Travel like a toddler
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The writer and her son admire "David" by Gian Lorenzo Bernini at the Borghese Gallery. Photo: Carly Mallenbaum/Axios
Because we weren't going to change who we were once we had kids, my travel-loving husband and I insisted on bringing our toddler on a very adult trip to Portugal and Italy this summer.
- Think: museum visits, Airbnbs, history tours and restaurant reservations.
Why it matters: Of course, traveling with a toddler changed the pace of the trip.
- It also changed what I considered worth noticing.
Zoom in: We splurged on a private Colosseum tour in Rome, but I couldn't even tell you when the arena was constructed. I was too busy looking at holes in the ancient stones with my 2-year-old.
- I have not a single fact to share from the Doge's Palace in Venice, which we left quickly because I sensed a tantrum percolating. I can, however, describe the choreography of how suitcases go from conveyor belt to truck to plane at the Venice airport.
Traveling with my toddler redirected my attention.
- I'm usually the tourist reading every museum plaque, absorbing the history, taking notes and trying to fit in.
- This time, I followed my son's attention.
At the Borghese Gallery, my son learned that announcing "Bernini! Bernini! Bernini!" in a very quiet museum made even serious tourists giggle. And I didn't rush to quiet him.
In a piazza, we kicked a soccer ball with Italian kids. And I didn't even think to stop for a photo.
At a bar in Lisbon, he sat transfixed by a fado performance. And I didn't immediately reach for a translation or to write in my journal.
The big picture: We aren't the only parents naive or ambitious enough to travel with a little one.
- A Tripadvisor survey from 2024 found that 81% of new parents planned on traveling with their child. And according to the travel site's 2026 trend report, experience bookings containing children's tickets increased 19% year over year.
What they're saying: "People don't want to just do water slides and water parks," says Melissa Zimmerman, my friend and the founder of And We're Off travel agency. "They want to bring their kids along for the adventure."
- Making that work, she says, often comes down to choosing the right home base, scheduling around naps and leaving room for downtime.
Yes, but: Following my son's attention was possible because other people were handling everything else.
- My husband managed nearly all the travel logistics, and my parents came with us. Even with four adults to one toddler, every day left us exhausted.
The bottom line: He didn't become our kind of tourist. I became his.
- When I picture Venice now, I don't first see St. Mark's Square or the Rialto Bridge. I think of my son beside the canal, cataloging the boats: police boat, trash boat, "red one."
