Tag: Cruise

Family Friendly Cruise Day in Santa Barbara

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In April 2024, we took a one way cruise from the Los Angeles area (San Pedro to be exact) up to Vancouver, Canada. The cruise stopped in many cities we had visited before having our daughter, so it was exciting to return to places we could explore with her. The Princess Cruise stopped in Santa Barbara on Monday, April 8, 2024 which coincided with the Solar Eclipse.

We previously explored Santa Barbara, Solvang and many beaches and viewpoints in the area in November 2017. If you want to get more ideas beyond the one day itinerary in this post, check out Santa Barbara and the PCH Pacifically. The information below focuses on how to have a family friendly and affordable day in Santa Barbara, California based on what we actually did.

Before I share the specifics, it’s important to know that we maximize fun without breaking the bank. We tend to avoid organized excursions because we like the flexibility of planning ourselves and we are physically fit and active to walk multiple miles in a day. My first and most important tip is to consider getting an annual membership to an ASTC Passport covered museum before your trip. You will not regret it! As I share in my post, Your Family Needs the ASTC Passport, you’ll see how we were able to visit $148 worth of places in Santa Barbara for our family of three (2 adults and 1 child who was 5.5 years old) for a major deal that you can benefit from too.

When we got off the cruise ship, we brought our stroller, a day bag with snacks and water and our wallets. One thing I wish I had brought with me was a marble (see why below)! This port required a tender (a smaller boat) that took us from the cruise ship to the harbor.

8:45 am off the ship (via tender) at the Santa Barbara Harbor

We walked along the water and headed to State Street. It is hilly to walk up State Street, so it’s important to be prepared for this. We liked being able to see the main street of stores and architecture without a lot of people first thing in the morning.

9:45 am arrived to Alameda Park

It’s a solid 2-2.5 mile walk. The park has a wonderful, fully fenced wooden playground and bathrooms (it may show up on the map as Kids World). I wish we had brought a marble because there’s a unique marble run feature at this park. We stayed here about 30 minutes before continuing our walk, cutting through part of Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden.

10:45 am arrived to Mission Historical Park

It’s fun to pass by beautiful houses on the journey. We arrived to Mission Historical Park and stopped to literally smell the roses as many were already blooming. We were also able to photograph the outside of the Old Mission between the groups of people starting to arrive. We did not linger long and continued on our way to our first museum.

11:10 am arrived to Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

We enjoyed seeing the indoor spaces like the taxidermy birds, the huge dinosaurs behind the building, the whale skeleton out front and using the huge telescope during the Solar Eclipse (luckily we could borrow glasses for it). They also have an outdoor kids natural play space with shade and a small play room. We paid $0 (instead of $52) for our family to enjoy this space! I explain how in my post, Your Family Needs the ASTC Passport.

1 pm arrived to Santa Barbara Public Library

Our daughter could not stay awake on the long walk back, so she took a nap in the stroller. We knew we had two more places for her to enjoy so we let her sleep and restore her energy. We popped in the library, which is just off State Street (the main area) and has a dedicated kids space downstairs. There was a kids kitchen, toys and a table set-up for coloring and a craft. If you need free fun, this is a great space to utilize! Plus, there are bathrooms! When we left, we walked through La Arcade Plaza which had some really cool statues and a red telephone booth! Great photo opps in my opinion.

1:40 pm arrived to McConnell’s Ice Cream

We stopped at the location at 120 State St., which was directly across from the children’s museum. This was our big splurge ($8) in Santa Barbara and the way I got my daughter to wake up from her nap. We split a delicious waffle cone of ice cream and sat outside. It’s a Santa Barbara staple!

2:15 pm arrived to MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation

This multi-level children’s museum is incredible and I hope you read my other post for how we entered for $0 (instead of $55)! Addy loved the makerspace on the main level and had fun making various creations. She enjoyed the outdoor space on this level feeding the air machine with the small scarves and catching them. The Lego wall and car racing machine on the next level were favorites too. We took a quick trip to the rooftop for the view.

Playing with scarves at MOXI | TeamTravelsBaby

4 pm arrived to Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (Sea Center) 

Fortunately, this was super close to where we needed to get back on the ship. We parked our stroller and headed inside to see this small aquarium. My personal favorites were the octopus and sea horses. Addy liked watching the worker drop a bucket into the water and pull up various sea life. I am glad we could pop in for $0 (instead of $41) as it’s small and we only had a short window of time to check it out.

4:45 pm return to tender line

The last tender was scheduled for 5 pm, so we played in the sand for a few minutes before getting in line to get back on the cruise all aboard.

The Princess Cruise was amazing and this was a great stop on the itinerary! If you think this would help someone planning a trip to Santa Barbara, please share this article with them!

First ice cream of the cruise | TeamTravelsBaby

About the Author

Lydia Garry and her family, TeamTravelsBaby, live in Silver Spring, Maryland, and are working to achieve “vagabond status”. Much of their affordable family travel experiences include U.S. travel, national parks and Europe. Adventure with them here, subscribe to their newsletter and follow along on Instagram!

Your Family Needs the ASTC Passport

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Every family should strongly consider joining a museum that’s part of the ASTC Passport Program. ASTC stands for the Association of Science and Technology Centers and it covers a ton of museums and science centers across the United States, Canada and beyond! It even covered a zoo in Duluth, Minnesota, the Greensboro Science Center, North Carolina which had a zoo, aquarium and kids museum all in one and the Montreal Science Center in Canada (which had a great dinosaur special exhibit when we visited)!

In 2022, we were visiting Michigan for an extended visit and I found that buying an annual family membership to the Ann Arbor Children’s Museum paid for itself in two visits! And with that membership, we would be allowed to visit any museums beyond 90 miles of this museum and our home address for FREE! Museums within that mileage would be 50% off. This was a no brainer for us and we actually found that many museums did not check our ID, so even when we thought we would pay 50% of the admission price, we often got in for free with our pass!

In November 2022 and November 2023, we bought the Maryland Science Center (Baltimore) Groupon for around $80-90. This gave us a family membership for one year and there’s a long lead time before you have to redeem and start the one year clock. We actually waited until April (6 months later) in both cases to redeem our pass with a Sunday visit to the Maryland Science Center. If you join, which I highly recommend, check out my IG highlight for some more Baltimore ideas.

If you travel, this is the MUST HAVE pass!

I try to yell from the rooftops about the benefits of this program. From where we live in Silver Spring, I don’t think Baltimore is super convenient because it involves taking I-95! But we make a point of going two times in the year, on a Sunday, avoiding baseball game days. We go on Sundays because we can find free parking and we go twice, because that’s how quickly this pass pays for itself. in 2024, it’s $30/adult and $22/child (ages 3-12). In the DMV, there’s also the Children’s Science Center in Fairfax (inside the mall) that is also part of the ASTC Passport Program. It’s fun to check out downtown Fairfax while in the area too.

When we travel, I always look up all of the covered places using the ASTC Passport website to see the current brochure of places listed by state. In my mind, whether we visit a place for 30 minutes or for hours, it doesn’t matter, because it’s FREE. We have visited museums that would have cost us more than buying the Groupon for the Maryland Science Center. When I tell you it’s worth it, it is 100% worth it.

To give a quick example, when we cruised to Santa Barbara in April 2024, there were three covered places by the pass that we visited in one day. If we had paid for admission separately, we would have paid $148! Below is the breakdown by museum, but remember we paid $0 in Santa Barbara to enter these three places. The main takeaway is that spending $80-$90 for our Maryland Science Center pass in November when it’s on Groupon is a MUST PURCHASE!

  • MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation – This was an incredible kids museum, with a great makerspace. We even got to enjoy a beautiful rooftop view. In 2024, this museum cost $15/kid (3-12 years old) and $20/adult (13+). This would have cost our family (2 adults + 1 child) $55 to visit, but instead it was FREE because it’s more than 90 miles from our condo in Maryland and the Maryland Science Center.
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History – We enjoyed seeing the indoor spaces, the huge dinosaurs in the back, the whale skeleton and we happened to be here during the Solar Eclipse so it was amazing to use the huge telescope. They also have an outdoor kids play space and small play room. This would have cost our family $52 to visit ($19/adult and $14/kid ages 2-12), but instead, we showed our Maryland Science Center pass and it was FREE.
  • Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (Sea Center) – This was a small aquarium. I loved seeing the octopus and watching an employee pull up items directly from the water. It was also conveniently close to the cruise port. This would have cost our family $41 ($15/adult and $11/kid ages 2-12).

I love this pass and I think you and your family will too. It also makes for a great experience gift! I set a reminder for each November to keep a look out for it! If you subscribe to the Maryland Science Center newsletter, you also get notified. I’ll do my best to share via my newsletter too!

Have you visited an ASTC Passport covered museum? Let me know in the comments.

About the Author

Lydia Garry and her family, TeamTravelsBaby, live in Silver Spring, Maryland, and are working to achieve “vagabond status”. Much of their affordable family travel experiences include U.S. travel, national parks and Europe. Adventure with them here, subscribe to their newsletter and follow along on Instagram!

Breathe in Barcelona

Posted in Cruise, Europe, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , , 6 Comments
  • View from the MNAC | TeamTravelsBaby
    View from the MNAC | TeamTravelsBaby

Barcelona is the perfect sized city on the Mediterranean with gorgeous weather (this was April). Whether you have an extended layover, 24 hours or a few days, there’s something here for you as the central part of the city is easily accessible from the El Prat airport. On our two week European adventure with our 6 month old, we had about one full day before our Pullmantur week long cruise and two full days on the back end (we also visited Girona, about 100 km away).

  • View from the MNAC | TeamTravelsBaby
    View from the MNAC | TeamTravelsBaby
  • MNAC View | TeamTravelsBaby
    MNAC View | TeamTravelsBaby

Unforgettable View: From the front steps of the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya)

We love seeing any city by foot or by bike. With a baby, we found walking to be the most convenient mode and used the Tula carrier we were gifted for Addy.  It was ideal for carrying her since she weighed somewhere between 16-17 pounds on our trip and an American sized stroller is not as convenient (but I would argue still doable if you felt the need to have one). If you have limited time, I would recommend arriving to Placa d’Espanya by the Arenas de Barcelona (huge mall). From here head toward the beautiful archway and hill. Conveniently, there are escalators that will take you all the way up to the MNAC and even beyond it. First you’ll see the Montjuic magic fountain. Check to see which days/times it is turned on as it looks like it is spectacular! At the top of MNAC, take it the beautiful view of Barcelona. If you continue behind the MNAC, you’ll arrive at the 1992 Summer Olympic Annex. We didn’t find any Olympic rings to take a picture of like we saw in Innsbruck, Austria’s Olympic site, but it was still cool. If you continue on a longer walk, you can continue uphill through gardens to see the Montjuic Castle. There is a cable car (I read it’s a bit overrated/expensive), but I feel I can always appreciate a view more when I’ve worked hard to get there. While we didn’t visit inside the Castle (5 euros to see inside), we found the views from the outside were lovely and you can even look over the edge and see the cruise ships.

  • View from the Top of Montjuic | TeamTravelsBaby
    View from the Top of Montjuic
  • Addy in Barcelona

Unlimited People Watching: The famous street, La Rambla

La Rambla is a fun street to walk with a huge pedestrian walkway down the middle, lined with kiosks of sweet treats, souvenirs and restaurants. The section closest to the Mediterranean starts at the Columbus Monument and it continues to the Placa de Catalunya. The famous market, Mercado de la Boqueria shouldn’t be missed (it’s closed on Sundays)! If you’re willing to wander off the main block, head to the Gothic Quarter and find the Cathedral of Barcelona. It’s absolutely stunning and free to enter. If you want to climb it, head there between 10 am-12 pm daily with your euro coins! If you’re down by the water, cross the bridge and check out Maremagnum, which is a huge shopping mall (and a good place to find a bathroom).

  • La Boqueria | TeamTravelsBaby
    La Boqueria
  • Barcelona at Night | TeamTravelsBaby
    Barcelona at Night
  • Placa de Catalunya | TeamTravelsBaby
    Placa de Catalunya
  • Cathedral of Barcelona | TeamTravelsBaby
    Cathedral of Barcelona
  • Cathedral of Barcelona
  • Barcelona by the Med | TeamTravelsBaby
    Barcelona by the Med

Unlimited Sand: Platja de la Barceloneta is a huge sand beach and you can also stroll the paved promenade, check out the street sellers, view sand castles and take in the city.

On the way to the beach, you can pass by the old port (Port Vell) where lots of products for sale by street sellers. After a walk along the beach or promenade, we found the Parc de la Ciutadella had pretty buildings and a small lake with swans, herons and other types of birds. Like Paris, Barcelona boasts its own “Arc d’Triomf” (not quite the same, but still a great photo op) that is at the end of a nice broad pedestrian street that’s easily accessible after leaving the park.

  • Port Vell | TeamTravelsBaby
    Port Vell
  • The Beach | TeamTravelsBaby
    The Beach
  • Addy in Barcelona | TeamTravelsBaby
    Addy in Barcelona
  • Blue Heron | TeamTravelsBaby
    Blue Heron
  • Columbus Monument | TeamTravelsBaby
    Columbus Monument
  • Arc d'Triomf | TeamTravelsBaby
    Arc d’Triomf

Unlimited Photos: La Sagrada Familia is the famous church that has been a WIP for nearly 140 years.

A trip to Barcelona would not be complete without seeing it. You can walk around the entire church and there’s a small pond on the backside that gives you some decent reflection photos. The church is also lit up at night (check for the exact times – we saw it at 8:30 pm).

Pro Tip: If you know your dates, then book your tickets in advance if you want to see inside (try all of the ticket types to find available times).

  • La Sagrada Familia | TeamTravelsBaby
    La Sagrada Familia
  • La Sagrada Familia
  • La Sagrada Familia Up Close | TeamTravelsBaby
    La Sagrada Familia Up Close

Another Pro Tip: If you’re visiting Barcelona on a Sunday, check to see if the Picasso Museum is still free in the afternoon/evening.

Transportation: The T-10 card (10.2 euros) was perfect for our trip which we could share for the metro and Rodiales train (within Barcelona). Even though we had about 3 days in Barcelona, we typically walked everywhere and used exactly 5 trips each for a total of 10 on the card. If you’re coming from the airport, it costs one ride for the Rodiales (R2Nord) and one ride for the metro (to wherever you’re going). We found the public transportation to be very convenient. If you’re more limited on time, you may want to consider the AeroBus which is a coach style bus that drops off in Placa de Catalunya. There are other items like the Hola BCN travel card (primarily a transportation card by number of days) and Barcelona card that may be worth a look, depending on your particular trip and needs.

  • Graffiti | TeamTravelsBaby
    Graffiti
  • Street Art | TeamTravelsBaby
    Street Art

Where We Stayed: We really liked the two hostels we stayed in – Pension Peiro (super close to the metro stop Paral-lel and convenient for embarking on a cruise or exploring Montjuic) and Primavera Hostel (super close to the metro stop Verdaguer and convenient for walking to La Sagrada Familia). In April 2019, we found both locations for under $100/night and stayed in a private room (shared bathroom) with our 6 month old. Both hostels let us drop our luggage/stroller off early without any issues. Primavera Hostel had a shared kitchen that was really nice with coffee and our room had a balcony! Use my booking.com referral link and we both get $20!

Cruisin’ from Barcelona: This is an awesome port city to start or end a Mediterranean cruise and we would recommend it! We found it was walkable from Pension Peiro to our ship (you can also pay for a bus that leaves from close to the Columbus Monument which I think was 5 euros round-trip). If you like cruising, check out our post about our Canary Islands cruise in February 2019!

  • Treat Time | TeamTravelsBaby
    Treat Time
  • Addy and Daddy | TeamTravelsBaby
    Addy and Daddy
  • Ready to Cruise the Med | TeamTravelsBaby
    Ready to Cruise the Med

Sète on a Nice Yacht

Posted in Cruise, Europe, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

The south of France (aka the French Riviera) and Monte Carlo, Monaco are even more beautiful than the pictures portray. Having the chance to see the smallest country, the Vatican and the second smallest country, Monaco, on the same vacation was incredible. The people in Monte Carlo were super friendly and the views from the Prince’s Palace of the coast and all of the incredible yachts were surreal. The train system between the port city of Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monte Carlo and Nice was extremely easy to navigate, inexpensive and the train stations were walkable into the heart of each city. Our second port city, Sète, was another easy “do-it-yourself” stop. Did I mention we did all of this with our 6 month old baby?! These stops were part of our week long Mediterranean cruise on Pullmantur. Check out this trip report as well as our time in Barcelona, Italy and London!

Overview

  • Villefranche-sur-Mer (Saturday, April 13, 2019) – Monte Carlo (Monaco) and Nice
  • Sète (Sunday, April 14, 2019) – Some use this as the gateway to Carcassonne (the walled castle), but we used the day to explore this seaside fishing town.

Our boat arrived to Villefranche-sur-Mer and we learned that we needed to tender into port. This means you go from the cruise ship onto a smaller boat that serves like a ferry to get you to the walkable town. Luckily, it also meant we had a gorgeous view of the coast from our cruise ship and also one from the smaller vessel. The only downside was it meant we had to queue when the cruise ship gave the “all clear” before we could start our day of exploring. But as they say in France, c’est la vie!

Monaco – So many yachts! | TeamTravelsBaby

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Getting to Monte Carlo from the port city of Villefranche was super easy because it is extremely well marked on the way to the little train terminal. Because a cruise ship was in port, there were many people ready to help us purchase our tickets who spoke a variety of languages. It was less than $4 to get our ticket to Monaco and less than a 20 minute ride (which ran about every half hour) with only three stops (Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Eze, Cap-d’Ail) before we would exit at Monte Carlo. I used this site to look up times before our trip: https://www.thetrainline.com/ . It’s hard to believe we planned trips before the internet!

Monte Carlo is also well signed and super clean. We followed the signs to the famous Casino first, knowing that many pre-booked excursions head here. On the walk, there are tons of high end jewelry stores (Carré d’Or). We enjoyed the picture opportunities in Casino Square then went in to the Casino lobby. It’s free to enter the lobby and they had a separate line for men and women. There are some amazing red dice in the lobby which make for a great photo op. After a few pictures (you have to pay to enter more than the lobby), we headed to the back side of the casino where we enjoyed a walk overlooking the water on our way to the Formula 1 race track that hosts the Monaco Grand Prix every May.

The weather was warm with a Mediterranean breeze. On our self-made walking tour, we got directions from the race track to Place d’Armes. This lovely square had an indoor and outdoor food market called Marché de La Condamine. While we didn’t have a chance to try it, I read somewhere that “Barbagiuan”, which is a deep fried pastry stuffed with Swiss chard and ricotta is popular in Monaco. We crossed the street and followed the signs to Port de Fontvielle. We cut through the humungous Fontvielle Shopping Center on the way there. We lollygagged along the boardwalk where we could see a ridiculous number of yachts and dream about our retirement to a place like this! In order to get what we believed would be the best view of the city, we followed the signs that took us up to the Prince’s Palace (be prepared for a steep, but not too lengthy walk). We made it just in time to see the changing of the guards (occurred at 11:55 am), which drew quite the crowd. We wandered the narrow streets lined with food and gift shops and mostly, stopped to enjoy the unparalleled view of the coast, yachts and heavenly place we were in!

View from the top of the hill by the Prince’s Palace | TeamTravelsBaby

We made our way back to the train station, bought our tickets from a machine and took the train about 25 minutes to Nice, France (we passed by Villefranche-sur Mer, where we started).

Nice, France

The Nice train station was pretty large and the tourist site has good maps. We exited the train station, hung a left, passed the Basilique Notre-Dame de l’Assomption and then turned right onto the Avenue Jean Médecin. This is the main street and you’ll notice the black and white tiled walkways. This street is lined with shopping options and is a straight shot into old town (Vielle Ville) Nice.

Really cool water display with a sick backdrop in Nice | TeamTravelsBaby

We didn’t have much of a plan for this city other than to wander and see what we could. Along the main street, we watched the water display before we found Cours Saleya, a lovely market in old town where I bought a small bag of lavender for ½ a euro. We walked to the beach, which was rocky, instead of sandy. There were many people sunbathing and relaxing. While we didn’t walk the entire 7 km (less than 4.5 miles), we really loved the Promenade des Anglais. After seeing tons of gelato places, I finally found one with lavender (yum!) and indulged.

On our walk, we found an adorable independent bookstore called Librairie Masséna and I was able to find a book for Addy with vibrant pictures. It made for a great souvenir and it will be a good test of my French as I try to read it to Addy. From here we grabbed a cappuccino and sat at an outdoor café before making our return journey to Villefranche and our cruise ship. Fortunately the train ride was less than 10 minutes and under $3.

If you stay in Villefranche or have additional time, here are a few places I had on my list that you may want to check out: Saint Elme Citadel, St Michel Church, St Pierre Chapel, Rothschild Estate and Gardens and Rue Obscure (Dark Street).

Sète, France

This city is a working fishing port city known for its series of canals (like a mini Venice) where you can find water jousting in the summer. We found the local tourist site to be extremely helpful for getting an overview of the city and what there was to see: https://en.tourisme-sete.com/sete-cruise-passengers-information.html. After taking the free bus to the port entrance, we walked to the central market called Les Halles on Boulevard Gambetta (opens at 6 am). Inside a really nice vendor gave me a free “nazette”, which is like a little oblong table biscuit. I really wanted to try a “zezette” or a “nazette” at Crèmerie Lou Pastrou, a shop next to Les Halles, but they had extremely limited hours on Sunday (9 am – 12:15 pm).

We made our ascent up Mont St. Clair (about 600 feet tall and the highest point in Sète). On our way, we found lots of amazing street art. The view from the top was incredible and it was great to do this first thing before it got too warm out. There is a huge cross at the top and also a fisherman’s church called Notre Dame de la Salette. This church is unlike any we had ever seen before – it’s small, but has unique paintings inside on every wall. There’s also a building next door where nuns live and you’re allowed to climb to the top for an even better view!

View from the highest point of Mont Saint Clair | TeamTravelsBaby

From here, we made our way down to Pierres Blanches National Pine Forest. It’s lovely to have so much green space in the middle of a city. We wandered a few paths and enjoyed views of the Mediterranean and Thau lagoon (Étang de Thau) before we started heading back to the rest of the city. We took a nice long walk along the water that eventually got us to the Théâtre de la Mer (we could only see the outside) and the Cimitière Marin, which is a beautiful cemetery with decorations on the headstones and the Mediterranean as the backdrop.

As we continued our walk we could see the Lighthouse of Mole Saint Louis at the end of a narrow peninsula (we didn’t go up it, but it’s around 3 euros to climb it). Nearby, we climbed some steps to Quartier Haut which also boasted some beautiful street art and views of the lighthouse (some say this area reminds them of a Little Naples). We made it back to Les Halles for a different experience since it was bustling with people compared to the early morning. We wandered through other streets, found a pop up market and wandered the canals searching for more street art along the way. This city was the perfect end to our cruise experience and I would highly recommend a half day or day in this city.

While we did not go here, I read good things about the International Museum of Modest Art (MIAM) in Sète. Many people on our cruise went to Carcassonne (UNESCO World Heritage site), which is about 80 minutes away and is a walled castle. We opted not to go here because there seemed to be enough to do in Sète and because it was going to be challenging to “do-it-ourselves” in the amount of time we had at port.

Thank you!

Thank you for checking out the France and Monaco portion of our Mediterranean cruise and European adventure! Do you get the article title now? We hope you’ll take a few minutes to browse our other trips or read about our time in London, Barcelona and nearby Girona (great stop for Game of Thrones fans) and our ports in Italy. Be sure to follow us on Instagram! Until our next adventure!

  • I’m sure you can see why we fell in love with Monaco (cover image)! | TeamTravelsBaby

Crank It Out While Cruisin’ Italy

Posted in Cruise, Europe, Read Them AllTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments
Pisa, Italy

Italy is a European country that everyone should strive to see in their lifetime. A cruise is the perfect way to get a taste of beautiful Italian cities like Naples, Rome, Pisa and Florence as well as the world’s smallest country, the Vatican. On our Mediterranean cruise we tried to “do-it-ourselves” as much as possible so we didn’t get crushed by cruise line excursion prices. Check out our trip report!

  • Naples (Wednesday, April 10, 2019) – Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius.
  • Civitavecchia (Thursday, April 11, 2019) – The gateway to the Vatican and Rome.
  • Livorno (Friday, April 12, 2019) – The gateway to Pisa and Florence.

Naples

Naples Port of Call | TeamTravelsBaby

Naples was a great port city because you literally disembark and walk straight into town. This is the one port where we booked an excursion (outside of the cruise line) because after extensive research on do-it-ourselves transportation and talking with a good friend who had recently been, this ultimately was going to make the most sense. We opted to book an excursion through Shore Excursions Group that covered transportation from the ship to Herculaneum (impacted by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius) then to the famous Pompeii, onwards to Mount Vesuvius and ultimately back to the ship. It was decently priced and Addy, our infant (6 months) was free. As this was a transportation only service, we still had to buy tickets at each site. A car seat was unnecessary and a stroller was highly discouraged due to the uneven terrain at each location. We only brought our Tula carrier and we still think it was the best decision. I would also highly recommend this excursion because it ran exactly as promised, the guide in the car (separate from the driver) spoke very clear English and shared history and recommendations with us during our rides to each destination. Herculaneum is very doable in the 60-90 minutes given to view it as it’s much more compact than Pompeii.

Herculaneum

  • Overview: 11 euros each; must check your bags for free and this is a separate line from the tickets if you didn’t purchase ahead of time so divide and conquer if you can; bring some information to read (they ran out of English guides when we were there)
Herculaneum | TeamTravelsBaby
Herculaneum | TeamTravelsBaby
View once you enter Herculaneum | TeamTravelsBaby

Pompeii

  • Overview: 15 euros each; this place is HUGE so make sure you know where you are dropped off and are supposed to meet back up; tickets can be purchased ahead of time or at the gate; pick the top items you want to see (if you look at the map we focused on section I-II and VII-IX)
Beautiful view from inside Pompeii | TeamTravelsBaby
Pompeii | TeamTravelsBaby

Mount Vesuvius

  • Overview: Bring cash for your tickets which are 6.5 euros each; a jacket and good walking shoes are a must for hiking to the top and cross your fingers it’s not too foggy!
Mount Vesuvius under the mist | TeamTravelsBaby

Civitavecchia (gateway to Rome and the Vatican)

From our ship we took a short bus ride to the port entrance (there wasn’t a walking option). Once we left the entrance, this city was very well signed and it was about a 15 minute (almost perfectly straight shot) walk to the train station. Take it from us – you can absolutely get to Rome and back to the ship without paying for an overpriced cruise tour. While there is a new speed train, I would recommend the “slow” commuter train if you plan to go to the Vatican first. We looked up the schedule ahead of time so we knew we wanted to catch the 8:39 am, 8:55 am or 9:16 am train and anticipated a 40 minute ride to S. Pietro station. We were able to purchase the ticket from a machine with a credit card, but be weary as we had a staff person try to sell us the new train ticket, which for us didn’t make sense because we would have waited around the station for quite some time for the 9:35 am train plus it’s slightly more expensive.

Saint Peter’s Basilica | TeamTravelsBaby

We took a short walk from S. Pietro station and I read online that if you get in the line for Saint Peter’s Basilica by 10 am, it’s about a 45 minute wait. This was accurate almost to the minute for us, even with the line looking very intimidating. We didn’t have much time to look around once we got inside, but we are happy we got the few minutes we did. On the way in we saw the Statue of David and were amazed by the views inside. If you have more time, you may want to pay to see the dome or check out the Grottoes (it’s free, but make sure to do it last as you’ll end up outside afterwards). We had to hustle to the Vatican Museums for our 11:30 am confirmed ticket (BUY THEM AHEAD OF TIME, print and have your passport just in case). It was a good 20 minute walk from the exit of the Basilica to the Vatican Museums. It’s absolutely beautiful, but they herd everyone through, so do your reading ahead of time. The Sistine Chapel is lovely but unfortunately, you can’t take pics or videos. Adjust your expectations and expect to be “rushed” through the Vatican. Personally, my favorites were the room with paintings on the ceilings and floor to ceiling tapestries (Tapestries Hall) and Raphael’s Room.  

The view by Castel Sant’Angelo of Saint Peter’s Basilica | TeamTravelsBaby

We found we could always find someone to help us with directions. Even though it wasn’t recommended by most, we walked from the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo and then across the Tiber River (which also has a beautiful view of the Vatican) in order to see the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Piazza Venecia and ultimately the Colosseum. We were amazed by all of them and I was so happy the Trevi Fountain wasn’t under construction (like it was in May 2010). This was a TON of walking while carrying a baby (more than 3 miles), but a great way to see the city (versus finding and taking public transportation or paying for a cab). Luckily there was a metro stop right by the Colosseum and a guard there was able to give us directions on where to transfer so we could get on the commuter train back to Civitavecchia.

Livorno (gateway to Pisa and Florence)

View at sunset by our ship in Livorno | TeamTravelsBaby

Livorno…this is how cruise companies get you. First, we had to pay (well, we didn’t…but that’s another story) 5 euros cash or so for a roundtrip bus ticket to get from the cruise ship to a square in town (I believe the Piazza del Municipio). This annoyed me only because there wasn’t an option to walk. From the square, we opted for the approximately 1.5 mile walk to the train station (Livorno Centrale), where we crossed the famous Piazza della Republica to board a train for Pisa. (There is a bus option to Pisa too.) Even though it’s almost a straight shot, I definitely recommend bringing a map, asking locals (use the word “stazione”) or using the GPS on your phone if it works. Once we were at the station, it was super easy. Trains leave every 15 minutes or so, it’s a 15 minute ride and only $3 a person! Let me tell you, this is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than what you will pay with a cruise line AND the funny thing was when we arrived to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it was about the same time the people from the cruise line tour were arriving by coach bus. After we arrived in Pisa (at Pisa Centrale, train station), it was about a 15-20 minute walk to the actual Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Square of Miracles. En route to the Leaning Tower, the bridge we took over the Arno River has a pretty view and lots of vendors were selling beautiful flowers. We also passed through two markets which were neat to browse. In my research, one thing I learned is infants (and actually anyone under 8) CANNOT go up the Leaning Tower. This helped us to stay focused on the view from the outside. We enjoyed taking lots of fun pictures, as one does when they’re here. (Having climbed up it in May 2010, if you have to miss out on going inside in order to spend more time in Florence, I think it’s the right call. Of course if you’re taking a land tour of Italy and not cruising Italy, definitely go up it!)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa and Square of Miracles | TeamTravelsBaby

We made the walk back to Pisa Centrale and took a train to Florence (stop: Santa Maria Novella) which is about an hour ride and about $11 per person. The ride was comfortable and once we arrived in Florence, we got a map at the Tourist Information center (across the street from the train station by a church) and started making our way toward the Arno River to see the Ponte Vecchio (bridge). It’s the bridge which houses tons of jewelry stores. From there it’s a nice walk down by the Uffizi Gallery to see the statues of famous men like Da Vinci, Giotti and Botticelli. At the end, it opens up and you can see the Piazza della Signoria, the Statue of David and Neptune’s Fountain. We walked to the famous Florence Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore) and waited in the very long line. We ultimately got in (it’s free) and saw Brunelleschi’s Duomo. At first it’s not obvious why everyone waits so long to get inside, but once you see the painting inside the dome, you will be amazed. It’s beautiful like the Sistine Chapel. We enjoyed walking around the leather market and inside Mercato Centrale (lots of food choices). Florence is a beautiful city with friendly people (in May 2010 I enjoyed a few days here with friends and highly recommend getting tickets to the Florence Cathedral to go to Giotto’s Bell Tower). We made the walk back to the train station, bought our tickets (about $13 per person) and got on our train back. Make sure to VALIDATE your ticket (any machine will do). We found that our train back to the port city was a long walk from the entrance and didn’t get a chance to. Luckily, a nice Italian women helped us and wrote our train number and time on the ticket for us and we didn’t get in trouble.

  • Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence | TeamTravelsBaby

Cruisin’ Italy

We went on a Pullmantur cruise out of Barcelona (check out my article about this awesome Mediterranean city) because the prices are extremely reasonable and kids are free (as in you don’t even pay port taxes or fees). And while we don’t drink, this is also an all-inclusive cruise line (think free house wines with lunch and dinner) AND they have an espresso bar which is also FREE! If you want to keep your trip affordable, take the time to plan it out and “do-it-yourself”, but also recognize that you can’t do it all. A cruise merely gives you a taste of each city so you know where to return to. Our biggest tip is to make sure to have the train schedules ready, your maps ready and not to be afraid to ask for directions! Happy travels and be sure to check us out on Instagram @teamtravelsbaby!

Cruisin’ the Canaries

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La Palma, Canray Island | TeamTravelsBaby

Have you heard of the Canary Islands? They’re a group of Spanish islands near the coast of Morocco with temperate weather, lots of national parks, volcanoes and beaches! If you’ve ever wanted to island hop, doing so via a cruise is a great way! There are seven main Canary Islands and we got to explore five of them, plus a city in Morocco during our week long Pullmantur cruise (Horizon ship) and a stopover in Madrid. We traveled February 16 – 26, 2018, which was the perfect time to escape the cold Washington, D.C. winter.

Top Benefits of Cruisin’

  • Stress-free. You don’t have to pack and unpack every night.
  • Time-saver. You get to cover a lot of ground without exerting any effort.
  • Eat without thinking. You know where all of your meals are coming from.
  • Fun galore! There are lots of activities and shows for entertainment and pools to relax by.
  • Socialize without the clean-up. You can meet people who share your love for travel from all over the world.

Tenerife, Canary Island

  • We were here for the end of Carnival (a huge celebration where everyone dressed up in costumes like it was Halloween). Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the main city where Carnival was being celebrated and is also where the port is for the round-trip cruise.
  • Wandered through Strasse Park, which had very unique agriculture.
  • City of La Orotava is an old historic city with beautiful views.
  • Easy to rent a car from the airport and drive on the island.
  • Arrived one full day ahead of our cruise departing to explore the island (and found a safe place to carsleep).

La Palma, Canary Island

  • Curved around and up the mountain to see the Santuario de la Virgen de las Nieves, a famous church with a beautiful view of the city.
  • Hiked in Caldera de Taburiente National Park where we saw a few Canarian ravens and a stunning rainbow!
  • Viewed the famous Spanish balconies and black sand beach while eating delicious ice cream!

Agadir, Morocco

  • The port is not extremely close to the town (probably 45 minute walk) and we came across a few stray dogs and cats. Be careful as we found the dogs will follow you.
  • Traveled to the Kasbah, which is the highest point. There are camels you can ride on or take a picture with. The inscription reads “God, Homeland, King” on the side of the mountain.
  • Shopped three Souks (markets) and learned about Moroccan oil. Negotiated a great deal for a painting with tree goats in the argan tree in a small souk by the beach.

Lanzarote, Canary Island

  • Los Hervideros is an incredible water hole. The water is so strong that you are not allowed to swim as people have died trying.
  • Drove through Timanfaya National Park to see the crater. We stopped at El Diablo Restaurant in the park to see a demonstration of the volcanic heat. This restaurant makes its food from the volcanic heat.
  • Some drank wine, while I ate ice cream at La Geria.

Fuerteventura, Canary Island

  • Walked along La Oliva, a beautiful sand beach.
  • Visited a cute, small town called Betancuria and the ruins.
  • Explored the port city of Arrecife and Puerto del Rosario.

Gran Canaria, Canary Island

  • Strolled through the quaint town of Vega de San Mateo and Tejega (one of the most beautiful cities in Spain).
  • Ate a fabulous lunch in the City of Teror, saw their famous balconies and stepped inside their historic church.
  • Saw the Roque Nublo or cloudy rock, which was beautiful.
  • Promenaded along the Playas de las Canteras which was the happening beach near the cruise port and took in a beautiful sunset here.
  • We had a fantastic tour guide and a small group of travelers from around the world. The funny thing is, we spent the first thirty minutes of our time on the island panicking that our excursion wasn’t going to happen because the excursion company (Shore Excursioneer) confirmed a different time with us then they did with the person picking us up for the tour.
Gran Canaria Sunset | TeamTravelsBaby

Madrid, Spain

  • Booked a flight with a stopover in Madrid (less than 24 hours; arrived 3 p.m. and departed 1 p.m. the next day) because it’s only 30 minutes via public transportation to get to the city center.
  • Bird-watching in the huge park, El Retiro Park.
  • Peaked into the train station, Atocha and also found the perfect, last minute hostel with a private room called Far Home Atocha for only 40 euros that I would highly recommend. Use my Booking.com link and we each get $20!
  • Awed at the Almudena Cathedral, and would definitely tour it the next time we visit this city.
  • Traipsed through town and saw places like Plaza Mayor, the San Miguel Market and the bear and strawberry tree in La Puerta del Sol.

Full Disclosure

  • I was about 8 weeks pregnant on this trip, so I couldn’t fully indulge on the Pullmantur cruise line which offers free alcoholic beverages (like house wines) in the price of the cruise.
  • I had all day sickness – morning sickness, motion sickness, you name it and still had an amazing trip and would recommend checking out www.vacationstogo.com (free with your email address) to find this cruise and other deals!