Shelly Rivoli's

Travels with Baby

The best adventures with your child begin here.

Home Products & Gear Travel Planning Travel Books Tips Blog About

Why and how to choose a small city for your family’s big vacation

On January 24, 2012
The small city of Nerja in the south of Spain, as seen on an evening stroll

My camera, enjoying an evening stroll through the pedestrian streets of Nerja, Spain.

Even if you start your next adventure in a big city—as you’re likely to do if flying in to a major airport, you may be able to extend your family’s vacation by staking a claim for short while in a small town off the beaten path. And it could be well worth it, for more reasons than one.

Think about it: For what you might pay for two nights in Paris or New York City, you might afford to stay a week in an apartment in a smaller city or a cottage in a lesser-known village.

SIlverton Coffee Station in Silverton, Oregon

Stroll over a covered bridge on your way to the Silverton Coffee Station in one of America's Top 10 Coolest Small Towns.

Does that mean you’ll have a less interesting or worthwhile vacation? Not if you play your cards right. Especially with small kids along for the adventure, smaller towns often offer a more relaxed pace and better chances to acquaint yourselves with the culture and locals in residence.

Take Spain as an example, and the small town of Nerja on the Costa del Sol. This April, a 2-bedroom, 1.5 bath apartment where we stayed is 450 Euros for one week (yes, that’s two bedrooms, with more than one toilet, full kitchen, and a washing machine). Surrounded by Andalucían charm? Yes. Walking to any of three beautiful beaches on the Costa del Sol? Yes. Strolling to shops, cafes, and (inexpensive) groceries? You bet.

Pushing the stroller down a cobbled street in Antibes, France.

Want a small town with big culture? Antibes, France is home to one of the best Picasso museums in the world - and it's a quick train ride to Cannes. Did I mention the beach?

Which reminds me of another reason you  might prefer small cities to big for that next break: Walking to most locations vastly simplifies vacations with a baby or toddler. No loading and unloading and reloading the car, no navigating a crowded subway. Just push that stroller along the street to the next cafe or park.

So how can you find the perfect small city for your family’s next vacation? In addition to these few I’ve highlighted, check out these links:

In addition, you can find out more about Nerja in these related posts, and discover one of America’s Coolest Small Towns in this post on Silverton, Oregon.

Do you have a big crush on a small town you’d love to visit again this year?

Know of a great little city you’d recommend for travelers with kids?

This is the fourth post in the “Fit more travel into your family’s new year” series this month. If you missed the earlier posts, you can start here.

Safe journeys,
Shelly Rivoli
Tagged with: • • • •
 

How to earn frequent flyer miles without even flying (or leaving your desk)

On January 18, 2012
This is the third post in the “Fit more travel into your family’s new year” series this month. If you missed the earlier posts, you can start here.

Following last week’s post: “Get (at least) one roundtrip flight with a mileage credit card,” I want to address one of the other best ways I’ve learned to earn frequent flyer miles—without flying.

Whether you use a mileage credit card or not, you can also earn frequent flyer miles by shopping online for everything from business cards to big box appliances, and from breast pumps to birthday bouquets. I’m not kidding.

When you enter participating web stores—such as LandsEnd.com, BestBuy.com, PetSmart.com, EddieBauer.com, OneStepAhead.com, Sears.com, and Target.com to name just a few—through certain mileage program portals, you earn one or more miles per dollar spent regardless of which credit card or form of payment you use (PayPal, etc.).

To get an idea of how many online stores are actually participating in these programs, take a look at any of these mileage shopping portals (or online “eshopping malls”):

To participate in any of these programs, you just need a frequent flyer (or mileage) number with the airline, and then you can simply register online with the mileage shopping portal. The next time you go online to shop, just start at the portal site and click through to the store you want to shop. Done!

The real advantage of this program is how frequently you can earn multiple miles per dollar spent on goods from stores such as Staples.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Overstock.com, and eBags.com. And if you do use a mileage credit card to make your purchase? You’ll just be earning that many more miles to your account for each transaction.

Skeptics: I recently earned 4 miles per dollar spent on my new washing machine and a whopping 16 miles per dollar spent for new laser printer toner. And I’ll come clean with you all right now: I did not hesitate to pad my mileage account with a bit of holiday shopping as well. Since these were things I had to buy anyway… it was great to earn the most miles possible for every dollar spent and get that much closer to my next award flight. 

Have you used a shopping portal to earn miles shopping online?

Do you have another easy way to add to your frequent flyer account?

Safe journeys,
Shelly Rivoli
Tagged with: • •
 

Get (at least) one round-trip ticket with a new mileage credit card

On January 10, 2012
 
With the right card your family may board its next flight a little faster.
This is the second post in the “Fit more travel into your family’s new year” series this month. If you missed the first post, you can check it out here. 
 
Would an extra round-trip ticket (or possibly two) help your family take flight this year? Even if you already have a frequent flyer credit card that earns you miles for each dollar spent, you might want to consider taking out a new mileage card this year—it could earn you a bonus worth as much as a free round-trip flight, or possibly even two.
 
My friendly advice? Don’t take out a mileage credit card that won’t give you at least one round-trip ticket as a bonus for using the card—visit your favorite airline’s website, subscribe to their member emails, and watch your mailbox (and don’t miss the current offers below). Occasionally, airlines such as Southwest or American Airlines will even offer new card bonuses worth two domestic round trips to mileage members on their mailing lists.
 
Don’t believe me? In 2011, I saw an offer from British Airways offering the equivalent of two overseas flights for new mileage cardholders—which I just missed (argh!), though I managed to refer several others to in time. (Better luck to us all in 2012 – I will be watching!)
 
Here are some of the best mileage credit card offers going right now:
 
Southwest Airlines is offering a “free roundtrip flight” with the equivalent of a 25,000 bonus points after your first purchase with their RapidRewards Visa card (see details) 
 
United is offering a MileagePlus Explorer Visa card also with a 25,000 mile bonus after first use, with 5,000 more miles for adding a second cardholder. If you charge 25,000 miles to it in a calendar year, you’ll get an extra 10,000 miles. Plus, cardholders and “a companion” can each get a free first checked suitcase on United and Continental flights (see details here). 
 
American Airlines is offering a Visa card with 30,000 miles for $750 spent in the first 4 months, and 10,000 more if you charge $5,000 within the first 6 months. Better yet, you’ll earn 2 miles for every dollar charged to it within the first year (see details here).  
 
US Airways is offering a MasterCard with a 30,000 mile bonus after your first use, and up to 10,000 bonus miles for a balance transfer to the new account (1 mile per $1 – see details here)  
 
Delta is offering a SkyMiles Gold American Express card with a 30,000 mile bonus after charging $500 to it in your first 3 months, and they’ll give you a $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with it during those first 3 months. Additionally, card members get a free first checked bag for up to nine people in their reservation! (Big families see details here.)
 
British Airways is offering a Visa card with 25,000 miles (called “Avios”) after your first purchase, plus another 25,000 miles if you charge $2500 to the card in the first 90 days (see details here). 
 
One final note: Always read the fine print before you apply for any credit card, use it responsibly, and don’t forget to cancel a prior mileage card if you won’t need it anymore. Not only will you want to avoid any future annual fees for holding the card, but the company might offer you a generous mileage bonus for changing your mind and keeping it!
 
Do you use a mileage credit card? 
Is there one you recommend?
Click comments below to share your thoughts (email subscribers click here for the blog online).
 
Related posts and pages:
Tips and advice for flying with a baby, toddler, or young child
Five ways airlines can help make happier travelers of us all
One very good reason to fly British Airways with your baby or lap-held toddler
Best gear for travel with babies and toddlers 
FAQs and popular topics for travel with young children
 
Shelly Rivoli
Author of the award-winning Travels with Baby and Take-Along Travels with Baby
Tagged with: • •
 

The five low-travel long weekends to take advantage of this year

On January 3, 2012
It all starts by taking advantage of the low-travel long weekends…
Happy New Year! I’m kicking off 2012 by discussing ways to Fit More Travel into Your Family’s New Year, with a post on the topic each week this month. Please share your thoughts and suggestions, too!
I’ll start with an often overlooked way to work in a little extra travel for your family, whether it’s a quick trip close to home or a chance to take advantage of an extra day off from work or school for a longer vacation. It all starts by taking advantage of the low-travel long weekends, such as:
January 14-16: Martin King Luther Jr. Weekend. The holiday itself is observed Monday, January 16th this year, when most families are winding down from holiday travel or at least catching up on their post-holiday budgets.
February 18-20: President’s Day Weekend. The holiday is observed Monday, February 20th this year, which still tends to catch many bleary-eyed, wintering families off guard (we should have planned to go somewhere! Guess we’ll shop the sales instead…). I’m already seeing airfare specials offered for this weekend!
September 1-3: Labor Day Weekend. The holiday is observed September 3rd in 2012, when many families are finished with summer travel and just beginning the new school year, which can make it the perfect time to snag a deal at family resorts or theme parks (and while the weather is still great!).
October 6-8: Columbus Day Weekend. For some families, Columbus Day (observed October 8 this year) offers an extra 3-day weekend in one of my favorite mid-season travel months: October. Early October is a fabulous time to visit many destinations across the country and around the globe, from early fall in the north to early spring in the south.November 10-12: Veteran’s Day Weekend. And let us not forget: Veteran’s Day in November, observed on Monday, November 12 this year by most institutions. While only two weeks later, Americans see the highest travel prices of the year for Thanksgiving, this often overlooked 3-day weekend begs for a bargain family getaway.

If you’ll find yourself with a 3-day weekend from work and/or school in any of these cases, you may be able to catch a great deal at popular family destinations and resorts, enjoy lower gas prices or airfare to get you there, and avoid the crowds and congestion of much more popular long weekends like Memorial Day and 4thof July.

What’s your favorite long weekend for travel? 
And where would you like to spend it this year?
Click comments below to share your thoughts (email subscribers click here for the post online). To see all the posts in this series, click here.
Safe journeys,
Shelly Rivoli
Author of the award-winning Travels with Baby guidebooks
Tagged with: • •