Category Archives: Family Travel

Product Review: The Tortuga Setout Packable Daypack

Family Travel, Product Review,

Picking the right gear is crucial to making travel more comfortable. When you’re traveling with kids, this is even more so the case.

I typically travel with a 60 liter North Face backpack and a 35 liter Cotopaxi Volta daypack. This is usually a good amount of space for my thing as well as some of the kid’s items.

One problem we consistently run into during trips is which bag(s) to bring along when we’re out for the day. My wife Kim always has a bag, but she doesn’t always want to carry a backpack when she ‘wears’ Theo in our Ergo (baby carrier). And the issue I have is that I don’t want to bring along a 35L daypack, just for a few things. Continue reading Product Review: The Tortuga Setout Packable Daypack →

Diggerland Construction Theme Park, Even Better Than We Remember!

Family Travel, Trip Reports, ,

diggerlandIn July 2014, the Michael W Travels family visited Diggerland, an awesome construction theme park located in West Berlin, NJ.

At the time of our visit, Lucas was 2.5 years old. He was too small to drive any vehicles on his own but still had a great time. He hasn’t forgotten about Diggerland and has asked if we could visit again quite a few times.

We planned to return to Diggerland but it just never happened. Then, I received an invite to the Diggerland 2018 Media Preview Day. This was a great excuse to head to the park again last weekend! Continue reading Diggerland Construction Theme Park, Even Better Than We Remember! →

Hey Lufthansa, Where’s Our Car Seat?

Family Travel, Trip Reports, , , , ,
Lufthansa
image: Aero-Shots

Last Friday the Michael W Travels family flew to Athens, Greece with Lufthansa. We then caught a late- night flight to Larnaca, Cyprus.

We brought our car seat for Theo since we’d be renting a car in Cyprus. Rather than gate- check it, we decided to check it at New York’s JFK Airport through to Athens. Continue reading Hey Lufthansa, Where’s Our Car Seat? →

Happy 6th Birthday to World Traveler Lucas Miles! 42 Countries Visited

Family Travel, Trip Reports, ,

world travelerYesterday was a very special day for the Michael W Travels family.

Our little man Lucas Miles turned 6 years old! It’s been an amazing six years and I can’t believe that Lucas is in kindergarten and has already been to 42 countries! No, that’s not a typo- he’s a true world traveler!  Continue reading Happy 6th Birthday to World Traveler Lucas Miles! 42 Countries Visited →

Product Review: The Mifold Super- Portable Booster Seat

Family Travel, Product Review, ,

mifoldIn travel and everyday life, safety is of utmost importance when you’re getting into a car with kids.

One of the biggest problems when it comes to traveling with a car seat or booster seat is portability. Bringing your own car seat equates to bringing a lot of extra bulk on a trip but it will save you a good amount of money instead of renting one. A booster seat isn’t as bulky as a car seat but they can still take up a decent amount of space.

We came across an interesting car seat alternative earlier in the year, the Ride Safer Travel Vest.

I had received e-mails about another, super- portable booster seat option a while back. Then, I was offered the opportunity to test out and review the mifold. Continue reading Product Review: The Mifold Super- Portable Booster Seat →

14 Month-Old Theo’s Global Entry Interview at JFK- How Did It Go?

Family Travel,

global entry

All of the Michael W Travels family have had Global Entry for some years now.

When Theo was born, Kim and I procrastinated on getting his Global Entry membership taken care of. This was never really an issue. When arriving back in the US, all we usually needed to do was fill out a customs form for him to include with our slips from the GE machine.

With Kim’s Amex Platinum fee coming up, it was time to get Theo his Global Entry membership. Continue reading 14 Month-Old Theo’s Global Entry Interview at JFK- How Did It Go? →

Legoland Planning To Open In New York In 2019

Family Travel, ,

legolandLegoland is inching closer towards opening its third location in the U.S. in New York State.

The park would open in Goshen, NY, around 60 miles from the city.

The New York Post reports that, “A planning board in Goshen approved a site plan to build a $500 million theme park based on the construction toy, which would open in 2019.” Continue reading Legoland Planning To Open In New York In 2019 →

Our Visit To The Solomon Islands with Kids

Family Travel, Trip Reports, ,

While planning our 5 Week Trip to the Pacific, one country that we’d be visiting seemed far different than the others.

The Solomon Islands is most famous for and mainly visited due to its wealth of World War II sites. While I’m no WWII history buff, I do enjoy the topic. It also just so happened that our visit coincided with a big event, the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. Continue reading Our Visit To The Solomon Islands with Kids →

Looking Back: Should You Take Your Toddler To Oktoberfest?

Family Travel, Trip Reports, ,

With Oktoberfest 2017 underway (and ending on October 3), I felt it would be a great idea to re-share a post which I wrote about the festival a few years back.

The majority of people might think of Oktoberfest as a beer-filled festival full of drunks and they would be correct to an extent. However, the festival is also family-friendly with yummy food, fun rides and appealing music playing in the tents.

Take a look at my post, “Should You Take Your Toddler to Oktoberfest“.  Feel free to share your thoughts. Would you bring your toddler to Oktoberfest or would you rather experience an adult only version? Continue reading Looking Back: Should You Take Your Toddler To Oktoberfest? →