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  • Home
  • About
    • Testimonials
  • Destinations
    • Weddings
    • Luxury Villas
    • Tours
    • Anything Disney
  • Featured Promotions
  • Cruising
  • Save-N-Vacation Plan
    • Honeymoon Registry
  • Contact
    • Vacation Request
    • RESOURCES
  • Bali Information

Blog

Baby Travel Tips for Flying

8/27/2019

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​5 Tips for Flying with an Infant1) Book an aisle and a window seat
Baby travel can sometimes be complicated, but it’s actually a simple task. Most aircraft’s are equipped with 3 seats on each side. If your traveling as a couple with an infant and you don’t want to pay for an extra seat (infants travel for free until 2 years of age if sitting on a parents lap) book the aisle and window seat.
Unless the plane is completely full, nobody’s going to choose a middle seat. If a passenger does end up with the middle seat, they will be extra happy when you offer them the window or aisle. But more often than not, you will end up with the middle seat empty giving plenty of extra room for the trip.
2) Check with the airline about baggage allowance
Flying SouthWest Airlines who allowed us 2 free checked items with an infant (even without paying for a seat for Baby B). This allowed us to bring his stroller and car seat (we have a Peg Perego stroller/car seat combo) without any additional cost. I put all Baby B’s clothing with mine totaling 4 checked items for our family. We’ve never had so much stuff to bring on a flight!
International flights tend to allow more free baggage but it’s best to ask the airline before you start packing.
Disclaimer: This car seat is installed incorrectly. It should only be rear-facing. On this flight we were not allowed to have it rear-facing and after much fighting and arguing, we were only allowed to have it installed forward facing.
3) Get a check-up with the doctor
Infants are prone to ear infections. If a baby has an ear infection while flying, it can make for a very unpleasant flight. There are some signs to look for like grabbing at the ear or redness around the inside of an ear. But, if you have the time, make a doctors appointment a couple days before your trip so they can do a quick physical.
We had friends who went to Mexico with their little one and they didn’t realize their son had an ear infection. He was crying the entire 5 hour flight and they needed to seek a doctor in Mexico to get some antibiotics. It all could have been avoided if they had done a check-up with the doctor before traveling.
4) Prepare for the weather
This may sound obvious! Of course everyone plans for the weather. We thought we did. It was winter here in Vancouver so Baby B didn’t have any summer clothes. In preparation I went to the mall to find a hat, sunscreen, and a swimsuit. It was actually very difficult finding these for an infant in the winter!
Turned out the hat I bought was too big so it was kind of useless and I forgot about sunglasses. If your renting a car, also consider bringing something for the back window. During our trip, I needed to sit in the back shielding the sun out of Baby B’s face.
5) Do I need a consent letter when traveling with a baby?
Yes. I stayed a little longer in Palm Springs with Baby B. Cameron needed to come back home for work. I knew if I planned to travel with our son without Cameron I needed documentation to get out of the country. I didn’t realize, I would need it to re-enter. I was scolded by the immigration officials because I didn’t have an authorized letter by Cameron to bring Baby B back home. I thought because our son had a Canadian passport I could bring him back to Canada without any problems. Apparently not!
Anytime you plan to travel internationally with your child without the other parent, you need a letter stating you are able to do so.

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Using Your Best Travel Etiquette

8/19/2019

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Elbows off the table? Clean your plate like your mother taught you? Not so fast. Food etiquette varies widely from culture to culture and can sometimes appear to have no rhyme or reason. In the Middle East, India, and parts of Africa, keeping your elbows off the table isn’t enough—you’re not supposed to touch anything at the table with your left hand (it’s considered dirty). In France, it’s considered more polite to put your slice of bread on the table than to rest it on your plate. Slurp soup in Japan and no one will bat an eye. Slurp soup in China and you’ll be the Ugly American. In China, eating rice with chopsticks is expected, but in Thailand it’s considered inappropriate (there, you should use a spoon). In Brazil and Chile, don’t eat anything with your hands (no, not even fries). In Italy or Cuba, putting your cutlery on the right side of your plate means you’re done with the meal. But in Spain, you’d place it on your plate to indicate that you’re finished. Clean your plate in Ecuador and you’ll be given seconds, but in Peru cleaning your plate is just considered polite. And remember whenever you sit down to eat in a group outside the U.S., there’s a good chance you should wait for either the host or the eldest person at the table to start eating before you tuck into what’s on your plate.

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Flying with as Little as a Carry On

8/16/2019

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Traveling can be stressful even when going on short trips. When packing a large suitcase it only adds to your stress. Have you ever considered packing just a carry on? Well here is how!
The typical airline will allow you a bag that is up to 45 inches total after adding all of the dimensions. Carry your electronics in a messenger bag or backpack and leave your other carry on for all of your essentials. For women, wear the jewelry that you must have so you do not have to pack it.
For clothing, try to wear what is heaviest while traveling. Shoes tend to take up the most space so bring pairs that are versatile. Jeans can be worn three times easily and shirts twice. Take the basics and add a scarf or statement necklace to make an outfit look different. Rolling all of your items is the most efficient way to pack all of your belongings into a confined space. Use the provided hotel toiletries so you do not have to take your own.
Try it out! Who knows maybe you will continue to pack this way. Have fun.
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Why You Should Visit Thailand

8/16/2019

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The Amazing Thailand world-famous attractions have been well documented on television, are used as backdrops in several Hollywood movies and crop up again and again in modern fiction. Still, to witness the Grand Palace in person or to watch a Railey Beach sunset or even to approach Phi Phi Don for the first time is guaranteed to send a shiver up the spine of even a hardened traveller and the frisson of passing by a limestone monolith in Phang Nga Bay is unforgettable.
From the north of Thailand in Chiang Mai to the lush southern province of Krabi you’ll be charmed and even shocked by the raw beauty of Thailand.
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    Becky H.

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