Where should we take the baby in December?
October 5, 2015 3:23 PM Subscribe
Germany, Argentina, Vietnam, somewhere else?
My husband and I want to travel with our 1 year old in December. He'll be 14ish months. We've traveled quite a bit with him already - Japan; a big road trip from SF to Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Tetons; and a couple cross country trips/flights - so we know what we're getting into. Our top contenders:
Germany. We've been trying to do this trip for years. It's a relatively short flight and Europe is pretty comfortable. But I feel like it might be more fun to do when the baby is older and he understands Christmas, I'm a little concerned about the refugee situation, and it just seems kind of tame. We'd stay for 7-10 days, probably more like 7.
Vietnam/Cambodia. We were originally planning to do this trip in January 2016, but a friend is getting married in Taiwan in early March. We didn't want to do two Asia trips so close together. But if we went in December instead it would feel more doable. Major cons are flight times, cost, and safety issues (thinking particularly about a car seat). We'd need to stay longer if we did this trip - at least two weeks. This is the trip I really want to do in my heart but I think the timing just isn't right.
Argentina. It would be so so awesome to do a trekking trip with the baby before he gets too heavy to carry and/or I get pregnant again/have another baby. I feel like this kind of trip will only get harder for the next several years. I have not done any research on this plan at all, it came to me in the shower a couple of days ago. We've barely been to South America (Chile and Peru maybe 5 years ago) and I am so far out of the loop on what's happening there. But it's a lot of flying. And now that I'm thinking about it I wonder if the altitude would be a problem for the baby? Basically is this a terrible idea that I should stop daydreaming about right now?
My husband and I want to travel with our 1 year old in December. He'll be 14ish months. We've traveled quite a bit with him already - Japan; a big road trip from SF to Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Tetons; and a couple cross country trips/flights - so we know what we're getting into. Our top contenders:
Germany. We've been trying to do this trip for years. It's a relatively short flight and Europe is pretty comfortable. But I feel like it might be more fun to do when the baby is older and he understands Christmas, I'm a little concerned about the refugee situation, and it just seems kind of tame. We'd stay for 7-10 days, probably more like 7.
Vietnam/Cambodia. We were originally planning to do this trip in January 2016, but a friend is getting married in Taiwan in early March. We didn't want to do two Asia trips so close together. But if we went in December instead it would feel more doable. Major cons are flight times, cost, and safety issues (thinking particularly about a car seat). We'd need to stay longer if we did this trip - at least two weeks. This is the trip I really want to do in my heart but I think the timing just isn't right.
Argentina. It would be so so awesome to do a trekking trip with the baby before he gets too heavy to carry and/or I get pregnant again/have another baby. I feel like this kind of trip will only get harder for the next several years. I have not done any research on this plan at all, it came to me in the shower a couple of days ago. We've barely been to South America (Chile and Peru maybe 5 years ago) and I am so far out of the loop on what's happening there. But it's a lot of flying. And now that I'm thinking about it I wonder if the altitude would be a problem for the baby? Basically is this a terrible idea that I should stop daydreaming about right now?
I love Germany and it's like a second home to me. If you have family or friends to stay with over the holidays, I say definitely go! The seasonal traditions, such as the Christmas markets and decorations, make for a magical experience. However, it's also very cold and might feel a bit lonely during the holidays as most places are closed -- many for an entire week if not at least a few days.
If you'd like to go to Germany because you're curious, definitely go but wait until summer when it's warmer and your wee one can play outside in some of the many great parks and more. I guarantee you'd likely have a much more pleasant first trip.
posted by smorgasbord at 3:34 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you'd like to go to Germany because you're curious, definitely go but wait until summer when it's warmer and your wee one can play outside in some of the many great parks and more. I guarantee you'd likely have a much more pleasant first trip.
posted by smorgasbord at 3:34 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
When you're talking altitude concerns for Argentina, I assume you're talking about altitude issues while trekking rather than flying...I think unless you were planning on hiking Aconcagua or something (northern Argentina, border with Chile), you're not going to have the altitude issues in Argentina (not like you found in, say, Cuzco). At that time of year, it makes sense to go south into Patagonia. Altitude shouldn't be a problem.
posted by vunder at 3:40 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by vunder at 3:40 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Germany is great but cold and often rainy over winter (or at least northern germany is).
posted by stevedawg at 4:14 PM on October 5, 2015
posted by stevedawg at 4:14 PM on October 5, 2015
I wouldn't worry about the refugees, but Germany is likely to have rain rather than snow in December so could be a bit depressing. I'd go to Patagonia.
posted by fmnr at 4:52 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by fmnr at 4:52 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Are you hot weather people or cold weather people? Parts of Argentina will be very warm in December (although not Patagonia); northern Vietnam can be pretty cool, verging on cold.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 5:05 PM on October 5, 2015
posted by une_heure_pleine at 5:05 PM on October 5, 2015
Your baby is currently not walking right? I found a big difference in travelling with a walker versus a kid that can be strapped to us or be in a stroller.
I'm not saying this isn't doable but that you might want to take that into consideration.
posted by k8t at 7:32 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm not saying this isn't doable but that you might want to take that into consideration.
posted by k8t at 7:32 PM on October 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'd skip Vietnam and Cambodia until kid is older. I picked up dengue fever in Ho Chi Minh City and a friend of mine recently picked it up in Siem Reap. It's really debilitating in adults but can be dangerous in kids.
Though in the future, December is a wonderful time to visit those countries. I went over an extended Christmas holiday and the weather was perfect. Not too hot nor humid. Hanoi was a bit chilly though.
posted by astapasta24 at 6:46 AM on October 6, 2015
Though in the future, December is a wonderful time to visit those countries. I went over an extended Christmas holiday and the weather was perfect. Not too hot nor humid. Hanoi was a bit chilly though.
posted by astapasta24 at 6:46 AM on October 6, 2015
If you can share more about your concerns re. safety issues in Vietnam, maybe we can help. You're definitely right that you'd need your own car seat there (we just brought a car seat along on our plane trips -- it didn't count as luggage and on every airline it was gate-checked for safekeeping rather than put into general checked baggage).
I felt safe in both urban and smalltown Vietnam. (To be clear, while I've done a lot of travel with my kid, he was not with me on my trip in Vietnam -- I'm just picturing him there, but that picturing feels great and I'd very happily take him there if I thought the flight lengths would be easy for him.)
posted by kalapierson at 9:41 PM on October 6, 2015
I felt safe in both urban and smalltown Vietnam. (To be clear, while I've done a lot of travel with my kid, he was not with me on my trip in Vietnam -- I'm just picturing him there, but that picturing feels great and I'd very happily take him there if I thought the flight lengths would be easy for him.)
posted by kalapierson at 9:41 PM on October 6, 2015
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Very organized and civilized, but filled with such wild beauty. And it will be summer there, long beautiful days. Was very easy to organize and plan too.
Don't ever stop daydreaming!
posted by TenaciousB at 3:30 PM on October 5, 2015