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	<title>Family Travel Coach</title>
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	<link>https://familytravelcoach.com</link>
	<description>Inspiring families to explore the world.</description>
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		<title>Take That Couples Trip</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/10/21/take-that-couples-trip/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Oct 2019 03:06:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Travel Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[couplesgetwaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[couplesgoals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[couplestime]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1791</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[As a therapist of 20 years, I&#8217;m going to give you some free couples advice: don&#8217;t waste energy trying to mimic your early relationship. Instead, grow your relationship as you go through life and the parenting years, creating new chapters. Your relationship came before the kids, and it needs investment to be strong when they leave the nest. One way to do that is date days/nights. If you&#8217;re like us, we don&#8217;t do them regularly enough, and when we do, it&#8217;s too easy to spend date night talking about the kids. Another tip: double date. It creates novelty, gets you to pick a different restaurant or activity than normal (we&#8217;re hitting the comedy club next month), and you won&#8217;t fall into talking household business. Another option? A couples trip. A long weekend away is like 3 to 6 months of date nights; take 7 to 12 days, and it&#8217;s like a year. You&#8217;ll be shocked how it feels not to parent for an extended period of time. Just think&#8230; no chores, kid moods, carpools, meals, naps or bedtime battles. As &#8220;the family travel coach,&#8221; I&#8217;m clearly a proponent of family travel, but I&#8217;m also the first to admit that couple&#8217;s travel is different and really dreamy. Stay out late. Sleep in. Lounge by the pool without interruption. That book you&#8217;re reading &#8211; you can actually finish it! No plans? No problem. Wander, linger, stay a little longer. Do something more adventurous that your kids can&#8217;t yet handle. Roadtrip with no complaints. Walk through a crowd without worry your little will get lost. Talk to locals. Get a massage, or take a nap. Go to a concert or impromptu football match. People-watch over coffee or wine for hours. You have no place you have to be, no schedule to keep and can make or change plans anytime you like. It&#8217;s a freedom you forgot you ever had: both a great brain break (sorry the therapist in me couldn&#8217;t resist) and relationship fuel. Now that I&#8217;ve sold you on the idea, let me tell you about our first trips away. We spent a night away at a concert when our older kiddo was nearly one. It was pretty easy, except for pumping and dumping in a tent in the middle of nowhere. It was a great break, but only got us fantasizing about what else we could do with some extended time away. Once we had two, we started thinking about a 35th birthday trip to Vegas. When we considered the cost, we started wondering about what else we might do with that chuck of cash. We accessed a bunch of hotel and flight points and settled on a 12-day trip to Greece. Yes, we really dove in! In our first few hours, we were headed to dinner at the Plaka, when the bellman asked us to step back into the lobby. Giant iron gates came barreling down, locking us in. You can imagine the adrenaline pumping as this jetlagged mom of two (then 18 months and 3 1/2) was told to suck on a lemon slice to stave off the effects of tear gas. I sat in the chandelier rich lobby, chatting with another tourist about Athens site seeing, trying not to think about the potential of orphaning our children. Turns out political riots are common and quick to pass in Athens. Within an hour the gates rose, our bellman directed us to the Plaka and we were on our way to dinner and what turned out to be a great trip! I tell this story not to scare you, but to encourage you to do it anyway. (Note, you&#8217;re more likely to die driving to the grocery than taking a couples trip overseas, so don&#8217;t let your mind go there. DO make sure you have a completed will specifying guardianship.) So once you decide to go, a few things to remember: If your kids are young, you&#8217;ll either spend a lot of time, money or both creating your childcare coverage. That first trip, we had two nannies and three grandparents taking shifts. It&#8217;s worth it! You&#8217;ll feel a little panicky and unsure what to do with yourself on the flight over, and really until you talk with your kids the first time. That&#8217;s normal. Facetiming or talking with your kids may go great. One of our first video calls (back when it was expensive with poor connection), our son cut off the conversation abruptly, &#8220;okay, bye bye mommy.&#8221; I was a little heartbroken but also relieved. It may go less great. Our daughter melted down crying, and I finally had to just sign off, fighting back my own tears. Luckily, our wonderful nanny Carolyne messaged me within a couple minutes to say our daughter was totally fine as soon as I was out of sight. Test it out, and be willing to talk to your kid(s) less, or alter whether it&#8217;s by voice or facetime depending how your kids do. For really little ones who don&#8217;t get the concept of time, it&#8217;s sometimes easier for them not to talk with you frequently. It&#8217;s also easier for most kids to talk early in the day; once they&#8217;re tired and close to bed, they&#8217;ll be more emotional. Another trick, leave little tokens &#8211; outing tickets, new stuffy, bubbles or notes that your caregivers can either give at certain increments or when your kiddo needs a little of your love. And of course, bring them back a little something unique to the place you&#8217;ve been. Among other things, we brought back flags from countries we visited, which became really fun when they kids started coming with us, collecting their own flags. Remember, your kids will miss you and you&#8217;ll miss them, and everyone will be fine. Sometimes kids even enjoy when you go, because grandparents and nannies are more lenient with bedtimes and junk food. More importantly, they learn to create emotional bonds with people other than their parents and to rely on each other as well. If you just aren&#8217;t ready (or don&#8217;t have childcare options to leave them at home), hire a sitter overseas and get some couples time while your kids are in tow. They may cringe now when they see you hold hands but again, it&#8217;s good for them! If the kids don&#8217;t love it, or punish you a bit when you return (normal), remember, you&#8217;re modeling that relationships are an investment, something to cherish and nourish. You&#8217;re gifting them the imprint of a healthy relationship, and that is priceless! Feel free to borrow our line, &#8220;you get us for 50 weeks, we get us for two.&#8221;]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1791</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Travel with a Singleton</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/10/09/travel-with-a-singleton/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Oct 2019 02:41:24 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Travel Tips]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1425</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Hesitant to travel the world with your single child? Travel with one is neither better nor worse than travel with multiples, just different, and with plenty of perks. The biggest benefit is cost. With a singleton, you buy fewer flights and can stay in one room, if desired. Emotionally speaking, your kiddo gets your full attention and priority in choosing activities. As adults, your trip will be much calmer, as you&#8217;re not juggling kids and will have greater opportunity for alone time (one of you can entertain your child while the other gets a break). To maximize your family trip for three, read on. First, consider adult energy level, parent/child interest match, and extrovert/introvert tendencies of family members. Are you and your child interested in the same kinds of things? Do you enjoy participating in his or her preferred activities but tire more quickly than your kiddo? Is your singleton skilled in entertaining himself or herself and befriending other kids? If your kiddo is under twelve or not particularly independent, he or she will need more attention, either from you, other kids or other adults. For introverted kids this is a little easier, as they tend to be more content solo. Extroverts will be better able to befriend but also in greater need of socialization. Use your trip (singleton families and others alike) as an opportunity to facilitate and practice social skills. Consider travel with another family or extended family. The extra adult hands make it more enjoyable for everyone, especially if there are theme parks, bodies of water or dinners out involved. When courting travel families, start small with a day trip or overnight somewhere nearby to test family compatibility. And as a singleton family, don&#8217;t limit your options to other singleton families. We&#8217;ve spent a few weekends with our two kids and a singleton family, and the three kids have done great together! If you really want to relax and enjoy, and you’ve booked a rental or multiple rooms, can you even hire a teen or college aged friend or relative to come along. Most are thrilled to entertain your singleton in exchange for a flight, room and board, and a little time off to explore a new place. And of course kids think teens and twenty-somethings are way cooler than mom and dad. If extra adults aren&#8217;t an option, bring along a friend. It sounds counter intuitive, but if you already have another bed for your kiddo, a bestie can join for not much added cost, and everyone will be happier! It also saves you from being the one buried in the sand when your kiddo doesn&#8217;t have a playmate their own age. If none of these options is feasible or preferred, consider how you can get your kiddo some added socialization during your trip. You may be better suited at a larger hotel or resort with kids club or activities so your child can make friends. A cruise is another option where your singleton can roam free a bit, but still be contained. If you’re in one destination for an extended period, enroll your child in a camp or class, providing opportunity to make friends with locals. Encourage your singleton to sign up for activities at the resort to meet friends. While I normally prefer private tours, a larger group tour, especially at the front end of your trip, can be a great way for your singleton to get social interaction and potentially meet friends. With an introvert you may have to facilitate a bit, for example, asking a kid near you how old they are and making introductions. Book through your hotel and your kiddo may even meet playmates for the remainder of the trip. If you’re not a resort type family or will be moving around frequently, set your expectations accordingly, and communicate some of this with your kiddo. If one of you parents is more energetic, you may want to plan for that parent to spend more time participating in high energy kid activities. Look for interest overlap and choose to create one-on-one, parent-child time. This reconfiguring strategy ensures both parents get breaks and also quality parent-child time. Set expectations with your kiddo with regard to your participation. For example, if your singleton is in the pool all day, will you get in a couple times, for a set amount of time or after a certain period of rest? Let him or her know that you will all get the chance to choose activities and will participate in others&#8217; choices you&#8217;re not as excited about, because that’s what families do. The trip is a time for you as a family, but also let your child know there will be times that you’ll want adult time or alone time, either by hiring a sitter or booking multiple rooms. When kids are young, parents can get a break by taking advantage or naps or early bedtime. When too old for daily naps but not quite ready to be in the room alone, prepare your singleton for an hour or so of wakeful time each day that adults will do their own thing while kiddo reads, plays solitaire, listens to music or really does anything quiet. Remind your singleton that, even with vitamins, adults typically need to recharge to keep up. Littles will love the ego boost of wearing out the parents. With teens and tweens, especially those who are socially mature, trips with only children can be especially rewarding. For one, he or she feels more like a friend or travel companion and can participate in most of what you want, and vice versa. Figure out what your singleton loves and find a way to integrate it; think food or factory tour, sporting event, concert of other performing arts, or even a cooking class. There’s also the benefit that at this age, kids are typically used to staying alone and even relish the chance to stay in, order room service and message friends. It&#8217;s a win-win: independence for teen and date for the parents. If you plan to utilize this option, pick your hotel accordingly, so you feel confident in your kiddo&#8217;s safety, and he or she has a competent concierge to call upon, if needed. Activate your child’s international calling and texting plan, so you can reach each other; it will provide peace of mind (not a bad idea anyway in case of accidental separation during international travel). Start small with an on-property spa treatment, workout or cocktail in the hotel bar. Gradually build up to shopping, museum or restaurant nearby, so you can easily return if necessary. For multi-kiddo families, consider planning a pseudo-singleton trip. When our kids turned 10, we treated them to sibling-free weekends away (sib stayed with a friend or grandparent). For one we spent a weekend in LA with a visit to Disneyland; the other was spent in San Francisco, with a visit to Alcatraz and a Pac-12 football game. It was a really nice way for each of them to soak up our undivided attention and for us feel completely present, focused on just one of our sweeties. Divide and conquer as sibling interests diverge. Everyone loves a little one-on-one time, so getting to act like a singleton, even for the day, is a treat, especially as part of a longer family trip when togetherness becomes tiresome. And for all kids, singleton or otherwise, a special outing with your kiddo, a buddy and the buddy&#8217;s mom or dad is another useful reconfiguration. Lastly, if you have a teen singleton who&#8217;s over family togetherness, you can opt to leave him or her home with a friend or relative and enjoy a couples trip (more on that soon). Or, just tote your angsty teen and expect a little guff. While it may not be appreciated now, it surely will be in 10 years … or maybe 30.  ]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1425</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sahara Glamping</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/09/07/sahara-glamping/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Sep 2019 15:18:05 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Fave Experiences]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1653</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Have you dreamed of riding through the Sahara Desert on a camel? How about riding that camel to your very own Berber tent and sleeping under the stars for the night? It takes a while to get to the edge of the Moroccan desert, but watching the sunset and sunrise over the dunes is well worth it. You can hire a driver to take you to and from the desert in two days (driving about 8-10 hours each day), either from Fez or Marrakesh, but I don&#8217;t recommend it, especially with kids. We looked into flying, but since the Sahara butts up to the Algerian border, they no longer offer helicopters to Merzouga. The nearest place to fly is Ouarzazate, but when you figure in airport wait time, the drive is a better option for sure. Plus there&#8217;s so much to see and experience on the way. Spend four to five days taking your time to and from the desert. If hiking in the Atlas mountains is of interest, tag on another night or two and stay at one of the beautiful properties overlooking Toubkal (try Kasbah Toubkal)? Take in the Dades Valley oasis, Todra Gorge (&#8220;Grand Canyon of Morocco&#8221;), and the many villages and rock caves. Check out Ait Ben Haddou, the kasbah Americans know from Game of Thrones, or my favorite, the lesser known and visited Kasbah Telouet. If you&#8217;re lucky, you may even spy a nomad tent en route. Stop for the night in Skoura, one of my favorite little towns. Staying on the way to or from the desert (or both because we loved it so much) is such a treat. I highly recommend L&#8217;Ma Lodge and Les Jardin de Skoura. Each kasbah-style property offers beautiful garden, local food and an in-ground pool your kids will love. Sometimes they even offer yoga and cooking classes. You&#8217;ll love the relaxing contrast to bustling Marrakesh and Fez. Once you make it to Merzouga, you&#8217;ll mount your camels and head out for camp at twilight. Bring a headscarf and glasses to protect your eyes and face from the sand (they&#8217;ll wrap the scarf for you), and expect about half hour on the camel. You can opt to drive in if you have a 4&#215;4 vehicle and take a shorter camel ride once you arrive at the camp. That said, it&#8217;s pretty magical arriving at the camp by camel at dusk. If you choose a luxury camp, (about 300-350 euro for two people in a shared tent), you&#8217;ll have a much more personal experience as well as a large comfy bed in your own tent with bathroom and shower. We loved Merzouga Luxury Desert Camps, where our site had only five tents! The economy options are more affordable but you&#8217;ll be in tents with more people and a much larger group in the dunes and at the camp. It you&#8217;re doing this once in a lifetime, the luxury camp is the way to go. Once you&#8217;ve surfed the dunes and taken enough photos, shower up and enjoy a beautiful Moroccan meal under the stars. Everything is included, except alcohol, which is an additional price. Note that during Ramadan, when we were there, they do not serve alcohol at all, so bring your own if it’s important to you to enjoy wine with dinner. While not expected, bring some cash for tips for the handful of camp attendants. After dinner, you&#8217;ll enjoy sitting by the fire as the Berber camp attendants perform traditional music. You can even try to play the instruments yourself (fun for kids). Settle into your tent for a great night sleep, and ask to be awakened to climb up the dunes for sunrise. Enjoy your full breakfast spread complete with fabulous fresh squeezed orange juice. Then jump back on those camels (or take a 4&#215;4 vehicle if you prefer) and say goodbye to the desert. It&#8217;s a bucket list experience for sure, so much so that I&#8217;ve told clients considering Morocco, if you don&#8217;t have time or it&#8217;s not the right season for the Sahara desert, put the trip on hold. Morocco is not the same without a desert overnight!]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1653</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Dolphin Chasing</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/08/15/dolphin-chasing/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:16:04 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1604</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[You can pay a small fortune to get in a pen and swim with dolphins in Mexico, even ride them a bit. We&#8217;ve done it; it&#8217;s cool, but it&#8217;s NOTHING like swimming with them in the wild in the warm Indian Ocean. When we overheard a fellow guest at the resort talking about hiring the a boat for the day with guaranteed dolphin sighting, we figured it would be worth it to just to spend the day on a boat snorkeling. If we saw dolphins in the distance, bonus! Within half hour we had found a cluster of boats watching dolphins and caught our first glimpses. What we weren&#8217;t prepared for was our captain yelling, &#8220;go, go, go!&#8221; Apparently, the snorkels and fins were not just for snorkeling but chasing after the pod we saw. It was comical watching the four kids and two dads dive in, chase dolphins, get outrun, race back to the boat, and speed off to try to catch up with them again. Those dolphins are fast! We repeated this several times, and they were all loving it. Eventually, they were tired enough to break for snorkeling. This too was amazing, as the water was the clearest I&#8217;d ever seen (photos don&#8217;t do it justice). When snorkeled out, we did one more run at dolphin chasing. This time, content we&#8217;d taken enough photos, us moms dove in too. I can say, I completely underestimated how amazing it would be to swim behind a pod of dolphins, including a baby. They were close enough to touch (which we didn&#8217;t do, of course) and so beautiful gliding through the water and chattering away. We finished the adventure with a stop for fresh cut watermelon and coconut on the white sand beach. HEAVEN! If you go to Tanzania or Kenya for safari, definitely add a stop in Zanzibar (for many reasons), and hire a boat for dolphin chasing. Make sure all are strong swimmers, as you&#8217;ll have lifejackets on board, but they&#8217;ll just slow you down. Trust me, it&#8217;ll be the best five hundred dollar day (for party of 8) ever.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1604</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Amini Life Lodge</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/08/15/amini-life-lodge/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Aug 2019 01:15:18 +0000</pubDate>
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		<category><![CDATA[mudhuts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[safari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tanzania]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travelafrica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travelphotography]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1550</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Ever stayed in a mud hut? At Africa Amini Life Lodge you can. It&#8217;s definitely the most unique place we&#8217;ve ever stayed. About 90 minutes drive from the Kilimanjaro airport, the replica of a Maasai village is run by the Maasai tribe, with proceeds benefiting the community&#8217;s school, hospital and orphanage. Your stay also provides a glimpse into the Maasai culture and lifestyle. It&#8217;s a great first stop for your Tanzanian safari or base to acclimate for your Kilimanjaro hike. If you&#8217;re lucky and get a clear morning, you can even see sunrise over Kilimanjaro. The property is comprised of 14 huts, a gathering space for relaxing and eating meals, and a pool and sauna area. All offer breathtaking views over the valley. The huts are simple, providing a large bed and full bath with shower. Some offer internal sitting area in separate space, where a single child could stay. All the huts have some sort of deck as well. There are wooden window shutters that lock from the inside and an internal wooden lock on your door. There is light and a power strip for device charging (although unlikely you&#8217;ll get a signal out there). There&#8217;s no heat but plenty of blankets. Bring a down vest or fleece if you want to enjoy the sunrise from your balcony. Meals are included in your room charge. Alcoholic beverages are available but not included. There&#8217;s also a cute little shop with Maasai wares for purchase. Another treat is the private nature tour you will experience with one of the Maasai warrior guides. We loved learning about the natural wonder of this area, as well as the Maasai culture. Our guide was so great with the kids and graciously answered all our questions about tribal life and customs. In addition to the unique lodging and spectacular secluded setting, Amini Life is special because of the Maasai people. They were so warm, friendly and joyous; being with them we couldn&#8217;t help but smile. Our only regret was that we couldn&#8217;t stay longer (book at least two nights) to really enjoy the simple way of life. Help keep us blogging by booking here: Booking.com. We get a small kickback and you get the flexibility of booking all over the world, often with free cancelation. We also love the app, which keeps all our hotel bookings in one place.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1550</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Ready for Family Safari?</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/08/13/ready-for-family-safari/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Aug 2019 16:47:56 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Travel Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bucketlistfamilies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[everywherefamilies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[familyadventure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[familysafari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[familytravel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[greatmigration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[havekidswilltravel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intothewild]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[landscapes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ngorongorocrater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[privatesafari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[safari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[safaritips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[serengeti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[serengetisafari]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shadowsofafrica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tanzania]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tentcamps]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travelafrica]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travelphotograhy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traveltanzania]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[traveltrips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wanderlust]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[wildebeests]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zanzibar]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1430</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I was blown away by safari last summer. There&#8217;s something magical about driving the changing landscape of the Serengeti and watching spectacular animals in their natural world. That said, it&#8217;s not for everyone, and doing it before your family is ready could be difficult and potentially dangerous. Our first night in Tanzania, we arrived late, piled into a van and drove 90 minutes to our Maasai lodge. We had dinner at midnight and were escorted to our mud huts in complete darkness. We watched with trepidation as our 10-year-old daughter and her friend were led around the path and out of sight. There were no locks, no phones, and nothing but an instruction to flash a flashlight (which we had forgotten) for help. I fell asleep from sheer exhaustion (did I mention you take two 10-hour flights, back to back), and was awakened in the middle of the night by the sounds of a wind storm. I lay there worried, hoping the kids followed directions and stayed in their huts, and that family safari wasn&#8217;t a terrible mistake! When the sun began to peek up over the spectacular horizon, I found the other huts, the girls in theirs, happily chatting about how cool this place was (it really was unlike anything we have ever experienced). I was relieved and reminded how comfortable they are making their way in unfamiliar places around the world. Two nights later, we arrived at our first tent camp. After dinner, the girls were escorted back to their tent and zipped in. Again it was pitch black, and there were no phones. Hearing strange sounds and scared because their tent was shaking, they radioed the front desk. Amidst tears, they were able to stay calm and stay put while guards checked and reported back. The next morning at breakfast they were animated (and a little annoyed we had turned off our radios &#8211; oops) telling the story. They laughed about the casual instruction, &#8220;don&#8217;t worry &#8211; it&#8217;s just a couple cape buffalo (1300 pounds each) scratching themselves on your tent wires.&#8221; Fears quelled, they went back to bed to rest up for our first full day in the Serengeti. I mention these tales to put the experience in perspective. African safari is not like any trip we&#8217;ve done before. Before you go, consider: How do you do with long haul flights? Are your kids able to manage eight to 10 hr flights, back-to-back? Are you all up-to-date on vaccines, and are you willing to get more shots in preparation? Will your kids eat whatever they&#8217;re given (usually lunches are a bento style box of meat and rice) and an array of food styles? How do you feel about driving bumpy roads through the Serengeti for up to 10 hours a day? Without carseats? How easily bored do your kids get when sitting for hours? Will they drive you crazy asking, &#8220;are we there yet?&#8221; Are your kids old enough to stay in their own tent in the middle of nowhere, or will they get scared on wander off? How do they do with unfamiliar environments, hot sun and lots of dirt? Can you all roll with early mornings, long days and schedule changes? Do the kids become upset seeing poverty or animals killing each other? Are you ready to drop a small fortune? Safari is not for kids who scare easily or don&#8217;t follow rules. Kids need to unquestionably follow instructions like &#8220;don&#8217;t move,&#8221; &#8220;stay in your tent,&#8221; or &#8220;don&#8217;t go out without escort.&#8221; A rambunctious kiddo can startle animals while on safari, either limiting your sighting experience or actually putting you in danger. If you&#8217;re concerned about staying away from your kids, some camps have family-sized tents where kids can stay with you (great for single child families, in which case you could age down a bit). That said, it limits your options. Plus, there&#8217;s something pretty fabulous about groggily opening your eyes to the sounds of lions and sipping coffee just the two of you. Safari means long days. When I booked our private safari for two families, I was thinking half the group could safari while the other half relaxed at the camp or headed out a little later. What I didn&#8217;t realize is that you&#8217;re moving each night and it&#8217;s not a circular route, so your group all stays or goes together (also proves handy with a car breakdown, so the second vehicle can get help if necessary). That usually means getting up around 6:30 to quickly eat and be on the road by 7:30ish. This way you see as much of the park as possible before curfew (tours must arrive at their next destination before dark &#8211; about 7pm during migration). You&#8217;re wiped out by the time you get to camp for dinner, and there&#8217;s no room service (you wouldn&#8217;t want wild animals drawn to your tent). Safari is also not an easy place to get medical assistance. Once in the Serengeti, you&#8217;re many hours, maybe days, drive from major medical. There is an airstrip at one end, but if you&#8217;re someone with medical access needs, you may be better to skip safari. You could also do something like the Ngorongoro Crater, where you can see lots in one day and stay in resorts closer to main towns. Our 12-year-old son got some kind of food poisoning or virus our first day in the Serengeti and had to medicate and sleep it off while we kept moving (make sure to get an antibiotic for all family members and also bring Tylenol, Advil, Imodium or anything else you might need). There&#8217;s also lots of dust and dirt in the Serengeti, so bring inhalers, Visine and antihistamines as well. We also relied on Nuun hydration tablets to keep everyone well in the heat. Also know that, other than your lodging, restrooms on safari are usually the dirt road behind the vehicle, so not for the prim or ultra-private kiddo (or parent). BYO hand sanitizer, Kleenex, wipes, feminine products and a few ziplock bags for disposal. All worth it to see some the amazing wildlife&#8230; And did I mention patience and flexibility? You&#8217;ll spend hours looking for animals, sometimes more easily sighted than others. You&#8217;ll also be speeding over rutted out dirt roads, so car troubles happen. We had two different truck breakdowns, which required we relax and enjoy the scenery while our fearless leaders and other good samaritan guides stopped to help. There&#8217;s plenty of time to nap, play cards or listen to music on the road. Some kids love taking photos and using the binoculars to search for animals, but for others this might drive them (or you) crazy. Make sure you and your kids can handle this much car time. One of our favorite things was standing in the open top trucks and &#8220;safari surfing&#8221; &#8211; holding on tight as your driver speeds along the bumpy roads. While this was super fun, we did get a couple bruised arms, and it wouldn&#8217;t be great for the littlest littles. Safari also exposes kids to poverty and very basic living conditions. They&#8217;ll see children herding goats in the hot desert, or begging for food or money, sometimes barefoot. If you venture into villages outside the park, conditions are very different than what your kids are used to. It can be heart wrenching, but also a great lesson for kids about appreciating life&#8217;s simple pleasures, especially since most all the African children we saw were smiling. Make sure your kids are emotionally mature enough to handle this, and talk about it before, during and after your trip. To see the great migration, which I highly recommend, you&#8217;ll be traveling either to Tanzania or Kenya late July or early August; it varies based on the year&#8217;s climate, so you&#8217;re guessing a bit. Guides and lodging book early for the migration, so for 2020, you&#8217;re already at the tail end of booking. We used Shadows of Africa and loved our amazing private guides Moody and James. And then there&#8217;s price. Safari was easily the most we&#8217;d ever spent for a week of vacation. Flights alone run at least $2500/person, since you&#8217;re flight time is the equivalent of two flights to Europe. Plus, you really can&#8217;t safari on your own. Nothing is marked, animals are dangerous; you&#8217;re paying the expertise of your guides. It is definitely worth it; just make sure to do it when everyone in your group can really enjoy it. To get more bang for your buck, add a week in Zanzibar to relax on white sand beaches and swim wild dolphins in the wild. Or, if you have time, I also recommend adding a layover in Europe on the way there, back or both. Know that these considerations are definitely not meant to deter you. Go after you&#8217;ve traveled at least a few far flung trips with your kids, and they&#8217;ve proven to be independent and flexible travelers. It&#8217;s a perfect experience with tweens, teens or even young adults. Safari is one of, if not the, most awe inspiring family trips we&#8217;ve ever taken. When your family is ready, it&#8217;ll be the experience of a lifetime!]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1430</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Paris for Parents</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/08/08/paris-for-parents/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Aug 2019 21:40:51 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Fave Experiences]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[hiddendining]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[jacquementandremuseum]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[lespuces]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[luxembourggarden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[museedorsay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parentgetaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parisbynight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parisforgrownups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parisforlovers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parisforparents]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[parislove]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[pompidou]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[supperclub]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1340</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Spent the past week populating our insta with great Paris kid activities, but let&#8217;s not forget, Paris is equally amazing for parents! If you can find a way to get there as a couple, do it. If you&#8217;ll be there with littles in tow, at least make time for a date. The best thing about Paris without kids is the complete absence of parenting responsibility. No rushing through sites for snacks, naps or meltdown management. No worry that your munchkin will give you the slip in a crowd. You get to RELAX&#8230; Sleep in or stay out late. Enjoy all that Paris has to offer with adult pace and interests in mind. Go out at night, linger over a meal, people watch, and stop to frame a photo. Soak in the sites as the Parisians do. Read a book in a beautifully landscaped garden (Luxembourg is my fave). People watch as you sip cappuccino at one of the city&#8217;s many outdoor cafés. We love the famed Café de Flore &#8211; great location, history and service. Love to shop? Enjoy boutiques in the fabulous neighborhoods of Saint Germain des Prés, Le Marais and along Saint Michel in the Latin Quarter. For high-end window shopping, check out Rue St Honoré and nearby Avenue Montaigne. Find an unusual souvenir at Les Puces, the sprawling weekend antique market (open 10-6 Sat and Sun, also Monday but often appointment only). Sit on the banks of the Seine across from Ile de St Louis, and spend hours watching the boats. Come dusk, enjoy l&#8217;heure de l&#8217;apéro (happy hour) at one of the riverfront bars of the left bank, across from the Grand Palais. Love art, architecture, history or fashion? Museum-go to your heart&#8217;s content, without worry your kids will bore or tire. My faves are Musée D&#8217;Orsay and the Picasso Museum. The Pompidou is great for modern art lovers, and of course, there&#8217;s the Louvre. For fashionistas, there are several fashion museums, including one that includes a huge jewelry exhibit: The Gallery des Bijoux. Get a little art, architecture and light lunch or tea at the Jacquement-André Museum; the property was once a mansion owned by collectors who willed it back to the city. When you&#8217;re ready for some movement, take an architectural walking tour, or bike the city&#8217;s landmarks with a downloaded audio guide. For something really different, rollerblade through the city as part of the weekly meet up (Sunday afternoon for beginners, Friday night for advanced). Get outside the city with a day trip to Giverny and Auvers, the chateus of the Loire Valley, Versailles or even Normandy. If the mood strikes, stay the night. Staying as adults in Paris, there are so many charming and romantic properties to choose; with longer legs, you can stay a little further off the beaten path without worry. Pick a place you might not go with kids, something that feels grown up. If you like to stay with or gather points, try the classic Westin Place Vendôme, located in the heart of everything and offering some rooms with spectacular Eiffel Tower or Vendôme Columns views. For something more boutiquey, both Prince de Galles and Hotel de Berri are part of the Bonvoy Luxury Collection and are perfectly located on either side of the Champs Elysée. We loved the latter, a newer Italianate boutique property with moody emerald green rooms, relaxing breakfast and bar area, and spectacular service. Keep us blogging by booking here: Booking.com If your kids are with you, hire a sitter for a naptime lunch away or night on the town. There are tons of Paris bistros to select, or dress up and go somewhere fancy. Try Paris&#8217; hidden dining or supper club scene (accessible with Google search or meetup.com). We thoroughly enjoyed chatting (sometimes in French) with new friends at Jim Haynes&#8217; Sunday night supper club, Sundays since 1978. Local events are also a great way to enjoy the city. Take in a concert, football match (fun for teens too) or burlesque show at Crazy Horse (not for teens). If childcare abroad isn&#8217;t something you&#8217;re willing to try, think about sneaking moments together. It may make kids squirm, but seeing you walk hand-in-hand in the city of light is good for them, and you!]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1340</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Le Pigonnet</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/07/28/le-pigonnet/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Jul 2019 01:58:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Fave Hotels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aixenprovence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[familytravel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[familytravelblog]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[greathotels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[havekidswilltravel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lepigonnet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[traveltips]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1318</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Someday I hope to experience what it&#8217;s like to live in Provence by renting a chateau walking distance to a small town. If you have a week or more to explore the area, do it! There are many rental homes, but most require a week+, often Saturday to Saturday. If you&#8217;re visiting Provence as part of a larger France or Europe trip, as we did, three to four days is just right at Le Pigonnet in Aix-en-Provence. The five star boutique property was originally an 18th century manor, turned hotel in 1924. Standard rooms range 150 to 315 euro in summer (the higher prices are for the garden view rooms, which I highly recommend). The family suite, in its own building, sleeps six for 400 euro. The property is walking distance to the center of Aix, and they also have bikes, so it&#8217;s a perfect home base. My favorite thing about Le Pigonnet is the beautiful garden; it&#8217;s up there with Giverny, in my opinion. They serve breakfast outside if you like, and there are several spots to lounge with a book or glass of wine. Your kids will love the garden pool and cabana, where you can refresh after a day of exploring. In the summer months, the outdoor bar is open nightly, hosting live jazz performances Tuesday and Thursday. Trust me, you&#8217;ll love it! Help keep us blogging by booking here: Booking.com. We get a small kickback and you get the flexibility of booking all over the world, often with free cancelation. We also love the app, which keeps all our hotel bookings in one place.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1318</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Christmas in July</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/07/25/christmas-in-july/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2019 09:30:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Travel Tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[christmasmarkets]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[holidaytravel]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[travelaustria]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1214</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Summer&#8217;s in full swing. You&#8217;re busy soaking up the sun, picking berries, enjoying BBQs, reveling in music festivals and sending kids to camp. LOVE that you&#8217;re living in the moment! If you&#8217;re interested in spending Christmas break abroad, however, time to pause and plan; we&#8217;re down to the wire. This year Christmas falls early in our kids&#8217; break, so it&#8217;s easier to spend the holiday at home and then sneak away, if you like. Hanukah is later this year, so the opposite is true. While a weekend or week away can be great, spending the entire break away allows time for family fun, adventure and relaxation. What better gift? Christmas sleigh ride in Salzburg Once we realized the kids could manage a long-haul flight, we opted to take winter break overseas. We spent our first holiday abroad in Hong Kong and Vietnam; the next was Thailand (our daughter&#8217;s favorite trip ever), and a third was a wintery mashup of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Each was amazing in its own right. While it can be worrisome to take a break from holiday traditions at home, it&#8217;s really cool to experience how the rest of the world celebrates the season. Holiday Travel Tips Since the two week holiday break is one of the busiest travel times, you&#8217;ll pay a premium for flights and lodging. But with work days off, you may get more time with a lesser PTO hit; plus, fewer school absences (especially helpful with middle school and high schoolers). Play with flight dates and times to get the best deal. Are you willing to travel on Christmas or New Years Day? Also consider buying a round trip from major hub like LA, New York, San Francisco and separate ticket (maybe even on points) from your nearest airport. Same is true if you have multiple destinations; book into in one city and out of another with a separately booked ticket local flight to connect destinations. And don&#8217;t forget to use that two for one annual credit card voucher before it expires. Interested in sunbathing? Consider SE Asia, Hawaii, and the Caribbean (although holiday season can still be wet in the tropics, so be prepared in your packing and mindset). Australia, Pacific Coast of Mexico and Central or South America offer higher odds of consistent sun. Ready to swoosh down the slopes? Holiday season can be tricky due to unpredictable early season snowfall. Pick a spot with plenty of other activities should snow be iffy. Is there a spa, ice skating rink, movie theater interesting sites or great restaurants? Get in the spirit by enjoying the world&#8217;s Christmas markets. Think Berlin, Nuremburg, Munich, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Talinn or St Petersburg. Centuries old holiday traditions and mulled wine are hard to beat. And you can mix in some site seeing while you&#8217;re at it. Pick a hotel with indoor pool and your kids will really be happy; for mom and dad, maybe a nice spa. If not into hot and cold extremes, the world is your oyster! Visit European cities that are packed during summer: Rome, Athens, Paris, Barcelona? Or, check out a sites that are often too hot during summer break but mild over the holidays: Egypt, Israel, India, Jordan, UAE? Email the hotel concierge to inquire about holiday offerings. They often don&#8217;t post them on their sites until closer to the date (if at all), but concierge can confirm what events they have scheduled and whether the spa and restaurants are open over the holidays. Keep the magic alive for Santa believers. Print pictures of their presents (easy carrying through customs) and pop them into a gift bag with a favorite holiday candy. Or, arrange for your pet sitter to display Santa gifts while you&#8217;re gone &#8211; a fun way to extend the holiday when you return. Tweens and teens love cash to put toward trip shopping, activities or experiences. And the trip itself can be your big family gift &#8211; way more meaningful than most stuff. For a New Years Eve firework spectacular, try Hong Kong, Tokyo, Dubai, Moscow, Rio, Cartagena, New York, Seattle, San Francisco. Consider booking NYE a year ahead to ensure a spot. Booking.com now allows multiple bookings on the same date, so you can book your NYE rooms while you wait on flight release and the details of your trip plan. (Make sure to choose a cancellable rate if trip not finalized). Caveat: I&#8217;m mixed on this rec, because I don&#8217;t want to encourage room hoarding and last minute cancelations that hurt properties or prohibit others from enjoying top destinations, so please be respectful and cancel unnecessary rooms as soon as you get things finalized. If booking with points, you&#8217;ve probably missed the chance for 2019, but dream now about holiday 2020. Hotels typically open reservations a year in advance, and flights 10 to 12 months. Where in the world will you go?]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">1214</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why passport &#8220;expiration&#8221; is not a travel by date.</title>
		<link>https://familytravelcoach.com/2019/05/21/why-passport-expiration-is-not-a-travel-by-date/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 May 2019 20:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Travel Tips]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[wanderlust]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://familytravelcoach.com/?p=1174</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s nearly summer travel season; before you go abroad, make sure you know the difference between passport expiration and travel validity. There&#8217;s still time to expedite a renewed passport if needed! For spring break, we arrived at the airport for our flight to Panama, only to have my daughter&#8217;s 11-year-old bestie turned away at check-in because her passport would expire 2.5 months after her return to the US. Now, you might say, &#8220;she plans travel for people, how did this get missed?&#8221; The short answer: it wasn&#8217;t missed, but the passport office worker did not include the original passport with the application, since it wasn&#8217;t yet expired &#8211; WRONG. Net result: expediting was useless, as the family was notified by email two days before the flight that the renewal could not be completed without original passport. UGH! They tried their luck at the airport hoping it would be close enough, after all she was only 11, but no luck. They, like many each day, were unable to board the flight with the invalid passport, forced to get a same day passport appointment and change their flight, or cancel the trip entirely. Since returning from Panama (we did go and it was amazing) and relaying the story, I&#8217;ve been surprised by how many people, even those who regularly travel internationally, don&#8217;t know about the validity issue. So I&#8217;m SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS: passport &#8220;expiration&#8221; and travel &#8220;validity&#8221; are not the same! This has nothing to do with US Customs. Each destination country has its own validity rules about how much time must be left before passport expiration; that&#8217;s when you can actually use your passport to travel internationally. This varies by passport country as well, so if you&#8217;re British and your spouse or kids are US Citizens, for example, the validity requirements may be different depending on your citizenship. When you book an international ticket, you will be asked to enter your passport information, but in the 20+ countries we&#8217;ve visited, I&#8217;ve yet to see an airline prompt regarding destination country validity. (Such an easy fix, I don&#8217;t know why airlines haven&#8217;t universally adopted it, but it is what it is). So, before you go, make sure you know your destination country requirements. Passport Tips: Americans need a passport everywhere, even kids, even if it&#8217;s Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean (except Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands &#8230; for now). Gone are the days of traveling with a birth certificate. Yes, our daughter had her first passport photo taken at two-weeks old to allow for a Cabo vacation at three-months-old, even though her brother was able to go two years earlier with just a birth certificate. Before you travel internationally, search &#8220;minimum passport validity&#8221; and your country to determine current rule about how long a passport must be valid after US return date. For Panama, it was three months (current standard for Mexico, Canada, much of Europe and much of Central America). Do not assume that because the traveler has 2.5 months left, or is a kid, the rule will be bent. If in doubt, use the six month validity rule as your standard unless you&#8217;re booking Canada or Mexico last minute. Rules around travel change frequently, and you don&#8217;t want to be stuck thinking you&#8217;re fine with four months left, only to learn the rule has shifted since ticket issue. Also, make sure to have empty pages in your passport book. Many countries require a full unmarked page for their stamp or VISA. Often people don&#8217;t realize that if their passport isn&#8217;t expired, but pages are already stamped, you have to renew your passport to get additional pages. You used to be able to add pages to an existing passport, but that is no longer the case. Yes, it&#8217;s a hassle and expense, but hey, if you need more pages, at least you&#8217;re a lucky world traveler. Similarly, plan multiple pages if you&#8217;re hitting multiple countries on a long trip. To obtain a passport, go to the passport office to mail your application or renewal. They will have the most current time for standard and expedited turn around. I&#8217;ve typically had great passport workers who thoroughly inspect all the forms and make sure everything is just right. However, don&#8217;t expect them to universally get it right. The person our friend had made a major error at the first appointment for expedited passport, and then there were two further passport office errors in communication and form completion during the same day appointments, turning a one-day trip delay into four (since passport offices are closed Sat/Sun). Moral of the story: make sure you are clear on what needs to be included. Passport photos must be on standard backdrop, with eyes open, no smiling, no pulled back hair, no hair in the eyes or covering the face, and no over or under exposure. This is often difficult for infants or small kids. My daughter&#8217;s first passport photo was taken at two weeks &#8211; it took us over an hour to keep her eyes open long enough to capture on film. Her renewal at age 4.5 took closer to two hours because she was melting down over needing her hair to be tucked behind her ears without use of headband, barrette or clip. She was so teary in the photo that for years custom agents would comment on her super sad photo. In both cases, I was frustrated thinking, &#8220;does this really matter?&#8221; but it does matter to the passport office, and they will send back your application if not done properly. Go to Fedex, AAA office or passport office for your photos, where they have the right backdrop and know the rules. For a child 0-16, both new and renewal passports require the same forms and documentation. The child must accompany you to the passport office with support documents and application form DS-11 (required for first passport or renewal for age 0-16). Both parents must accompany the child to the passport office OR complete and notarize consent form DS-3053 for the parent who cannot attend. You will also need the child&#8217;s birth certificate that lists parents, so that the passport office can confirm that those applying do have custody. (If you have sole custody, these rules are a bit different, make sure you required custody documents.) You will also need two passport photos and payment (separate check for each application). Passports for 16-17 year-olds are a little different (and last 10 years like adults). Check out this blog on the subject. If this is not your child&#8217;s first passport, the online material is confusing. As mentioned above, you cannot use the renewal form for those under 16. You&#8217;re essentially applying for a new passport every five years. Despite the fact that minor &#8220;renewal&#8221; follows the same process as a new passport, you MUST send in the original passport with the application. They will return the old one separately, with holes punched in the old one. If you realize within the expedited window that your passport will not be valid long enough, book a same day appointment online with your nearest same day passport office. They have photos and notary available at these offices, but if your materials are already ready, even better. Expect this may take the whole day or even bleed into the next if your appointment is late morning or afternoon. You are not allowed to bring luggage to the office, so if you have bags, check them with a nearby hotel concierge or leave them in an airport locker. Same day passport offices are typically close at 3pm and in our case, the 11am appointment didn&#8217;t generate renewed passport until nearly 4pm. Sometimes large employers or a rush service company can expedite with a few days notice. If you read this too late and end up turned away at the airport for a minor&#8217;s passport, rebook the whole family and go to a same day passport office together if you can, and immediately book online for a same day passport appointment (see above). This will keep you from requiring additional forms and notary for the non-present parent. Airlines have to rebook people daily for this and often waive change fees so you can depart a day or two later. If it&#8217;s just one adult passport that needs renewal, you could sent the rest of the family ahead with the other parent, but run the risk of needing a notarized letter that the one parent is allowed to take the kids out of the country (also depends on the country). Check online and with the airline about these requirements before agreeing to this option. If in doubt and you have a few hours, hire a mobile notary to meet you at the airport with a letter for the traveling parent. While we&#8217;re at it, make sure to check to see if you need a VISA as well. Many countries allow you to purchase a VISA at the airport, but some have many month processes to obtain a VISA. My favorite tool is to search on Pinterest and find your country summary &#8211; lists passport/visa requirements, currency, recommended shots, etc. Oh, and now&#8217;s a good time to mention that beginning 2020 there will also be a registry requirement for US citizens traveling to Europe, but it&#8217;s a small fee and lasts a few years. We did all make it to Panama eventually, and enjoyed a wonderful (although shorter) time together. Here&#8217;s wishing you smooth, hiccup free, international travels.]]></description>
		
		
		
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