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You are here: Home / Archives for Travel & Planning / Family Travel

Traveling With Twins: Getting Airport Security Alive

January 12, 2015 By Jillian

Traveling with twins, especially infant twins or twinfants as they are sometimes called, can be a logistical challenge.  A friend calls it a choose your own adventure.  Do you a) attempt to wear the babies through security hoping that a TSA agent doesn’t make you unwrap what is sure to be a sleeping infant when you get to the X-ray machine or do you b) attempt what is sure to be a nightmarish experience with a double stroller, babies and baby accessories through security.  Choose wisely my friend because there is little as difficult as trying to get through airport security with twins as other passengers are admiring them, glaring at you or trying to cut you off and your flight is boarding.

Airplane Travel With Twins

We lost our twin airport security virginity when the girls were 9 weeks old.  I read suggestion after suggestion from other twin parents and finally decided that we would go the stroller route – I couldn’t cut the cord from the stroller.   As we approached airport security I felt as though we were the opening scene for a new reality TV show: Survivor: Twinfants.  Between the oohs and ahhs we got from vacationers to the icy stares we got from weary business travelers I dreaded the inevitable snaking line leading up to security.

As we walked up to the line we were waved into the VIP, more miles than you can ever dream of and crew security line. HURRAY!  It turns out that taking the double wide stroller means that TSA doesn’t want you standing in line with everyone else either.

IDs and boarding passes checked, we were politely assisted by a TSA agent who gave us the 4-1-1 on how we could most efficiently travel through the Xray process.

1. Shoes and toiletries first (duh)

2. All car seats must go through the Xray, so wake that sleeping baby up and wrap them to your chest. We went through the machine with ergo baby carriers with no problem.  Turn the car seats upside down through the Xray machine, there is less to get caught on the machine.

3. Send the stroller through, if possible.  Double wides usually don’t fit, but front/back strollers do.  Sending the stroller through the machine is must faster than waiting to be wanded.

4. Let TSA know if you are sending through breastmilk/formula.  You may take more than 3 oz through, but our experience with how it is tested/verified varied greatly.  Some places put the milk containers in a tester, others poured out a small bit to test, others didn’t seem to bother even looking at it (maybe they felt bad for us!)

Special Notes: If you carry a baby through the Xray machine, your hands will need to be tested.  When your twins are walking, walk them through right in front of you – then no one needs to be tested.

 

After almost a year and a half, our kids are true frequent fliers and we often get through security faster than families with one baby or even older kids.  It’s all about being prepared and practicing!

Filed Under: Family Travel, Headline, Travel & Planning Tagged With: family travel, travel with twins

Surviving Disney World With Toddlers

December 16, 2014 By Jillian

10347235_10102770580665984_2565926943526677332_nSo we made it. No, seriously. And it was better than we expected.  I’ll be the first to admit I dreaded the lines, the screaming kids and the inevitable break down our kids would have at Disney World, but you know what, it didn’t happen.  That’s right, our kids were wide eyed and excited about EVERYTHING at Magic Kingdom, and frankly who could blame them.

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Here’s our top 5 tips for surviving Disney World with toddlers:

  1. IMGP2199Bring your own stroller.  Our kids napped on the go at Disney, and having our stroller was so much easier than having a hard plastic rental.
  2. Download the app and book your fast passes for the morning!  You can get a secret fourth fast pass either at the fast pass+ kiosks or on your phone once you’ve used up your three for the day.  And once you’ve used the fourth you can get a fifth and so on…
  3. Tie something to your stroller so it is easy to identify!  And no, a mickey mouse tag is not unique in Magic Kingdom, nor is your kids nemo stuffed animal!
  4. There are actually some quiet places in Magic Kingdom for downtime – we took the girls to Tom Sawyer Island for some running around time and time away from the crowds.  They appreciated it and so did we!
  5. Disney’s baby room is going to be super crowded.  Just saying.  It’s great that they have it, but man it is crowded.IMGP2160

Have you survived Disney World with toddlers?  Share your tips below!

 

Filed Under: Destinations, Family Travel, North America, Travel & Planning, USA Tagged With: disney world, travel with twins, Twin Travel

Turning a trip into an Indefinite Travel Lifestyle: Antonio & Amanda’s Story

October 7, 2014 By Guest Blogger

Editors Note:  There are many people out there traveling – individuals, couples and families.  From time to time we like to bring you their stories to serve as inspiration!

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For over a year we meticulously planned a bicycle touring trip that would take us from California to Spain in 4 years. A month into our grand journey we admitted to each other that we no longer wanted to do the trip.

The truth was we both wanted something much more. The freedom of the open road, the ability to change plans on a whim and the sense of independence was powerful. We had become addicted to the unknown and our well laid out trip had become a burden.

It was simple, we wanted a lifestyle that would allow us to travel…indefinitely. We wanted a life of adventure. So we through the plans out the window and slowly turned our dream trip into a dream life.

So how do we do it, travel indefinitely? Some people think that we are wealthy or that our parents regularly restock our bank accounts. That’s certainly not the case.

Bicycle touring had taught us a lot about living simply. This is the main reason why we can maintain this lifestyle.

14134022049_a4a82f2fc6_zOn average, we live on less than $10 a day per person.  It’s not very difficult, traveling by bicycle is much cheaper than backpacking. Obviously there are no bus tickets to buy but more importantly, it opens doors. Invitations to stay the night in peoples houses or offers for dinner are a regular occurrence while we are on the road. Of course we do not rely on roadside hospitality, we carry a tent and stove which allows us to camp and cook our own meals.

Along with our simple lifestyle we also work regularly. A few years ago we started to scuba dive. When we decided to turn our trip into a lifestyle we thought what better way to support ourselves than to find jobs doing something we love. So we spent the last year investing in our scuba diving training, completing our divemaster course in Belize and instructor course in Honduras.

Not only is it a job that allows us to dive for in some of the most beautiful dive sites, it is something that we can do all over the world.

Currently we are living in Panama, in a small town called Santa Catalina where we are working as scuba diving instructors. These short breaks to work are a great way to get to know a place, not just pass through it. It’s a pause that most travelers we meet either couldn’t afford or simply don’t have the time because they have to get back to work.14137640393_a41373ae5e_z

An infinite travel lifestyle isn’t for everyone. We dont have a house, secure jobs, car or huge bank account. Most days we don’t even know where we are going to sleep at night. What we do have is freedom, something we value more than anything.

 

You can follow Amanda and Antonio’s adventures at : http://www.cyclingelmundo.com/.

Filed Under: Family Travel, Headline, Travel & Planning Tagged With: couples travel, long term travel, work while traveling, working travel

The Most Important Thing To Bring With You When Traveling With Kids

January 6, 2014 By Jillian

Before we had kids the thought of traveling to a kid-friendly destination made me want to gouge my eyes out.  Seriously.  I had visions of  kid friendly travel being a trip full of toddler tantrums, screaming packs of kids in a pool, tons of luggage, and more cartoon characters than you can shake a stick at. I was definitely of the mindset that when we had kids we would just take them along to wherever we wanted to go and there would be something interesting for them to do when we got there.  Because we were travelers, not tourists.  Because we would be cool parents, not typical parents.    Fast forward six months into twin parenthood and to our first vacation with the entire extended family.

A few weeks ago we went to a Club Med property that was family friendly. < Insert stereotypical image of screaming children in the dining room here.> I cringed as I read review after review praising the place for being kid-centric and having a great kids club.  Great I thought, a property full of parents who cannot wait to get rid of their kids.  I imagined something like the food fight scene from the movie Hook.

As a parent and a traveler, this would most definitely not be bangarang.

It turns out that kid-friendly didn’t mean food fight city.  It meant having a changing pad in our hotel room, having strollers for us to use on property and having dozens, literally dozens, of highchairs available in the main dining room.  That’s right, kid-friendly meant traveling with kids without a trunk full of baby gear.  It also meant a baby water park, baby food in the dining room and a bottle warmer in the hotel room.  There were plenty of activities for adults without kids and even an adults only pool far, far away from the kids club and kids pool.  Sure, our six month old twins were not old enough to join the kids club for movie night or marco polo in the pool, but I was certainly appreciative of the kid-friendly amenities. In fact being kid-friendly meant that we could actually take a break.

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And as it turns out, that was pretty bangarang. 

Maybe, as I’m learning quickly with parenthood, I shouldn’t be so quick to judge.  Like backpacking the world, traveling with kids requires certain equipment, but probably the most important is the one that I had left behind- an open mind.  Next time, I’ll be sure not to leave it at home.

Filed Under: Family Travel, Headline, Travel & Planning Tagged With: traveling with kids

Traveling With Twins: How To Pack

December 3, 2013 By Jillian

Traveling with twins requires a lot of luggage, right?  Well not necessarily.  Now that we’re well into family travel season we figured we’d reveal how we pack up our twins.  It’s not as much luggage as you think. In fact our first trip with the twins required NOT A SINGLE piece of checked luggage.  How did we do it?  We arranged for a pack n’ play on the other end, counted out the clothing we needed and got it all in compression sacks.  I felt  like a victory.

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Since then however we’ve learned that we need more than just one extra set of pjs or outfit and our luggage has grown a bit.  As a couple who spent 21 months traveling around the world with only carry-on size backpacks however, we have fought the desire to over pack.  Here’s what we brought on our last trip to D.C. with our 5 month old twin girls:

Airplane Travel With Twins

Clothing: The clothes are the easy part.  You know how often you need to change your kid.  Some kids go through 3 or 4 outfits a day while others can wear the same onesie all day long. Like adults, mix and match outfits are good. Admittedly we are fortunate because we have twin girls so in theory they can share clothes meaning we don’t have to bring double of everything.  On the other hand, even with a boy and girl if you’re careful about how you pack (bringing gender neutral items) you may be in luck.  We’ve found (through an unfortunate night in Toronto!) that we should break the travel rule when it comes to baby clothes- look at everything you’ve pack and then ADD an additional set of pajamas and daytime clothes.

Baby Carriers:  For us, these are essential travel items – the twin stroller can be a bit cumbersome to navigate a city with. We love both our Moby Wraps and our Ergo Baby Carrier’s for different reasons. I love the flexibility of the Moby Wrap, especially when the girls are going to be wrapped up all day – it’s nice to be able to change positions and carry them in different ways.  We also use the Moby Wraps on the plane to carry the girls – besides being a great way for them to nap (yay!), it also helps keep hands off of them during boarding.  Maybe two sets of carriers is excessive, but the Moby’s are pretty small and I love the ease of the Ergo Carrier, especially when we’re taking them on and off a lot in one day.  It’s also a bit easier to show someone else how to use and have the girl’s positioned correctly.

Traveling with twins_OnBoard

Sleep Solution: We use our Pack N’ Play Twin Bassinet still when we travel with the twins.  We are way beyond being able to use the bassinets, but even without them our girls are pretty good sleeping together in the Pack N’ Play.  Note that Graco does not recommend putting two babies in one pack n’play.  That is a choice we have made.  Pretty soon the girls will be too big to share the pack n’play, but until then this works for us.  I looked at other options like the LulyBoo, but ultimately decided that the pack n’play was easier for us since we already had it.

Car Seats: It’s not an option to travel without the car seats unless you are going to a city and are planning to use public transportation (like a subway) 100% of the time. If you purchase a ticket for your twins or plan to use the car seat on board, make sure it is Airline approved. We have the Peg Perego 30/30 which is airline approved- we have brought them on board twice without a problem when there have been extra seats on board. Otherwise we have gate checked them without a single problem. Some airlines will even provide you with a thick plastic bag to check the car seat.  Otherwise you can get a protective cover or car seat bag pretty inexpensively.

Stroller: Although it isn’t the easiest to navigate around with, we always travel with our double snap n’ go stroller.  We use it to go through the airport quickly and efficiently with two squirming babies.  It’s easy to collapse and small enough to fit in the back of a rental car without a problem, plus it has a decently large bottom for storing carry ons.

Toys: Admittedly we are bringing more and more “entertainment” on each flight.  Traveling with twins doesn’t require double the toys, we just swap toys mid-flight to help keep things interesting.  We always travel with our letter links, which both girls love and are fantastic to use to clip things to both car seats and the stroller.  Thankfully they are silent, yet colorful and interesting enough to keep a baby amuse for a little while.  They are also our favorite teething toy right now. We also love these colorful animals from Lamaze: Freddie the Dragonfly (called Jacque in our house!) and Pierre the Peacock.  Again, colorful, interesting, but without the incessant music that so many toys have.  We also bring a few soft touch and feel type books, which the girls love to play with at this stage.

So there you have it.  That’s what we bring traveling with twins.  What would you add to the list?  What would you leave at home?

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Filed Under: Family Travel, Headline, Travel & Planning Tagged With: family travel, Twin Travel

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