The most exciting spots of this world
are only as adventurous as the kids
you took with you

One year, 2 adults, 3 children, 4 backpacks (Bukittinggi, Sumatra, Indonesia)

A year-long world tour with 3 children (at the beginning 10 years, 6 years and 1 years old) successfully put behind us. Visited three of five continents, slept in 101 different beds, shot over 2500 photos, put more than 70.000 kilometres behind us, from which 20,000 were travelled in public buses alone, and all that for just under 25.000 Euros, including all flights and insurance.

It is possible. Travelling with children is probably one of, if not the most exciting form of travel. Travelling with children has neither to be a half a relocation nor has to cost half of a fortune.

We would like to give a few tips and suggestions here about the topic "travelling with kids", which we have been missing at the start of our journey and had collected peu-a-peu in the toilsome experiment on our own, sometimes with a smile, sometimes with an angry glance.

There aren't stupid questions, only someone who is too stupid to ask.!

Planning

1. Where to go? What is worth seeing and what isn't?
2. How much planning do you need?
3. Just start travelling and see what's coming up, or better a fully developed itinerary?
4. What about the visa?

Everything packed? (St. Augustin, Germany)

How to finance such a trip?

1. Did you save the money in advance?
2. How did you get it together?
3. From what did you live during the trip?
4. When do you know if you have saved enough money?

Travelling with babies and young children

1. Stroller, backpack-carrier or wrap?
2. Can you carry children for an extended period in a wrap?
3. How does it work with the nappies? Can you get nappies and wet wipes anywhere?
4. How do other backpackers react to children?
5. How are guest-houses responding to children?
6. Were you always travelling alone or were you also travelling together with other families?
7. How did you handle the sleeping of your youngest?

The journey is the reward(Mungo National Park, Australia)

Health and Hygiene

1. Vaccinations
2. Mosquito repellent
3. Hygiene
4. Where the children sometimes ill?
5. Have you had problems with diarrhoea?
6. First-aid kit
7. Health insurance

Curiosity is a step towards the world (Punta Arenas, Chile)

Food

1. Food and Hygiene
2. Eating with children
3. Breast feeding

Security

1. Is it negligent to travel with children, especially young children?
2. Did you have fear of child abductions?
3. Have you watched your children more intense than at home?
4. Our personal security measures

Live your dream (Ko Tao, Thailand)

1. Rules for the kids
2. Scams and negotiating

Baggage

1. Suitcase or backpack?
2. How many litres had your rucksacks?
3. How heavy were the backpacks?
4. Are you getting used to the weight?
5. What about extra bags and day packs?
6. What should you keep in mind when you purchase a backpack?
7. Ideas of a packing list

1. And if all else fails?
2. Any questions or comments?

We thank all those who helped us with their many questions to set up this site and we hope for even more suggestions.

Planning

1. Where to go? What is worth seeing and what isn't?
2. How much planning do you need?
3. Just start travelling and see what's coming up, or better a fully developed itinerary?
4. What about the visa?

Where to go? What is worth seeing and what isn't?

Dreaming of countries far away

At the beginning of any itinerary you have to think of where you want to go. The selection of countries is huge and decides how to plan the future travel. And remember: "Hindsight is easier than foresight" and afterwards you are always a lot smarter.

The question of what is worthwhile and what is not is unanswerable. What one person sees as an absolute "must" another would not find it worth even mention it.

The realisation is that it is not so much a matter of "seeing" as it's about "being". All these touristy spots are nice, but not approximately so exciting and interesting than if you just stay at a boring place for a longer time and experience the lifestyle of the people.
I'm will summarise the countries we visited a little bit:

South East Asia makes many Europeans fear, but from my point of view it is one of the coolest places to travel. Especially with children you're in the right place there.

South America is easy to travel, easy but compared to Asia by far not so exciting. And if you make the same mistake like we did, by travelling first to Asia and then to South America you can get the impression the people there seem a bit unfriendly. Therefore our advice: Always go the other way around.

About Africa and India we cannot say anything. As they would have been located right at the beginning on our itinerary, we decided against it. As travel novices it seemed a little bit too scary to us.

Argentina: Argentina is this incredible landscape on the one hand and on the other hand its people. It was by far the most unfriendly country of all. But we also met very, very nice people that we have come to know.

Australia: If you want great scenery, lots of great activities and ease of travel you are certainly right here.

More than 20,000 kilometers in public busses. (Lake Titicaca, Bolivia)

Bolivia: Bolivia is my favourite country in South America. Mainly because I could talk to the people, although if some Bolivians can be a bit grumpy towards tourists. But there is nothing sweeter than sweet little "Mamitas".

Brazil: Brazil was our country with the most contrasts between rich and poor. But our final test went well. We had learned over the last year so that we got safely through Sao Paulo and Rio.

Chile: Wonderful landscape, lovely people and a very peaceful country for travelling.

Indonesia: If you are looking for adventure then this might be your place. The people are super friendly and don't be afraid of the Islamic orientation of the country, which in large parts of the country is totally moderate. If you notice it at all. Indonesia is the land of the unlimited impossibilities.

Cambodia:For us it was a pretty tough country, but that might have been due to our poor preparation. From our side Cambodia definitely deserves a second chance.

Laos:Our absolute favourite. The people are so lovely. You can get around by bus without any problems and it is still very, very original (even though I don't like this formulation), but there is a lot to see.

Malaysia:If you like it quiet, but yet very multicultural, then go to Malaysia. The living standard is very high on average, so travelling is easy-going, if not almost boring compared to some other South-East Asian countries, but perfect to begin with.

Paraguay: Since we only past through, I cannot say anything really meaningful about the country.

Peru: In Peru we also met super nice people. Nevertheless, on the beaten tracks Peru wasn't ours and unfortunately we haven't seen much more.

Singapore: A single big shopping mall. You should have experienced something like that.

Thailand: Great to start with South-East Asia. Many nice people and excellent food. Only the penetrating and pervasive sex tourism got on my nerves. It was really not nice.

Vietnam: A must! It is exhausting but so exciting, busy and great.

How much planning do you need?

Only thing is: it takes time. (Kiel, Germany)

Also on this issue I can only say it depends. We got along fine with half a year. Others plan years and the next just get on the plane and is gone. Although I have never experienced the latter in connection with children.

Actually the most limiting factor for us was the vaccination. It took us a long time. Passports can take a while, too, until they are issued. Notice periods to quit your job, house, and other contracts must be considered, sale or rental takes time. If you want to go to countries where it is difficult to get visas, for example Russia, China or the USA, or if you would like to get work visas, you should allow enough time.

Just start travelling and see what's coming up, or better a fully developed itinerary?

Up and away! (Düsseldorf, Germany)

Some want to stay flexible and not to be defined in their further decisions.
That can work like anything else, but it doesn't have to.

Some people experienced a nasty surprise when they noticed that the flights from the place where they are, are much more expensive than if they had bought them somewhere else. Of course it goes the other way round, too. Only one often doesn't want to waste so much time to bargain hunt for good flights while travelling.

We had an Around-The-World ticket, which worked very well for us. Although the basic itinerary was fixed, nothing else was defined in between.

Whether we fly or swim from Thailand to Bali was our thing and what we do in the six months in South-East Asia as well. We had also considered whether we should make a side trip to the Philippines or Borneo, but the time was already so scarce that it did not arise for us.

What about the visa?

Pay attention that the kids have the right passports, too. (Kiel, Germany)

Visa are such a thing. You should inform yourself very well in advance to avoid any nasty surprises.

Especially when travelling with children you should have found out before the trip if all countries you want to travel to accept the passport available for the children. There are countries that accept neither children's identity cards nor the registration in the parents' passport. To have both can sometimes cause problems, too. You can only change your chosen travel document when you use a plane. On land you usually only get an entry stamp when you have the same passport and the corresponding exit stamp of the previous country. So you should think twice on which travel document to travel from flight to flight. Your own passport is usually the safest, but also often the most expensive option. Visa fees vary by nationality, so if you have more than one you should consider it, too. And remember, to change your passport during your travel usually works only if you use a plane.

Otherwise, just before you travel to the next country see whether you should consider something important and whether it makes sense to get the visa before rather than at the border.

Since visas are usually only valid over a certain period of time after they are issued it is probably not possible to organize all the necessary visas in advance. But this depends crucially on where and how long you want to travel. Usually you can get visas at the border or in the neighbouring country, but you should prepare for several weeks waiting time or huge detours, when you want go to countries such as Russia or China.

How to finance such a trip?

1. Did you save the money in advance?
2. How did you get it together?
3. From what did you live during the trip?
4. When do you know if you have saved enough money?

Did you save the money in advance?

In our case we have never actively saved, but the money had been accumulating by itself. To know in advance what such a trip will cost is almost impossible, but you should calculate very conservative how much you might need, so that you don't run out of money while being on the other side of the world. But let's talk real numbers. We had previously calculated with approximately 45.000 Euros, in the end it was much cheaper for us, though.

How did you get it together?

I do not know if you can really save for such a trip. Even if I put back 100 ? every month, which is 1.200 ? in a year, and after 10 years only 12,000 Euros. Maybe I can then travel with my grandchildren or great-grandchildren.

In our case it was a certain lifestyle to get the necessary money together. Means that we were very poor consumers, and we still are. Any decision to purchase something is researched for days on the internet and follows the pragmatism and the perennial question: "Do I really need this?"

Money? Maybe at the bookmaker? (Race-course, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

At the weekly shopping I always have a list and try to stick to it. It doesn't work always. No-name products instead of expensive brands can help, as well as the absence of ready meals, fast food and restaurants.

We continue with cost effective solutions for TV, etc. So satellite or Freeview TV connections. Skype instead of a land line. Here in Ireland we do not have a land line at all for telephone and Internet, because the mobile solutions are cheaper for us.

Short-term contracts were always very beneficial for us. First, because we moved a lot and second, we met travellers who resented strongly that they couldn't get out of their contracts and had running costs at home while travelling.

We never had extra insurance beside the obligational ones.

Careful use of electrical power, water and heating goes without saying.

And what really saves money is the non-consumption of cigarettes, alcohol and fizzy drinks. We always got along very well with tap water.

Maybe you can save, too, if you do not always need a haircut, do exercise at home instead of in a gym, look over your regular bought magazines and newspapers and avoid expensive vacation packages at the time of saving.

I do not believe that someone can hold on to such a lifestyle consistently (we neither, where would be the fun), but the basic idea is simply to spend less money in everyday life then you earn.

Our personal tip, even if some may not believe it is to get children quite early and as soon as one starts working to get married.
Child benefit, family benefit and tax benefits should not be swept away. This are many thousands of Euros per year, which otherwise you disclaim.

From what did you live during the trip?

We lived exclusively from the substance, but there are many different approaches, none of which was suitable for our situation.
Nevertheless, to work in advance, sabbatical year or parental leave are different possibilities.

Some can take their work with them, others work on the way. Regarding to the latter you have to be very careful, since most visas are tourist visas and none working visas. Even taking your work with you and work while travelling can be problematic. Especially in countries like the U.S. or Australia, which are very strict on the compliance of the visa restrictions.

Some use volunteering as an option but you have to be very careful here. There are organizations that demand money and not too little, because this is an offer designed for people from Europe and the USA, who want to optimize their curriculum vitae for their career and therefore are willing to pay huge sums.

One way to save money while travelling are groups such as couch surfing. Although I must emphasize that these platforms are not about cheap travelling, but for inter-cultural exchange. Who joins just because of the cheap travel option is at the wrong place.

This is the main page of Couch Surfing:

http://www.couchsurfing.org/

And here you will find the Family group:

www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=513

When do you know if you have saved enough money?

A very good question.

We recorded our monthly expenses and then extrapolated them onto a year. As ever, one may wonder how much money you actually consume in a year. And then we thought, if we save the rent, car and all associated costs, how many guest-house and camping sites we can pay from it. In our case, "a lot".

Holiday...(Hue, Vietnam)

But that's extremely relative and highly dependent upon the countries that you choose. For a year in the developed world I would calculate my costs far higher than my expenses at home. From a German point of view you always have to remember that even in European comparison Germany is an extremely cheap country.
Also even in poorer countries life can be extremely expensive for foreigners as soon as there is no tourism infrastructure.

We've made it with 25,000 ? throughout the year with 5 people. And that included everything from the flights to the health insurance. That's less than you get in Germany's social welfare. But this is not for everyone.

...or maybe more adventure? (on the way to Ko Tao, Thailand)

If you want to go on holiday for a whole year you should take the costs you generally spend on a normal holiday and extrapolate them onto a year. So you get a good overview what such a year could cost.

So in the end it is up to yourself to see what you want and can afford.
The challenge and the adventure or a year long holiday. Neither is wrong, but usually those two options are on the two opposite ends of the cost spectrum.

Travelling with babies and young children

1. Stroller, backpack-carrier or wrap?
2. Can you carry children for an extended period in a wrap?
3. How does it work with the nappies? Can you get nappies and wet wipes anywhere?
4. How do other backpackers react to children?
5. How are guest-houses responding to children?
6. Were you always travelling alone or were you also travelling together with other families?
7. How did you handle the sleeping of your youngest?

Stroller, backpack-carrier or wrap?

If you only travel in the industrialized nations of the world and have no particular ambitions for walks in nature, it is probably no matter what kind of carrying or driving system you choose for your offspring. The public space is usually very accessible.

Here is no come through. (Dalat, Vietnam)

But once you also choose countries that do not quite match the Western standards, even if you only travel in big cities, you should consider a wrap or another carrier system. Side walks are often rare in such countries. And if there are some, then they are often completely obstructed or parked, so that a constant evasion onto the road is needed. Should you encounter a free side walk you have to be very careful because of the holes, missing panels not covering the drains, and the accompanying high curbs. Step Aerobics and obstacle courses are for wimps in comparison.

The buggy is well placed if you have small children who walk on their own but not huge distances and are already quite heavy to carry on your back over a longer period.
Otherwise, I personally would try to avoid a buggy, as it is a very large and bulky piece of luggage after all.

Backpack carriers are easy to use and functional. Even for infants there are now solutions, although I must confess that I wouldn't like to carry my few weeks old baby on my back, as I can't see it there. But maybe it's a matter of habit.

Wraps at first sight may appear very complicated through the winding techniques which must be learned. And unfortunately the wrap has an unpleasant stigma. But this applies above all to the Western world. Many people in the developing countries don't spend to much attention to us anyway in this regard, no matter what we do or not do.

Other carrier systems: the variety is nearly endless, so that I can't mention them all. But again, look, try and choose according to your personal needs.
Ireland for instance has a "Sling Library Ireland" where you can borrow a lot of different models to give them a try.

So it looks, when you use wrap and backpack at the same time. (Bangkok, Thailand)

The wrap is definitely not the ultimate solution, because not everyone wants to carry a child and a backpack at once, or frequently want to use public transport, which sometimes can be so full that by using a backpack carrier you have to take the child out, what might be kind of unhandy, especially if you have other children you have to take care of. However, we found it quite useful.

And even if I personally do not like advertisement in such texts, I'll do so here. The benefits of the wrap can be described as follows:

The benefits of the wrap can be described as follows:

• "The baby wrap-around for all weathers" is the cheap alternative to expensive backpack carriers
• it has little weight (510g)
• it allows to carry the child and a backpack at the same time
• it also offers the flexibility to carry the child on your back, or in any other winding technique if required
• children can sleep very well in them, because you can wrap them optimally
• the liberty of movement for the carrier is very high
• because of the very secure fit of the child even very demanding activities are possible Picture Gallery
• if you found your winding technique and can handle it well, the wrap will lose its fright
• furthermore you always have a pillow or blanket with you
• and our baby wrap-around guarantees to be absolutely free of child labour or exploitation, as it is produced exclusively in the USA, Switzerland and Ireland

Can you carry children for an extended period in a wrap?

All over the world children are carried, even for the whole day, because the work doesn't permit it otherwise. I do not think that all Africans and Central Americans are damaged either physically or mentally.

I carry you to the end of the earth. (Mungo National Park, Australia)

We have carried our little one for up to 7 hours per day for one year. So far he seems perfectly healthy. On the contrary, the carrying is sometimes clamied to help prevent hip dysplasia.

The only thing that is different with our child we were carrying so much is that he has an extreme bond to us and searches our proximity much more than his older brother and sister. This is perhaps not for everyone.

How does it work with the nappies? Can you get nappies and wet wipes anywhere?

Often it works without wet wipes, too. (Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia)

Nappies we got everywhere but not the wipes. In Asia we then started to use the shower and for travel days we always had a small supply of wipes. I can not say whether this would work everywere else, for example in Africa and India, too.

How do other backpackers react to children?

Backpacker-Kids (Ko Tao, Thailand)

From super friendly to snotty brats (sorry for this term, but it describes it best) we had it all.

The motto is "ignore". Traveler Kids will also have grown at some point and some of them also will have children some day and they may remember how bad they behaved towards families. Patience and a compassionate smile are effective weapons. Or a little side note, how their parents must have felt when they were mistreated because of them? Audible explanations towards your own children, why these traveller kids do misbehave and that you wouldn't tolerate such behaviour by your own children can help, too.

Just keep something appropriate in mind.

How are guest-houses responding to children?

Dinner with the guest-house owners. (Bukkitingi, Indonesia)

Here, too, from super friendly and children's entertainer to the refusal of a room everythinh can occur.

You can't help it. Discrimination is an interesting experience and there certainly is another guest-house two streets further, which perhaps even has children.

Anyway, I would recommend to avoid brothels and drug caves with children, as far as it is possible.

Were you always travelling alone or were you also travelling together with other families?

At first I believed and hoped to meet other families, but in the whole year we have met only two families and each had only one infant child.

Why that happened in our case, I do not know. And if we had known about couch surfing before our trip, we would also have know how many other families are actually on the road and that we could have met them via such a platform.

How did you handle the sleeping of your youngest?

Who needs a bed? (on the way to Chiang Mai, Thailand)

We haven't thought to much about this issue, because of our chosen form of travelling a travel cod wasn't an option anyway.

Ultimately throughout the year Florian slept in the same bed like we did. This is not everybodies cup of tea. And I too am surprised that it actually worked for us, because I had a very strict policy regarding children in the parent's bed.

It was actually quite common that all five of us slept in one bed.
And it worked! In Asia, the beds are often very big, because it seemed relatively common to do so.

Travel is definitely an exceptional situation in which things become possible, which one would never have dreamed of.

Health and Hygiene

1. Vaccinations
2. Mosquito repellent
3. Hygiene
4. Where the children sometimes ill?
5. Have you had problems with diarrhoea?
6. First-aid kit
7. Health insurance

All information on medicine, health care and vaccinations on this site are not medical recommendations nor does it claim to reflect the actual medical state of the art. It is explicitly noted that for an appropriate medical support a specialist has to be contacted. He will take the individual health prerequisites and needs into account. I can only report our personal experiences, which have worked well for us.

Vaccinations

In general for travelling through the western countries the recommended standard child vaccination will be totally sufficient. (Look for example at: http://www.immunisation.ie)

For more detailed information on each country especially the less developed ones, the Departement for Foreign Affairs in Germany was a good starting point, but only if you can read German (http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de). Maybe in your country there is a similar offer.

For the tropical regions of the world we have chosen the following additional vaccinations:
- Rabies
- Typhoid
- Hepatitis A
- Yellow fever

A few vaccination records (Kiel, Germany)

In any case you should contact a specialist for tropical disease. Especially on the correct treatment of babies the opinions can be quite different, if they can or can not be vaccinated against certain diseases. So make sure that you are well informed for your meeting with a doctor and work out a fitting schedule as early as possible. When you have kids who still need the regular vaccinations organization can get tight.

All in all it took us half a year to get all the necessary vaccinations, while our youngest son (at that time he was 9 month old) was not vaccinated against typhoid due to his age and for the last MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) vaccination there wasn't enough time left so he got it in Bangkok.

The yellow fever vaccination is mandatory for the entry into certain countries. We needed a special vaccines record card. It looked from the outside the same as the normal vaccination certificate but had a specific page for the yellow fever. So make sure, if it is still mandatory. Otherwise you can end up with an extra record card for each of you, which meant in our case 10 vaccination certificates as a whole.

I found the following link quite useful: http://www.fit-for-travel.de. It lists a lot of possible disease, its incidence and prophylaxis as well as treatment measures.

Mosquito repellent

Malaria is indeed one of the most unpleasant issues that has to be considered for the tropics.

Because you can not swallow prophylaxis for months, if you are planning to travel for that long, one should consider a stand-by prophylaxis. This means that you have special tablets with you and in cases of a malaria infection or a substantiated suspicion without the possibility of direct medical care you take them yourself. The stand-by-prophylaxis is only suitable for those who want to carry the risk of self medication. Definitely you should seek advise from a doctor and decide on your own if this is your cup of tea.

Very important in choosing the correct drug is, of course, first the implications for the children and second the region where you plan to go. There are areas where some malaria mosquitoes are resistant to certain drugs. Here, too, it is necessary to consult a specialist for tropical diseases.

A very good source of information about malaria, how to protect yourself, preventative measures and, crucially, all the different mosquito repellents to spray or cream can be found on the website of the German Department for Foreign Affairs (http://www.auswaertigesamt.de/diplo/de/Laenderinformationen/01Laender/Gesundheitsdienst/download/MalariaMerkblatt.pdf, only in German).

A big big mosquito net fits over everybody and everything. (Kanchanaburi, Thailand)

Malaria should be taken very seriously. For protection the agent of choice which should be contained in a repellent is called DEET and by no means trust any kind of homoeopathic remedies. DEET is very toxic, of course, and it is advised not to use it for younger children. However, you should trade off the risk of a malaria infection against the use of DEET. And it is strongly advised again to get support from a specialist for tropical medicine on this matter.

Malaria is the one thing, Dengue is the other. But for Dengue fever there is no vaccination available so far or any prophylaxis to take. There is only prevention using a good mosquito repellent. With the purchase of repellent have a close look at the list of ingredients, no matter if the product is for children or not and not merely rely on the statements of the nice salesman.

What I also can highly recommend against both malaria and dengue is, take a very very large mosquito net with you to put all the beds, bunk beds and mattresses underneath at all times. The fewer mosquitoes bite you the less is the risk of an infection.

Hygiene

Regular washing of feed is a must. (Pnom Phen, Cambodia)

Especially in the poorer and warmer countries of this world hygiene is an issue. Washing hands in between is necessary in any case. But it isn't always possible because of the lack of water especially in public toilets.

Wet wipes, bottled water or a damp cloth which needs to be washed every day can help.

Brushing teeth is another issue. There are countries where the tap water should not get into your mouth at all. Again, the water bottles from the supermarket can help. In other countries it is enough if the water is boiled off properly.

With older children you can talk about these arrangements and that they shouldn't touch everything. But unfortunately it does not help always.

Where the children sometimes ill?

An unpleasent skin infection. (Gorgetown, Malaysia)

The answer is: "Yes of course!" At home children sometimes are sick, too.

From a mild cold, severe bronchitis over to an unsightly skin disease, we got it all. However, I had the impression that our older ones were sick far less than in Germany in the same period of time and that the younger ones have to get through all kind of infections is also common at home.

The only bad thing is that Florian has to get through the European infections now again, too.

Have you had problems with diarrhoea?

The soup inbetween. (Saigon, Vietnam)

Diarrhoea was a constant companion. Foreign food, climate, culture, etc.

We had packed the instructions of the Foreign Office regarding the compensation of fluid loss, but ultimately never used it.

In our case, the kids drank more anyway and also the mid-day soup eating in Asia has provided a positive contribution to the fluid substitution.

The advantage is that since then we never had problems with the stomach of the children again. For two years no gastro-intestinal infection at all, although it goes through the schools here from time to time.

First aid kid

Our personal first aid kid:

• Malaria prophylaxis (Luckily we never needed it! Ask your health insurance if they cover the costs. In Germany some insurances do, others don't.)
• Fever suspension (Note that suppositories can melt at high temperatures. Application can be difficult if not impossible. A little syringe worked pretty well for us to apply liquid medications to our youngster.)
• Something against vomiting (children/adults)
• Something against diarrhoea (children/adults)
• Nose drops for the children (a good way to avoid otitis media)
• Ointment to treat fungal skin infections
• Something against warts
• Syringes / needles (The needles we have never used, but it is recommended to have your own sterile needles with you. Especially if you plan to visit very poor and remote areas)
• Clinical thermometer
• Gauze bandage
• Sterile wound covering
• Plaster
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Sterile gloves
• Disinfectants (Which should always be in the day pack so that every scratch can be treated immediately. This is because in the tropics the risk of an infection is much higher. So the smallest scratches can cause nasty wound infections.)

Health insurance

It can work out, but it doesn't have to. (Peace Hospital in Shianoukville, Cambodia)

Leaving without travel health insurance is close to negligence, particularly when one bears responsibility for children. I can only recommend to everybody, if you don't hold a well-covered golden credit card get an insurance. There are always dramatic cases of travellers suffering from accidents or illnesses who are unable to return home or get the propper treatment because they are unable to pay for it.

You should inform yourself well, because very few insurance companies offer insurances for abroad lasting significantly longer than 6 weeks.

We found excellent value for money at the ADAC (The German equivalent to the AA). But this can now again be very different.

Food

1. Food and Hygiene
2. Eating with children
3. Breast feeding

Food and Hygiene

Eating touches again the subject of hygene, as unclean food of course leads to problems.

At the food-stalls you normaly can see, if the food is properly cooked. (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)

About eating on the street or buying food on the food markets, don't hesitate to do so. Usually you can watch how the food is prepared and then you can decide whether you trust it or not. The people in these countries aren't that stupid either. They have no desire to be always sick, too. So most of the food is usually very well-cooked or fried and with a little practice your stomach will adjust to the unknown bacteria, if there are any left.

Guest-house kitchens seem to be much more dangerous, since they do not necessarily have a high throughput and you can't watch how the food is prepared either. And of course keep away from ice cubes unless you have seen the water they were made from.

Someone allways have something to eat for your kids. (Malacca Strait between Malaysia und Indonesia)

That children are getting slipped something almost anywhere in the world, you can't do nothing against it. If you do not want this at all, then you should not travel with children. Otherwise, squeeze your eyes close and fingers crossed that all the things that the kids are eating don't cause any problems.

Eating with children

Many parents worry that their children do not like the local food and would rather like spaghetti and pizza.

I must admit, when my kids always wanted spaghetti and pizza, I would ask myself if the food that I offer my children in general is varied enough.

Children are very adaptive and they respond very strongly to the behaviour of their parents about the food. If one of the parents always complains about the food, or spits things out, then the children will do the same.

What ever that is? (Krong Ko Kong, Cambodia)

In the beginning we had some reservations about all the strange food, too, but we agreed that everything will be tried and also more than once, as the taste buds need a while to get used to new flavours.

It worked amazingly well. And otherwise our motto was that food and eating manners are a fundamental part of the experience of a country. We can eat Western food at home. Especially as in many countries this type of food doesn't belong to the daily life and therefore can be quite expensive in comparison. Furthermore through a lack of customers it hasn't to be very fresh either.

Breast feeding

Mmm, yummy! (Kiel, Germany)

I myself haven't had any experience with breast feeding while travelling.

For us it was important that our one-year old son doesn't need milk bottles any more and eat everything we eat too. We wanted to avoid the problems if no milk powder for babies should be available.
It worked extremely well for us.

Otherwise, many swear that breastfeeding is the simplest form of feeding your baby.

Although I have to say that in South-East Asia I never saw a woman breastfeeding in public. This may have been by accident. But it seems appropriate to me to gather information about the customs in this regard in the various countries in order not to annoy our hosts or to embarrass them.

Security

1. Is it negligent to travel with children, especially young children?
2. Did you have fear of child abductions?
3. Have you watched your children more intense than at home?
4. Our personal security measures
5. Rules for the kids
6. Scams and negotiating

Is it negligent to travel with children, especially young children?

There are so many things to see on this earth. (Mekong, between Cambodia and Vietnam)

The counter-question here probably is: "Is it negligent in a globalized world not to show your children something of it?"

In my opinion there is a difference, if I act negligently or risky.
Risks can be estimated.

Ultimately it's up to yourself to see what you dare to do and what not. But as I have no right to condemn those who remain with their children at home, they have no right to judge whether what I do with my children is right or wrong.

I admit that there are countries I do not have to travel through right now. But from our experience travelling with your family causes almost everywhere in the world very friendly and helpful reactions from your surrounding. Keep in mind that living in a family is the norm rather than the exception nearly everywhere in the world. It felt to us like travelling under special protection because to attack a family with little children seemed to be outlawed anywhere in any culture.

While single travellers can be very often victims of robbery and assault, this applies to families far less. Family is in most countries a value in itself, which is under the protection of the public.

That does not mean you cannot be victims. And if you provoke it don't be surprised. I definitely wouldn't argue to be careless and to rely on the children.

But in our case we have never been left alone. In critical situations someone always came up to help us out of trouble.

Did you have fear of child abductions?

To get into a crush of people can always happen. (Bangkok, Thailand)

One or the other may smile and think what a silly question.
But seriously. Don't you sometimes worry that something might happen to your children no matter what?
The media are full of terrible reports and can you really avoid the influence of it?

The answer is "Yes", I was afraid that in crowded places someone might take one of our children. That was the reason why we never used mofa-taxis. Whether this was justified, I do not know, but I did not want to try out what happened when.

Someone always takes your little one for a walk.(Shinanoukville, Cambodia)

In particular with young children in Asia you need to create a certain calmness. Someone always takes your honey with them to show it all their friends and relatives in the surrounding houses. But usually they show up again.

We got along very well with the attitude that most people are friendly and don't want to harm you. And usually you notice very quickly when a situation gets strange or threatening.

Have you watched your children more intense than at home?

Trafic jam somewhere on Sumatra (Indonesia)

The answer here is clearly "differently"!

When we left Germany, a real hysteria about sex offenders existed there, so I felt pushed to be afraid when my kids went alone the 500 meters to the supermarket. After all, who knew if the old man at the entrance just waited for my kids?

During our trip and the absence of new horrible reports, which frighten German parents out of their senses, it faded. Since I was more afraid that they would be run over by a mofa, get malaria, or fall into one of the open cloaca lining the roads.

Our personal security measures

I do not know whether it was wise, but we never left any of our valuables in the guest houses. Laptop, camera, passports, money, we always had everything with us. And even if we only stayed in the common area of the guest houses. Too often we witnessed theft between travellers.

No matter how relaxed the atmosphere was, our day-pack with all the valuables always stayed with us. (Ko Tao, Thailand)

I can really recommend belly belts for passports, airline tickets and other important documents. Looks stupid under your T-shirt, or sometimes tucked into the trousers, but from there no one can take it very easy. In addition, we had all the important documents scanned on our laptop and even a backup in Germany.

Our day pack, which was also the travel bag of Josua our 6 year old boy, was the rucksack in which we carried the valuable technical items. Our assumption was that nobody will suspect that a little boy carries a laptop and two cameras worth over 1000 Euro on his back. For day trips in very crowded places usually Christian got the rucksack because he was the tallest of us. That might have kept away potential threats. If the situation is very unclear you can all walk surrounding the backpack and keep an eye on it.

Rules for the kids

he dithering with the arms by the kids was an absolute "No! No!".

Now you can say they're only children. I say that this can lead to very dangerous situations in countries where the people are exceptionally well armed and tensed. Whether there is a real threat coming around the corner or just a wriggling child is of no interest to the armed person in the first place.

But in general we had the pleasure to experience a world, which was very peaceful. Especially at places where families normally are found.

Scams and negotiating

To be scammed is something you have to accept. By the time you will get better in avoiding it. Negotiation isn't about getting the lowest, but a fair price for each side.

A good preparation for the individual stations is always very useful to know about the different possibilities which exist so that you don't have to believe anything that is told to you.

Keep a cool head, even if the crowd of sellers tackle you. (Ko Tao, Thailand)

A calm approach is a strong approach.
Don't forget to breathe deeply, and don't let yourself be put under pressure. First check the situation and discuss everything calmly with each other. Perhaps the baby has to be changed or you eat a bite before making any decisions. The more calm you are, the better you can cope with stressful conditions through the importunate sellers.
Sometimes children might be helpful to help keep the face of your counterpart, which is of utmost importance in Asian countries.

Otherwise, I again recommend the pages from the Department for Foreign Affairs in order to obtain an impression of what is going on in the petty crime right now and what you should do or avoid.

Baggage

1. Suitcase or backpack?
2. How many litres had your rucksacks?
3. How heavy were the backpacks?
4. Are you getting used to the weight?
5. What about extra bags and day packs?
6. What should you keep in mind when you purchase a backpack?
7. Ideas of a packing list

Suitcase or backpack?

This question is best answered on the basis of what you want.
Are you more the backpacker type or more suitcases and bags. This may appear just a marginal difference but it can make a huge one for the financial framework.

Backpacks in the boot (Australia)

You will not carry a suitcase or large bag several kilometres, which necessarily requires the use of taxis or something similar. A backpack is much more practical in this regard because it allows to save the accumulating taxi fares, if you are travelling for an extended period with frequent changes of location.

The question of whether you want to rent cars quite often can be relevant. Backpacks are very impractical in the boot. You have to unpack everything and then you have the big packs as additional space hog.

However if you want to use the car to get to the beautiful places of this world, and also for nice hikes, backpacks of course have their full entitlement.

Anyone planning to use a lot of public transportation should consider that a backpack strapped to your back is less easy to steal on the bustling bus station than the bag at your feet.

Departure at night (Bangkok, Thailand)

Some may have doubts and say that if you are travelling with a baby or small child you can't get all the stuff stowed in a backpack. Especially not when one of the adults already has to carry the backpack carrier.

For the former argument I can only say that our experience is, that children do not need so much stuff. This claim that children do need so much seems to me to be an implemented imperative by the large baby-product manufacturers for decades. Not even that you and your toddler can get along without all the extras, it's worth to experience it. In particular you can buy cheap clothes almost everywhere, just in case something is missing or broken.

In the latter argument, I agree. That was the reason why we have decided against a large, inflexible backpack carrier and for a wrap.

How many litres had your rucksacks?

85l for Christian
55-75l for Julia
45l for Lydia
22,5l for Josua

How heavy were the backpacks?

Christian's about 20kg + 15kg Florian in front of his belly
Julia's 18-20kg + 3-9kg water bottles in hand
Lydia's about 10kg
Josua's about 3-5kg

Are you getting used to the weight?

The muscles are growing over the time. The enthusiasm not really.(Thailand)

Absolutely.

In the beginning it's really hard, but it is getting better from day to day and even extra luggage through souvenirs, etc. can be handled eventually. Provided of course that you are not limited by back pain or something else.

What about extra bags and day packs?

Our day pack always with us. (Halong Bay, Vietnam)

We had the advantage that Josua was carrying our day pack when we were travelling again, so that none of us had to carry an extra bag on the tummy.

In addition, I still had to carry up to 9 litres of bottled water in a bag in hand. Depending on how long our expected stage should be.

Otherwise Christian and I each had a belly belt with all important documents, which we wore under the T-shirts. Reason for this variation was to cause as little attention towards potential criminals as possible.

But again, that's a matter of taste and also a question where and how you want to travel.

What should you keep in mind when you purchase a backpack?

This is probably an even better question that you ask best to a better qualified person.

That the backpack fits seems to me a main criterion, no matter what kind of backpack you choose.

In advance you should think about what are your needs. For us it was large volume combined with minimum weight of the backpack plus high mobility. Although I used my 13 year old Tatonka backpack and it has worked just fine.

Because we had four bags, we were able to distribute our stuff by topic and were not dependent on many extra compartments.

The locks are more to give the impression that the backpacks are locked, than they really were. (Georgetown, Malaysia)

In the case of external compartments, you could take into account that if you want to lock them, you have to make sure that this is somehow possible. But many extra locks also mean extra weight. In doing so there are no limits of possible solutions and creativity.

We eventually stopped to lock the backpacks and pulled only the rain capes to make it more difficult to get at the stuff without cutting the backpack open. Whether that made sense? I have no idea. Maybe we were just lucky.

Finally, I would like to say regarding the right choice maybe you shouldn't think to much about it. Most will arrange with whatever they have pretty well. At least that was our experience. Otherwise, you only know when you are on the road, what you really need.

And if a piece of luggage doesn't work at all, then there is perhaps still the possibility to replace it in one or another way.

Ideas of a packing list

I want to give a short overview of our packing list here as an idea and suggestion, which was of course largely determined by the different countries we have visited.

We started in South-East-Asia and then travelled for six months only with public buses and trains. Here we needed only light luggage. No hiking boots or thick jackets.

Your own tent, invaluable for Australia and the south of South-America. (Mungo National Park, Australia)

Finally we arrived in Indonesia and from there we flew to Australia. Australia is a car country and camping in national parks is the Australian's favourite hobby. So, just join!

Our tent was sent after us and it was together with the rented car our most important thing to have in Australia. Buses and guest houses would have been much more expensive for us. But that may depend on how long you want to linger at certain places. A rented car standing around for days isn't a good investment.

From Australia we went on to South America. Because we wanted to make our way down until Tierra del Fuego, we rented a car again and travelled like in Australia from camp site to camp site. That went surprisingly well.

South-America can be so cold. (El Chalten, Argentina)

In the more expensive countries of this world cooking by yourself is crucial if you want to keep the expenses low. Without a car you have the great disadvantage to reach the big supermarkets which are normally cheaper than the convenience store next door.

For renting a car you should also take in account what prices children have to pay for public transport. This can rang from the full adult prices like for example in Argentina, to the mostly free entrainment of the children for example in Thailand. With this information it is quite easy to find out if to travel by car or public transport will be cheaper or not for a family.

To the North of South-America we used public transport again and here we needed our big hiking boots and thick jackets to endure the cold Altiplano.

This is our packing list for a 1 year trip around the world with 2 adults, 3 children and 4 backpacks:

A nice wrap-around, unfortunately not water repellent. (Bangkok, Thailand)

Baby wrap-around

We had a classical one with us. Very heavy (1kg) and totally not water repellent. Quite a problem in wet countries. I can highly recommend the baby wrap-around from backpacker-kids.

Backpacks

• Backpacks for everyone except the baby. (there are excellent children's backpacks) We had an 85l; 55-75l; 45l and 22,5l one.
• Rain shields for the Backpacks

Sleeping bags

• Sleeping bags for everyone (From the beginning we had our bulky sleeping bags with us, while in South-East-Asia cotton or silk inlets would have done the job, too.)

Tent

• a very good three-person tent (in South-East-Asia you don't need a tent because the guest houses are cheap and plentiful)

Thermomats

• 3x Thermomat (They have replaced the lack of beds in South-East-Asia. So we always could go for taking only one room.)

Repair Materials

• strong twine (very important to sew the backpacks and footwear)
• leather needle
• normal needles
• normal yarn (Sewing is an enduring constant on such a trip)
• tape (to repair rain capes, etc.)
• Repair kit for the thermomats
• backup clasps for Backpacks: 1x large / medium / small
• something like a back loop thing for the backpack
• Safety pins

Other stuff

• Compass
• Whistle
• Water disinfectant (bad investment because with our product you couldn't disinfect small amounts of water. The smallest unit was 20 litres. Actually we never came into a situation where we couldn't buy water or drink the tap water.)
• Battery chargers for video camera and camera
• cassettes for the camera
• 2x forehead flash lights
• little security locks (more for the optic, than for safety)
• a big mosquito net (about 3x2x2 cubic meters) + 2-3 tent ropes to fix it anywhere (A must for tropical regions. Especially in this size to get all the beds and bunk beds under it.)
• a very strong and robust food and water bag for the journeys

Your own cooker can sometimes help a lot. (Sihanoukville, Cambodia)

Cooking utensils

• Cooker (One of those which eat anything that is combustible and stays cold towards the bottom, so that emergency cooking in the hotel bathrooms is possible.)
• Cookware: 3x simple pots with additional gripper (We ultimately would have needed another larger pot for five people. But it worked out even so.)
• 3x triangular pan cups (I missed the name, but they are versatile)
• Asian metal spoons (The best cutlery in general. They are usable for everything and fit into the cooking gear.)
• 1x scouring pad
• thin sponges
• 1x washing up liquid (During the end it went well without it.)
• 1x knife (for cutting and spreading butter)
• a dry towel cut into four parts (one for drying the dishes, one for wiping the floor and tables, one for the mouth and hands of the kids, and one which is in the laundry.)
• 1x Swiss Army Knive (especially as a can opener and the second knife)
• a few rubber bands
• Freezer bags (To pack all important documents and equipment. You should have replacement bags here, because even the best freezer bag at some point will be broken. Otherwise, you get everywhere, even in Australia, plastic bags to pack up your stuff dryly.)

Ox-gall soap and a nail brush are essential for doing laundry by hand. (Mendoza, Argentina)

Consumables

• Ox-gall soap plus a nail brush for hand laundry (The best solution for hand laundry.)
• Mosquito repellent with at least 15% DEET (see no. 5 Vaccinations)
• Toilet paper (It is actually tissue paper and you'll need it everywhere, especially it isn't common to find it in any toilets, not even in the guest houses. The sign "We have toilet paper service" means that you can buy some at the reception.)
• Wet wipes (For everything. But these are always very expensive, so we changed to a moist rag packed in a plastic bag for our day pack. The only thing is to remember to wash it regularly, because at temperatures over 30 degrees the thing can come to life. Only for cleaning the baby during the travel we used wet wipes, otherwise we always showered him in the guest houses.)
• Sunscreen (Surprisingly we needed very little of it. We got used to avoid the sun when ever it was possible.)
• Batteries
• Plug Adapter (Only in Malaysia and Australia we needed some. Otherwise our Euro plugs went in everywhere.)
• a few nappies in the hand luggage and the rest in a reachable place in the backpack

Medications

• Malaria prophylaxis (Luckily we never needed it! Ask your health insurance if they cover the costs. In Germany some insurances do so others don't.)
• Fever suspension (Note that suppositories can melt at high temperatures. Application can be difficult if not impossible. A little syringe worked pretty well for us to apply liquid medications to our youngster.)
• Something against vomiting (children/adults)
• Something against diarrhoea (children/adults)
• Nose drops for the children (a good way to avoid otitis media)
• Ointment to treat fungal skin infections
• Something against warts
• Syringes / needles (The needles we have never used, but it is recommended to have your own sterile needles with you. Especially if you plan to visit very poor and remote areas)
• Clinical thermometer
• Gauze bandage
• Sterile wound covering
• Plaster
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Sterile gloves
• Disinfectants (Which should always be in the day pack so that every scratch can be treated immediately. This is because in the tropics the risk of an infection is much higher. So the smallest scratches can cause nasty wound infections.)

Very important

• 2x abdominal-security-belts (Which are essential. One of the safest method to store your documents and keep them always with you. In dangerous areas or in crowded places you can put the belt into your pants so it is almost impossible to take it without force.)
• Stuffed Animals (or another favourite toy for each child)
• Guide Books (Or at least a map of the place where you're going, because without the map you have to trust the information given by other people, who are not always right or don't want to give a proper information.)

Doing your laundry is one of the major activities on a big trip. (Los Antiguos, Argentina)

Clothing

• Rain protection
  • only 4x ponchos (The baby got under the poncho of the carrier.)
  • solid rain jackets (especially important against the wind)
  • Fleece Jackets or something similar warm (Indispensable for South America, as this continent can be so incredibly cold.)
• Shoes
  • good hiking sandals (The only form of footwear that we have ever used in South-East-Asia. To wear solid shoes after half a year was really a torture.)
  • hiking boots
• Swimming togs
  • swimsuit
  • water wings
  • goggles (Good for exploring the underwater world on your own.)
• Daily rags
  • 5x T-shirt for each of us (The five-day-rhythm has proven to us.)
  • 5x underwear for each of us
  • 1-2 trousers
  • 1-2 shorts (Or a combination of long trousers with detachable legs. Saves space and weight.)
  • thermo shirts for South America
  • thermo tights for the kids
  • long-sleeved shirts (No damage, but they hardly help against mosquitoes, as it is simply too warm in Asia to wear them. In South America they helped against the cold.)
  • bra
  • belt
  • sun hats (indispensable!)

Toiletry

• 2x not very large towels
• x toilet bags (The bags from the sleeping bags are very suitable for that, because you can crumple them, they are light, tear-resistant and quick drying.)
• Nail brush (Absolutely essential to get the dirt from your feet, especially in South-East-Asia and for doing hand laundry if necessary.)
• Tiger Balm (Which is for and against everything, especially against cough and the itching of the bedbug bites)
• Shampoo
• Tooth brush
• Toothpaste (For all the same, so no extra kid-oriented one.)
• Shaving cream and razor (The latter packed away from the inflatable mattresses so that there are no surprises!)

School things

• Pencil case (For each child their own. Otherwise we always had trouble.)
• Schoolbooks
• Notebooks
• Sketch block
• Pens (You never have enough of them. Always make sure that you have a blue or black one to fill in the entry cards at the borders. We had kind of an bad experience at the border to Singapore because our blue pencil was missing and we couldn't borrow any.)

Electrical equipment

Laptop, blessing or curse? (Bariloche, Argentina)

• 1-2 mp3 players (Full of music and radio plays for the children.)
• Laptop (We took an Asus Eee PC. It is worth to carry it around. Especially for internet banking and to communicate with family and friends.)
• Photo Camera (We bought the Canon Eos 1000 D in Malaysia. If you like to photograph you should take a good one with you. That is something we did wrong in the beginning until we got the new camera. The pictures are such a wonderful memory.)
• Video Camera (We took the Panasonic NV-GS 230. But none of us is a big shooter, so the video camera was more ballast to us than anything else.)

The packing list seems to be longer than it actually is. All of it fitted into 4 backpacks, which we carried over quit long distances occasionally. It indeed depends greatly on the number of people travelling and individual needs. Not everyone is enthusiastic about wearing trousers and T-shirt every day for a whole year. But for a space-saving packing you should not put vanity on top of your priority list.

To travel with so little things gave us the opportunity to travel on a very low budget, which we never ever had expected. Actually we expected twice as much.

And if all else fails?

40 hours in a bus and the kids have more fun than the parents. (somewhere in Sumatra, Indonesia)

One should also keep the option open to break up the trip at any time. Because sometimes you are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Illness, natural catastrophes, war, your children, who can't cope with the situation, or just the realisation that now and here isn't the right time to execute such a project.

But if you hadn't tried it, you never had been able to find out.

Any questions or comments?

If you have more current information or information about all the many other countries that we haven't visited yet, then send us an e-mail, so that this page can grow further, for all those who want to undertake the adventure "travelling with children".

(c) 2008-2010 by backpacker-kids