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[quote=Anonymous]We love to travel and are lucky to have the means and job flexibility to do it a lot.  By 2.5, DD had been to Mexico, Panama, Grand Cayman, Italy, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Lake Tahoe, Chicago, and Florida (several times).  She's 3.5 now.  We've been back to Mexico, New York, and Amelia Island, have gone to Arizona, are going to Italy again in the spring, and may go to Morocco in the fall.

Do I think she'll remember most of this?  Of course not.  I do think she'll learn to be comfortable in new places and in other cultures, though, and that's important to us.  She also is an awesome traveler now because she's used to it, which makes things easier.

In terms of what we liked best, we had a great time in all of those places and also had moments in all of them that were lousy.  I always think the lousy moments make some of the best travel stories, but I really, really love to travel.  Rome was walkable, had great fountains, and kid-friendly food; they eat late, so we didn't have to fully adjust her to the time zone.  On the flip side, the flights were awful, and it's pretty embarrassing to have that kid who is throwing a tantrum in the Pantheon because you aren't letting her take enough selfies.  The beach is idyllic and easy, until your kid is strangely terrified of being anywhere near the ocean AND of the cicadas she can hear everywhere that isn't the beach OR has had way too much sun but only wants to be outside.  The Riviera Maya is awesome with kids, except for that moment where your kid decides she's terrified of lizards at Tulum, which is overrun with them.

Despite the lousy parts, we love traveling with her.   It forces us to slow down and see the world through her eyes.  I notice things and do things I wouldn't have done before, and I think it's fun.  Plus, we connect differently (and better) with people in new places because of her.

That being said, the logistics are more complicated with her because she's small and needs more than we do. I love that because I legitimately find travel planning and logistics to be fun (I kind of want to quit my job and become a travel agent).  If you don't, it probably would be less fun to deal with long flights, jet lag, and the general disruption of being off schedule, so you might want to stick closer to home.

You also have to dial down your expectations of what you're going to see and do.  For example, I knew I probably would be back in Rome at some point, so it was no big deal that I had to miss seeing a few things I desperately wanted to see.  I'm putting off South Africa because I'm less likely to go back and have a lot of things I desperately want to see there.  If your travel budget and flexibility are limited, I wouldn't go places where you have a long list of must sees -- you'll only end up disappointed.

Wherever you go, I have a few other recommendations.  The first is to plan for the plane.  I read that you should bring one diaper for every hour of anticipated travel, and that's worked for us.  You also need a LOT to do on the plane.  The iPad may be enough, but if the iPad breaks or your kid gets bored with it (it can happen), you need backup (stickers, crayons, stories, tape flags, pipe cleaners).  The second is to plan a few nights (or even an afternoon) with high-quality babysitting services, if you can afford it.  That always makes me feel a bit more like I've had a vacation than just a trip.  The third is something I mentioned before, which is lowering your expectations for what you actually can do.  The fourth is to have a sense of humor.  Things will go wrong, but most of them are more annoying than awful, and laughing about it helps.  If you can do that, you'll appreciate it even more when your kid is totally transfixed by the carvings in the Forum or bonding with a trumpet player in a mariachi band.    [/quote]

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