through snowy woods.
Stay overnight, for a few days, or a week. Plan carefully, allow for spontaneity, know that things will go awry, and maintain your sense of humor. Have fun.
Stress-free family holiday travel
USA Today||by Candyce H. StapenCategories: Family, Family Travel Tips, Seasonal & Holiday ActivitiesAlong with seeing friends and family, the holidays mean crowded airports and packed roads. The American Automobile Association predicts that 43.4 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from their homes to celebrate this Thanksgiving. Millions more will be flying and driving over the Christmas break. Lessen the aggravation by maintaining your sense of humor, allowing extra time for everything, and by following these stress-busting strategies.
Strategic planning
Travel on less busy days. Avoid the crush by not driving or flying on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving or on Dec. 24, traditionally the heaviest travel days. Consider departing early by plane or car on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day if you can make it to your destination for the heart of the family celebrations. The actual holidays also tend to be the cheapest days to fly.
Consider a smaller airport. Regional airports, as opposed to major hubs, come with the conveniences of easier parking and smaller crowds as well as shorter check-in and security lines. These advantages can outweigh any added drive time required to get from the gate to your downtown destination. Instead of flying into Boston’s Logan International Airport, ranked on Orbitz’s list of the busiest airports for Thanksgiving travel this season, consider landing at Manchester Boston Regional in N.H., 50 miles north of Boston.
Lighten your load. Mail your gifts ahead of time. This adds room in your car and can save you money on luggage fees when flying.
Bring the correct documents. When crossing an international border — heading to a Mexican beach, Canadian ski resort or other international destination — with a minor child, it’s wise to bring a copy of the child’s birth certificate plus a notarized letter of consent from the stay-at-home parent authorizing the travel. In cases of divorce, you may be asked to show the custody decree as well. If the other parent has died, a copy of the death certificate may be requested. Since rules — established to thwart child abduction by non-custodial parents — differ by country, always check with your destination’s embassy or consulate.
Pack insurance cards and permission forms. If your son’s buddy comes along on your dude ranch trip and he breaks a wrist falling off a horse, you will need a copy of his family’s insurance card plus a notarized statement from his parents authorizing you to obtain medical help in case of emergency. Without these documents, the hospital just might make him comfortable until his parents can be contacted.
Battle germs. Tote sanitized wipes to disinfect steering wheels, airline trays and plane armrests.
Make “what if” plans. When meeting friends or relatives at a destination or airport, don’t rely only on cellphones. Go low-tech too; just in case your phone dies or service isn’t available, develop a Plan B on how to meet up and what to do in case of missed connections.
Keep essentials handy. More hours en route means you need extra batteries and battery packs for computers, tablets, smartphones and video games. With babies on board, pack extra diapers, changes of clothing, food and bottles. Be sure that this “essentials” bag is easily accessible in the car’s front seat (not the trunk) or as an airline carry-on (not as checked luggage).
At the destination
Do a safety check. With toddlers in tow, whether at grandma’s or at a resort, child-proof the rooms. At your relatives’ house, move the crystal bowls and the china figurines from the cocktail table to high shelves out of your toddler’s reach. Block the stairs with a baby gate (pack one if needed). Several hotel chains offer complimentary child-proofing kits that contain outlet covers, corner guards for tables and toilet bowl locks. Consider bringing these items to your relatives’ house as well.
Know the house rules. Find out what the house rules are at Aunt Sally’s ahead of time and explain these to your kids. Your aunt may not allow food to be eaten in the living room or dogs in her dining room, even if your family does.
Bring or buy special needs foods. If your 5-year-old will only eat a certain brand of mac and cheese and your 12-year-old is a vegan, don’t expect your cousin to prepare special fare for your kids. Offer to bring or purchase the items your kids need.
How to buy tickets for the Sochi Olympics
USA TODAY||by Candyce H. StapenCategories: Destinations, Europe & Scandinavia Destinations, Family Travel TipsGood tickets are still available for the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Feb. 7 – 23, 2014. Through CoSport, the only authorized Olympic Games reseller for the U.S. and Canada, you can purchase tickets as well as hotel and hospitality packages.
But tickets aren’t enough to get you into the games. For the first time, each spectator will need to present a spectator’s pass to enter the Olympic Park and to attend events.
Tickets
Tickets are divided into “A,” “B,” and “C” levels. Offering prime seating, “A” tickets are the priciest. For the Feb. 8, women’s hockey preliminary between Canada and Switzerland, C seats cost $21, B seats, $41 and A seats, $83. As the competition advances, ticket fees rise. Top tier seats for the Feb. 19 men’s quarter final ice hockey game cost $580.
Tip: Some popular tickets, unavailable individually, can be purchased as part of a package. For example, individual tickets to the Feb. 20 women’s ice hockey bronze medal game are sold out, but you can get a category A seat to this event as well as to the men’s ice hockey quarter finals by purchasing the T2-Ice Hockey 19 hospitality package for $2,282.
Hospitality packages gain you access to CoSport’s Hospitality Center within Olympic Park, a place to snack on food and drinks — no extra charge — and relax between events.
Spectator Passes
After purchasing a ticket, a CoSport spokesperson suggests you register online for a spectator pass. You can opt to have your non-activated pass delivered to you by mail or you can pick up your pass at one of five spectator registration centers. There are three centers in Sochi, one in Krasnodar and one in Moscow. If you don’t sign-up for a pass ahead of time, you can obtain a pass before the games at one of the spectator registration centers.
Having the pass in hand isn’t enough. You must get your pass activated, a process that can be done only in person at one of the spectator registration centers. Bring your passport and ticket order number with you.
With any CoSport ticket and hotel package, CoSport will deliver your non-validated pass to your hotel room, but you must still line-up to activate your pass.
Visas
Remember, U.S. citizens must obtain visas to enter Russia.
Which U.S. airports serve healthy food?
USA TODAY||by Candyce H. StapenCategories: Air Travel, Family Travel TipsMore healthy food lands at U.S. airports.
That’s especially good news for the 100 million, often hungry, travelers expected to traipse through the passenger terminals during the coming holiday season.
According to a survey performed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 76% of restaurants in 18 of the nation’s busiest airports offer “at least one cholesterol-free, plant-based entrée” such as green salads, veggie wraps or black bean burgers. In 2001 only 57% of the total eateries at all the airports reviewed served such healthy fare.
The best hub to grab nutritious grub: Denver International Airport. The facility tops the 2013 good-for-you food chart as 86% of its eateries serve a nutritious option. In the bad food days of 2001, the Mile-High City’s airport received a near-failing grade of 61%.
“We’re finding more and more people continue to opt for healthful plant-based options, “says Susan Levin, Physician Committee director of nutrition education. “Everyone wants to maximize their health, beat the flu and be in a better mood — and they realize their diet can help make all of this happen.”
There’s good news for the nation’s capital. Its Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport gobbled the biggest gain, increasing 14 points from 2012 to this year’s 83%, enough to tie for third place with Los Angeles International Airport .
The odds of getting a healthy meal are against you at Las Vegas McCarren International Airport, whose 68% score — a drop of 23 points since last year — puts McCarren in next to last place. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport comes in last with just 51% of its restaurants offering a healthy option.