The only place I ever seem to travel with my family during vacations is over the river and through the woods. I plan on changing that soon. And when I do, I’ve found a fabulous new travel website made just for family vacation planning, so we can spend less time researching, and more time exploring the world–and figuring out how to ask for “pasta with butter, nothing green” in another language.
is a new website for parents to share their first hand their own
experiences, photos, reviews, and recommendations for family-friendly
travel to benefit the rest of us. Think TripAdvisor but with kids in mind.
With
reviews and suggestions from frequent travelers you get loads of ideas
and an overview of what to expect on your journey–or even suggestions
if you’re not sure where you want to go. Of course the longer it’s up
the better it will get, because any crowd-sourced review site is only as
good as the number of users. But this one is off to a nice start.
search engine actually recommends hotels and attractions based on your
interests and your kids’ ages–I love that they understand the
differences between a 2 year-old and a 13 year-old, and that the search doesn’t assume you have a maximum of two children.
MiniTime also features a variety of trip tips
including helpful packing checklists by age. Plus it really does tell
you the kinds of things parents can’t always find automatically on a
regular booking engine or even a hotel website. Want to know about suites with doors? Video game systems in the room? Cribs and rollaway beds?
All noted here. In fact, there are icons next to each destination indicating amenities like babysitting, kids’ clubs, in-room refrigerators, and separate kiddie pools. How refreshing not to have to call to ask these things (and then have the desk clerk give you the wrong info half the time).
If you love it, join the community by
creating a profile and adding your own travel experiences, reviews and photos to help others in
need of an easy and painless family escape.
