London: On our radar, a new exhibit to entertain the kids

If you have a family trip to Switzerland planned in the next six months, now's the time to book train travel: until April 27, select Swiss rail passes are 50 percent off for any two adults traveling with children. The deal, from Rail Europe, Swiss Travel System, and Switzerland Tourism, applies to the Swiss Pass, valid for eight consecutive days of travel, and the Swiss Flexi Pass, valid for any three days of travel within a month. Half-off rates for the Swiss Pass start at $193 per person for second class, and rates for the Swiss Flexi Pass start at $128 per person for second class. Kids up to age 16 ride free under the Swiss Family Card. The passes are good for unlimited travel on the country's super-accessible network of trains, boats, and postal buses—basically THE way to get around there—and all include free access to more than 400 museums in Switzerland (for kids, too). The passes must be used within six months of purchase. Also included in the Switzerland Family Rail Sale: • One free adult ticket for travel from Alpnachstad or Kriens to Mount Pilatus—a.k.a. the Golden Round Trip experience—by boat, gondola, and the world's steepest cogwheel railway (the second adult gets 50 percent off under the regular discount for rail-pass holders, and kids travel free under the Swiss Family Card). • One fast baggage voucher, good for two pieces of luggage, offering baggage transfers between 45 train stations in Switzerland. • One voucher for two people on the country's longest summer tobogganing run—over 4,400 feet long—at the foot of Mount Pilatus. And starting May 3, visitors to raileurope.com can enter a sweepstakes to win, among other things, a grand-prize trip to Switzerland including round-trip airfare for two from the U.S., two 8-day Swiss rail passes, and six nights' accommodations. DETAILS: Switzerland Family Rail Sale Golden Round Trip Mount Pilatus

An interesting discussion broke out in the comments on our recent post about whether shipping your bags to your destination is smart. It began with this comment from G: Every time there is a post like this, someone chimes in with the useless comment that I should travel lighter. Well, I travel with two car seats, a stroller, two children, two adults and we travel internationally and stay for weeks. We actually come with a few empty bags (to buy the great bargains in the US for my children's feet, especially) but really—a DSLR, three compact cameras, a netbook, a Macbook, a large business required Dell laptop, two Nintendo DS, a bunch of coloring books, dolls and the Kindle (which has lightened my load) as well as chargers and adapters. Do these folks have any idea what it's like to travel as a family?… Diana responded first: Good grief! You don't have to take your whole house. Find other ways to entertain the kids. When I was a kid we would travel 8 hours and all we had to for entertainment was whatever my folks wanted to hear on the radio and looking out windows. B chimed in: I've traveled with 4 children and never needed to take that much. As for the extra suitcases, buy the stuff, pack it in a box and ship it home. G answered back: Gosh, B, shipping it to Germany from Florida would be more expensive than the actual plane tickets. It's $6/lb shipping NY to Germany. [Our stuff is important] because while gone from home for a month plus we need to take family and vacation photos, keep in contact with work, be reachable in emergency (or reach emergency services) allow our kids to be amused on 18+ hour transits, read a book? Maggie wrote: I tried to resist making a comment, but I just can't.… Seriously G, you don't need three computers, four cameras and two DS to take photos, keep in touch with work and amuse the kids. And I am speaking from experience in traveling internationally with two adults and two children. Mike F. spoke up: "G" needs to rethink his/her travel method, a lot of that stuff really is unneeded. 3 cameras ? Can't people share the camera ? I have been travelling with one carryon & 1 personal bag for many years, domestically, to the caribbean, and if you are smart about packing only what you will need you'll be fine. I'm a gadget nut & love my electronics, but people need to experience and look at the place they're going to, interact with real people & events there, & not be glued to a computer/nintendo/etc. That's the whole point of travel! If you need email, web, etc, get a smart phone, leave the computer at home. You can buy /rent things you didnt bring at wherever you go, if you really need to. Ernest pointed out: When we were growing up, my parents had a strict "carry-on only" rule for themselves and the five of us kids. So we never checked any bags, even on long European trips. If we couldn't carry it on the plane, then we couldn't take it. Simple. M agreed: G - I'm agog that you need three computers and three cameras, two nintendos, and two carseats, plus the extras you noted. I can understand one computer and one camera, but triplicate? Do the children need to be entertained by electronics, especially one who's young enough for a stroller? Car rental companies rent car seats, and strollers can be inexpensively purchased at your destination and then left with the relatives you mentioned. If you're willing to pay all the fees and charges associated with the excess baggage (and that's *not* a snide comment), then more power to you. My family's rules? One carry on per person, no matter how many adults, children, babies, teens, seniors are traveling. What do you think? We don't want to pick on G, who is on an extended, super-sized trip with his family and may have unusual needs. But more broadly… Is "packing light" reasonable advice for families? Or is it unrealistic?

Before I had a baby, I had my packing routine down to 15 minutes flat. I kept a toiletry bag prepared so I always had it at the ready. I had mental lists for different trip types (beach, mountain, city). But my 9-month old has thrown that all out the window. Packing is now a multi-day event. This weekend, we're heading to Charlevoix, Mich., for a family getaway. It's only a two-hour flight, but I'm already gathering the little lifesavers I've found to help us en-route. A fellow mom turned me on to the glory that is a pacifier clip. Our babysitter shared with me the genius of single-serving bags of formula, so you don't have to mess with measuring. And I wouldn't dare to leave home without my daughter's stuffed lamb, which ensures that she can feel comfortable wherever we land. What are your family travel lifesavers—the products and tricks you keep in your back pocket?

Earlier this year we reported that Avis and Budget adding satellite TV to rental cars. The new in-car live TV Cruisecast service, has 22 channels of satellite TV and 20 satellite radio channels. The cost is $9 a day. We received the following letter from a reader: I was disheartened to read of your "kudos" to this company for promoting the idea of sticking kids in front of video screens on car trips (March, p. 33). As a magazine that celebrates the wonders of travel, I find it troubling that this is being lauded. Don't kids spend enough time in front of screens in their everyday life? Do they really need to miss out on the great sights that a road trip has to offer because they're watching "Hannah Montana" instead? I realize that watching videos on long trips is something that is now a reality for parents, but should Budget Travel be promoting this crutch, instead of encouraging us to allow our children to look out the window, observing the real world in real time? Yes, they may occasionally become bored, but here's where the imagination comes into play—an archaic notion, I confess. Your readers deserve to be reminded of this sentiment much more than Avis Budget Group needs the plug… Thanks for listening, Maureen Block We think that Maureen is probably right and that, in hindsight, perhaps we shouldn't have praised the idea of putting TV screens in rental cars. What do you think?