Toddler Travel: Where we’re going this summer
Remember a few weeks, er, months ago when I asked for feedback on where to take Miss V before she turns two in July? We got great advice about the ease of travel in Scandinavia vs. the incredible food and baby-crazy people in Vietnam, but in the end, we ignored it all and booked tickets to Sicily.
We decided Scandinavia will be more fun when she’s old enough to appreciate the fairy tale connections and pragmatic but approachable design of Sweden, Denmark, etc. The on-the-ground costs put us off as well, as we still tend to spend a lot of time dining and drinking out on vacation, and those costs aren’t likely to change. So, I think Northern Europe and Iceland will be on hold for a few years!
Vietnam was also tricky to figure out timing. Turns out June is horrible weather in most of the country, and while we are intrepid city-dwellers, the idea of taking an eager toddler through the traffic in Ho Chi Minh was daunting. Tickets are always high, but could be a good use of frequent flyer miles in the future, especially when she starts racking up her own!
I returned to Kayak for another few weeks of research, trying dozens of combinations of places, but kept coming back to Sicily. I figured, if this is the hardest time to travel with her (when she’s no longer content to sit and stare at the world but doesn’t respond to reason either), AND she won’t remember the trip, why not go somewhere tolerant to children, with lots for the adults to do? This is, in essence, the idea behind this blog; that traveling with babies is the best time to keep doing what you want to do, with some adjustments for your new companion. I imagined sitting around a piazza, glass of prosecco in hand, doting Sicilian grandmother wiping gelato from Vera’s chin, while my husband photographed more of Palermo’s crumbling beauty before we packed up for the beach. From there, it was pretty easy to click “Buy” on the tickets, even with high costs and questionable service on Alitalia.
Have any Sicily feedback to share? We are planning on flying into Catania for three nights, then renting a car and spending a week in a house near the beach around Siracusa/Noto/Modica (TBD), finishing with three nights in Palermo and flying home from there. I wanted a week in Palermo and hubby wanted extra beach time, so we are leaving a few nights open to whatever we feel.
Andiamo!