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How many of you have heard you will no longer be a How many of you have heard you will no longer be able to travel once you have kids? I find most people who say these things don’t even have kids or if they do they have never traveled with their kids!

I’m not really into counting countries and we enjoy visiting places more than once, seeing the beauty all over the US and right in our state too. You don’t have to travel far to give your kids amazing experiences but you can also take them wherever you want. Y’all know my motto, if kids live there kids can visit!! 

Where have you been that people said you were crazy for taking your kids (or your parents for taking you) but you were so glad you didn’t listen to them and went anyway.

#travellingwithkids #familytravel
Everything you need to know about visiting Chichen Everything you need to know about visiting Chichen Itza, one of the 7 Wonders of the World (SAVE + SHARE this post).

Chichen Itza is 2.5 hours from Cancun, 2 hours from Playa del Carmen, and 90 minutes from both Tulum and Merida.

You can get here by renting a car, booking a private tour on Airbnb Experiences like we did, coming on a tour bus or for budget travelers taking the ADO bus. 

Most tours from Cancun are all day long, leaving as early as 7/8 am and as late as 9 pm drop off. This is because you’ll visit cenotes outside of Chichen Itza and the town of Valladolid. Since we only had 4 days in Cancun we didn’t want to spend a full day on the road but also really wanted to visit so booking private transportation allowed us to skip all the other stops and just go there and back. We were picked up at 9 and back at the hotel by 4 so we could have a relaxing evening.

Current admission is $533 Mexican pesos for adults, $80 for kids 3-12 and free for kids under 3. That’s about $30 US for adults and $5 for kids.

Once inside there is the main attraction that everyone comes to see but there are also other Mayan dwellings and a cenote. I recommend coming with a guide or hiring an official guide once on site so they can give you information on the history.

Have you been to any of the 7 Wonders? If so, which one(s)?

Hubby and I climbed the Great Wall of China together in 2007, Jordyn, James and I have been to the Colosseum in Rome, the girls and I have been to Petra and we all visited Machu Picchu, Christ the Redeemer, Chichen Itza and the Great Pyramids of Giza together!

#chichenitza #7wondersoftheworld
Today is the last day of school and I could not be Today is the last day of school and I could not be more proud of Jordyn! Look at all those awards she racked up at her end of the year ceremony. She’s reading 3 grade levels above hers, was only 9 points away from a perfect score on her state reading test and made the Honor Roll every quarter of the year. It’s time to celebrate, let summer begin!!!
We’ve been to 34 states and while we haven’t v We’ve been to 34 states and while we haven’t visited them all yet these are 4 states you should consider visiting this summer. (SAVE + SHARE this list for inspo)

📍Idaho- Last year we explored Southern Idaho and it blew us away. City of Rocks National Reserve, Kayak to Shoshone Falls, white water rafting, and walking behind Perrine Coulee Waterfall are musts!

📍Alaska- We visited the South East part of Alaska, Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan and WOW talk about stunning. You’ll love exploring ice caves, walking on glaciers, canoeing through ice bergs, seeing the volcano and hopefully spotting some bears!

📍Utah- From the famous national parks like Zion and Bryce to the lesser known areas like Kanab, Utah is stunning. You can’t miss sand boarding through Coral Pink Sand Dunes and ATVing through the gorgeous landscape.

📍California- Where else can you surf and ski/snowboard in the same day? California has the most national parks in any state so you know the beauty is beyond amazing. Having lived there for 3 years I’ve explored so many cities and there is something for everyone!!

Would you like me to share my website link for our itineraries for each of these trips in stories? Have you been to any of these? Which state intrigues you the most from this list? What city/state would you like to see us cover?

#visittheusa #bucketlisttrip #travellingwithkids
We have been traveling with our girls since they w We have been traveling with our girls since they were 6 weeks old. Is traveling with kids always easy? Nope! Are there added costs to traveling with kids? Yes! But having status with World of Hyatt has helped elevate our travels, making things a little easier and saving us money, here’s how (SAVE + SHARE this post).

1. Being a family of 4 standard hotel rooms can be kind of cramped. Having status with World of Hyatt means we’re eligible for free upgrades when available including suites as a Globalist.

2. Eating out for breakfast everyday on a vacation starts to add up really quickly. As a Globalist we get free breakfast for 2 adults and 2 children.

3. At hotels with club access Globalists also get free access which includes drinks and snacks, the perfect way to hold kids over until dinner without spending money.

4. I don’t know who decided 9 or 10am was a good time for check-out, hello we’re on vacation, we want to sleep in! Having status with World of Hyatt means you qualify for late check out at 2pm or 4pm depending on your level of status. So whether you sleep in, hit the pool or use the other amenities at the hotel you can enjoy a little longer. It especially helps us when we have flights later in the day.

5. After paying for our hotel room we hate having added fees. Thankfully when you have Globalist status with World of Hyatt resort fees are waived on free night awards and/or eligible rates.

6. Free hotel nights! There is nothing like booking a hotel and not paying a penny! Having joined World of Hyatt we rack up points (on more than just stays) and the higher your status, the more points you earn to get free stays faster.

7. As World of Hyatt members we even earn American Airlines miles on our Hyatt stays, getting us free flights faster to save even more money!

From being more comfortable to finding more ways to earn, you’re missing out if you haven’t joined World of Hyatt!

@hyatt #HyattPartner
4 Ways to Redeem Points at Hyatt Hotels & 7 Ways t 4 Ways to Redeem Points at Hyatt Hotels & 7 Ways to Earn World of Hyatt Points & (SAVE + SHARE):

Ways to Redeem
1. Redeem points for rooms at Hyatt hotels. There’s nothing like experiencing luxury without the cost, so glad I could redeem Hyatt points for this stay with one of the best views of Tokyo.

2. Redeem points to cover your meal at participating restaurants at Hyatt hotels.

3. Redeem Hyatt points to cover your spa treatment at participating spas at Hyatt hotels. 

4. Redeem points through World of Hyatt FIND experiences. With over 200 experiences like cooking classes, tastings, & walking tours there are so many activities to choose from!

Ways to Earn
1. Are you an elite member with American Airlines? If so, you can earn 1 Hyatt point for every $1 spent on AA flights. These are in addition to the normal miles you’ll earn on American, just sign into your AA account & link your World of Hyatt account.

2. Rent a car through Avis & can earn 500 Hyatt points per rental. Just provide your Hyatt membership number when making the reservation & use AWD code K817700.

3. Book a FIND experience by World of Hyatt and earn 10 points per $1 spent. Hyatt offers over 200 experiences such as culinary classes with celebrity chefs, hot air balloon ride in Arizona, guided bike tour over the Golden Gate bridge and more.

4. Even if you aren’t staying at a Hyatt property, if you eat at the hotel restaurant or book a spa treatment you can earn 5 points per $1 spent. We actually ate at a Hyatt restaurant in Kyoto & even though we weren’t staying there I gave my World of Hyatt number & received points!

5. Earn points on everyday spending with a World of Hyatt credit card: 2 points per $1 spent on restaurants, airline tickets, local transit, rideshares, & gym memberships plus earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

6. Transfer points earned on other credit cards who partner with Hyatt such like Chase Sapphire Preferred, Sapphire Reserve, Freedom Unlimited & Freedom Flex. 

7. Book a cruise with Lindblad Expeditions & earn 5 points per $1 spent.

Are you doing any of these?

📍Andaz Tokyo

@hyatt #HyattPartner
If you visit Lisbon or any mainland city in Portug If you visit Lisbon or any mainland city in Portugal I highly recommend adding a trip to Madeira! It’s an island off the coast of Portugal, actually closer to Africa than Portugal. Here’s how I spent 6 days in Madeira (Save + Share this post):

🇵🇹Day 1: Pool day at my hotel (NEXT Hotel) for most of the day and then I went running up the crazy hills of Madeira to see Funchal by foot.

🇵🇹Day 2: I explored the NW part of the island visiting Seixal Beach, Ponto Moniz, Fanal Forest and Ilheus da Ribeira da Janela.

🇵🇹Day 3: I went on a sidecar adventure where I explored Valley of the Nuns, the Cabo Girão Skywalk, and the fishing town of São Pedro with @madeirasidecartours.

🇵🇹Day 4: Whale and dolphin watching tour but we only saw dolphins. In the evening I did an Airbnb Experience at a locals farm house where he cooked a great dinner where 90% of the items were picked directly from his gardens that day. He also taught us how to make poncha, a favorite local drink. The tour should already be linked in my Maderia story highlights.

🇵🇹Day 5: I toured the SE part of the island visiting Ponta do Garajau, Monte Palace, and ended the day at the most beautiful views from Pico do Arieiro (the shots of me on the clouds).

🇵🇹Day 6: I watched the sunrise from Miradouro Ponto do Rosto and then did an 8 mile hike of Levado do Caldeirão Verde. After the hike I relaxed at the pool!

If you want photos taken in Madeira I recommend @robframing.

Honestly Madeira was everything and I don’t see it dropping out of my top 5 international destinations anytime soon.

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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

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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