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I mean c’mon there is not one reason, look at th I mean c’mon there is not one reason, look at this view from the top of the Kloof Corner hike! The biggest way we’re able to afford traveling so much is by letting the deals dictate where we go. Cape Town has been on our bucket list forever but with flights typically costing $1,200-$1,800 it hasn’t been a priority. But when Scott’s Cheap Flights (now called Going, I don’t like the new name but that’s besides the point) dropped this Cape Town deal for less than half of what it normally costs we jumped on it!

So often I hear “but there are no deals during school breaks”, YES THERE ARE! We went to Cape Town for Thanksgiving and the girls get the entire week off of school so they missed no days. Plus since there seasons are opposite it was late spring and the weather was amazing. Scott’s emails deals directly to your inbox for the airports you choose (we select our home airport and airports we can easily fly direct to and always have cheap flights because sometimes it’s worth flying to a city for a deal (known as a repositioning flight). They offer a free version but you don’t get all the deals so we have the Premium subscription which costs $49 for a year and you can tap the link in my bio and use code TRAVELINGCHILD20 for 20% off. They have an Elite membership level for business class seats. Because someone always asks, yes they give deals for nonstop flights but please remember you can’t fly everywhere nonstop. Beloved if you’re going to Thailand from the US you’re going to have a layover.

Anyway when in Cape Town you must hike, there are so many amazing ones! This Kloof’s Corner hike is perfect for sunset. It’s not stroller or wheelchair accessible as there are stairs but if Jordyn and Kennedy can hike it in 40mins (one way up) I promise you don’t have to be super fit!

P.S. when booking a flight from the US you have 24 hours to cancel & get a refund (on flights booked 7 days in advance). So many ppl told me they hesitated on this deal because they had to see if they could get off work/what dates worked for their travel partners. Always book first, think second & just cancel within 24hrs if you can’t make it work! What’s the best flight deal you’ve booked?
Hello from Cape Town, South Africa! Here’s every Hello from Cape Town, South Africa! Here’s everything you need to know about getting into South Africa (save + share this post):

1. Your passport must be valid for 30 days after your scheduled date of departure.

2. You must have 2 consecutive empty pages in your passport.

3. There is no visa required for US citizens for visits less than 90 days.

4. There are no shots required to travel to South Africa, unless you are traveling from or transiting through yellow-fever deemed countries, then a yellow fever shot is required. You can find a list of these countries online.

5. South Africa has opposite seasons than the US so our winter is their summer. December to February are peak travel due to the weather but if you visit in November like we did you’ll get good weather and avoid the massive crowds of peak season.

Have you visited South Africa? If so, which part? If not, is it on your list?
Because why do y’all do this to us trip planners Because why do y’all do this to us trip planners? Are you the one in your group that plans the trip or do you just show up? If you’re the planner tag your friends 😅. If you just show up do you look at the itinerary or ask all the questions even though the info was given to you 👀?

Original reel idea credit goes to @kryssedeal, sis really nailed exactly how I feel!!
#sponsored Last year we were able to cross some am #sponsored Last year we were able to cross some amazing places off our bucket list. We want you to do the same so we’ve teamed up with @vrbo to give you the opportunity to win $3,500 and turn your bucket list trip into a book-it-list one! 

Just head over to the giveaway post on @vrbo, make sure you’re following them and tag 3 people you’d want to join you on your trip! 

So what is your book-it list vacation this year?

*T&Cs apply – link in bio

 #VrboTogether #BookItList
Things to do in Istanbul (save and share this post Things to do in Istanbul (save and share this post):

1. Visit the various houses of worship like Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque. Suleymaniye Camii, Ortakoy Mosque, Chora Church and the Camlica Mosque

2. Tour palaces like Topkapi Palace, Dolmabahce Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace

3. Climb the Galata Tower for amazing views of Istanbul. You can even enjoy a meal here at the restaurant on the top floor.

4. Take a cruise of the Bosphorus to see both the European and Asia side of Istanbul.

5. Visit the cities Bazaars, the Grand Bazaar where you can shop your heart out and the Spice Bazaar where you can eat your heart out. Don’t leave without trying a Turkish delight!

6. If you want to go shopping Istiklal is the place to do so. They have a wide range of stores including international chains like Zara.

7. See a Dervish show at Hodjapasha.

8. Walk across the Galata Bridge to see fisherman at work and then walk under it to taste their fresh catches.

9. Take a day trip to the Princes’ Islands.

10. Experience a Turkish Hammam.

11. Explore the neighborhood of Balet, enjoying the colorful building and have some traditional Turkish tea or my favorite Apple Tea.

12. Turkey has some amazing food so go on a food tour or take a cooking class. If you don’t do either just make sure not to leave without having a traditional Turkish breakfast!

I recommend at least 5 days in Istanbul but you can easily spend a week or more exploring the city.

Have you been to Istanbul? If not is it on your list? For those that have been what was your favorite thing to do?

#istanbul #bucketlistadventures
Our Egypt Itinerary (save + share this post): 3 n Our Egypt Itinerary (save + share this post):

3 nights Siwa: Shali Fortress, 4x4 safari in the Great Sand Sea, sunset on Fatnas Island, emple of Amun and Temple of the Oracle, take a look or a dip into Cleopatra Spring, Mountain of the Dead, House of Siwa Museum, float in the salt lakes.

5 nights Cairo: Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx,  Egyptian Museum, Saqqara, Khal Al Khalil, Old and Coptic Cairo: Hanging Church, Mohamed Ali Mosque, Al Azhar Mosque and the Fortress of Babylon, see an Al Tannoura Egyptian Dance Heritage Show at Wekalet El Ghouri. For a break from the historical things with kids spend a day at Dreamland Park, Kidzania, or Ski Egypt. Stay at Marriott Mena House.

3 nights Luxor: Hot air balloon ride, Luxor Museum, Mummification museum, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Temple of Karnak, Temple of Luxor, Colossi Statue of Memnon and Hatshpsut

3 nights Aswan: High Dam, Temple of Philae, Nubian Villages, Sail on the Nile by Felucca, Nubian Museum, Abu Simbel

On the way to Aswan from Luxor you can also stop to see the Temple of Horus and Kim Ombo Temple. If you have extra time visit Alexandria, Bahariya Oasis, and White Desert National Park to see the White Desert.

Have you been to Egypt? Is it on your list? There is so much to see outside of Cairo! 

#bucketlisttravel #cairoegypt #luxoregypt #aswan
OUR MOROCCO ITINERARY (save + share this post):

🇲🇦2 nights Chefchaouen- painting class, hiking, enjoying the Blue City and more.

🇲🇦3 nights Fes- Royal palaces, Moroccan dance class, visit the tannery and more

🇲🇦6 nights Marrakech- Majorelle Gardens, explore the Medina, explore the various mosques, stay in a riad, take a Moroccan cooking class and more.

🇲🇦3 nights Sahara Desert- ATV tour, sand boarding, Bedouin experience and more.

For all the details of each trip tap the link in my bio for the itineraries of each city. Have you been to Morocco? Is it on your list?

P.S. the girls were 3 and 5 on this trip

#moroccotrip #thisisafrica #travellingwithkids

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How to Spend 2 Days in Bangkok

February 24, 2017      Asia, Destinations, Thailand

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

We visited Bangkok during a three city tour of Thailand where we also visited Chiang Mai and Phuket. Bangkok was the last stop on our trip. We’ve already heard there isn’t much to do in Bangkok and a day or two is enough time. Here’s how to spend 2 days in Bangkok.

How to Get From Chiang Mai to Bangkok

After we flew Qatar Airways to Thailand we took Air Asia, a local budget airline from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. There are no frills, you have to pay for water, etc. but the flight is only 1hr and the $26 price tag was perfect. Checked baggage is priced by weight ranging from 15kg to 30kg. We only had one checked bag for the whole family that weighed 20kg. My daughters luggage was a carry-on and you are allowed 7kg for each carry-on.

How We Got From the Airport

A private transfer was provided by our Airbnb at no additional charge! The driver was waiting for us with a sign when we came out of baggage claim. This was a great feature as it can sometimes be tricky finding an Airbnb or knowing how to get inside the apartment for the first time. Our driver had the keys and escorted us to our apartment. It was so nice especially since we arrived close to midnight. Here are some tips on getting around Bangkok.

Where To Stay in Bangkok

We rented this for our time in Bangkok which saved us a lot of money and was in a super convenient location. Not only did our Airbnb included airport pickup it also included a portable wifi hotspot so we could connect anywhere we went. New to Airbnb, sign up here and save $40 on your next stay. Don’t be nervous about using Airbnb, here are 8 Tips for a Great Airbnb Experience. Our Airbnb host provided a pack n’ play for Kennedy to sleep in, a high chair, baby tub since the bathroom only had a shower and even a baby blanket. The building also had a small playground with swings, some slides and a pool. Want to stay at the same Airbnb as us, pictured below? Here is the listing.

bangkok airbnb

How to Spend 2 Days in Bangkok

Day One: Day Trip to Ayutthaya

From Bangkok we did a day trip to Ayutthaya which is about an hour outside of the city. There are a lot of expensive group tours but we wanted the freedom to go at our own pace. I researched a few blogs before we left for our trip and the cheapest ways seemed to be by train or minivan. The train was longer as it makes a lot of stops so I decided on the minivan. The drivers charge between 60-70 baht per person, we paid 65 going and 60 coming back. You can catch the minivans at the Mo Chit Bus Terminal. To easier way get to Mo Chit Bus Terminal is taking a taxi from where you are staying. You can also take the train to the Mo Chit train station but you’ll need to take a bus or taxi to the Mo Chit Bus Terminal once you arrive at the train station.

How to Get Around Ayutthaya

We hired a Tuk Tuk for the day at 300 baht per hour. I read that you could negotiate down to 200 baht per hour but 300 was as low as we could get the driver.

mom with baby on back in tuk tuk in thailand

Temples to Visit in Ayutthaya

We visited the 5 main temples in the city: Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Wat Lokaya Sutharam, Wat Mahathat, and Wat Phra Si Sanphet. We didn’t even have to tell the driver where we wanted to go, they pretty much know what you are there to see. They have pictures with each temple and it’s name. Once you arrive they will show the picture again so you know which one you are visiting. Ayutthaya is truly magical and it is more than worth the drive if you will be in Bangkok.

toddler girl in leopard head wrap in front of temple in ayutthaya thailand

Lessons Learned About Taking a Day Trip to Ayutthaya

I thought by taking the minivan and renting a tuk tuk that we would save a ton of money versus doing an organized tour. While it was much cheaper than tour guides taking a private taxi from Bangkok to Ayutthaya would have cost the same as our minivan and tuk tuk driver in Ayutthaya. We could have avoided having to take the train to a taxi to the minivans. We paid 1500 baht for the train, minivan, and tuk tuk driver and the quotes we received from taxi drivers ranged from 1400-1600 baht to have them for the whole day. Now I’m not sure if the Bangkok taxi drivers would know Ayutthaya as well as the tuk tuk drivers based there. We enjoyed the experience of riding around in a tuk tuk but if you prefer AC getting a taxi from Bangkok might be better for your travel style.

mom with baby on back and toddler in front posing in front of sleeping buddha in ayutthaya thailand

Day Two: Don Manora Floating Market, Maeklong Railway Market, Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Arum

We started our day on a guided tour with Tour With Tong. It was a half day tour from 7:30AM-12:30PM to visit the floating market and train markert. Our first stop was to see the Maeklong Railway Market. We were dropped off about half a mile away so we were able to walk through the market stands before getting to the train tracks. When booking the tour for the floating market I actually had no idea it included the train market or that their even was one. I am so happy it did because I liked the train market best, it was so unique in my opinion.

After visiting the Railway Market we went to visit the famous floating markets of Thailand and we chose the Don Manora floating market. When we got there our guide took us to the dock and the the boat operator took us around. Where the floating market currently stands isn’t its original location and he took us to see where that was as well.

mom and daughter in boat at a floating market
After visiting the market we went to the nearby fine china factory where fine china is hand painted. We were able to walk through to see all the workers. It was a really cool process to be able to witness. The workers are amazing at what they do. Of course, there is the opportunity to purchase some items in the store as well if you’d like.

woman painting fine china

Visiting the Temples in Bangkok

Our tour guide ended up dropping us off to the Grand Palace on the way back to the city as we discovered in the car it closes at 3:30PM. I was so happy she told us that because all the other temples close around 6 so we assumed it did as well. We might have missed it as we planned on having a relaxing lunch when we got back to our Airbnb.

toddler girl standing in front of a palace in Thailand

We visited the Wat Pho Temple, which houses the infamous Reclining Buddha, around 5:30PM. This best as most tourists come earlier in the day so we nearly had the place to ourselves.

mom and daughters in front of Reclining Buddha  

The main 3 temples are all near each other so you can walk except to Wat Arun. To get there you need to take the ferry across the river, it costs 4 baht per person. The tuk tuk price from the temples to our Airbnb (National Stadium train station) was 200 baht. We had two drivers try to charge us 400 and we stayed firm as we had already gotten a ride their for 200. Thank God because we would have thought 400 was normal. You should negotiate everything here, even if the price sounds low already you can possibly be getting overcharged so make sure to haggle.

picture of a temple in Thailand 

We had an amazing 2 days in Bangkok and week in Thailand overall. Our adventure wasn’t quite over, we would have a layover in Singapore on the way home. Singapore is the perfect place for a layover as the country is so small you can do a lot in 12 hours.

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

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Comments

  1. Abel Devis says

    March 18, 2017 at 6:56 pm

    Hi, Love your blog and IG page. I am even more inspired to take my child with me on trips. For this post, I wish you could include the cost of the traveling in american dollars for reference. Like 60 baht is about $2 american dollars. This way when I see 200 baht I can automatically say oh, that’s about $6 or so.
    Also, it would be cool if you included how the exchange or access of money works. Are there ATM’s? Can you use american dollars? etc.
    Otherwise, great read!

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Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

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