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Europe trip with 8 month old
Hi all,
I am currently pregnant with our first child, due in July. DH and I take a big trip every two years, and are starting to discuss plans for next year.
We definitely want to go to the Netherlands (he has family there). One of our best friends may also be moving to London, so we would stop and see him.
Here is what we are thinking, and I'm just curious to know if it would be practical with a baby? Nothing will be booked until the fall, and we get a bit of an idea of life with a little one 
1) fly into London (3 nights) - stay with friend
2) travel to Amsterdam- our friend will probably join us, and we think we will rent an apartment either way. M husband has family in the countryside, so we will be doing some day trips. We are thinking 5 nights at minimum.
3) train to Bruges- I've heard great things about Bruges, and think the laid back style would be nice after 2 big cities, perhaps 2 or 3 nights? I've heard great things about Huis Konig, but not sure if we could go with baby? Either way, we will probably get a hotel or B&B for the short stay.
4) train to Paris- I love Paris, my DH has never been. We will probably get an apartment for at least 5 nights to finish our trip.
If our friend does not move to London, we will probably cut it out, as it's not high on our priority, and fly into Amsterdam.
Do you ladies think this is too fast paced for travel with a little one? Any hints/advice are greatly appreciated, as we at trying to start saving $ for the potential trip.
TY
Re: Europe trip with 8 month old
I think 8 months is the easiest time to travel with a baby because they aren't walking and talking yet. The only thing that might be difficult is dealing with jet lag. We lived in holland for three years and every 6 months did a big multi leg tour with the baby. It was easiest when he was that young because we would ergo him (get the ergo not the bjorn the bjorn hurt after a few hours) and he would nap in the stroller!
Disclaimer: I don't have children. That said, sounds like you're thinking about 4 cities in approximately 2wks and change. Given the close proximity, I think it's pretty do-able. However, personally, I'd consider maybe just stopping in Bruges v. staying (don't get me wrong, it's a great city), but the packing and unpacking 4x would wear on me.
My other thought, do your friends/family have 'gear' (strollers, etc) that you might be able to borrow/use while visiting. Again, if it were me, I'd really want to minimize the amount of stuff I needed to pack/unpack take on trains/planes. Particularly if you're flying discount London to Netherlands-- the low-cost carriers are really strict about how much junk (aka luggage
) you can bring.
GL
We have heard its a good age from others with children. We would go earlier, but DH needs to save vacation and he wants to go to the Netherlands in the spring.
We definitely have an ergo on the to buy list
we will probably bring the carrier and a stroller, and have both options for touring and traveling.
Thanks for the reply, length of time is going to depend on how much vacation my husband can get (and the $ we can save). I actually get a year of maternity leave, which is why we are planning this before I go back.
I am definitely playing around with Bruges. I'm actually thinking if we end up stopping in London we may just focus on London, the Netherlands, then end in Paris. It will depend on our friend. In a perfect world, we would rent an apartment for a week each in Amsterdam and Paris.
Hadn't thought much about gear yet, tbh. Tentatively we're thinking about an ergo carrier and an umbrella stroller. We just got back from Italy in the fall where we each traveled by carry on only- we know that is definitely out
I don't have a baby yet and have never traveled with a baby...but we are planning on going to Europe sometime before the baby is walking (probably September). Our plan is to do a very laid back trip and either include places we have already visited or places that don't have much to do sight seeing wise, with two stops in a two week time span (so a week in each location).
I think you might be trying to do to much given that most babies are not going to adjust to a time change very easily and you will be hauling baby gear with you for each move. I liked Brugge a lot, but could you cut out Brugge (possible day trip from Amsterdam) and spend 6 nights in Amsterdam, 6 night in Paris and 3 nights in London at the end of of your trip? That way you would have plenty of time in your first location for baby to adjust to the time change. And then if your friend doesn't end up moving to London you could swap Brugge for London.
I agree with the pp that said Bruges may be better as a day trip. In theory, it sounds nice to have a break from busier cities, but packing and unpacking in the middle of a trip for 2 or 3 nights at a hotel just seems like more work than it's worth. Especially if you are renting an apartment in Amsterdam/Paris. And even though Amsterdam and Paris are very busy, it's easy to find places that are a bit more laidback and relaxed within each of those cities.
Thanks for the response! I agree with the laid back trip idea... Especially for jet lag. Amsterdam is the most complicated for us to fly into from Canada (Paris and London are much easier)... But I'm agreeing with Bruges... I was just hopeful I could make it work!
We obviously have some time to debate this, and are going to have to see about our friend. I'm hopeful my husband may be able to get 3 weeks vacation, which would make a world of difference. On two weeks, I think two destinations is preferable, like you said.
Thank you for the info! I didn't know that