A long flight with kids is doable, if there are snacks
Q: We are about a month and a half from a long trip to the other side of the world (relocating for work). From the first flight to touchdown, we are looking at 24 hours before all is said and done (two long flights, and a long layover). Our kids have done short flights (a couple hours here and there) but nothing this long. They are young (2.5 and 1.5) and rambunctious. We are already planning breaking every rule about screen time known to parents, but are there any resources or tips so that not everyone on our flights hates us so much?
A: Lifting the screen time rules is probably a good idea, although I would recommend selecting the entertainment carefully. Don’t load up a movie that could get your kids too excited (for my first-born, that was “Finding Nemo”). Interactive, nonelectronic games are also a great distraction on long flights. But the most overlooked item is food. They will not feed you or your kids enough on the plane. Bring plenty of healthy snacks for the children. On a 24-hour flight, they can eat several times their body weight.
Q: What time of year is best for a visit to Panama City? Anything we can’t miss?
A: The best time to visit is during the dry season, from midDecember to mid-April. If you must travel during wet season, don’t worry too much: the rain comes and goes in short spurts. Be sure to wander around Casco Antiguo, the old quarter filled with plazas, churches, museums, cafés and shops selling Pintao hats. For nature, check out a national park, such as Soberanía or Chagres, or the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center. The city is also home to Panama Viejo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as well as — but of course — the Panama Canal. Several companies offer partial and full transit tours of the canal.
Q: Can anyone recommend some nice, not too physically strenuous day trips around Boston? We will have a car and a toddler.
A: There tons of relaxing options: Concord and Lexington; Walden Pond; Rockport; Cape Cod and the National Seashore, Marblehead; Old Sturbridge Village; and Salem (the nonspooky version), to name a few.