I started Ciao Bambino in 2004 to help take the fear out of traveling to Europe with young children. There is no reason in the world why you shouldn’t take babies and toddlers overseas—I’m not going to tell you it’s easy, because it’s not ... but thoughtful planning makes these trips possible and worthwhile.
I’ve personally helped hundreds of parents plan trips to Europe—Ciao Bambino used to offer trip planning services—and not once did a family return and tell me that they’d “never do that again.” In fact, the vast majority of parents came back and said that despite the hardship of flights, time changes, travel snafus—all are inevitable at some point—that they had a blast and couldn’t wait to go back.
What you need to know ...
You’ll be traveling seven to twelve hours on airplanes (excluding connections). This is an eternity with kids. Don’t bother going unless you can spend ten to fourteen days on the ground. Time change adjustments are tough for everyone. Know that the first few days may be spent doing just that ... adjusting. Create a schedule with plenty of time to enjoy your destination once everyone has settled into the new place and routine.
Uber-travelers like nothing better than seeing as much as possible in a short period of time. That works well for adult-only trips. Keep the itinerary simple with as few accommodation changes as possible. One of the challenges of traveling with young kids is that they need so much stuff—don’t exacerbate the issue by having to repack and move all time.
Stay at kid-friendly accommodations. This may seem painfully obvious, but do the research required to know that where you are staying is in fact kid-friendly. This is a subject that that deserves a dedicated article, but here are a few main points to consider:
Separate sleeping areas: Do you need this? Consider if your child can go to sleep when you are in the room. City hotels rooms in Europe are small and this may mean that you need a suite or connecting rooms. Unappealing for many families given the expense of larger room configurations. When you are traveling with just one child, a workaround is to ask the hotel to confirm if the hallway in the room or even the closet is big enough for a crib. We stayed at a hotel in Florence where we turned our huge walk-in closet into the “nursery”... it was dark and quiet (we kept the door cracked for plenty of air circulation). It worked perfectly!
Kitchens: In some ways I think babies under a year are the easiest to travel with because they are still breastfeeding or using bottles and/or baby food. Even so, it’s really nice to have at least a kitchenette to warm milk and clean bottles, utensils, bowls etc. Europe has a growing number of apart-hotels that combine hotel services with apartment amenities. We have a number of these properties featured on Ciao Bambino—my favorite option by far with young kids.
Location: Convenience is everything and the bottom line you will have an easier time seeing and doing things if you can simply walk out the door without having to worry about a cab or public transportation.
Kid-friendly management: I think it’s actually harder to find kid-friendly value-oriented properties than luxury properties. Really high-end hotels will cater to every guest. That said, the attitude of the management and staff towards kids is the key to making you feel at ease. A hotel is reviewed in a family-friendly accommodations guide is the best option. If you can’t find a good option through that channel, email prospective hotels and ask if many families stay with them. The answer to this question is surprisingly telling—like the property that told me they loved kids but expected them to be quiet in the garden. Red flag ...
Create a home-base where you can settle in for seven or more days. Plus, many apartment/villa-type accommodations with kitchens and lots of private living space have a week-long minimum requirements anyway. I look for properties that have a safe place for kids to run around—open, flat grass is key. Most of the rural resort properties will have swimming pools. The bigger issue is if they are fenced and/or positioned far enough away from guest rooms. Many properties in Europe have stone stairs, not ideal, but unavoidable. The key is to ensure that any stairs in your unit are “safe” and not open where toddlers can fall through them.
The reality is that babies and toddlers need to nap and an aggressive sightseeing schedule is a recipe for frustration and disappointment. Have low activity expectations. When we’re in Europe our favorite past time is loitering anyway—meaning, we hit a park, square, or village and simply hang out with the locals. Our best memories from when our son was young was doing exactly that—he played in a safe place while we relaxed and appreciated the magnificent setting.
Europeans eat much later than Americans. Every country has different customs but most dinners start at 7:30 p.m. or later. Decide how you want to handle the meal schedule, i.e. will you go back to your kitchen for meals where you can keep your home schedule or will you eat on local time. There is no “right” answer here—it comes down to priorities and personal preference. We were in Spain for a week with our then-2.5-year-old and simply had dinner with him at ten people with the locals. I know it sounds crazy but it worked—we had a late snack, brought his stroller with us to meals so he could cash out once he ate, and then we simply let him sleep all morning long.
I always smile when people share their anxiety with me around finding diapers in Europe—they have babies too! European pharmacies are an excellent source of all kinds of great baby supplies including pacifiers, baby food, body care etc. Specific brands, however, are different than ours and it is important to bring your own formula and any other supplies where particular ingredients are important. Pharmacies are everywhere, local villages as well as the big cities. Note, Sunday is a day when many shops are closed—be sure that you plan accordingly.
Walking is a big activity when traveling in Europe and you need a plan for tired little legs. Again, this is an area where personal preference prevails. Some people swear by using only backpacks so cobblestone streets and stairs are easier to navigate. Our son was 20 pounds at six months—a bjorn for hours on end at that size was not an option. My personal preference is to travel with a light, umbrella stroller that you can easily navigate on crowded streets and folds compactly in crowded restaurants. Many clients over the years have preferred the durability of jogging strollers on all the European cobblestone streets. People are all over the map on this issue—the bottom line is you need something that makes walking for long periods of time comfortable for everyone.
I don’t know of any reliable equipment rental companies in Europe that cater to tourists, although some hotels have strollers on hand for guest use. The issue with borrowing a stroller or backpack at a single property on the trip is that you will not have a stroller available for airports or other stops.
Taxi drivers may or may not let you use your car seats (or may not have seatbelts in the back seat at all). A way around this for longer transfers is to book a driving service ahead of time where you can confirm the set up and policies. Most car rental companies can provide rental car seats. The issue is quality—there is no guarantee that you will get something that meets your safety standards. Know that and plan accordingly (we’ve always brought our own).
The good news is that there are many great online family travel resources offering tips and advice. Some people argue that young kids won’t remember going to Europe anyway so why go—true, our son has been every year since he was born and until recently, has no recollection of his trips to Italy, Spain, France, and England.
Here’s the important part for us ... we cherish every one of those early travel memories and if asked, would do it all over again. Waiting until kids are older is a fine, but there is no substitute for the unique and magical experience of traveling together in Europe in the early years.
By Amie O’Shaughnessy, Founder of Ciao Bambino
Photo courtesy of Ciao Bambino