We're in the early stages of planning our family vacation for mid-November and are considering Venezuela and Colombia (along with Costa Rica and Guatemala). We'll have our then 1.5-yr-old child with us and prefer to avoid Malaria areas. Any travel tips on places that would be suitable for a young family? Our child, to date, has been very easy-going and has traveled internationally with us on 2 previous trips. We're hoping to change locales 2 times max during our 10-day trip to combine some sightseeing/city days with some beach time. Would love some recommendations based on others' past experiences traveling with their kids. Medical care is a bit of a concern in the off chance that it's needed.
Thank you kindly!
Traveling with 1-yr-old
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Do not fear. We travelled to Southern Venezuela (incl. Canaima) with our then 1-yr old twins. We stayed in jungle lodges (no electricity after dark), as well as home-stays and 3-5 star accomodations.
We did take the kids to get some precautionary shots before travel, but didn't get one for yellowfever because of which we weren't allowed to cross into Brazil.
Looking back, it was crazy flying in 4-6 seater airplanes with open windows, with my wife and I each holding on to our twins. But I don't regret it one bit. You see, people around the world welcome tourists with kids - since there are so few of these kind of tourists. Travelling with little ones gets a lot of warmth and support from locals in most cultures. As we went hiking in Venezuela, we got a locals actually carry our babies, and taking delight in it.
I am glad to report that since then my twins (now 10) have travelled to more than 16 countries, and have become hardy travellers.
Going by my experience, I want to caution you that you might not get a lot of support on forums for travelling with a kid as young as yours, but don't get discouraged. Plough on. Venezuela is a beautiful country and unfortunately, due to media/ govt apathy in the US, doesn't get its fair share in travel publicity. We actually found more Germans/ Austrians than Americans, which is a shame, considering Venezuela is so accessible from America, so affordable and has so much to offer.