ABD with 5 year old

[Boardwalk_bride]

Because of the pandemic I have a conference in the Netherlands pushed off to summer 2022. We'd like to travel with our daughter (who will be 5.5 at the time). The plan is my husband and her will fly in (from Toronto) and meet me somewhere in Europe. Originally we were thinking of 7 nights Copenhagen followed by 3-4 nights in Iceland - but I'm not sure I want ti plan everything for that long of a trip.

Is 5 too young for an ABD? I'm thinking we would do Norway. She's been on many road trips and we took her to WDW for 8 nights on her 3rd bday. She did fine on all the trips.

We are confident travelers, so I know we can do it on our own, I'm just worried about burnout with taking care of all the details - especially after being at a conference for a week.

TIA!

 

[sayhello]

This is what the ABD FAQ for the Norway trip says:

"While we welcome children ages 5 and up at the time of travel to discover the stories of the world with us, we recommend that children be at least 6 years old at the time of travel on our trip. This is based on several factors, such as flight time and jet lag, time zone differences in the destination, duration of the vacation, extended hours of daily activity programming, number of internal transports between experiences, age requirement for certain activities, potential for extreme temperatures, and amount of physical activity (e.g., walking on uneven surfaces, rafting, and hiking). Because each child is different, call a Vacationista at (800) 543-0865† to discuss whether this is the right trip for your kids. "

You know your daughter best. Does she do well if days are long? Is she OK on long bus rides? You don't always have the luxury of going back to the hotel if she poops out or needs a nap, etc.

I haven't done the Norway trip, so I can't make any specific observations.

Sayhello

 

[TravelJunkieHubby]

Because of the pandemic I have a conference in the Netherlands pushed off to summer 2022. We'd like to travel with our daughter (who will be 5.5 at the time). The plan is my husband and her will fly in (from Toronto) and meet me somewhere in Europe. Originally we were thinking of 7 nights Copenhagen followed by 3-4 nights in Iceland - but I'm not sure I want ti plan everything for that long of a trip.

Is 5 too young for an ABD? I'm thinking we would do Norway. She's been on many road trips and we took her to WDW for 8 nights on her 3rd bday. She did fine on all the trips.

We are confident travelers, so I know we can do it on our own, I'm just worried about burnout with taking care of all the details - especially after being at a conference for a week.

TIA!

We did our first ABD (Italy/Switzerland) in 2015 when our youngest was 6. It was fantastic and I was hooked! Granted we skipped one activity (bike ride) and ended up doing a kids version of the ropes course/zip line in Zermatt near the Matterhorn. The memories and pictures from that trip are priceless for us.

The junior adventure night was also the first time my wife and I had gotten a real "night on the town" since we had kids. I say go for it!

 

[Narcoossee11]

How would your child like/enjoy a museum in your town ? Take her to an Adult event and see how she does. I think ABD is too expensive to chance bring a child. My kids/nieces would have no patience but you child may be different.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

This is what the ABD FAQ for the Norway trip says:

"While we welcome children ages 5 and up at the time of travel to discover the stories of the world with us, we recommend that children be at least 6 years old at the time of travel on our trip. This is based on several factors, such as flight time and jet lag, time zone differences in the destination, duration of the vacation, extended hours of daily activity programming, number of internal transports between experiences, age requirement for certain activities, potential for extreme temperatures, and amount of physical activity (e.g., walking on uneven surfaces, rafting, and hiking). Because each child is different, call a Vacationista at (800) 543-0865† to discuss whether this is the right trip for your kids. "

You know your daughter best. Does she do well if days are long? Is she OK on long bus rides? You don't always have the luxury of going back to the hotel if she poops out or needs a nap, etc.

I haven't done the Norway trip, so I can't make any specific observations.

Sayhello

Thanks. She did WDW well - no stroller use (at 3!) and no naps. That said, one or both of us took her back to the hotel around 2pm most days. We had planned to do DCL this month (last year that was our plan) so we thought testing out a California trip with some long days would be a good indicator. Unfortunately that didn't happen.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

We did our first ABD (Italy/Switzerland) in 2015 when our youngest was 6. It was fantastic and I was hooked! Granted we skipped one activity (bike ride) and ended up doing a kids version of the ropes course/zip line in Zermatt near the Matterhorn. The memories and pictures from that trip are priceless for us.

The junior adventure night was also the first time my wife and I had gotten a real "night on the town" since we had kids. I say go for it!

Yes, the night out is very appealing!

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

How would your child like/enjoy a museum in your town ? Take her to an Adult event and see how she does. I think ABD is too expensive to chance bring a child. My kids/nieces would have no patience but you child may be different.

We are pretty lucky in that she does well in a lot of places. I am wondering if maybe just sticking to Copenhagen on our own might be easier for now and we will splurge on an ABD when she is a bit older....

 

[Marthasor]

We did the Central Europe ABD when my DS was 6 1/2 years old. He enjoyed it, but there were days when he got a bit tired and he certainly didn't fully comprehend everything we saw. If you do decide to book, I would definitely ask the ABD rep if there are any other children your DD's age booked for the trip. My DS was the youngest on the trip so didn't really connect with any of the other children. The next year, we did back-to-back DCL Magic cruises to Norway, Iceland and Scotland and he absolutely loved it. With the land/sea combo, it really allowed him the opportunity to tour during the day and then completely chill in the evenings and on sea days. He loved going to the kids clubs in the evenings after dinner and it was even warm enough to swim a few days when we sailed Norway. We also had the ability to choose our own excursions to cater more to what we thought would hold his attention. For our family, cruising Europe with a younger child was definitely the way to go. We didn't do another Europe land tour until DS was 10 1/2 and that was a great success.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

We did the Central Europe ABD when my DS was 6 1/2 years old. He enjoyed it, but there were days when he got a bit tired and he certainly didn't fully comprehend everything we saw. If you do decide to book, I would definitely ask the ABD rep if there are any other children your DD's age booked for the trip. My DS was the youngest on the trip so didn't really connect with any of the other children. The next year, we did back-to-back DCL Magic cruises to Norway, Iceland and Scotland and he absolutely loved it. With the land/sea combo, it really allowed him the opportunity to tour during the day and then completely chill in the evenings and on sea days. He loved going to the kids clubs in the evenings after dinner and it was even warm enough to swim a few days when we sailed Norway. We also had the ability to choose our own excursions to cater more to what we thought would hold his attention. For our family, cruising Europe with a younger child was definitely the way to go. We didn't do another Europe land tour until DS was 10 1/2 and that was a great success.

Thank you. I was wondering about the average age and thinking she might be too young. I get the appeal of cruises with kids but we are not cruise people - although maybe I'd consider a river cruise (although with ABD they are really $$!).

Based on the responses here I think we might just do one or two city stays with her and do an ABD when she gets older.

 

[Woodview]

Thank you. I was wondering about the average age and thinking she might be too young. I get the appeal of cruises with kids but we are not cruise people - although maybe I'd consider a river cruise (although with ABD they are really $$!).

Based on the responses here I think we might just do one or two city stays with her and do an ABD when she gets older.

Here is an Idea Go to " The Efteling " Theme park near Tilburg ( They have Self Catering Lodges.)

Further South Go to " Toverland " Near Venlo ....Lots of hotels

Another Theme Park IS " Kalkar " Near ZanTan / Goch in Germany

... Another great place for a 5 year old AND Adults is Maurodam near the Hague.


ALL My Family Young & Old will Always try and visit at Least one of these places

Every Visit . The Local family Members ( 92 to one year old ) will go every couple of months .

My wife is from the Venry area ..

 

[lpm23]

My two cents..

my 9 year old has already done 8 ABDs and loved every single one! We did our first to Wyoming when she was 5 and did our first international when she 6. The days are definitely long and we couldn’t do everything.
we talked with the guides at the beginning and tried to see what she could reasonably handle and what we could skip if she was too tired. So my husband and I each took turns if she needed a rest or dinner got too late.
If it’s a once in a lifetime trip I would wait. However for us my kids have already seen so much of the world and are great travelers. I definitely recommend giving it a shot and just remembering it’s ok to not do everything

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Here is an Idea Go to " The Efteling " Theme park near Tilburg ( They have Self Catering Lodges.)

Further South Go to " Toverland " Near Venlo ....Lots of hotels

Another Theme Park IS " Kalkar " Near ZanTan / Goch in Germany

... Another great place for a 5 year old AND Adults is Maurodam near the Hague.


ALL My Family Young & Old will Always try and visit at Least one of these places

Every Visit . The Local family Members ( 92 to one year old ) will go every couple of months .

My wife is from the Venry area ..

we thought about a similar trip but I don’t want to worry about all the logistical details of driving around right after a conference.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

My two cents..

my 9 year old has already done 8 ABDs and loved every single one! We did our first to Wyoming when she was 5 and did our first international when she 6. The days are definitely long and we couldn’t do everything.
we talked with the guides at the beginning and tried to see what she could reasonably handle and what we could skip if she was too tired. So my husband and I each took turns if she needed a rest or dinner got too late.
If it’s a once in a lifetime trip I would wait. However for us my kids have already seen so much of the world and are great travelers. I definitely recommend giving it a shot and just remembering it’s ok to not do everything

8 trips!! Wow! Can I ask which one was your favourite?
I’m not sure if it would be a once in a lifetime thing - right now the exchange rate isn’t good for us so the prices are high. We got married in wdw in 2010, so I like the idea of doing an ABD in 2025 - maybe the California one as we want to do to DL anyway.

I think we will keep thinking in the Norway one. My husband really wants to do Copenhagen so I am leaning now to just staying there for 6 or 7 nights and stopping over at Reykjavik for a few nights on the way home to break up the trip.

 

[Marthasor]

8 trips!! Wow! Can I ask which one was your favourite?
I’m not sure if it would be a once in a lifetime thing - right now the exchange rate isn’t good for us so the prices are high. We got married in wdw in 2010, so I like the idea of doing an ABD in 2025 - maybe the California one as we want to do to DL anyway.

I think we will keep thinking in the Norway one. My husband really wants to do Copenhagen so I am leaning now to just staying there for 6 or 7 nights and stopping over at Reykjavik for a few nights on the way home to break up the trip.

We did a few nights, pre-cruise, in Copenhagen with DS when he was 7 and had a lot of fun. We went to Tivoli Gardens, took a boat trip, did a walking tour and also hired a private guide to drive us up to Elsinore to tour the castle. We also took the ferry from Elsinore to Helsingborg, Sweden for a few hours which DS thought was pretty cool!

 

[Jess_S]

I took my son on the Scotland ABD when he was 5 and did a trip report. The biggest disappointment for me was that there weren’t more people with younger kids as having a buddy for him would have been great. That’s also more of an issue with attitudes towards travel, than ABD in particular. It seems like a lot of people are reluctant to take younger kids places, which is a shame as far as I am concerned.

I would say that if you are a person who is okay with traveling with a smaller kid, then ABD is a good way to do it. You have someone else in charge of things like carrying snacks and first aid stuff and who knows about kids friendly stuff at each spot and will point it out. (Our guides knew our son liked animals and would make a point to do things like bringing out the puppy who lived at a castle to say hello). Having someone else drive and sometimes provide entertainment on the coach is also great; my husband and I were able to enjoy the scenery as we drove rather than trying to keep a child happy in the back seat. There will probably come a point where you need to sit something out and just relax, but that happens on any trip with kids that age.

Overall, I cannot think of a compelling reason not to take the trip. And the covid experience has made me even more mindful of the benefits of traveling when you can, rather than waiting for a “perfect” time that may never come.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

We did a few nights, pre-cruise, in Copenhagen with DS when he was 7 and had a lot of fun. We went to Tivoli Gardens, took a boat trip, did a walking tour and also hired a private guide to drive us up to Elsinore to tour the castle. We also took the ferry from Elsinore to Helsingborg, Sweden for a few hours which DS thought was pretty cool!

Thanks, this is helpful!

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

I took my son on the Scotland ABD when he was 5 and did a trip report. The biggest disappointment for me was that there weren’t more people with younger kids as having a buddy for him would have been great. That’s also more of an issue with attitudes towards travel, than ABD in particular. It seems like a lot of people are reluctant to take younger kids places, which is a shame as far as I am concerned.

I would say that if you are a person who is okay with traveling with a smaller kid, then ABD is a good way to do it. You have someone else in charge of things like carrying snacks and first aid stuff and who knows about kids friendly stuff at each spot and will point it out. (Our guides knew our son liked animals and would make a point to do things like bringing out the puppy who lived at a castle to say hello). Having someone else drive and sometimes provide entertainment on the coach is also great; my husband and I were able to enjoy the scenery as we drove rather than trying to keep a child happy in the back seat. There will probably come a point where you need to sit something out and just relax, but that happens on any trip with kids that age.

Overall, I cannot think of a compelling reason not to take the trip. And the covid experience has made me even more mindful of the benefits of traveling when you can, rather than waiting for a “perfect” time that may never come.

Thanks, this is helpful! I’ve travelled a lot in Europe on my own for work and with my husband, but never with a child. I’m comfortable with travel but the ease, like you said, is worth the $ if it’s available. I think we will wait a few more years and she’ll be frustrated if older kids won’t hang out with her!

 

[Candycane83]

Because of the pandemic I have a conference in the Netherlands pushed off to summer 2022. We'd like to travel with our daughter (who will be 5.5 at the time). The plan is my husband and her will fly in (from Toronto) and meet me somewhere in Europe. Originally we were thinking of 7 nights Copenhagen followed by 3-4 nights in Iceland - but I'm not sure I want ti plan everything for that long of a trip.

Is 5 too young for an ABD? I'm thinking we would do Norway. She's been on many road trips and we took her to WDW for 8 nights on her 3rd bday. She did fine on all the trips.

We are confident travelers, so I know we can do it on our own, I'm just worried about burnout with taking care of all the details - especially after being at a conference for a week.

TIA!

From Toronto too! not ABD, but we have taken my son who is now 6 to WDW a couple of times as well as DL and Japan/ Asia. We did these on our own though so although there were long days in the trips, we had the flexibility of breaks if needed. I was planning to take my son on his first ABD when we was 6 last year, it was the Barcelona short but unfortunately that was cancelled. I also booked a river cruise for December this year but think that would be cancelled too. I’m thinking of moving it to Greece next year. I’m picking an adventure which has a mix of culture but some fun/ relaxing activities too for him ... he likes the beach and we don’t go often so fingers crossed this is a good idea I think see what interests your daughter.

ABD seems to me it’s all about hassle free planning and travelling. It might be good appeal especially if you’re busy with the conference. Good luck with your choice!

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

From Toronto too! not ABD, but we have taken my son who is now 6 to WDW a couple of times as well as DL and Japan/ Asia. We did these on our own though so although there were long days in the trips, we had the flexibility of breaks if needed. I was planning to take my son on his first ABD when we was 6 last year, it was the Barcelona short but unfortunately that was cancelled. I also booked a river cruise for December this year but think that would be cancelled too. I’m thinking of moving it to Greece next year. I’m picking an adventure which has a mix of culture but some fun/ relaxing activities too for him ... he likes the beach and we don’t go often so fingers crossed this is a good idea ☺ I think see what interests your daughter.

ABD seems to me it’s all about hassle free planning and travelling. It might be good appeal especially if you’re busy with the conference. Good luck with your choice!

Amazing! I’m not actually in Toronto but super close by (40 mins from the airport). We are bummed about not making it to DL/California this year - it would have been a good test for a longer flight and longer days.
I think the only ABD trips that would make sense for us next year, with me flying into Amsterdam are Norway or Iceland, and she won’t be old enough for the Iceland one. We don’t really like the Norway itinerary after looking into it further. So I think we will either keep our costs down next year and do an ABD in the US or Europe in 2023 or just save up and go somewhere big (Id love to do Asia) when she’s a bit older.
That said, our trip this year is only a week out from the current lockdown end date. If it’s cancelled I’ll probably take all my money and put it on something big out of vacation rage, which might be an ABD or DL in December of 2022 (although I need to look at rules about pulling kids out of school - she’s starting jk in Sept).

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

From Toronto too! not ABD, but we have taken my son who is now 6 to WDW a couple of times as well as DL and Japan/ Asia. We did these on our own though so although there were long days in the trips, we had the flexibility of breaks if needed. I was planning to take my son on his first ABD when we was 6 last year, it was the Barcelona short but unfortunately that was cancelled. I also booked a river cruise for December this year but think that would be cancelled too. I’m thinking of moving it to Greece next year. I’m picking an adventure which has a mix of culture but some fun/ relaxing activities too for him ... he likes the beach and we don’t go often so fingers crossed this is a good idea ☺ I think see what interests your daughter.

ABD seems to me it’s all about hassle free planning and travelling. It might be good appeal especially if you’re busy with the conference. Good luck with your choice!

also I’m sorry to hear your trip was canceled but probably for the best. Hopefully December will be fine. I looked at the Greece trip and it looks amazing!