Where to Next? Our Exciting Summer Adventures are Confirmed!
Our travels have been somewhat limited since our trip to Central America last summer. Welcoming Baby B to the world has consumed most of our time and energy. And, quite frankly, travel hasn’t really been a priority for us since his birth.
Thankfully, Baby B is starting to find his routines and we’re finally getting normal sleep again (phew!). So, that means it’s time to start planning our next adventures!
Next month we will be traveling to a place we’ve wanted to visit for a long time – Maui, Hawaii!
Many of our friends and family have travelled to Hawaii, returning with stunning photos and wonderful stories of adventure and relaxation. We’ve often thought of visiting Hawaii but for some reason we’ve never made the trip.
We’ve come close to visiting Hawaii a couple times in the past, but we’ve passed on Hawaii for destinations in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Our thought was, “we can always visit later in life when we have a family because it’s close to Vancouver and it’s ideal for family vacations.”
Well, Baby B has arrived and it’s later in life, so the time has finally come for us to experience Hawaii!
We have been invited by The Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau to join a social media press trip with a few other fun travel bloggers. Baby B is a little young to be partaking in adventure sports and group activities, so Nicole and Baby B will be spending most of their time lounging on the beautiful beaches while Cameron participates in the press trip activities.
Although we took a vacation to Palm Springs a couple months ago, this trip feels more like an adventure. We’re really looking forward to experiencing Hawaiian tropical paradise firsthand (we’ll also be sharing our baby travel tips for Hawaii on our new website).
After Hawaii we’re traveling back to Europe in mid-August!
Last month we wrote a post about how our travel style has changed since becoming newbie parents. In the post, we revealed our new goal of visiting 5 countries per year. We’re excited to announce that this summer we will be hitting that goal by traveling around Europe in August and September.
We spent two months backpacking around Europe in the winter of 2009, but it’s been over 10 years since we’ve visited Europe during the summer months – and we can’t wait!
Thanks to everyone that helped us plan our European adventure by voting. After much debate about destinations, we’ve finally come to a decision.
Here is our general itinerary for Europe:
- Arrive in Frankfurt, Germany
- Train to Zurich, Switzerland for a few days
- Train to Liechtenstein for a few days
- Train to Zermatt, Switzerland to play in the Swiss Alps for a few days
- Train to Strasbourg, France for a few days (first photo is Strasbourg)
- Train to Luxembourg City for a few days
- Train to Reil, Germany – a village in the Mosel River Valley
- Wine festival in Reil for 3 days
- Explore several German towns and villages in the Mosel region, like Cochem, Traben-Trarbach and Bernkastel (pictured above)
- Train to Paris, France for a few days
- Train to Frankfurt, Germany for departure home
Of course, this itinerary will likely change a few times before we actually arrive in Europe. We’ve never been to Switzerland or Liechtenstein, so we’re very excited to experience the Swiss Alps for the first time.
This will also be the first time in our traveling history that we will have the majority of our accommodations and rail passes booked prior to arrival. Normally we just arrive in a new city and start looking for a hotel or hostel, but we can’t imagine that travel style will work well with an infant, baby stroller and excessive luggage.
For this adventure, we’ve partnered with both Rail Europe (international provider of European train passes) and Aeroplan (Canada’s premier travel rewards program). More details about these travel partners will follow in the coming months.
2012 has already been an incredible year, with many life changing experiences. We can’t wait to bring Baby B on these adventures to show him the joy of traveling and experiencing new things. Okay, so he’s probably too young to fully understand what it means to travel, but we’re confident he’ll appreciate these experiences later in life.
Other parents keep telling us to ‘enjoy every minute because time goes by quickly with children’. We are starting to understand this wise advice – these past 6 months have literally disappeared.
Because of this, we can’t think of a better time to take Baby B overseas!
Exciting plans! Happy to see Germany in your summer plans – and you will love Switzerland! So beautiful.
Thanks Dani – we’re pretty pumped to see the Swiss Alps!
Hey guys, I’ll be in Europe those two months also, so we need to plan a meet up. Keep me informed on your schedule and such and let’s work something out. An no… I will not babysit while you two party 😉
Awesome – let’s definitely try to meet up again!
Would love to have a cigar and beer with you in the Alps 😉
You sure you don’t want to babysit? He’s pretty cute and cuddly… 🙂
What a lucky boy! My parents made travel a priority when I was younger, and, alongwith instilling a love of books and vegetables, it’s probably the thing I’m most grateful for. It’s made me instinctually want to try new things, seek adventure, and learn about different cultures.
Looking forward to hearing about your adventures!
Thanks for your comments Wandergirl. It’s nice to know that your parents’ efforts have contributed to your thirst for adventure – we hope it does the same for Baby B! 😉
Love to read of posts of travelling parents! We hope to start a family when we return home, but man, this better not kill our travelling 🙂 You guys are proving it is still possible. Cheers!
It’s totally still possible. BUT, it’s not the same as traveling as a couple (hangovers don’t cut it with a baby, which means earlier nights!). It’s a small sacrifice though. His smiles make it all worth it! 😉
You’re going to love Maui, I can’t believe you’ve never been. Vancouver is so close!
We’re going to be in Europe most of the summer, also thinking of going back to Strasbourg, great city. Enjoy it!
I know! We can’t believe we’ve never been to Hawaii either.
When will you be in France this summer? Perhaps our paths will cross?
Sounds like an amazing plan!
A pity you won’t come to Italy. Would have been so nice to meet you.
Can’t wait to read more about your upcoming adventures!
We’d LOVE to include Italy in our itinerary. And it would be fantastic to finally meet you!
Next time… Cinque Terre and Sicily are still calling 🙂
Sounds like you’ve got some magical travels ahead of you! I’m excited to hear all about it!
We certainly do. Stay tuned… more to come! 😉
Sounds great adventure! I hope you really have a good time traveling! Have a great day!
Thanks Celine – we’re looking forward to the trips!
You’ve picked some great places to visit, Strasbourg in particular is one of my favourite cities in Europe. I’m sure you’ll have a great time!
Thx Andrea. We’re pretty excited. Strassbourg looks like a fantastic city – we can’t wait! 🙂
Hope you have an awesome time in Europe. Should be a fun trip and hope it’s one you get to enjoy. Hope the family doesn’t suffer too much from jet lag!
As for Hawaii, I like Maui. Kauai is still my favorite island but you will have a blast. The sun in Hawaii is really intense (much stronger than here) so make sure you have lots of sunscreen. Temps will be in the 80s but trust me – it’s really an intense sun!
Good to know Jeremy. We’ll have to stock up on sunblock – I’m a serious burner! (Cam)
Have fun in Maui – nice to meet you today at the Tourism Victoria event!
Thanks David – we’ll do our best! 😉
Great to meet you as well.
We’ll probably be in France in early August. Starting in Italy later this month and then spending some time in Eastern Europe. We know a great spot for a beer in Strasbourg.
Do tell – Where is this great beer spot you speak of!?!
My parents took me abroad for the first time at the age of one and kept doing so every year until I turned 15 and started travelling by myself. 1,5-day train ride from Moscow to Crimea is still one of my best childhood memories 🙂 Sure your son will be very happy to have such parents once he gets a bit older! Well done 🙂
We live in Stuttgart which is very close to both Zurich and Strasbourg, so if you decide to make a stop here, let us know and we’ll be happy to show you around 😉
Thanks for your feedback Masha!
We probably won’t have time to visit Stuttgart on this trip but we’ll certainly get in touch with you if we do
Sounds like a great summer, can’t wait to hear about it.
Sounds like you three are going to have a fantastic time! Looking forward to reading about doing Europe with the little one.
oOo what an exciting summer you have in store. Can’t wait to read all about it especially with Baby B on the road. 🙂
Looks like you’ve got some great plans coming up! Am excited to read about your European adventures as we will eventually be making our way through all of those countries!