New to traveling alone with kids and would like some ideas of good places to go.
Hi,
I am a single Mom with two children, daughter 13 and son 9 1/2 and have a great desire to take them to see just how big and amazing the world is outside of our own backyard. We reside in Florida.
We have only taken a trip to Hawaii for three weeks (exploring as much as possible) and then last summer spend a summer in WY, MT, ID and WA mainly hanging out in the state parks. They are good troupers but heading out into an unknown country and different language is a whole different ball game.
My question is can anyone give me some suggestions on places to start this world adventure?
We are on a budget so I guess main stream Europe is out...although I have a great desire to see that part of the world it seems it would be best to wait on the economy to straighten out a bit. I have researched Peru but have concerns on traveling there alone, altitude sickness (my son has a history of migraines) and also the safety of Machu Picchu.
From all the threads that I have read here it seems that a lot of people suggest SE Asia. I have been reading the Thailand threads and the beaches look great....I have a huge phobia of snakes and I am a little scared of the jungle thing.
Anyway any and all suggestions of not only countries but where in each country while there and
how to find a decent yet affordable place to sleep would be great.
Then I can start the dreaming process up again!
Thanks in advance!!
Bethany
Reply to this Hello Bethany 😊
I think SE Asia is an excellent choice. Thailand is a relatively safe and inexpensive country to travel in. You dont need to go near the jungle to enjoy Thailand. I saw a few snakes in Thailand but they wont bother you if you stay away from them. Things like mosquitos and cochroaches were a much bigger nuisance. Another advantage to going to Thailand is that most of it is not a high malaria risk.
What about a beach hut on a Thai island. I stayed in a couple of them with my daugher when she was 5. A double one only cost us a few Euros per night so it is certainly affordable.
Mel
Reply to this I was looking at travel books in the bookshop yesterday and there were
two different books on traveling with kids. Type a search in Google and see what comes up. I was surprised there were books about it!
Reply to this I think there is even a Lonely Planet book about travelling with kids.
Reply to this Thanks for the suggestions on books on traveling with kids but I am not so worried about traveling with them...as I said they are great troopers and happy travelers weather they are in NYC or on top of a mountain.
I think my question was more about suggestions of places to start traveling to with them.
Thanks Mel for the Thai island suggestion...it has been fun researching Thailand...it seems like there is so much the kids and myself could take in. The one thing I have noticed while researching it was it seems a lot of the beaches are now covered in hotels and people...which for me certainly takes away for the beauty...but still think Thailand would be a great place to take the kids.
Still a little worried about the snake thing...looking at some of the bungalows on the beach I can just imagine seeing one crawl inside.
Thanks again for any more suggestions of destinations for our family.
Bethany
Reply to this The snakes dont go into the bungalows for some reason. Maybe because a lot of the bungalows are on stilts.
....a lot of the beaches are now covered in hotels and people...
There are still a few you can go to that are quieter. We went to a couple of really nice ones on Koh Pha Ngan. There are few quiet ones left on Koh Samui, but still some. And even on Phukett you can find some quite spots. Well, fairly quiet anyway. I havent been to the other islands but they probably have some not too heavily touristed spots too. You could start a thread in the Asia forum asking for suggestions for such beaches if you want.
Reply to this I think my question was more about suggestions of places to start traveling to with them.
The book I saw was all about what places are great to take kids.
Reply to this great I will check that out...thanks.
I just always think travel books about traveling with kids are the younger ones...should look a little deeper.
Have been dreaming about Italy but looks like we will have to win the lotto for that 😊
Thanks again
Bethany
Reply to this Hi Bethany,
For Europe, just wait a little that the Euro goes down. From Florida going to SE Asia will cost you a lot more than going to Europe, it's just the other side of the world. Peru is indeed great, but for a first timer I would not go with kids. Have you consider some of the Caribean or Argentina? Argentina is pretty safe, very very friendly with a lots of things to do.
You may find few ideas on my blog...my 8 years old doesn't think the planet is so big.
Have fun,
Peter
Reply to this Cambodia is rather cheap while kids probably enjoy with its history, culture and geopraphy. Cross the border, u then reach to Saigon. If time still enough, go down the North or central of Vietnam before leaving
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