Keryn In Trieste

EUROPE: 3 days, 4 kids, 3 adults, and one crazy road trip to Eastern Europe

I’ll admit it. I’m not your typical mom. Oh sure I look like the mom next door, who runs errands, hauls kids to play dates and lessons, and can never seem to get out of my yoga pants, but I have a dark side. I like to look the status quo in the face, laugh a little, and then shake hands with chaos. This darkness shows up the most when we travel.

In October 2012, I was in Europe for five weeks with my then 3 year old and 5 month old sons. We were visiting friends that had moved over the years for love, work, or who had simply been born there. When a childhood friend moved to Italy I was the first to raise my hand when he opened his house to visitors.

My friend’s wife was an insatiable traveler; it was travel mom love at first sight. She suggested we pop over to Croatia and Slovenia while I was in town. These countries were two of Italy’s neighbors on the eastern side. I like to equate driving around Europe to driving around the Northeastern part of the USA; two hours and you have already crossed the border.

Boats In Rovinj, Croatia

Thus began our crazy adventure through three countries in three days. Did I mention there would be three adults with four kids under age 5 in one car? Our plan was fairly simple and looked something like this.

Beautiful Lake Bled

Day 1: Drove from Ferrara, Italy to Lake Bled, Slovenia. We dumped our bags, hopped in a boat over to the church in the middle of the lake to do some sight seeing, grabbed dinner on our way back to the hotel, and went to bed.

Day 2: Drove from Lake Bled to Rovinj, Croatia. We had a late lunch when we arrived in Rovinj, explored the town, even found a playground near an open-air market, gelato for dinner, and then off to bed.

Day 3: Drove from Rovinj back to Ferrera with a lunch break in Trieste, Italy to break up the 4-hour drive.

This itinerary sounds insane, and it was. Just as we had stretched our legs and started to settle in we would pack back up, strap the kids in their car seats and hit the road. There were meltdowns and laughter, naps, movies, and endless snacks to see us though.

A few key elements were necessary for this type of trip.

• Entertainment: Get your A game on parents. Fill those goodie bags with coloring books, crayons, special toys, and a tablet or portable DVD player when everyone is at the end of their ropes.
• Snacks: With 3-4 hours between each stop for the night you need to have a variety of snacks and water available for hungry, bored tummies to indulge.
• Restroom breaks: Breaks of any kind are a must, but those for the restroom are obvious for potty-trained kids, and diaper changing breaks for younger ones.
• Patience: This trip is not for the faint of heart. Having a companion is key. Know your limits, and when your patience is at an end pull over and catch your breath. You will arrive soon, I promise.
• Lunch stops: On our way to Lake Bled and on the way home from Rovinj we scheduled lunch breaks about half way through our drive. This was a lifesaver as it let the kids (and parents) stretch their legs, fill their bellies, and get ready for nap time the rest of the drive.

Rovinj, Croatia

Honestly if I had to do it all over again I would add an extra day in Slovenia and Croatia. A few hours is not enough time to see anything, even a passing glance. Do I regret that we did it? Of course not! I saw two gorgeous sites that have given me a reason to go back to these countries to explore even more.

Keryn Means is the founder of Walking on Travels, a site that gives hope to today’s modern parent who doesn’t want to stop their lives; they simply bring their kids along for the ride. You can find Keryn dragging her 2 boys around Seattle most days and across the globe several times a year. Follow along on their adventures on Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The post Travel Stories – An Eastern European Road Trip With Kids appeared first on Have Baby Will Travel.

Our First Christmas In The Sand Instead Of Snow

Happy New Year to my wonderful Have Baby Will Travel Readers! 2012 started sadly for me with the loss of my father, and ended much the same way with the loss of my father-in-law. Thanks to him we have had many wonderful visits to see him in Florida, and his sudden passing presented us not only with grief and sadness but also with a new challenge – an unplanned and un-budgeted for family road trip to Florida. Flights were out of the question. We had to drive.

I may have mentioned it here before once or a dozen times, but we are not car people. My kids complain for the ten minutes we have to drive to activities or the grocery store. They did amazing on our family road trip across Alberta. But the longest leg on that trip was four hours, and the drive to Florida from Toronto takes anywhere from 20-24 hours depending on where you’re going and which route you take. I reached out to my wonderful family travel community for advice and got some great tips that served us well.

The general consensus was to break it up into at least two days – with at least one overnight stay. According to our various online map generators, the drive to Florida would take roughly 21 hours. And that’s not accounting for stops for gas, washroom breaks, food, etc. We needed to get to Tarpon Springs, which is just outside of Tampa. The drive to Tampa is a bit longer and not as direct as the one to Orlando, thus the additional couple of hours.

And we did it, and we survived! I will go into specifics in future posts, but here is the gist of our trip:

Getting There:

For the drive down we left at 9pm after my daughter’s Christmas concert. We packed up the car, (silently cursing at the size of the Christmas gifts that we had to bring with us) and I modified my road trip tips for a longer drive – the car was recently tuned up, I had a cooler bag and a snack bag within reach, as well as a bag of supplies close by with wipes, a stash of grocery bags to use for garbage and/or carsickness (we were blessedly vomit-free in both directions), and had all our documents and our map and directions info on my iPad.

A Gorgeous Savannah Morning

Bub fell asleep by 9:45pm, and my daughter was up a little later. But both of them mostly slept straight through until a rest stop around 8:30am in North Carolina. We stopped for breakfast in Statesville, NC for about an hour, where I also got the kids out of their pajamas and washed faces/brushed teeth, and then continued on to Savannah and got there around 3pm. Savannah was my choice to stop even though it was much further than halfway, but I always wanted to visit there and I’m glad we made the effort. We were pretty much write-offs after checking in to our hotel and getting dinner, but we had a great sleep (out by 8pm – unheard of for us grown-ups!) and had a wonderful morning exploring before continuing on. We headed for Florida at 1:30, and got to my brother-in-law’s by 7:30pm. Oddly the 2nd leg of the drive, at six hours, felt a lot longer than the first, which was 18 hours altogether.

The Reward For Spending 24hrs In The Car

We delighted the kids with a surprise visit to Walt Disney World after spending Christmas with family and attending my father-in-law’s memorial. More on that later, of course, but suffice to say a visit to “The Happiest Place On Earth”, no matter how busy, is wonderful during the Holiday Season and a great place to lift your spirits and close out a challenging year.

We figured we’d dawdle our way back North after Disney, but we all just wanted to get home.

Getting Home:

We’d decided to spend the night in St. Augustine, for pretty much the same reason we opted to visit Savannah on the way down. But my husband wasn’t feeling well, so instead of exploring America’s oldest town, we checked into a hotel near I95, had McDonalds for our New Year’s Eve dinner, and headed for home at around 11am on New Year’s Day. We were going to play it by ear, but ultimately we decided to “Give ‘Er” and go for the drive home straight. After a stop for gas and snacks in West Virginia where I changed the kids into their jammies (troupers after being in the car all day) we blasted into the night. We made it home shortly after 5am, carried the sleeping kids to their beds, unloaded the car as quickly as we could, and fell into bed ourselves. Luckily the kids slept until 9:45, so we actually managed a solid four hours’ sleep, which felt awesome.

Like I said, my family travel community was incredibly supportive and offered a wealth of tips, but probably the one that stuck out most came from Linda Kramer who hosts the blog Travels With Children. She said, “If the kids are happy, keep driving no matter how hungry YOU are or how much you need to use the bathroom. The kids will let you know when they’re restless, and that’s a good time for a break. If they’re quiet and content (or especially sleeping) do not interrupt it or you may not get the peace back again for quite some time.”

Although the reason for this trip was sad, I’m glad we did it. The drives were quite cathartic after a crazy year and my husband and I managed to have long conversations about important and unimportant things that we never seem to have or make time for. Also? This trip felt empowering. We would never have attempted this drive unless we had to, and now that we’ve done it, so many places that seemed out of reach since we could not justify the cost of flights are now totally doable. New York City, Chicago, Boston – eight to ten hour drives are no longer daunting. Look out Eastern Seaboard, in 2013 here we come!

The post Our Family Road Trip… We Did The Drive To Florida appeared first on Have Baby Will Travel.

Honeymoon Island, Florida

For the holidays this year we are taking an unexpected and not-budgeted-for trip to Florida. Sadly this is due to a death in the family, but we will try to make the most of our time there by spending time with family in the warm sun and will definitely make a few trips to the beach.

But flying to Florida is not as affordable as it used to be, and certainly not now during the Holiday season. Even our tried and true way to save (flying Southwest out of Buffalo) actually costs more than flying from Toronto for once. Airfares are getting out of control, and I often wish we had more of a system like in Europe or the UK, where budget airlines seem to be the rule rather than the exception, and escaping to somewhere warm usually means a cut price flight to Malaga or Tennerife barely cost more than a fancy meal out.

I am no stranger to traveling on a budget, but I have avoided road tripsI fear road trips not because my kids are restless in the car, but because I am. The 20+ hours we will spend on the road fills me with a lot of nervousness, but we are going to face this challenge the same way we did flying with a newborn or our first time traveling with a toddler – we’re going to make like a boy scout and be prepared.

I have tips from friends who have done this drive several times and actually prefer it to flying. I am part of an amazing family travel community who have showered me with advice which I’ll also share with you.

We figure at this time of year, with this amount of notice, flights for four people to Florida plus a rental car for just over a week would cost between $3500 – $4000. We anticipate that including gas, food, and lodging the road trips should cost less than $500 each way. That’s roughly a quarter the overall cost, and then we would also have the comfort of our own car and car seats to get around while we’re there.

Please share any road trip tips you may have, and if you’ve done the drive and can make any suggestions, even better! I’ll fill you in on our progress, and will most certainly share all we’ve learned along the way.

Many thanks to CheapFlights.co.uk for inspiring this post.

The post Drive Or Fly? Traveling On A Budget appeared first on Have Baby Will Travel.

Photo Courtesy: visitlondonimages/ britainonview/ Pawel Libera

I am a first generation Canadian. With a Glaswegian mum and Mancunian dad, growing up in Canada always meant trips “home” to the UK. But London is one of those places that is largely unexplored for me. Outside of a few brief visits when I was a child, and a glorious couple of days there in my twenties, London remains, for me, one of those places I just HAVE to go back to – if only to show my royalty-obsessed daughter Buckingham Palace.

I am fortunate in that when we do get over for a visit, I won’t have to navigate tube stations with a stroller, nor juggle a car seat in the back of a black cab. But I am fascinated with the idea of going back in time to seeing the real “Big Smoke” with a cooing baby instead of rambunctious kids.

London With Baby…

To start, even some of London’s luxury hotels are very family friendly. Besides offering specials for families during British school holidays, babies and infants (0-2 years) stay free of charge at the luxury boutique Grange Hotels, and high chairs and cots are available on request. Grange has hotels at Covent Garden, as well as within walking distance from most popular attractions, tube stations, and other transport links.

Most advice for getting around on the tube with a baby suggests avoiding rush hour if at all possible, especially with a buggy or stroller. I do recall those escalators being very narrow and super steep, so this may be one instance where a carrier is strongly recommended – or perhaps just fold up your umbrella stroller while riding the tube. Most tube stations are now fully-accessible, so if those in a wheelchair can manage, you certainly could in a stroller, but there are also a number of completely step-free tube stations to more easily glide on and off.

But perhaps even trickier is the idea of a black cab with or without a car seat. Legally in most cities, children do not need to be restrained in a car seat while riding in the back of a taxi. But this did not sit right with me when mine were tiny, we always traveled with our car seats and continue to bring along their boosters. You can certainly install your car seat into most taxis and these days most modern black cabs have a central arm rest that converts to a booster seat that can be used for older children (in the 22-36kg/48-79lbs weight range). Mini cabs might be the way to go, as many cab companies can provide a child seat if you ask for one.

London is such a magical city, and I love just thinking of strolling the marvelous (and many!) parks and museums with a little one content to be strolled or carried. But I have no doubt that London with my kids will be amazing, just probably a little louder and busier

Many thanks to Grange Hotels for supporting this article.

The post London Calling – Dreaming of London With Baby appeared first on Have Baby Will Travel.

I Got This…

Flying with toddlers – the very thought of it is probably the single biggest stress that families cope with when they’re considering a family vacation. And as even the most-traveled families will tell you, once a kid hits two, all bets are off. Although for us *three was the new two* in a lot of cases, I’m actually quite proud to say that we have not once been kicked off a flight, that in spite of a mid-flight barf-o-rama and the odd airplane toilet drama, we’ve made it through our years of flying with toddlers relatively unscathed. I say relatively, since on our last flight when Bub was just-turned-three (so technically a preschooler, not matter how much that hurts to say!) he threw a full-on, screaming red-faced tantrum. Dun dun dun.

Flying With Toddlers or Preschoolers…

I am pleased to say that we flew a fair amount with both our daughter and Bub during this age range, and for us (aforementioned whopper tantrum aside) it has been pretty painless. Now my kids have flown a lot, and that means they know what kind of behavior is expected on an airplane, and they know they’re on their way somewhere fun so they can manage to sit for a few hours. They also know they will be plied with treats and technology not usually forked over with such abandon. Needless to say, my kids actually like flying.

But my nephews didn’t go on their first trip until they were four and two. And the eldest was actually quite scared and the two-year-old was very two. That was a tough flight.

Biggest concerns:

Toddlers are busy. Bub was and is busy. He doesn’t sit still. He doesn’t like hearing no for an answer.  And though he’d flown well for all of our trips, I am not smug enough to think his unpredictability would not bite me in the behind. I didn’t want to be a Negative Nellie so I hoped for the best, and prepared for the worst – my typical parenting mantra, actually.

The reality:

So. The tantrum. THE tantrum. After an amazing week driving across Alberta and then attending a family wedding, Bub was tired – we all were. And as we boarded our 7am flight from Edmonton to Toronto, we took advantage of Air Canada’s family pre-board and headed on back to get settled. On the way out, Bub had the window seat, so the flight home meant it was his sister’s turn. But he wasn’t having it, nosiree! This was a screaming-hitting-kicking-knock the coffee out of my hand-frothing at the mouth-trying to pull my hair- kinda tantrum. And I was paralyzed. The flight attendant’s clipped and perfunctory, “Can I do anything?” didn’t help. In between trying to restrain him in his seat belt while avoiding getting knocked out by baby Balboa, I turned on the seat-back entertainment (thank you, Air Canada!!) And it was truly like a switch had been flipped – he immediately calmed down, put on his headphones, and watched The Wiggles. And thanks to the pre-board, none of our now boarding fellow passengers was the wiser, except maybe the other families on board who were thanking their lucky stars it wasn’t them! Bub slept for most of the flight. It was glorious.

I know *the tantrum* happened not really because he wanted the window seat, but because he was exhausted and the seat was the last straw.  Whether your toddler or preschooler has their own frequent flier account, or it’s their first flight, you have to approach flying in almost the same way you do with a younger baby. Follow the five Ts. Have an arsenal of snacks and treats and don’t be afraid to use them. Make sure they have something to eat or drink during take off and landing, and try to book flights for “sleepy” times. If you’re considering trying to dose your child with Benadryl or Gravol to make them drowsy, please consider some other options, or at least test it to know they won’t get hyper instead – it happens!  Embrace technology, but save it for last. Once the tech is out it’s hard to top.

He Was Born A Travelin’ Man…

Extra consideration:

If they’re inexperienced fliers, they will likely be very excited. But they might also be scared. Toddlers and preschoolers at this age understand enough to know that flying in a plane is not a natural state of affairs, and it might freak them out. And if they’re too excited, you run the risk of them being too excited – and impossible to reason with or sit still which will make an unpleasant first flight for both of you. Some advocate letting them run around at the gate to let them blow off steam before boarding. We have seven stitches in a (then) preschooler’s eyelid that tells us that’s not the right choice for our kids. Plus they’re tough to wind down. Keeping calm with stories and eye spy and watching the hustle and bustle on the jetway works better for our family.

You may consider buying some children’s books about flying – there are a couple of great ones out there and they offer the added bonus of also showing your child how they are expected to behave while en route. With both kids we did a lot of “Well, mommy and daddy and everyone else is wearing their seat belt, so you have to as well.” And also, “Please sit down and be quiet or you’re going to be in big trouble with the lady over there.” (Sorry, Flight Attendants – I know I am not the only parent who feels the pang of knowing my kids listen better to other people than they do to me. I take advantage of that at your expense )

And if you’re potty training? Trips to the bathroom take up a nice amount of time, and allow you to get up and stretch your legs. Make sure you have a change of clothes (or two) in case of accidents, and if you’re not that far into it – don’t be a martyr. Being in a pull-up for a travel day will help save your sanity, and won’t cause any appreciable regression towards your hard-fought toilet teachings. It WILL happen. Just try not to stress over any setbacks.

Toddlers and Preschoolers of this age are actually a lot of fun to travel with. They look ever-so cute pulling their own little carry-ons. And you know this kid now – inside and out. Make sure your bag is packed with enough to keep them fed, busy, and engaged, and you might actually enjoy your flights. Promise!

The post Flying With Baby… Travel Tips For Flying With Toddlers and Preschoolers appeared first on Have Baby Will Travel.

Now KLM is deserving of their crown…

Have Baby Will Travel has been online for over five years, and while we’ve helped thousands of parents and family members with tips about flying with a baby, it’s always been via navigating existing policies regarding kids on planes. As much as I would love it if airlines would consult with traveling parents on what would actually make their lives easier, it never occurred to me that they would actually listen.

Then, last summer, Laurel booked a seat for her (then) 1-year-old son, H., on a KLM AMS-YYZ return flight. On the leg home, she was asked by the flight attendants to remove his car seat, since it interfered with the recline of the seat in front. After an exchange with KLM’s president that Laurel deemed unsatisfactory, she wrote to me, and I wrote a post detailing her ordeal, and wondered why KLM seemed to value a passenger’s comfort more than an infant’s safety. Ultimately Laurel was refunded the amount of baby H’s one-way airfare, which she felt was fair.

Then, in July, a Have Baby Will Travel Facebook friend pointed out that KLM’s  car seat policy had changed and directed me to a link on their website. The policy used to read online as:

If a seat has been reserved for your child, you may bring your own car/child seat aboard on the condition that it fits between the armrests of the aircraft seat (42 cm/16.5 inches). Only child seats that display no defects and that carry a visible seal of approval awarded by the European Union or an official government agency may be taken aboard.

Then it was changed to (emphasis mine):

If a seat has been reserved for your child, we recommend that you bring your own car/child seat (child restraint device) aboard on the condition that it fits between the armrests of the aircraft seat (42 cm/16.5 inches). Only forward facing child seats that display no defects and that carry a visible seal of approval awarded by the European Union or an official government agency may be taken aboard.

I wrote about KLM’s change to their car seat policy, and took that change to mean they were trying to avoid another incident such as Laurel’s – and I like to toot my own horn in thinking I had something to do with that. One problem, though, such a forward facing child seat simply does not exist for infants under a certain age and weight. And it’s not recommended to put a rear-facing car seat in a forward facing position – regardless if it’s on an aircraft.

Then something happened that surprised me. KLM responded via Twitter, and said that they would comply with car seat recommendations, and would change their policy accordingly.

KLM’s Response via Twitter…

Now all of this happened happened back in July. And there were times I thought that maybe KLM was just giving lip service to get me off their back. But yesterday I checked the website, and here is what it now says as KLM’s Car Seat Policy:

Car/child seats
If you have reserved a seat for your child, we recommend that you bring your own car/child seat (child restraint device) on board.

• The car/child seat must be able to fit between the armrests of the aircraft seat (42 cm/16.5 inches).
• Your child and the child seat need to be secured according to the seat manufacturer’s instructions.
• A child seats may show no defects and must carry a visible seal of approval for use on board an aircraft by the European Union or an official government agency.
• The use of a car/child seat must be reserved in advance. Please contact KLM Telephone Reservations or your local KLM ticket office.

Now, the fact that the use of a car seat has to be reserved may make work for the KLM staff, but what it does do is ensures the car seat can be used, and properly, and that the seat in front of the car seat will likely have the recline restricted, so not to book someone paying a premium end up there.

Seriously, in my opinion, WIN/WIN.

@hvbabywilltrvl At least, for now, you have an update on this. Thank you for helping us to improve our services

— Royal Dutch Airlines (@KLM) July 10, 2012

Rarely am I surprised. This surprised me. I’m also really proud that I, and my little website, had a hand in getting a major airline take a look at, and then revise their airline policies. I’ve never flown KLM, but now I wouldn’t hesitate to give them a try.

This was one small step for KLM, but one giant leap for traveling parents everywhere!

The post KLM Airlines Changes Its Car Seat Policy. Again. This Time For The Better… appeared first on Have Baby Will Travel.

Win me!

I am of the mind that you always need to bring your stroller with you when traveling with a baby. But having seen this (relatively new) baby carrier from Osprey, I’m tempted to temper that sentiment. Depending on your destination, and the type of traveling you’ll be doing, the heavy-duty Poco Plus baby and toddler carrier just might really leave your hands free and without the need for wheels.

The carrier itself weighs under 7lbs, and can carry a maximum load of of 22 kg/48 lbs – which is child, gear and pack combined.  But you must not use the Poco until baby can sit upright unassisted and weighs at least 16lbs (7.3kg). The harness is easily adjustable for when baby grows, and there are stirrups for older and taller passengers, to help with dangly (and kicky) feet syndrome.

Some nifty features of the Poco Plus include:

• A built-in sunshade
• A size adjustable hipbelt with zippered mesh pockets
• A large zippered lower compartment for diapers, jackets, and bulky items
• An inner mesh security pocket
• Two stretch mesh side pockets
• A stretch mesh pocket on upper front panel that offers quick convenient storage
• A zippered stash pocket on the upper front panel
• Cell phone pocket on shoulder strap
• Cord loops allow the quick attachment of the optional Daylite daypack

I adore Osprey’s Vector Series luggage – so much so that I included it in my 2012 Gear Guide – and am super-bummed that they are discontinuing it. However, the Poco series of baby carrier backpacks is quite new, and so well-received that I’m sure they’ll be around for some time.

I’m delighted that Osprey has offered to give away a Poco Plus to a Have Baby Will Travel reader! I’m giving Rafflecopter a try for this giveaway. Let me know if you hate it and I’ll go back to the old fashioned way. In the meantime, this giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the US (sorry, Quebec and Puerto Rico) and all the details are in the nifty Rafflecopter widget. You have until October 30, 2012 to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This looks like an amazing infant carrier backpack, and it’s valued at over $250.00. Good luck – and please tell us where you take it on your travels!

The post Win An Osprey Poco Plus Baby Carrier! appeared first on Have Baby Will Travel.

Rocking The Beetle At The Volkswagen Freedriving Tour

I have never owned a Volkswagen, but the brand identity is fully ingrained in my psyche. When I was a toddler and fell and split my head open, I was driven to the hospital in my Uncle Joe’s yellow Volkswagen Beetle. When I was a teenager, the ULTIMATE sweet sixteen car was a convertible white Volkswagen Cabriolet – c’mon, you’d still drive one if you could. And the VW emblem is repeatedly ripped off my poor mother-in-law’s 1992 Golf (thanks a lot, Mike D). I was delighted to drive a new Beetle on the test track at the Volkswagen Freedriving Tour, and also delighted when they offered us the use of a Tiguan for a Car review for a week.

Let’s turn it over to Mr. HBWT for his thoughts on the 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan…

2012 Volkswagen Tiguan Review and Test Drive:

Yay:
-styling
-driver comfort

Nay
-cargo capacity
-price

Das Auto Ist Nice To Look At

My experience with “the people’s car” is actually quite varied: my father is a big VW fan, my main mode of transport in university was an ’80 Rabbit diesel, and recently I got a chance to put some new Volkswagens through their paces at a closed track. So I was happy to get my hands on a brand new Tiguan for a week to see how these experiences would translate into my liking of the automaker’s latest SUV offering.

I didn’t know much about the Tiguan going in – other than that it is the smaller sibling to the Touareg (a nice set of wheels but well outside of what I would, or could, spend on an automobile). I loved my Rabbit and, though painfully slow under any circumstances, it was ultra reliable and cost almost nothing to run – about as perfect a student car as there is. I actually sold it for 200 bucks more than I bought it for 5 years earlier. A light year leap ahead, of course, is the 2012 Tiguan and stands as VW’s entry into the rather crowded compact SUV market.

Nice lean profile means less junk in the trunk…

The Tiguan comes in 3 flavors in Canada from the base FWD Trendline with standard transmission, to the mid range Comfortline with an assortment of upgrades, to the fully loaded Highline with AWD and a turbocharged engine. The MSPR of these 3 styles ranges from 27K to 40K +. Our model was the Highline and it was NICE – with all of the bells and whistles and leather one could wish for. The interior is really well laid out and aesthetically pleasing, and there was plenty of room for me (at 6’7″) in the drivers seat without clipping too much of the room in the second row. It was a very comfortable car to drive with five. With that said, what was immediately noticeable was the reduction in cargo capacity compared to most of the other compact SUVs we tested. The rakish styling of the Tiguan definitely lends itself to this issue (much as it did to the CX5) and our stroller (folded up) barely fit in the back which was a pretty significant departure from others like the Rav 4 and CRV. The odd thing to me is that the Tiguan isn’t much physically smaller (5″ than the CRV) so clearly cargo capacity was a feature that wasn’t that important to the engineers.

As for the driving experience, the Tiguan was comfortable but I was a bit surprised by its performance. While no slouch, I didn’t find it particularly peppy nor did I find the handling particularly tight – perhaps I was expecting more is all. As for fuel economy it fell easily within the range of its main competitors at around 11.5L/100km – so no gas guzzler but also not a major breakthrough in fuel economy either. Where the Tiguan really seemed to excel, like the Kia Sorento, was on the highway at cruising speed.

Das Auto Ist Good!

The styling is good, and I appreciate that it is a cut above the standard styling in this class though not particularly innovative or daring.

After spending a week with the Tiguan for this Volkswagen Tiguan review, do I know more now? Of course… But I am still a bit confused by it and where it fits in to the aforementioned highly competitive compact SUV market. It is neither the fastest, the roomiest, or the most fuel efficient – and while feeling quite luxurious was not enough of a standout in that category from other fully loaded competitors. It scores very well in reliability but the CRV and Rav4 do as well. To add to this mystery is the price tag – it is at the top of the price range for this class.

I guess the one thing that the Tiguan has that no others do is the VW logo on the grill, and for some that is well worth the – and to me there is no other way to put it – compromises that you have to make with this vehicle. Maybe the term “compromise” isn’t fair. Maybe I just got used to all of the various SUVs we tested in this class as being “outstanding” in one or two aspects and I just never really felt that about the Tiguan. It is a great car overall, but seems fairly standard in all of its features. But, it IS a Volkswagen and if you are a fan (as many are for good reasons) and want a compact SUV then you can have just that in the Tiguan. And sorry ’80 Rabbit I used to own (that is no doubt still running) – this is WAAAAAY nicer.

**********************************************************************************************************

I did think the Tiguan was super nice, and I felt pretty fancy driving it. I have to agree that the cargo capacity was much lower than expected, but it certainly managed our day to day needs – even if it was sometimes a bit of a squeeze. I kind of “get” the Volkswagen thing, though. And chances are, one day I will own one – even if it’s a sweet sixteen present for our daughter of a white convertible Beetle – as THAT model is WAY WAY sweet.

Can you believe that we actually did end up buying a car?! We’ll fill you in soon on our process, the car we ALMOST bought (and why we didn’t buy it) and the one that’s currently in our driveway that we are very happy with.

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Really and truly the friendly skies!

Luckily for my friend Amanda, she had a MUCH better flying experience on British Airways then she did on a recent flight to Mexico, where her infant son almost lost his finger. I have VERY fond memories of flying BA pre-kids, and I’m delighted to see how family-friendly they appear to be. The travel with infant section of their website is extensive, and they even appear to offer a discounted fare for children! Crazy! I’m so happy that Amanda shared her story of flying British Airways with a baby, as we can all use some good flying-with-kids stories these days!

Travelling British Airways from Toronto to Heathrow, with a 5-year-old and a 23-month-old…

Armed with a bag full of snacks and toys, both mum and dad were more than a little stressed about a cross-Atlantic overnight flight. But we needn’t have been, flying with British Airways. From online check-in to picking up our pram and baggage, it really was a good experience. Sure we had a couple of meltdowns and sure we had to do a couple of walks around the plane, but this trip has made me less afraid of future travelling.

Pre-booking and online check-in…

British airways allows parents travelling with an infant to prebook seats, this ensured we were seated together and could pre-book the bulkhead with cot.
Online infant passport info cannot be completed until 24 hours before the flight, but online check-in 24 hours before was simple.

Baggage…

Paying Children are allowed the same Baggage allowance as adults, but single cases must not exceed 51lbs. We thought that we could get away with 2 suitcases slightly heavier and had to redistribute the weight. Infants are allowed a foldable pram and nappy bag.

Infant seat in the bulkhead of a British Airways 777

Cot and seats…

Now the cot. A simple tray folds down in front of the bulkhead seats and you have the choice of a bassinet or a seat for an infant. This is great when the little ones falls asleep, freeing up mum and dad to have dinner.  The bulk head seats also had a space for the kids to play.

Playing on board in the bulkhead area of a British Airways 777

Entertainment…

2 channels of kids movies and TV kept my 5-year-old entertained. Both kids also received a Paddington Bear backpack with activity kit.

Food…

Children’s meal. I have a picky eater, so the kids meal was perfect. Three sandwich selections, chicken nuggets , vegetables, rice, fruit, cheese, bread, yogurt, Ribena and a bag of Cadbury’s Buttons. There was so much food left over, my infant enjoyed some too! I was seriously impressed with the attention given to kids meals

Attendants…

The flight attendants were helpful and friendly, especially setting up the infant area. Not one complaint!

I’d fly British Airways again and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the airline.

Isn’t it nice to hear of a good experience of flying with young children! And no need to hand out candies to your fellow passengers. Save that room in your carry-on for stuff for yourselves and your kids.

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Adorable “wee” Jake on his vacation in Mexico…

The issue of armrests on a plane is sometimes a contentious one… Who gets dibs? Fortunately that’s usually not an issue when flying with an infant since in a perfect world the person beside you is either someone you’re related to or at least someone you know. But it appears as though the armrest is a serious airplane safety issue that could cause serious injury, instead of just being a source of potential conflict.

Back in February, my friend Amanda was flying to Mexico for a family vacation with her husband and their two beautiful boys – five-year-old Cam and (then) 16-month-old Jake. “Wee” Jake (he’s really not so wee!) had fallen asleep across Amanda’s lap, and in her email to me she also sent what she wrote to the airline:

I wanted to bring your attention, to a potentially serious situation. During the flight as my son was sleeping, his hand slid between my side and the arm rest. The armrest was up and unknown to me, the metal hinges were exposed. When the armrest was placed down, it trapped my sons finger guillotine style, which resulted in a deep cut. Had the arm been thumped down heavier, I’m almost sure the finger could have come off. We notified the attendants who offered band-aids, but really had no further interest in the situation.

The airline was Sunwing, and their lackadaisical response is kind of a bummer, especially since we have had such wonderful experiences with them on our flights to Cayo Santa Maria and Trinidad, Cuba. Not all flight crews are created equal, and sadly, not all customer service reps are either. Sunwing‘s Terri Hamilton responded to Amanda’s query, and I was cc’d on the correspondence (emphasis mine):

Please note that during Flight Attendant training, we advise our trainees that they should allow passengers to fasten their own seatbelt, open their own window shade, put their own armrest down, etc. Additionally, we always encourage infants to be secured, whether the seat belt sign is on or off during flight. Lying across the parent’s lap, although we are sure is more comfortable for the parent, is not the most secure for the infant (in the event of unexpected turbulence,) which unfortunately can happen. Little tiny fingers can easily fit into less visible areas on the aircraft that an adult may not even think twice about, which is why it is the recommended best practice if the infant remains in the seated, “burping” position or in an approved Child Restraint Device (i.e. car seat) during the flight.

Personally, I think Terri’s (and Sunwing’s) response is lame. You can read it in its entirety here. In Amanda’s reply to Terri she pointed out that you’re not going to hold an infant in the burping position for the duration of a flight – ANY length of flight. And I tried to clarify to Terri that, while it would have been nice if the flight attendants had shown some concern for an injured baby in their cabin, the real issue here is that the armrest is a potential safety hazard. Friends found a link to a similar incident on a Quantas 380. (I think it’s worthwhile to note that Sunwing did not respond to Amanda’s reply).

Embraer Armrest Hinge

Amanda first told me about this in March. The reason it’s taken so long for me to write about it is that Amanda and I have been doing a bit of “research” (ie intentionally pinching fingers in armrest hinges) on the myriad of flights we’ve taken over the past few months.

I flew Embraer aircrafts to Florida and back twice, and their armrest hinges were pretty flat with a weird rope thing. It looks kind of nasty with the screw stuck out like that, but I shut my finger in it a couple of times to test. If thumped down hard it certainly pinched, but don’t think it would sever.

A321 Armrest Up

On our most recent trip to Alberta and back, we flew Airbus aircrafts – a 321 and a 319. Both of them had metal armrest hinges that definitely pinched and hurt when I stuck my finger in and shut it, and maybe could have caused more damage if my finger was the size of an infant’s. When I first saw this I was certain that it was an Airbus issue, since the other case linked to above occurred on a 380 – another Airbus aircraft.

A Closer Look At The A321 Armrest Hinge

But I just had a look at Sunwing’s website, and their fleet is made up entirely of Boeings (eight 737-800 planes) – and I haven’t flown on a Boeing in a while.

Armrest Hinge on British Airways

Amanda recently flew to the UK via British Airways on a Boeing aircraft (see her review of British Airways coming up!) and took a picture of their hinges (and a fabulous manicure!) and noted that they also had “hinge” armrests, “although the ‘hinge’ part had less metal parts exposed  making it less guillotine like than Sunwing. We noticed that one of the armrests in front of the infant cot on the flight from London to Toronto (767 plane), wasn’t moveable at all (gave me a little relief!)”

Flybe Covered Armrest Hinge

While in the UK, Amanda and her family also flew a regional airline, Flybe, which has an Embraer fleet. Although her hinges were much nicer than mine!

I was so happy to see that although the Flybe planes had moveable armrests, the metal hinge parts had been covered by a plastic cover. How cool is that? Less chance little tiny infant fingers would be mauled by metal.

This incident has revealed that there is a definite safety issue here, and Amanda’s intent – both by coming to me and trying to correspond with Sunwing – is to prevent this from happening to another infant. Already we can determine that it’s happened to two babies, and that’s two too many in my books.

I queried both Airbus and Boeing to see if there’s something, anything, that can be done to protect little fingers, and I never heard back from either manufacturer. A quick search revealed at least 15 manufacturer of aircraft seats, but I have no way of knowing who made what seats for which aircraft. But now that we know this hazard exists, let’s take extra caution with the aircraft armrests when we’re flying with our children!

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