Travel photo tips for kids

We've all been there. Trapped on a flight next to exhausted parents and their soon-to-be-mid-tantrum bundle of joy. Or perhaps it's your own tot about to have a meltdown in the middle of a piazza. In either case, you share a wan smile with your fellow travelers, close your eyes, and channel serenity for all of your sakes. Malaysia Airlines has recently gone as far as banning babies from flying in certain sections of the plane (first class for long-haul flights) but as long as child-exclusive seating is the exception rather than the rule—on planes or anywhere—here are some helpful tips for keeping kiddos content while traveling. • Having the right supplies on hand can be the difference between an easy trip and a disastrous one. BootsNAll travel writer Jenn Molholt describes her experience in her article, "The New Parent's Guide to Travel with an Infant," offering suggestions on what to pack, how to plan your trip, and valuable in-flight advice—Molholt recommends bringing along a Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe for infants, available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. • TravelingMom.com offers what it calls "a survival guide for moms who travel," with tips on where to take young children, product suggestions, inspiring tales of family travel, as well as listings to family-friendly restaurants around the country. Be sure to check out the site's "Deals" section, and its "Free things to do in the 50 states" page. • Bringing your child's favorite toys along for the ride can be a bulky adventure in itself. Toy designers at Melissa & Doug have come up with a fun way for kids to play with—and store—their vacation toys with Trunki, a toy–suitcase hybrid made especially for travel. Available at retailers for a suggested price of $39.99, Trunki has enough handles, wheels and decorations to work wonders for kids both on vacation and at home. • For those needing inspiration to take their infant out-of-bounds, look to "Bambino on Board," by writer Jerry Soverinsky, for some guidance and inspiration. In search of bonding time with his wife and 9-month-old son, Max, Soverinsky booked a month-long trip for all three of them to explore Italy and Switzerland this summer. Rather than enduring dirty looks because of a fussy baby, the trio was embraced by locals who were charmed by Max, whether being heartily welcomed in the corner cafés or being invited to a private Italian villa simply because its owner had taken a liking to the kid. When traveling with an infant, the most important thing to remember is that the trip should be fun for all of you, a chance to create once-in-a-lifetime memories. With a little planning and forethought, you'll be well prepared to enjoy yourselves. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL 15 Places Your Kids Should See Before 15 A Family Field Trip Around the World How to Create an International Field Trip

To entice families out onto the slopes, ski-crazed states like Colorado and Vermont host programs in which middle-school skiers and boarders ride for free—often for the entire season. The programs are typically known as "Passports," and participants must sign up in advance—so don't simply head to the slopes expecting your kid to be handed a free lift ticket. Even though the ski season has begun at most resorts, it's not too late to sign up for the programs offered in many states. For example: In Colorado, applications will be accepted if turned in by January 30, 2011. The state's program offers fifth-graders three free days of riding at each of the 21 member resorts (meaning up to 63 free days!), and sixth-graders are eligible for four days of skiing at each resort for a one-time fee of $99. In New Hampshire, when you pay a $25 processing fee and complete out the necessary paperwork, fifth-graders get one to three free days at downhill and cross-country resorts around the state, along with occasional discounts off of the lift tickets of adults tagging along with their kids. In Utah, fifth-graders can ski free for three days at each of the state's 14 participating resorts, and sixth-graders who have Utah Passports get one day free at each resort. Utah, like N.H., charges a processing fee of $25, and the fee goes up to $35 after January 31, 2011. In Vermont, fifth-graders ski up to 94 days for free at downhill and cross-country resorts around the state. A $10 processing fee is required, and Passport holders must be accompanied by a full-paying adult each day. Similar programs are also offered in Idaho, Maine, and New York, among others. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: Ask Trip Coach: Ski Vacations Kids Ski Free Top 10 Old School Ski Resorts Vote now: Help us identify the coolest small town in America!

Earlier this fall, I traveled to Florence and looked into some reader questions. I already reported back with advice on eating and cooking classes and now I'll tackle family travel. Elizabeth Henry asked: "With all of the art museums, is there anything for a family with small children?" Yes! Florence's sheer number of quality museums threatens to overwhelm first-time visitors (after all, this is the city that inspired Stendhal syndrome). When you arrive, pick up the free pocket-size book "Passport for Families" at Palazzo Strozzi's reception desk. It provides quick descriptions of local museums, along with questions intended to captive kids' imaginations as they explore. The Horne Museum recreates a typical Renaissance family's home, so the book suggests asking: "What toys, games, and other objects related to childhood can you find?" The Stibbert Museum of European, Japanese, and Islamic armor should also appeal—and it's located in a park, where kids can take a welcome pause to let loose. Another natural choice is the Museo dei Ragazzi, a children's museum within the Palazzo Vecchio. Choose between two 90-minute tours—"The Medieval Palace Revealed" and "Life in the Medici Court"—each offered in a version for those ages 3+ and another for those ages 10+. The museum also runs activities and events in two small theaters, a multimedia room, and a painting studio. I reached out to Elisa Staderini, a Florentine mom who blogs at Fiorentinisicresce.it (Italian only), and she recommended the kids' play area, Bottega dei Ragazzi, which has art workshops in English, Italian, or Spanish for those ages 3 to 11 (€10/$13.80). The Bottega is fittingly located in Piazza Santissima Annunziata, site of a former children's orphanage and hospital dating back to 1419. Elisa also tipped me off to a bilingual class on drawing animals taught by a former Disney animator, Mike Wiesmeier, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month at zoology museum La Specola (€20/$27.60, plus museum admission). Then there are the affordable, tried-and-true kid pleasers like stopping for gelato or a spin on the antique carousel in Piazza della Repubblica or a souvenir from a toy store like La Tartaruga (Borgo degli Albizi 60r). You could even set out on a scavenger hunt of sorts through the historic center to see how many recurring symbols you can spot—for clans like the Medici (balls) and the Pazzi (dolphins) and for the city itself (fleur-de-lis). Read on for suggestions on how to have fun with teenagers. Jeannie asked: "What to teenagers do in and around Florence? I will be taking my daughters there in June and want them to have fun memories!" Florentine teens do many of the same things as their American counterparts—hang out with friends, gossip, shop, text message—but also scoot around on motorini and (legally) drink. A good place to people-watch is Piazza Santo Spirito, which is lined with bars and restaurants and draws a mostly hip, alternative crowd of teens and university students. While you're in the Oltrarno neighborhood, you might swing by Libreria Café la Cité, a bookstore that doubles as a coffee and wine bar and hosts evening events like live jazz and readings (Borgo San Frediano, 20r). You'll also find teens hanging on the steps of Piazza Santa Croce and in the surrounding area's aperitivo bars and British-style pubs—popular with American exchange students. For a glimpse into Italian university life, I suggest stopping for lunch at the Biblioteca delle Oblate, a library in what was once a convent. It's very central—on Via dell'Oriuolo, which branches off from the Piazza del Duomo—but easily overlooked and un-touristy. A cafeteria with panini for as little as €3/$4 opened in May 2009 and offers fantastic views of the Duomo and terra-cotta roofs. There are computer stations, in case you want to check e-mail, along with newspapers, magazines, and, of course, books for perusing. The library stays open until midnight. If your daughters are in to vintage clothes, take them hunting at shops like Pitti Vintage and Cerri Vintage. You can coordinate any purchases with affordable, statement jewelry made of crystals, pearls, or hand-cut Plexiglas at Falsi Gioielli; I included a pair of their earrings in this piece on what $100 buys in Florence. One of my favorite shopping strips is Via Gioberti in a well-to-do residential neighborhood that's about a 15-minute walk northeast of Santa Croce. Fuel up at Bar Serafini at the start of the street by Piazza Beccaria (Via Gioberti, 168r), and then browse among a mix of Italian name-brands like Intimissimi and Benetton as well as local boutiques—nine of which are clustered in an internal courtyard dubbed "le nove botteghe." You could round out your visit by signing up for a cooking class, renting bicycles from a company like Florence by Bike or Alinari Rentals, and visiting whichever museums catch your daughters' attention. Don't leave without making the scenic bus ride up to Piazzale Michelangiolo for glorious panoramic views. Among other things, it's a classic teen make-out spot. If you've traveled to Italy with your family, share your tips below! MORE RECENT ITALY COVERAGE Italy: How to tip in 6 situations Fines on the rise for rental car drivers in Italy Eat Like a Local in Rome

One of our favorite family travel blogs is Wandermom, written by Michelle Duffy. We're especially excited to hear that she'll soon be embarking on a year-long trip with her husband and two young children. (See their global itinerary.) Recently, Wandermom blogged about her family's spring trip to Ireland. We were curious if she had any more terrific tales from her trip to share. She kindly agreed to share with us the following story: We're visiting Ireland, and my brother-in-law, Dan, says he's promised my children they'll see a castle, and a giant's causeway. Soon we were off for a daytrip from Dublin. The trip north on the motorway towards Belfast was speedy. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Slieve Gullion park outside Newry, where the kids had to be coaxed down from trees and high stone walls to eat and I explained to Charlie that 'Slieve' (Shliabh) is the Gaelic word for mountain. Legs and arms suitably stretched and tummies full, we continued north—crossing into the now-very-safe-for-tourists state of Northern Ireland. We reached the Giant's Causeway in the late afternoon. Bushmills is a scant 60 miles from Belfast. On a clear day, the views across to Scotland are stunning—mists on the Mull of Kintyre notwithstanding. Even though afternoon shadows were starting to lengthen, the sun was warm and there was no discernable wind as we made our way down to the interlocking basalt columns which make up the Causeway. Tromping over the hexagonal stones all three children scattered in different directions; thankfully there were three adults to follow. I overheard Dan telling Charlie that the water in the stones was giant's tears as I raced towards the headland to catch my younger son who was already on a mission to discover whether or not there really was a sunken bridge at the water's edge. As we heaved our way up the steep hill back to the car an hour or so later, Charlie summed up our visit as only a four-year-old can "That was the best Giant's Causeway ever!" Tomorrow would be a day for castles. The history of Dunluce Castle is a tale of battles and chieftains and Earls and ladies—perfect for the imaginations of three young boys who wasted no time disappearing to explore tall towers and stone stairwells and to hang, precariously, out stone windows exclaiming at the steep drop down to the sea below. The second Earl of Antrim Randal MacDonnell and his wife Lady Catherine were the last people to live here, although she apparently, did not like the sound of the sea and was eager to move further inland. Fate provided her with a rock solid excuse to leave when part of the castle kitchen fell into the sea killing a number of the kitchen staff—apparently while the Earl and the Countess were entertaining. I'd say that's the best "dinner party disaster" story I've ever heard. PLAN A TRIP The Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge are National Trust properties. Dunluce Castle is in the care of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. MORE Budget Travel's Family Travel page The Real Castles of Ireland