MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Every year, families plan vacation time together traveling abroad. Often, this includes young children. With summer travel season around the corner, Vayama (www.vayama.com), a leading online travel agency uniquely focused on international travel, is sharing some pointers on how families can prepare for their international vacations.
“Many international destinations are family friendly,” explains Joan Ioannou , Brand Marketing Director for Vayama.com. “The challenge is often getting parents to feel comfortable including their children in these travel plans because it can require additional planning and preparation. Our hope is that with some additional guidance, more families will continue to travel abroad together.”
The few trouble areas that can make people shy away from taking their little ones with them on international trips, include:
The Flights
Most international flights are long, and can involve multiple legs, layovers and smaller planes depending on the route or airline. To keep children entertained and happy, make sure to have their favorite activities and personal belongings on hand. This could include anything from movies, books, blankets, snacks, toys, to a change of clothes.
Other things to consider when booking flights for a family are seat location and flight time. Window seats are often a great for younger children who can be entertained by the sights outside the airplane. Nighttime flights can also be easier for families as children may sleep for a longer duration of the flight. Booking travel in advance will allow for more options, including flight times, seating and number of connections.
The Gear to Get Around
Before you leave, check the places you’re staying and plan out where you’ll need gear and equipment such as a stroller, car seat, playpen or crib. All that gear may seem daunting, but working with international airlines and hotels ahead of time will help prevent any baggage surprises and families may even find help renting equipment at their destination.
Transitions
Another sensitive spot for kids is constant moving. It can be stressful to change hotels or simply get around a new and unfamiliar place, especially if the modes of transportation are different than what the child is used to. Try limiting hotel stays to two or three max, and keeping travel days short. It might be tempting to visit a number of European countries, but instead, spend more time in fewer places.
Fighting Boredom
For many, international travel is synonymous with history and culture. However, to young children, long days visiting museums or taking tours can be “boring” because they aren’t old enough to understand everything they are experiencing. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean families should skip out on these experiences. Rather, consider mixing up the itinerary, alternating between museums, historical sites, physical activities and eating. Another idea is to engage children with questions about places and things you see together, making it into a game. Giving kids binoculars is another way to get them intrigued and excited about the new places they’re seeing.
Foreign Food
It’s not uncommon for children to have sensitive palates, or default to not liking something because it’s unfamiliar. This can make traveling to a foreign place seem somewhat unsettling for parents of picky eaters. One solution is to pack backup meals or non-perishable snacks to take with you in the event your child doesn’t want anything on the menu. Another is to ease your child into eating foreign foods by offering them bites from your meals and showing them early on in the trip that the food is good, and not so different, so by the end they are open to ordering foreign food as well.
To book your family’s international travel, visit www.vayama.com.
About Vayama
Vayama.com is an online travel agency uniquely focused on international travel. Since 2007, the company has been committed to providing travelers with the most comprehensive set of airlines, fares and flights, allowing people to experience popular, well-traveled destinations as well as some of the most remote corners of the world. By working with a vast network of trusted global partners, Vayama taps published and negotiated fares to put the very best international content all in one place. Travelers who visit Vayama.com can browse thousands of hotels and book rooms at the lowest prices available, as well as rent cars all over the world. For more information about Vayama, visit www.vayama.com.
About Travix
Travix International B.V., one of the leading global and the largest Dutch online travel agency, manages an extensive portfolio of travel-focused websites operating under the brand names CheapTickets, BudgetAir, Easytobook, Vayama, Vliegwinkel and Flugladen. Easytobook is a specialist in online worldwide hotel reservations. The other brands provide both search and book capability for flight combinations worldwide on both scheduled and low cost airlines. In addition, these sites offer attractive pricing for hotels, car rentals, rail travel and holiday packages. Travix operates its six brands globally, employs almost 700 persons, with combined sales in excess of US$ 2 billion. Travix is part of BCD Holdings N.V. For more information: www.travix-international.com.
About BCD Holdings
BCD Holdings N.V. is a market leader in the travel industry. The Dutch, privately owned company was founded in 1975 by John Fentener van Vlissingen and consists of BCD Travel (global corporate travel management), Travix (online travel: CheapTickets, Vliegwinkel, BudgetAir, Vayama and Easytobook), Park ‘N Fly (off-airport parking), TRX (travel transaction processing and data integration), Airtrade (consolidating and fulfillment), VakantieXperts (leisure) and Parkmobile International (mobile parking and traffic applications). BCD Holdings employs more than 13,000 people and operates in almost 100 countries with total sales, including franchising, of US$22.8 billion. For more information, visit www.bcd-nv.com.
