The first installment in a three-part series on family-friendly New Zealand this week at The Flying Salmon
It’s no secret that I love the Pacific Northwest. I was born and raised in the Seattle area and I still call the city my home. Weekend road trips across the region are one of my favorite things to do, and when I think of where I would like to raise my children, there’s no other place I’d rather be. That said, I love exploring the world; sharing the experience of travel with my family is a value I hold dear. Still, anyone who’s ever traveled with small children knows that the experience is no small endeavor. So it’s been a goal of mine here at The Flying Salmon to show readers how to bring kids into our travel experiences. Taking a baby to wine country? Sure! What about beer tasting in Bend? Why not? So with those experiences under my belt, I set out this spring on my first international trip with my son. The destination? New Zealand.
Crossing both the Equator and the International Date Line says enough about how far one has to travel to get from Seattle to New Zealand. But when I was invited on Hawaiian Airlines’ inaugural flight from Honolulu to Auckland this past spring, I jumped at the opportunity. Flying from Seattle to Honolulu one day then Honolulu to Auckland the next seemed manageable, and I quickly decided that it would be a great way to test out what flying internationally would be like with a toddler. We set out from Sea-Tac airport on a Tuesday morning for a six hour flight to Honolulu. Though still a toddler, my son has been on enough flights to know the drill, and the flight went well for everyone. Upon arriving, we settled into a room at the Royal Hawaiian, one of the first hotels in Waikiki, and relaxed. The great thing about traveling west is that we had all afternoon and evening in Waikiki and were able to recharge and gear up for the next day’s nine-hour flight to Auckland.
Would splitting the travel between two days—with a relaxing stay at the beac—be enough to make traveling to New Zealand with a toddler not only manageable, but also fun? Find out when we continue the story tomorrow! Follow The Flying Salmon on Facebook, Twitter, or RSS feed to stay connected.
Disclosure: I was generously sent on the trip by Hawaiian Airlines and Tourism New Zealand.
