Ultimate Vacation Spots

posted by Travel Cat on Dec 10

Welcome to this final Blog Carnival for 2009!

We have a few tips, followed by some inspiring learning and then a fun tale of animal antics!

So, lets start with Debbie Dragon who gives us her take on the top Tips for Car Travel With Children followed by a quick run-down from Winter who has 5 Tips to Take Your Child Skiing.

Pamela Jorrick is teaching her kids from home, giving her the chance to explore some of those great places that schools just don’t go: A Quick Few Days in Monterey, followed by Carmen Bolanos who shares a tale of travel with us with one part of her articles and interviews with Nomading Families Talk About Life and Education | NuNomad Blog.  A great read!

And finally, Katie lets us in on the comings and goings of her family day out - with some great tips and some lovely snaps with her OC Mom’s Activity Guide: The San Diego Zoo!

See you in the new year! 

posted by Travel Cat on Aug 11

I’ve just got back from a great vacation in Malta in the Mediterranean - and it was hot, hot, hot.  There were certainly a lot of families around there, all enjoying the sunshine and that fact that this island is so small that there seems to be a beach almost everywhere you go!

I have made only a small collection of articles from this months choices as I haven’t been back long and the Internet out there wasn’t so good - hence this post being a day late!

So, lets start with just a lovely story from Kizie about Sharm El Sheikh as this was the other destination I was interested in - but the weather turned sour! I have been there before though - and would recommend it myself. Great post with lots of info.

Next, lets hop to someone else on vacation - with Jennifer Miner from Traveling Mamas talking about her great trip on the Nickelodeon Family Cruise Trips from Los Angeles. Some great snaps too.

Then we nip over to Renee Rouse who has a great idea for planning for those ‘last minute’ day trips. Rather than decide to go out and then spend an hour or 2 fussing over everything - just take a look at some of Renee’s ideas and put your own spin on it! Frugal Tip - Summer Fun Bags

And finally a short photo post about the best points of hiring or buying an RV with young kids by Jenafer with Living La Vida Loca in the RV.

See you next time with a bigger offering…..

posted by Travel Cat on Jul 18

Are you all ready for the longest Total Solar Eclipse this century?

On July 22nd this year - i.e. this Wednesday - there will be an amazing eclipse of over 6 minutes across Asia.  Are you there?

Apparently it will begin in India then move through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and central China before heading out over the sea.

The partial eclipse will be visible over a much wider populated area across the continent as well as Oceania, but China will be the only country to see the full total eclipse.

There is also a lot of excitement over the length of the total eclipse with quotes of over 6 and a half minutes of ‘no sun’ at it’s greatest point when over the Pacific Ocean!. 

Apparently the next eclipse to be longer is not until the 22nd century!  Not one that we will be seeing I fear!

I’m not going to be there unfortunately - but if any readers are going - please write in and let us know where you were for this momentous natural phenomenon!

posted by Travel Cat on Jul 10

Welcome to another fantastic fact-packed Traveling with Kids Blog Carnival!

We start with some great family stories from recent vacations - firstly with Amy @ The Q Family photo story about Thailand in A Day at The Ancient City.  Then we have a story so great that Vichuda thought that words were no enough and so filled their post Krabi Thailand - with just pictures…

There are also some great pictures with Amy @ The Q Family, who discuss the little known world of 10 Fun Aquariums for Family Sleepover - amazing!  I never thought you could do that…….

Tim Tinkel then whisks us away to the wilderness with his family travels in Virginia with his post Families Again. Along the same lines, Jessica Nagel describes her delight at the best baby jogger she has been using with Baby Jogger + Coronado = Euphoria.

James Bishop then offers us some brief advice about choosing the right tent for families if camping is something you are considering, with his article on Choosing The Right Tent.

And the final 2 are ‘on the road’ stories, with advice for getting somewhere without having to entertain the kids yourself the whole time. To start, Fiona Leonard discussed the art of Matching Children’s Books to Holiday Destinations, and gp goes on to discuss the bare essentials before you head off anywhere in A Road Warrior’s Guide to Taking it on the Road « Musings from Montana.

Hope you enjoy them all.

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posted by Travel Cat on Jun 10

Hello again, and welcome to the first summer Traveling With Kids Carnival in 2009 - and so far the weather has been great!

Me and my nephews have been charging around the countryside looking at the animals and the amazing butterflies that are filling the skies this year.

Its no wonder people are thinking about camping this year and traveling closer to home - it’s cheaper and can be just as fun as going miles away, and you know you are just a short drive from home should anything go wrong!

Savings Toolbox picks up on this with their post: Camping as the Perfect Money Saving Vacation as it hits home about not only the money you don’t spend on flights and eating out all the time - but the adventures you can have for virtually nothing! 

RV Journeys are on the mind of Bob Erwin in his Thoughts Before Going On a Family RV Travel Trip - which covers a few driving past-times but also some great little games to consider if traveling by road.

Joshua’s article has some tips on how to encourage kids to learn a new skill or improve an existing on during the long summer vacation - rather than just shipping them off to a club without researching what your kids actually want to do: Tips for Learning during Summertime

Billeater follows with some ingenious ways to keep your kids busy without breaking the bank - even if you don’t even go anywhere - take a peak at Summer Entertainment for Families on a Budget to find out what he has in store……

Nui Loa has a bit of fun after raiding her kids CD collection and finding quite a lot of things she likes!  What a great way to bond with your kids if you can actually listen to their tunes without thinking ‘what a racket!’  Try out some of her choices before stocking your kids collection with tunes you really like yourself at Our Five Favorite Kids’ CDs for Grownups

The last 2 articles are short vacation stories.  The first is about surviving a flight with kids and the other is a tiring but enjoyable family vacation to Orlando!

One Family tells the short tale of their personal experiences of using a certain airline that they enjoyed and which helped the kids relax and certainly passed the time better than just watching the TV screen in the backs of the chair! So enjoy their story in Southwest Airlines – An Experience

Then Amy @ The Q Family presents their vacation diary of Friends, Family, Food and Floating Tube with some great photos to add to the dramas!

Enjoy these - and I hope the weather stays good - and you send in more of your adventures……