1 baby carried in a hotsling
2 budget-traveling parents
3 bags (backpack, small duffel, and diaper bag)
3 places of lodging over 15 nights
8 towns and cities visited
20 hours spent in airplanes over the course of 4 flights
20 hours spent on 12 different trains
23 hours spent waiting for trains and planes to depart
1100 pictures taken with our digital camera
And it was all worth it. It was an incredible trip. The baby loved it and so did we.
BUT…
We don’t recommend this itinerary for those traveling with a baby! Here’s what we learned.
1. Transportation connections with a baby in tow are the ultimate test of patience, agility, and strength. Minimize these as much as possible. Fly right into the city/town you’ll be staying and try not to move much if you don’t have to. We didn’t do this (obviously).
2. Sometimes you need a stroller, sometimes you don’t. It depends on the trip and the baby. Our specific trip was made possible by the baby sling. There’s no way we could’ve handled all of the train station stairs, village alleys, and cobbled streets with a stroller.
3. Go on the trip before the baby starts eating solid foods and crawling. We did this. It will make your life SO much easier. I think 4-5 months old is such a great time to go.
4. Be prepared to feed or change a diaper anytime, anywhere. That blowout will happen at the most inconvenient moment. Trust me.
5. Decide ahead of time that you will laugh about or at least instantly forget all of the mishaps and remember only the great times. Like when the Italians treat you and your baby like rockstars. Or when you get your two daily servings of gelato and don’t feel a bit of guilt. Or when the scenery is so beautiful that even cool dads are content to just wander.
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One day your then-grown-up baby is going to be so sad he can’t remember this trip!
It sounds like it was amazing!
I went to Europe the summer before my senior year of high school, and I’m totally with you on the gelato thing. I justified my 2-3 daily servings of gelato by telling myself it was hot outside and the bottled water was more money haha.
Good point…the gelato was a whole lot cheaper than other things we could be buying. I like that.
Yeah, it will be sad when our son has to settle for the Epcot version of Europe. But hey, if they have gelato…
Do we have to tell him that Europe is actually not just contained in Epcot?
Wait…what? There’s a Europe outside of Epcot? You’re freaking me out.
You guys are so brave to do that with a baby! Our window of opportunity passed, so now we’re waiting until our girls are “old enough to appreciate it,” which translates to “until we can afford to schlep a family of 4 around Europe.” So until then, EPCOT it is!
Some say we’re brave. Others say crazy.
To go back, we’ll wait until he’s old enough to appreciate it or old enough to leave with the grandparents without permanent emotional scarring – whichever comes first.
We’re planning a 10 day trip to Europe in October. Our little one will be 14 months so it will be a bit different than your trip, but I had a couple of questions for you if you have time – do you mind?
Sure! Ask away!