Traveling with kids off the beaten path
As I believe I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve been very stressed about how we are going to deal with our upcoming trip to Costa Rica. In the beginning, I was stressed about receiving the passports. Well, we got all of them, thank goodness, so that worry is gone. Now I’m mostly stressed about what traveling with kids will be like, in what some people consider a developing nation. During our research, I read somewhere that something like 70% or 80% of Costa Rica’s roads are unpaved (I’m too lazy to look up the exact number). We will be traveling at the tail end of the rainy season, when roads get washed our regularly, and mudslides happen (Check out this mudslide that happened a few days ago in Atenas, CR). On top of that, we plan to cover much of the country in a four-week time period. The areas we plan to cover are quite far from each other, entailing traveling times of 4 hours or quite a bit more. And my daughter, J, is only a little over 2 years old, and needs to be carried for long distances (no strollers, here, with all the unpaved roads!). So we’ve come up with a few plans that I hope are going to work:
- We are packing very light. Or as light as you can pack with two young kids. We have to keep things light because we simply can’t carry that much weight. We will probably be doing laundry in the sinks of the places we are staying, or maybe hiring local folks to wash a load for us here and there.
- We bought 1 large rolling backpack and one medium rolling backpack (this one from REI). They are really comfortable to wear on our backs, but they will also roll when we are on paved surfaces, like at the airport or in major cities.
- I’ll use my Ergo baby carrier with J. This is the best carrier out there, in my opinion. It’s the only one I’ve tried, with heavy babies, that doesn’t give me back or shoulder pain. So I’ll probably be carrying J a lot. And if I have to, I’ll use the Ergo with J on my front, and carry the medium backpack on my back.
- We’re making some transportation decisions with our kids in mind. For instance, we’ve made sure that we are on a non-stop flight. If it was just me and Arp traveling, I’d save a little extra money and choose a flight with stops. But not with 2 kids with us! Costa Rica also has excellent and cheap public busing throughout the country. But somehow a 4-hour public bus ride with 2 young kids doesn’t sound very pleasant. So we’ve spent a little extra money and arranged to hire a private driver for our first 4-hour drive. That way, we can stop for food and bathroom breaks whenever the kids need it, and we get the pleasure of taking our time to enjoy the countryside and get to know our new country (hopefully!).
- We’ve invested in seriously waterproof rain-gear for the whole family. After all, we are traveling to a tropical nation during the rainy season!
- Finally, I’ve signed up Arp to take a seminar, at our area LLL conference, on how to travel with kids. This seminar is being presented by a good friend of mine who has traveled extensively with her kids. Although I’m not quite sure she has traveled as far off the grid as we plan to go. But still, I am looking forward to hearing her ideas.
If anyone else out there has any advice for us, speak up and leave me a comment. I’ve love to hear from all of you that have done this before!
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One thing that suprised me about CR was the incredible promptness of the drivers we hired. I expected a more “relaxed” attitude toward time. However, everyone we dealt with on our trip came exactly when the schedule said they would.
Hi Trish–We went to Guatemala when my son was 18 months old (and I was 6 months pregnant!). The biggest concern was not having him in a car seat because there were no seatbelts in the vans we were riding in (we purposely didn’t not take the public buses (”chicken buses”)). I have never been to CR so I don’t know how it compares with Guatemala as far as the roads, but there were certainly some terrifying roads. We also went on a long boat ride (a little boat) with no life jackets because there weren’t any life jackets! You can imagine the horrible scenarios that flashed through my husband’s and my mind. It is a different mentality (no pasa nada!) We survived obviously, but I was chewing my fingernails and clenching my jaws and my kid at times.
Hi Again–I know you mentioned not packing a stroller but I did find packing one of those little umbrella strollers wasn’t a bad idea. For the $10 you spend , you can trash it at the end of the trip. It was great for naps for the little guy and a good place to rest bags. No they aren’t the best on unpaved roads but it was good a thing to have handy.
Kelly
@ Jason: Do you think the promptness has anything to do with their reputation for driving with an incredibly liberal interpretation of driving laws
@ kelly: I’ve seen some pictures of boating children without life jackets and it freaks me out! I’m not sure I’d be able to get on a boat without a life-jacket on myself, much less my kids. I learned to swim not too long ago and I’m still not a fan of deeper waters.
Oh gosh. I am extremely strong swimmer, and I’m confident that I’d be able to save at least one child in a boating accident. But Arp is another story.
Arp: you need to practice your swimming!
I didn’t do a very good job of practicing this summer, did I?
Hola, Just stumbled on your blog. We’ve lived here, in Costa Rica for almost two years now. Relax…and you’ll be fine. A stroller isn’t a bad idea. Locals in our small town use them all the time. Yes, a small umbrella one is a great idea and if it gets broken you can ditch it. Buying one here will probably cost you twice as much as at home.
Yes, many of the roads are unpaved. Even the paved roads are often bad at this time of year. Many, many roads are having issues due to the tremendous amount of rain we’ve had this year. Main roads, there is only ONE road to get to most tourist destinations have had parts washed out lately. As recently as Thursday the traffic passing our town (San Ramon de Alajuela) enroute to the beach was at a standstill. Most roads are only two lane and as part of the interamerican highway washed away only one lane could go at a time.
Make your travel plans loose, very loose. At the time you arrive the rains will have subsided BUT there will be road repairs to be made. They like to get on it ASAP this close to tourist season.
Hope this helps. If you have other questions feel free to contact me thru our website.
Thanks for the tips - we are keeping our plans loose. We know where we’re staying the first 6 days then … ? We’ll see where we end up
We’ve been reading your blog too. I’ve been trying to keep in mind the general idea to ‘go with the flow’ and expect things to not be the way we’re accustomed to. I think your blog got me going on the idea of bartering too. Did you write something about it?
Not sure if it was me on the bartering or not but we definately ask for discounts when paying cash. It doesn’t always work but sometimes you can get up to 10% off. Hey, we live on a pension so every savings helps.
As long as you look at everything as an adventure you will all have a great time. Kids love nature, mud and rain so let them enjoy it all. Wet wipes are available in all the stores. Leave all your expectations at home and let the warmth & beauty of this country envelop you. If you miss a bus, it could be a blessing in disguise… it’s all in how you look at it.
You’re coming at a great time. The rains will be letting up and the country is a lush green.
It does seem to be a great time - we’ve been too busy to blog as a result