The Dolomites with Kids The Dolomites! We’ve been to Italy more than 30 times, with and without kids, but had never before traveled to Trentino and Italy’s northern mountains. Given that we’re more a summer adventure family than a ski family, we chose to visit in August. Arrival We flew from… Read More
Why You Should Never Do A Day Trip to Rome or Florence
A Day Trip To Rome | A Day Trip to Florence You’re on a cruise ship traveling up the Italian coast and you’re docking in the port town of Civitavecchia solely to head to Rome for a day, or in Livorno to visit Florence. Or you’re staying elsewhere in Italy… Read More
Best of 2017: Favorite Things Around the World
It was another amazing year of travel! I didn’t quite match my 2016 statistics, flying 230,511 miles, or roughly 25,000 fewer than last year, but I couldn’t have fit another trip in if I tried! My 21 countries included (in order): US, UK, Oman, UAE, Costa Rica, Chile, Bermuda, Mexico,… Read More
European Bucket List: 9 Can’t Miss Family Travel Activities
A Europe Family Bucket List! When we’re planning a trip to Europe – or anywhere else – we start looking for activities far in advance. If there’s an amazing festival, we want to know the best way to experience it. If there’s a wonderful guide for a walking tour, we… Read More
Two Weeks on Lake Como with Kids (Which Was One Week Too Long)
Lake Como with Kids So usually I’m a good travel planner, and I’ve learned a lot about how to plan our trips from what we’ve liked in the past. This summer the criteria in the back of my mind for our annual month in Europe were: I put out my… Read More
Photography Expeditions and Workshops: A Ranking
I’ve just returned from a photography expedition in Oman and United Arab Emirates with National Geographic. On the flight home, I started thinking about the ten photography expeditions and workshops that I’ve now done around the world and what made each one successful (or not). To my mind a successful trip needs:… Read More
Best of 2016: Favorite Things Around the World
It’s an absolutely amazing world, and I was lucky enough to see a lot of it this year, mostly with the kids. I started the year in Thailand, then moved on to the Philippines, Taiwan, the US, Tanzania, Kenya, Switzerland, Germany, Jamaica, China, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Hungary, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the UK, France,… Read More
Ten Incredibly Cool Kid-Friendly Activities Around the World
On our 13-hour flight back from Sydney this weekend, I started working on my round-up post of our favorite things in the world from the past year. Some are easy, since there’s usually one view from a hotel room that stood out, one breakfast, one resort, and so on. But… Read More
How to Have the World’s Great Sites to Yourself
Note: This post originally appeared at Travelocity.com. My biggest annoyance when I’m traveling: crowds. If I fly halfway around the world to see an amazing site, I want to experience it with as few other people around as possible. This is especially true if I’m with my kids. Long lines and… Read More
Disney Cruise Port Stops and Shore Excursions in Europe
We’ve gone on four Disney cruises now – two in the Mediterranean, one in northern Europe and one in the Caribbean – and stopped at 24 different ports. At those stops we’ve done a little of everything on our shore excursions: we’ve booked official Disney Port Adventures; we’ve booked our own private or… Read More