BTW we did pack disposable cameras for the kids but those didn't end up getting used as planned. The kids kept misplacing them and my husband, a professional visual arts guy, kept being a stick in the mud about them taking technically 'good' photos vs whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Don't let your photo snob get in the way of your kids' picture-taking fun.
We are the “crazy strict sleep” people too (well, I am, and my husband knows better than to try to dissuade me) and I don’t give a rat’s ass what people have to say about it. *MY* life is better when my kid isn’t hanging off the chandelier out of a cocktail of delirium and adrenaline. I’m glad you stuck to your guns!
I’m glad that the trip went well and even better that your were able to get some relaxation post-trip too.
I got SO much shit from both sets of grandparents for the whole 'schedule' thing (sleep schedules, insisting on feeding my kid at regular intervals, set bedtime, etc.). Both of my sisters in law also thought I was a controlling lunatic for insisting on regular naps/food/bedtime. Then they had kids. I was thoroughly vindicated and silently gloat when they tell me how helpful it is to have a schedule and that they just didn't get it before.
The whole time I was preparing my argument for sleep schedule I had the line “you would cry too if it happened to you” in my head from the song “It’s My Party.” The “it” being living with my child when he’s underslept and manic.
Another sleep dictator here! I kept my kid in central time while visiting family in pacific time for literally 7 years before I started going with the flow. I am not ruining my whole life for them. They want to see her more, they can come to chicago. No one is stopping them. We even have a guest room.
The best travel with kids advice I have is to plan one thing per day, build in afternoon nap/stare at screens time, and make reservations (or at least plans) on where you'll eat at least 2 meals. I refuse to play the 'I don't know, where do you want to eat??' game in a foreign country with hungry kids in tow.
Definitely one of my husbands and my biggest fights involved walking by several restaurants to get to a mall that he wanted to eat at inly to find that the mall food court was not a good place for him to eat. He ended up getting a salad at the humongous grocery store there. #authentico
I thought seriously about divorce on my honeymoon because I was SO tired and SO hungry and my husband refused to eat in the 'touristy' area we were in but there were NO other places nearby. Bad Spanish food is still better than a hangry melting down wife!
This was so fun and satisfying to read!! Also team go to bed early. And trying new snack foods and pops absolutely counts as an adventurous kid eating win.
Love everything about this! I'm also a sleep dictator. When it comes to under-planning, my personal version is to plan with baked in flexibility / spontaneity. Even if it means eating the cost of a museum ticket or something. I go into like a freeze state looking at a stretch of day without any sense of where we could go / what we could do. But if there's the general idea of a ticket to something or a lunch/dinner reservation it makes me feel prepared without being beholden to that thing. If anyone else is like me and can't not plan!
Future tip: Bring me along as your Spanish assistant/interpreter 😎😎😎😎 Also, the groom’s brother’s comment is oh so odd. At least in Peru, we know/assume that most Americans are not used to the all-night ragers that are Latin American weddings and are not surprised when the American guests leave early lol
Yay! I am so glad to hear you survived and had fun! Also there is nothing better than making someone laugh because you have successfully made a joke in another language. 👏
You did great! Love all the advice and also admire the bravery. Now make sure you re-apply for new passports for them, with BOTH PARENTS PRESENT (what has been keeping us from getting our kids theirs), in a few years so that you can go on more adventures!
It took us 2 tries bc they turned us down the first time bc I used white out on an error. Definitely one of those times where you have to completely prostrate yourself to the post office employees and be like yes I am an idiot, I know, thank you.
I'm so glad your trip went well, and I will absolutely be using this newsletter as a guide when I go on my own trip to Colombia with an almost-four-year-old next summer. Thank you in advance for this gift!!
Wow what an adventure! Several friends have visit Columbia recently and loved it. I'm glad to see it's back on the safe travel list. We're heading to Tahiti (all the islands) on Thursday so I'll check out the Mobile Passport and other apps you suggested. Too late to "UNDER plan" as my hubby over plans everything. One thing we try to do is pack light enough for carry on bags. But because we have scuba gear, we'll still have to check bags. Great post!
Thank you! Yes, honestly part of the challenge was trying to be mindful about traveling sensibly but tuning out the paranoid old folks who couldn't stop thinking about Colombia a few decades ago and assuming it was all like that and warning us against taking the kids. My husband ended up picking up a book about Colombian history while we were there and said it was fascinating to read about the country's timeline and how it provides an alternative view of what could have happened (or what could happen) in the U.S. if things went different politically
I hope you have a GREAT time!! I bet your pics will be amazing.
TBH, I turned down a girls' yoga retreat trip there because I'm one of those old folks who still wasn't convinced. But they're going again so I'll try to go. Thanks again for the great feedback!
When we took our four kids to Colombia a decade ago, we were in Santa Marta for a few days as well! Loved hearing about your experience there. And holy crap, you’re not kidding about those late night parties. We were sadly surprised when it turned out that our rooms in our hotel in Bogota were a few floors above a nightclub and the partying was SO LOUD and went on SO LATE. Makes for a funny story now though.
That was part of our check in confusion: they informed us that our original spots were near an all night party and were moved. And then we got to our room and there was a letter there saying heads up, It’s gonna be loud tonight. So we were like, so were we moved or not? (It was fine.)
BTW we did pack disposable cameras for the kids but those didn't end up getting used as planned. The kids kept misplacing them and my husband, a professional visual arts guy, kept being a stick in the mud about them taking technically 'good' photos vs whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Don't let your photo snob get in the way of your kids' picture-taking fun.
We are the “crazy strict sleep” people too (well, I am, and my husband knows better than to try to dissuade me) and I don’t give a rat’s ass what people have to say about it. *MY* life is better when my kid isn’t hanging off the chandelier out of a cocktail of delirium and adrenaline. I’m glad you stuck to your guns!
I’m glad that the trip went well and even better that your were able to get some relaxation post-trip too.
I got SO much shit from both sets of grandparents for the whole 'schedule' thing (sleep schedules, insisting on feeding my kid at regular intervals, set bedtime, etc.). Both of my sisters in law also thought I was a controlling lunatic for insisting on regular naps/food/bedtime. Then they had kids. I was thoroughly vindicated and silently gloat when they tell me how helpful it is to have a schedule and that they just didn't get it before.
The whole time I was preparing my argument for sleep schedule I had the line “you would cry too if it happened to you” in my head from the song “It’s My Party.” The “it” being living with my child when he’s underslept and manic.
YES. This was my experience exactly!
Oh I’m gloating right there with you haha
Another sleep dictator here! I kept my kid in central time while visiting family in pacific time for literally 7 years before I started going with the flow. I am not ruining my whole life for them. They want to see her more, they can come to chicago. No one is stopping them. We even have a guest room.
The best travel with kids advice I have is to plan one thing per day, build in afternoon nap/stare at screens time, and make reservations (or at least plans) on where you'll eat at least 2 meals. I refuse to play the 'I don't know, where do you want to eat??' game in a foreign country with hungry kids in tow.
Definitely one of my husbands and my biggest fights involved walking by several restaurants to get to a mall that he wanted to eat at inly to find that the mall food court was not a good place for him to eat. He ended up getting a salad at the humongous grocery store there. #authentico
I thought seriously about divorce on my honeymoon because I was SO tired and SO hungry and my husband refused to eat in the 'touristy' area we were in but there were NO other places nearby. Bad Spanish food is still better than a hangry melting down wife!
100% on the dinner plans. We didn’t do this on a recent and it brought me to the brink of tears several times... 😬
This was so fun and satisfying to read!! Also team go to bed early. And trying new snack foods and pops absolutely counts as an adventurous kid eating win.
Love everything about this! I'm also a sleep dictator. When it comes to under-planning, my personal version is to plan with baked in flexibility / spontaneity. Even if it means eating the cost of a museum ticket or something. I go into like a freeze state looking at a stretch of day without any sense of where we could go / what we could do. But if there's the general idea of a ticket to something or a lunch/dinner reservation it makes me feel prepared without being beholden to that thing. If anyone else is like me and can't not plan!
Future tip: Bring me along as your Spanish assistant/interpreter 😎😎😎😎 Also, the groom’s brother’s comment is oh so odd. At least in Peru, we know/assume that most Americans are not used to the all-night ragers that are Latin American weddings and are not surprised when the American guests leave early lol
He let his wife bring home his kids at 10 so he was not a reliable cultural source. Next time you’re coming!
Yay! I am so glad to hear you survived and had fun! Also there is nothing better than making someone laugh because you have successfully made a joke in another language. 👏
You did great! Love all the advice and also admire the bravery. Now make sure you re-apply for new passports for them, with BOTH PARENTS PRESENT (what has been keeping us from getting our kids theirs), in a few years so that you can go on more adventures!
It took us 2 tries bc they turned us down the first time bc I used white out on an error. Definitely one of those times where you have to completely prostrate yourself to the post office employees and be like yes I am an idiot, I know, thank you.
I'm so glad your trip went well, and I will absolutely be using this newsletter as a guide when I go on my own trip to Colombia with an almost-four-year-old next summer. Thank you in advance for this gift!!
I hope you have a GREAT time!
Wow what an adventure! Several friends have visit Columbia recently and loved it. I'm glad to see it's back on the safe travel list. We're heading to Tahiti (all the islands) on Thursday so I'll check out the Mobile Passport and other apps you suggested. Too late to "UNDER plan" as my hubby over plans everything. One thing we try to do is pack light enough for carry on bags. But because we have scuba gear, we'll still have to check bags. Great post!
Thank you! Yes, honestly part of the challenge was trying to be mindful about traveling sensibly but tuning out the paranoid old folks who couldn't stop thinking about Colombia a few decades ago and assuming it was all like that and warning us against taking the kids. My husband ended up picking up a book about Colombian history while we were there and said it was fascinating to read about the country's timeline and how it provides an alternative view of what could have happened (or what could happen) in the U.S. if things went different politically
I hope you have a GREAT time!! I bet your pics will be amazing.
TBH, I turned down a girls' yoga retreat trip there because I'm one of those old folks who still wasn't convinced. But they're going again so I'll try to go. Thanks again for the great feedback!
Poo Pourri is a fixture in my travel dopp kit! It's a family travel essential. 😉 Such great tips - bookmarking this one for future family trips.
same with being sleep-schedule people! what an incredible round-up of good advice. saving to revisit this the next time we leave the country
Great tips!! Saving this one!!!!
You might want to check La Unica on Devon for those snacks.
Gracias!
When we took our four kids to Colombia a decade ago, we were in Santa Marta for a few days as well! Loved hearing about your experience there. And holy crap, you’re not kidding about those late night parties. We were sadly surprised when it turned out that our rooms in our hotel in Bogota were a few floors above a nightclub and the partying was SO LOUD and went on SO LATE. Makes for a funny story now though.
That was part of our check in confusion: they informed us that our original spots were near an all night party and were moved. And then we got to our room and there was a letter there saying heads up, It’s gonna be loud tonight. So we were like, so were we moved or not? (It was fine.)
Sounds like a great trip! So glad it went smoothly