Baby's Got Back

Backpack, that is.

Maybe you've given your tot his own Louis Vuitton luggage set. Or you've gone the other route and prefer to let your 5-year old drag a Jansen sportsac through the airport.

If you're like us, however, you fall somewhere in the middle. Louis Vuitton, God help us, not yet. But the ubiquitous monotone backpack? Too anonymous and boring. God forbid Junior puts it down at the airport, you'll never find it again.

Enter Little Packrats. This company, created by mother-of-twin-boys Cathy Berse-Hurley, makes backpacks that are creative enough to catch a child's fancy without being too whimsical. They're small enough for a toddler to carry while still being "cool" enough for the teen set. While these bags are not big or sturdy enough to use as checked luggage, they're great for carrying games and other "keep busy" items on board. (Which should reduce the burden on your shoulders by half, no?)

Made of durable vinyl, these will appeal to those who eschew leather. But even fans of animal hide will appreciate the quality of these bags, and with most of them at $40 a pop, you can equip your kid with a full menagerie for school and travel.

Artisans of Leisure

No, we haven't decided to change our name. Artisans of Leisure has been around longer than we have, and they're much more than a blog. To us, they're sort of like, well, GOD. In the form of a travel planner.

Picture this: a family of 12 ranging from a great-grandmother in her 80s to a 3-year old tyke, all heading to Russia. Or a father who gives all of his daughters customized trips to anywhere they want in the world when they turn 15.

Artisans of Leisure has handled all the details of trips like these, and they can handle yours too. What makes them such a standout company in our minds? For one, no age minimums (to which we say fabulous). If you want to head to China with 10-month old Junior in tow, no problem. They'll help arrange babysitters and age-appropriate itineraries, and will happily build in some down time for naps.

As the name would suggest, this is no ordinary group travel company. For one, all the hotels you'll be booked in will be top-notch (hello, spa, goodbye, Elmo). Trips include a private car and driver as well as private transfers to and from the airport. They cover any and every destination around the globe: the website gives examples of itineraries for some of their most-requested destinations, but they 'll plan a trip for just about anywhere your heart desires.

Your itinerary is tailor-made to fit you and the people in your group. While in Vietnam, you might visit the leading national theme park in Saigon as well as drop in on a Buddhist monastery to meet with monks. In England, a drive to Windsor Castle, home of the Queen, could include a stop along the way to play at Legoland, if that's your cup of tea.

And did we mention that oh-so-important word, private? Meaning that when your 10-month old starts screaming his lungs out as you tour Hong Kong, the only ones who'll be bothered are the rest of your family. (Which means, we hope, a little less glaring.)

Because the itineraries are customized for each group (and "group" can be anywhere from 2 people to 20, it's up to you), costs will vary. One thing you can be sure of, though: a vacation that will be worth every pretty penny.

www.artisansofleisure.com 800-214-8144

Travel + Leisure + Kids - We Love It

If you're a parent (which we're kind of assuming you are) and a subscriber to travel magazines like Travel + Leisure (call us crazy, but we figure that's a safe bet) then you probably already know that T+L has a great publication called T+L Family. With tips, reviews and all things family- and travel-oriented, this magazine is right up our alley. We just wish it came out more than 6x a year...

If you've never heard of this pub for parents, which has been out for a few years now, it might be because you can only get T+L Family if you're a subscriber to the parent publication - you won't find it on newsstands, you can't subscribe to it on its own and they don't really get overly aggressive with the marketing (which we are actually thankful for, as we get enough junk mail and spam as it is). Go to the T+L website, type in your account information for your T+L subscription, and you'll be able to request an additional (and free!) subscription to the family edition.

They've also added the Travel + Leisure Family Club, a membership club providing travel deals, concierge service, retail discounts and more - all with the family in mind - for the price of $139 a year. Although we love that this exists, we're not convinced of the real value of it yet: free concierge service and discounts are plentiful through credit cards or membership in any variety of clubs. The real hook here is the travel discounts, which we can't quantify yet but which we hope will include a lot of A-list places - you know, the types of places we're trying to keep tabs on right here at COL.

If you want to take the plunge right away, call 800-552-7885 or click on the link above. Once you do - or if you already belong - let us know what you think as you use the service, and if you've nabbed any great deals or otherwise gotten good mileage from this club. If you want to wait a while, we'll report back to you over time on what we're seeing... Stay tuned.

A Walk on the Wild Side

We love that so many tour companies are expanding their trips for families. No, it is not easy to bike through the French countryside visiting wineries with a toddler, or to kayak through the Galapagos with a 5-year old. But time was when we rarely saw anything of an active nature offered to the under-teen set, and that is thankfully changing.

National Geographic Expeditions has 9 tours in their 2007 travel catalog geared towards families with children as young as 8. The selections vary widely, from a 10-day trip to Tuscany (nicely timed to coincide with a viewing of Siena's exciting Palio) to a 13-day excursion to China. There are stateside offerings too, including 6 days of exploring the Alaskan wilderness (which looks to be already sold out!) and 6 days exploring Yellowstone and the Tetons.

The trips nicely blend adult and children's interests. In New Zealand, a wine-tasting is on the itinerary for adults while a special safari through the Lord of the Rings landscape should captivate the kids (and adults too, actually - it's breathtaking.) Adults can learn about castle architecture in Tuscany while the youngsters play soccer with local children. Of course, there's much about all of the trips that will appeal to both adults and children: visiting castles, hiking, kayaking, and just learning about different cultures.

Lodging isn't really luxury class for most of these trips, but that's not the National Geographic specialty. What is is active fun and learning about new cultures - and to paraphrase a popular ad, that's priceless.

The Skies are Much Friendlier with One Sky

Monday's NY Times ran an article about One Sky, a company that runs a private jet membership program in which members can either prepay for their flying or pay as they go. While the prices might still be considered steep by some - a one-way from Newark to Tampa in a light jet started at around $5300 - they certainly beat the costs associated with owning your own jet.

The charter airplane market isn't exactly new, but One Sky is making it easier to get a slightly deeper discount by allowing people to reserve an "empty leg" - a return trip for a plane that's only been reserved one-way, similar to a cruise's repositioning trip. Their website has an easy search engine allowing you to look up available empty legs. We won't go into all the nuts and bolts here - the article sums it up quite nicely and One Sky's website is very simple to use - but we thought it was worth a mention. At the prices you might pay for the whole family to fly anyhow, the comfort and convenience of a private jet could well be worth the higher price tag. If you've flown with One Sky, let us know what you think...

Because Comfort Takes Priority

(photo by Joe Shlabotnik)


Airport waiting areas are not exactly the height of luxury. But how to get into one of those airport lounges without racking up 1 million miles on one airline first? Or what if your Platinum program doesn't have a lounge in your terminal of departure?

Enter Priority Pass. This fabulous program is targeted towards business travelers but is open to anyone willing to ante up the yearly membership fees. Membership plans are staggered based on your anticipated usage: a fee of $399 gets you into over 500 airport lounges worldwide for a year, or you can pay $99 a year and then $24 per lounge visit. (The $399 is generally less than you'll pay for membership to one airline's program with no frequent flyer discount.)

Lounges from Continental's Presidents Club and Delta's Crown Club are well-represented, although American's Admirals Club is conspicuously absent. A handy lounge guide is mailed to all members, with changes emailed and mailed throughout the year. You can also download the guide to your computer or PDA, or just check the website for a specific airport and terminal.

The best part? Guests are allowed, meaning every family member doesn't need to be signed up for access. In most cases you'll pay a $24 guest access fee (again, often cheaper than the airline's own day-access pass), and in some cases, kids under a certain age are allowed in free. Each lounge sets its own rules regarding guests but in one instance, a lounge attendant refused to charge us for our 18-month old although the rules dicated otherwise, which we greatly appreciated. (On the other hand, virtually all of the UK lounges ban children under 12 altogether - obviously the wave in luxury family travel hasn't caught on over there yet...) All in all, it's a great way for frequent travelers to get a little more comfort at the airport without being a slave to one particular airline...

And not to worry. On the occasions we've visited these lounges, we've seen everyone from small infants to teens in the facilities. Perks include non-alcoholic beverages, cheese, crackers, fruit, and periodicals, all gratis, not to mention comfortable seating, clean non-crowded bathrooms (equipped with changing tables!), WiFi access, meeting rooms and other business facilities. Some lounges even include showers, if you're so inclined.

In other words, a much nicer way to spend all that down time at the airport waiting for your flight...

Before and After

Yes, we promised you reviews of luxury properties to which you can feel comfortable toting the little ones. But we realize that getting to the chic hotel, that incredible spa, or that oh so relaxing beach entails some work. First, you've got to get there - no easy feat in these days of usually unpleasant (and sometimes surreal) travel. Then you have to do it all in reverse to get back home - a task which is practically guaranteed to leave you needing another vacation pronto.

So, in hopes of making the whole process more tolerable, if not exactly fun, we're also going to be including helpful tips to ease the pain. After all, it's bad enough having to do this stuff alone. Add kids to the mix, whether preoccupied teens or rambunctious toddlers, and it's enough to make you stay home.

Okay, maybe not. After all, you love to travel, so you suffer the pains (may we say indignities?) that traveling sometimes foists on you. Here's hoping we can help you suffer a little less, and enjoy yourself a little longer.

Up next: lounging at the airport in (relative) comfort.

So What Is This Anyhow?

(photo by Rodolfo Nunez)

We like to travel. Correction: we love to travel. And we love to travel with our children. However, while we appreciate places such as Beaches for creating havens where kids can be, well, kids, we really applaud and love places where stylish pampering for adults is complemented with catering to the littlest ones in the group. It's certainly to the property's benefit: after all, today's babe in swim diapers is tomorrow's paying guest. And why should the adults have to forfeit all sense of style to stare at Elmo all day while on vacation? Who's paying for this trip anyhow?

What you'll see here: reviews of properties including what special amenities are available for the master and miss, what keeps it attractive for adults, and any unique qualities of the property. We travel incognito so if we ever receive upgrades or any special treatment, we'll tell you and let you know why (we'll hope it's just because we're so charming?)

One word of advice: we hope you know that it's up to you to see to it that the young ones are well-behaved at appropriate times. We're constantly surprised at how often we see parents who are still checking their Blackberries but are somehow on vacation from minding their children. No, we're not interested in shushing our offspring every minute either - they are, after all, on vacation too. But there's a time and place for everything, and if you feel you are powerless to prevent Sophie and Alex from running through the restaurant or shrieking in the hallways, then maybe these properties aren't for you. (Or maybe you'll just be ordering a lot of room service.) You'll get not-so-nice stares from other guests and the staff may be none too pleased either. So be honest with yourself about how well-behaved your children are, and plan accordingly - it'll make for a better vacation for everyone.