New York - Culinary Cornucopia

I always loved that commercial where the cowboy said, "Where is this other salsa made...New York City?" Except that NYC sounded more exciting to me than camping out on the range with the cow hands. And wouldn't some of the best salsa in the States come from a place with "towns" named after countries from all over the world due to the cornucopia of immigrants there? Recently I got a chance to put my excellent food theory to the test on a trip filming Travel With Kids: New York.

Of course, the foods I was sampling weren't exactly considered gourmet (I was with kids after all), but its amazing how great a hot dog can taste from a cart in Central Park or a slice of pizza from the right Ray's Pizza. The kids found it fascinating too...a culinary feast for the senses to be sure. A visit to the Natural History museum topped with a stroll through Central Park eating hot dogs. Soaking in the surreal lights of Times Square after lifting off with chicken nuggets at Mars 2112...out of this world! Bargaining our way through the stalls of Chinatown (and bypassing the dead ducks hanging in the windows) to sit at an outdoor cafe scarfing pizza and sorbet in Little Italy. New York has it all...food and otherwise. We visited all the famous monuments...Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, FAO Schwartz, the U.N. as well as a few less visited. I think the kids favorite attraction was the subway though. Not a bad deal...$1 for endless entertainment. Kids or no kids, New York is a magical destination. So, I ask you...what are your favorite New York pairings...cinnamon almonds and FAO Schwartz, hot pretzel and Rockefeller ice skating, rocket pops and a stroll through Central Park Zoo? Delight us with your culinary duos! To see what we did on our trip to New York, visit TravelWithKids.tv or for a quick sample visit us on YouTube/TravelWithKids

Travel With Kids London

London is a great place for a family vacation. With its wide array of activities and attractions, there's something to interest everyone from kids to grandparents. Click the link below to get some great tips on planning a family vacation in London.
For more information on traveling to London or to make a virtual trip with your family, go to

Inkaterra Resort Machu Picchu family adventure - Peru With Kids DVD

Cusco, Peru to Machu Picchu by train

Central and South America - Adventure for Kids too!

In today's travel climate, budget is a huge determining factor on deciding where to go. Central and South America have long been an adventure traveler's delight and low prices are a major reason why. And now, with the Internet and cel phones making remote places seem not that remote, and so many transportation and accommodation option, families are finding the lower Americas a great alternative to that same old USA vacation. In the off-the-beaten path locations like these, you can expect to find mid-range hotels for as little as $30-70/night...even less if you are willing to give up amenities like private bathrooms, air conditioning, location, etc. Spending a little more will offer uniwue opportunities like beachfront locations and remote nature lodges.

Some of our favorite Travel With Kids destinations have been in the Central and South America regions. Adventures that come to mind immdeiately - watching lava actually oozing down the side of Arenal Volcano from our hotel room in Costa Rica; finding bugs, bugs and more bugs on hikes through the Amazon Rainforest in Peru; hiking the last bit of the Inca Trail for the most brilliant view over Machu Picchu in Peru (and riding the fancy train to the trail head!); and watching turtles lay eggs on the beach of the Mayan Riviera in Mexico.

Combining adventure, nature and a budget these Central and South American options have given our family memories to last a lifetime and now they're more accessible than ever.

How We Got There:
We flew TACA Airlines to Costa Rica and Peru - They had great rates and the staff was superb with the kids!

Where We Stayed:
Arenal Observatory Lodge in Arenal, Costa Rica
Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel - Aguas Calientes, Peru
Refugio Amazonas - Amazon Rainforest, Peru
Zahra Beach Bungalows in Tulum, Mexico

To help you plan, check out our family travel documentary series:
Travel With Kids Mexico: The Yucatan & Mayan Riviera
Travel With Kids Costa Rica - due out Summer, 2009
Travel With Kids Peru - due out Summer, 2009

Refugio Amazonas Amazon Rainforest Adventure Peru - Travel With Kids

Moms Stay Free at FDR Resorts Jamaica

We stayed at both Pebbles and FDR While filming for our Travel With Kids Jamaica DVD available soon. They place was fantastic with VACATION NANNIES! Check it out.

FDR RESORTS, JAMAICA - MOM’S STAY FREE IN MAY 2009

Runaway Bay, Jamaica – In appreciation of Mother’s, FDR Resorts, owners and operators of the family oriented Franklyn D. Resort & Spa and Pebbles Resort on Jamaica’s north coast are thrilled to announce that Mother’s will Stay Free at their Resorts for the month of May. As a Thank You for all that they do, Mom’s vacationing at the Resorts - 1st May through 5th June, 2009 with their family will Stay for Free! Both FDR Resorts offer 2 Bedroom Suites which translate to more comfort for vacationing families and they are the only Resorts in the Caribbean whose prices include a dedicated Vacation Nanny for each family. She is the family’s Vacation Assistant and will spend as little or as much time with the family, helping out with the small hassles from rinsing out the kids swimsuits, ensuring the kids are fed and bathed to assisting Mom and Dad with planning out their daily activities, etc. With Mom Staying Free and a Vacation Nanny to help out, there is no better way to spend a family vacation and returning home feeling well rested and rejuvenated.

www.fdrholidays.com

New Travel With Kids Titles Coming Soon

Travel With Kids DVD series continues to expand. New titles set for release soon include Ireland, Florida and Caribbean Cruise. Jamaica, Costa Rica and Alaska are in post production. Check back soon for updates.

Travel With Kids to air in Poland

Poland has picked up season two of the Travel With Kids television series from Janson Media. See the mention in this press release
Here

Travel With Kids On Twitter

Well, we finally decided to start the Travel With Kids Twitter page. Figure the kids will be teenagers soon and we dont want to seem like old fuddie duddies. Yes, they are in kindergarten and 2nd grade, but we're trying to stay ahead of the technology with these kids! You can follow us on Twitter at Travel_WithKids

Canal Evasion Viewers Can Now Travel With Kids

Canal Evasion Viewers Can Now Travel With Kids

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New Travel Guide DVDs Available

London and England are the latest family travel guide DVDs available at Amazon and other online retailers. The Travel With Kids series now has 10 total with 10 more on the way. Check out travelwithkids.tv for more info and to order DVDs

New Travel Albums for Peru and Costa Rica With Kids

Check out the new photo albums for Travel With Kids Peru and Costa Rica. Click on album below and then click on Slideshow. DVD Travel Guide Coming Soon...

Peru With Kids

Costa Rica With Kids

Check out the new photo album for Travel With Kids Peru. Click to go to the album. Select Slideshow to see the pics big!

...Meanwhile, Up In The Andes Mountains...

Playing in a Pan Flute Band High Above The Inca Capital of Cusco, Peru. Full Trip Report Coming Soon, But I Has To Get This Photo Up Right Away.. Too Cool!!!

Welcome to the Jungle

Arriving in the Amazon rainforest on the Tambopata river. 3 hours up river in a longboat from Puerto Maldanado. The rainforest experience was fantastic with monkeys, capybarras (worlds largest rodent), bugs of every kind, parrots and caymans. Our ¨hotel¨room was with only 3 walls, with the open wall facing the jungle. We had lots of visitors in the night... mostly bugs and frogs. Lots of guided walks in the jungle and night bug hunts. The lodge was excellent with a kids rainforest trail where they searched for treasure and learned conservation. The kids made great friends with a local boy at the lodge and played for hours even though they didnt speak the same language. The guides were great with the kids and every evening dozens of people from all over the world gathered in the lodge to swap stories while the kids played in hammoks watching toucans. (amazing what actually happens when there is no TV) more to come soon...

10 years and back again

We arrived in Lima Peru today! 10 years ago we arrived in Lima on our way home from our 8 month around the world trip. 10 years to the week to be exact. We dont remember much from Lima last time, but we are re tracing our steps to Cuzco, Machu Picchu and the Amazon... this time with kids! We are staying in a small guesthose by the sea, the weather is like Southern California - its perfect. We spent the evening at the seaside park with families flying kites, playing in a cool skate park with lots of little kids and watching the sunset over the Pacific. Ordered up some dominoes pizza to the room and the kids are watching Spongebob in Spanish. More to come.. stay tuned.

Airline Travel Deals Still Out There!

We found an amazing deal for our upcoming Peru trip from perutravels.net, a travel agency in Lima. They got us Lima-Puerto Maldanado (rainforest)-Cuzco for less than half off the regular rate on LAN's website! When buying 4 ticktets, thats alot of $$! Granted, we had to give our credit card over the phone to a guy in Lima, Peru, but the e-tickets were emailed right away and verified with LAN. Deals are out there still, you just have to work for it. I would highly recommend using perutravels.net to anyone heading that way. Also, Kayak.com is the best travel deal website going.

Paris With Kids Review on DVDVerdict.com

Check out our fun review on DVDVerdict.com. We don't always get these, but this guys seems to get what we are doing. Check it out here

Travel With Kids Featured on MovieMom.com

Travel With Kids "How To" Interview Featured on MovieMom.com

Check it out here

In front of our "hotel" Negril, Jamaica. "Nirvana on the Beach" Excellent stay for families!

Why do we prefer small guesthouses over huge resorts..? Hmm...

CLICK HERE  for Jamaica With Kids slideshow