From packing, security and meals, to carriers and strollers, the following tips will show you how to journey round Sri Lanka with infants and toddlers.
We’ve simply returned from an totally wonderful 12 day journey round Sri Lanka. It was my second time within the nation – the primary was for my honeymoon. I’ve written extensively about that have, together with this complete Sri Lanka itinerary. The route we took on our second journey was fairly comparable, however with a couple of additional cultural stops.
To be sincere, once I advised some individuals we have been travelling to Sri Lanka with our two-year-old son, they checked out me like I used to be a bit loopy. Not solely is it a protracted flight from the UK, however the nation is fairly uncooked in locations. I might perceive individuals who hadn’t visited being apprehensive, however we knew it could be an excellent place to journey to as a household. Sri Lankan persons are so family-oriented. We discovered locals to be heat and welcoming, all the time wanting to speak to us and study extra about our household.
One lasting reminiscence from our honeymoon three years in the past, was tucking into dinner at a roadside restaurant in Sigiriya, as we watched a French household with three younger children clambering round. We have been impressed by the mum who appeared so cool, calm and picked up! Seeing her doing an adventurous journey like this with little ones impressed us. We had a sense that might be us sooner or later.
Flash ahead three years and right here we’re, recent again from our Sri Lankan adventures with tonnes of reminiscences and loads of journey ideas. From what to pack and learn how to get round safely, to helpful belongings you’ll solely know from visiting, this information is crammed with recommendation for anybody travelling to Sri Lanka with younger children.
10 Important Suggestions For Travelling To Sri Lanka With A Child Or Toddler
Flying to Sri Lanka with a child or toddler
It’s necessary to permit loads of time to verify in, clear safety and board your flight. We flew direct from London Heathrow to Colombo with Sri Lankan Airways. The verify in queue took a very long time, so we have been glad we’d allowed nearly three hours.
We now have the YOYO3 stroller which is airline authorised, which means you may retailer it within the overhead lockers. That is sensible, because it means you may wheel it proper up till you board, and have it prepared on the different finish too.
If in case you have a child, you could possibly request a bassinet in your flight. Our son was by no means a fan of those, however having the bassinet means you’ll have an exit row, which affords extra legroom and house.
In case your baby is over two years outdated, they’ll have their very own seat. Don’t overlook to request a kids’s meal upfront. It was our son’s first flight along with his personal seat, and he beloved the novelty of the airline meals!
We purchased an inflatable plane bed for this flight. It was sensible. It fills all the house from the seat to the seat in entrance, which means your baby can stretch out. Plus, once they play with toys or books, they’ll’t drop issues down. Not all airways settle for them, so positively verify earlier than you buy. It was permitted on our Sri Lankan Airways flight (I had emailed to verify upfront).
Usually we ignore the flight attendant once they encourage us to board first. Why coop up your child in a tin can any earlier, once they’ll solely get stressed! Often, one among us boards early with the baggage, whereas the opposite carries our baby on board on the final minute.
Reserving inns in Sri Lanka for younger kids
Not each lodge in Sri Lanka may have a cot or journey cot obtainable. We requested them at every, however some mentioned they couldn’t assure it. If that is important for you, think about taking your individual journey cot. Choices like this one by BabyBjorn and this one by Graco are light-weight and travel-friendly.
Many inns will supply sofas or additional beds too, so converse to them earlier than your journey to verify they’ve the room arrange for your loved ones.
We booked 4 and 5 star inns for our household journey in Sri Lanka. It’s a rustic the place luxurious doesn’t come at an enormous value. Certainly one of them, Araliya Beach Resort in Unawantuna, even had a kids’s playground, pool and children part on the buffet!
Travelling round Sri Lanka with infants and toddlers
Should you’re a small household, I’d suggest reserving a driver for the week. That manner you’ll have all of your transport taken care of, a neighborhood who is aware of how issues work and the flexibleness of your individual automotive.
On our final journey we booked particular person automobiles for every a part of the route, largely through tour operator Mahaweli. They have been wonderful and it wasn’t massively sophisticated to organise, however I feel having the identical driver for the entire journey would have been easier. If in case you have one automotive, you could possibly organise a automotive seat too, or carry your individual.
Planning your days in Sri Lanka with young children
One factor I realized from travelling round Sri Lanka with our two-year-old was how adaptable he was. He not often had a meltdown or was upset. He simply acquired on with no matter we have been doing! However, the one massive piece of recommendation I’ve is to plan routes rigorously, together with stops.
We had a couple of very lengthy journey days, and I feel they have been too gruelling for him. He was really sick twice from movement illness. The windy, uneven roads, significantly in tea planation areas, are robust on grownup stomachs, not to mention little ones! We wished we’d acquired out of the minibus each hour or so, simply to have a little bit of recent air and stretch our legs.
You would possibly need to have a look at relaxation stops alongside your route the place you may seize a chilly drink, use the bathroom or have a chew to eat. Prior planning might make or break your journey!
Should you haven’t organised it already, I’d suggest shopping for an eSIM in your journey. They’re very easy to arrange and imply you’ll have web connection from the second you land. I all the time purchase mine from Sim Local. Use the code WANDERLUST on the checkout and also you’ll get 10% off!
Clothes for infants and toddlers in Sri Lanka
As a basic rule, Sri Lanka is scorching all yr spherical. It does have moist and dry seasons, however you may count on heat and humid climate all year long. The one factor to concentrate on is that temperatures are cooler within the tea plantations and mountains (significantly round Ella and Newara Eliya).
For this journey, I dressed my son in t-shirts, shorts and sandals just about each single day! I additionally packed swimwear, a rain jacket (which he by no means wore because it was too scorching!) and hotter garments for the flights. I additionally took a sunhat, which, being a toddler, he refused to put on 99% of the time!
For bedtime, he wore his traditional pyjamas and a toddler sleeping bag. Bear in mind, inns are air-conditioned so are typically cool at evening.
Sri Lanka is an adventurous nation, and also you’ll discover your little ones get fairly soiled out and about! Whether or not they’re taking part in on the sand, within the mud, splashing in puddles on wet days or one thing else, we acquired by means of much more outfits than there have been days!
Carriers and Strollers for Sri Lanka
This half is barely related when you have small children. Should you’re visiting Sri Lanka with a child, you’ll positively need a child service. We now have the Ergobaby Aerloom, which has been sensible. We didn’t pack it for this journey, as we use different gadgets now our baby is 2.
As an alternative, we packed the Wildride toddler carrier which was actually useful when he didn’t need to stroll or we couldn’t use the stroller. I used it within the airports, to stroll alongside busy roads and round a number of temples. It was an effective way to maintain him secure and contained, and to maneuver at a good tempo!
We additionally took our YOYO3 Stroller (my full evaluation is right here). That is one of the best stroller to journey with. It’s light-weight, packs down tremendous small (becoming within the overhead locker on planes) and is a cushty experience. There have been a number of spots it wasn’t appropriate for, however a lot that have been. It was very helpful at airports and for transporting numerous gadgets. Total, we have been very pleased we took it. It was additionally an effective way to ensure a good nap every afternoon!
We additionally packed our Osprey Poco Child Carrier backpack. We knew we’d be mountain climbing Sigiriya with our son, and we determined this might be one of the simplest ways to move him safely. Realistically, we might have made do with a child service only for that one morning, however we had the bags allowance, and the backpack service was much more snug and offered a solar shade too! We solely used it for that one exercise although, so in case you’re quick on house, it’s not important. Our mates used a regular child service on their again for his or her 2.5 yr outdated, and it labored nice!
Solar safety for kids in Sri Lanka
We have been very cautious with our son’s pores and skin all through the journey. We layered on factor 50 sun cream each day and tried to keep away from noon solar / persist with the shade. We additionally took a children’s insect repellent (deet free), which we used round nightfall some evenings. He nonetheless acquired a couple of mosquito bites, however they didn’t trouble him a lot.
I used to be relieved that I remembered to pack our rechargeable fan. It was a final minute addition, however we used it loads. Sri Lanka is scorching and humid, and this made a giant distinction to our consolation ranges! We now have one like this, which attaches to any merchandise with its tripod legs, making it very best for pram naps and automotive journeys.
Journey security
There are a number of methods to journey round Sri Lanka. You would possibly e-book a personal driver and journey by automotive. Maybe, you’ll use a minibus. Plus, you’re prone to go on trains, in tuk-tuks and maybe on buses or boats, too. Within the UK, there are strict legal guidelines round kids’s automotive seats and journey security. Nevertheless, you gained’t discover these rules in Sri Lanka (you’ll see locals with three or 4 children piled onto one scooter!) It’s as much as you the way you need to journey and what you’re snug with.
Prior to now, we’ve travelled with the RyRy Scallop Travel Car Seat. It’s sensible – suits autos with ISOFIX and might be transported in its backpack. It’s fairly heavy, however most automotive seats are! If you wish to take a automotive seat in your journey, this can be a nice possibility.
We knew we’d primarily journey by minibus and that type of automotive seat wouldn’t work. We’d puzzled about strapping our son in utilizing a seatbelt, or simply holding him. However, after a {couples} of days of him clambering throughout us (and it not feeling very secure), we acquired his travel high chair out.
We’d packed this as a result of we knew some eating places wouldn’t have excessive chairs and meals get messy when he’s not in a seat! It’s a very compact merchandise, suits in a suitcase, and might be hooked up to most chairs. It has straps which we used to repair it to the seat on the minibus. We additionally threaded the seatbelt by means of the bottom of it to safe it extra. We by no means anticipated to make use of it in a minibus, nevertheless it was an amazing hack, and loads safer than having him crawling round.
As ever, this can be a private alternative. You would possibly need to e-book a automotive with a correct baby’s automotive seat, or take your individual. I’m not endorsing what we did because the most secure possibility, nevertheless it labored effectively below the circumstances. We additionally used it on the prepare from Kandy to Ella – it was sensible for that! Saved him safely in a single place, boosted him up so he might see the view higher, plus he was very content material in there!
If you’re travelling with a small child, I’d recommend placing them in a child service strapped to your entrance, after which placing a seatbelt over each of you.
Meals In Sri Lanka For Infants and Toddlers
Have you ever ever tasted Sri Lankan delicacies? Let me let you know it’s wonderful! I like it, with its tasty curries, quite a few vegetarian dishes and spicy coconut sambals. It’s various and scrumptious. When you could also be daunted that it’s going to be too spicy in your little ones, don’t worry. You’ll all the time discover rice on each menu, in addition to numerous varieties of bread or poppadoms. There was typically some type of noodle dish too. Our son had one thing alongside these traces most days.
Sri Lanka has an abundance of recent fruit too, from pineapples and mangos, to bananas and watermelons. Many inns supply buffet breakfasts, the place you’ll discover normal gadgets like bread, eggs, sausages, potatoes, cereals, fruit and yogurt.
Plus, whilst you might need to immerse your loved ones within the tradition, you’ll typically discover Western favourites on vacationer menus. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than we have been tucking into spicy curries, whereas our son was snacking on fries or a sandwich! As any mum or dad is aware of, the principle factor is that they eat. What they eat on vacation, isn’t an enormous deal!
We packed plenty of snacks in our suitcase. Straightforward gadgets like breadsticks, rice muffins and toddler cereal bars. Plus, we took a bag of his favorite breakfast cereal. It purchased us time within the mornings in lodge rooms, as he might snack on that earlier than we went to the buffet breakfast.
The entire inns have been pleased to supply milk for our toddler (normally organised on the buffet dinners or breakfasts). Should you’re not staying in inns, you’ll discover most gadgets you want in small comfort shops or supermarkets.
Happening safari in Sri Lanka with infants and toddlers
We went on safari twice on this journey. The primary was in Hurulu Eco Park close to Habarana and the second was in Yala Nationwide Park. You would possibly suppose safaris could be off the playing cards with young children, however they’re not! It’s as much as you to determine in case you’re snug with the concept. I in all probability wouldn’t select this expertise with a tiny child (below 6 months maybe) as I’d fear about how a lot they’ll get bumped round on the uneven terrain.
With infants, I’d recommend placing them in a child service to be secure. With toddlers, you ought to be nice with them in your lap or strapped right into a seat. We had ours on our lap more often than not and he beloved searching of the home windows on the elephants and different creatures.
Most safaris run within the morning or late afternoon (when animals are most energetic) and final three to 4 hours. I wouldn’t suggest doing a full day safari with infants or toddlers. Not solely is it a very long time in a car (you may’t usually get out because the animals are wild!) nevertheless it’s additionally extremely popular and dusty. Our toddler was positively prepared for a relaxation and a change of scene after 4 hours in a jeep!
I’d 100% suggest happening safari along with your children although. Our son adored seeing the wild animals and continues to be speaking in regards to the elephants he noticed. What an excellent technique to broaden his horizons, seeing these creatures of their pure habitats quite than on the pages of a e-book.
I hope this information helps you propose your vacation in Sri Lanka with infants and toddlers! We discovered it to be a really welcoming nation to households. We by no means felt unsafe, beloved the number of experiences and felt prefer it was an enriching journey for us all.
Be at liberty to e-mail me when you have any particular questions. Have a tremendous time!
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