Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Traveling with Minors
It's always wise to have plenty of documentation when traveling in today's
world with children. For changing details on entry requirements for chil-
dren traveling abroad, keep up-to-date by going to the U.S. State
Department website: http://travel.state.gov. To prevent international child
abduction, E.U. governments have initiated procedures at entry and exit
points. These often (but not always) include requiring documentary evi-
dence of relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent
or legal guardian not present. Having such documentation on hand, even
if not required, facilitates entries and exits. All children must have their
own passport. To obtain a passport, the child
must
be present—that is, in
person—at the center issuing the passport. Both parents must be present
as well. If not, then a notarized statement from the parents is required.
Any questions parents or guardians might have can be answered by call-
ing the
National Passport Information Center
at
&
877/487-2778
Monday
to Friday 8am to 8pm Eastern Standard Time.
isn't specifically posted—inquire if a
kids' discount is available. European
Union citizens under 18 are admitted
free to all state-run museums.
Babysitting
services are available
through most hotel desks or by apply-
ing at the Tourist Information Office
in the town where you're staying.
Many hotels have children's game
rooms and playgrounds.
To locate those accommodations,
restaurants, and attractions that are
particularly kid-friendly, refer to the
“Kids” icons throughout this guide.
Familyhostel
(
&
800/733-9753;
www.learn.unh.edu/familyhostel)
takes the whole family, including kids
ages 8 to 15, on moderately priced
domestic and international learning
vacations. Lectures, field trips, and
sightseeing are guided by a team of
academics.
Recommended family travel Inter-
net sites include
Family Travel Forum
(www.familytravelforum.com), a com-
prehensive site that offers customized
trip planning;
Family Travel Network
(www.familytravelnetwork.com), an
award-winning site that offers travel
features, deals, and tips;
Traveling
Internationally with Your Kids
(www.
travelwithyourkids.com), a compre-
hensive site offering sound advice for
long-distance and international travel
with children; and
Family Travel Files
(www.thefamilytravel
files.com), which offers an online mag-
azine and a directory of off-the-beaten-
path tours and tour operators for
families.
9 Planning Your Trip Online
SURFING FOR AIRFARES
The “big three” online travel agencies,
Expedia.com, Travelocity,
and
Orb-
itz,
sell most of the air tickets bought
on the Internet. (Canadian travelers
should try Expedia.ca and Traveloc-
ity.ca; U.K. residents can go for Expe-
dia.co.uk and Opodo.co.uk.) Each has
different business deals with the air-
lines and may offer different fares on
the same flights, so it's wise to shop
around. Expedia.com and Travelocity
will also send you
e-mail notification
when a cheap fare becomes available
to your favorite destination. Of the
smaller travel agency websites,
Side-
Step
(www.sidestep.com) has gotten
the best reviews from Frommer's
authors. It's a browser add-on that
purports to “search 140 sites at once”
