Non Stop Family

For those who like to travel, there is nothing better than to get a direct flight to our destination and land on your detination. However, this is not often possible, and as the travel the world, the greater is our desire to explore new and different destinations, which often increases the number of airport layovers.

And, if there are layovers that are short, 2, 3 hours, and we almost have to run to arrive on time to the next plane, others are that can last for hours, many hours, which can make the wait huge.

And if waiting hours at an airport, often already tired from the previous trip can be hard for adults, for children it may be even more. And when the children's are tired and bored, this usually means problems for parents.

In order to avoid these difficult moments for the family, we have always tried to create the maximum of strategies to make these moments so possitive as possible.

What we propose in this article is to share our strategies, with the hope that it may help you to plan your family trip, especially when your trip includes long layovers at airports with kids.

STUDY THE AIRPORT

The airports are all different, some are wonderful and modern, others old, some are near cities, others are far away, others are quick to check in, others take a long time ... If we know that we will spend many hours at an airport, our first goal must go through study the airport well and, fortunately today we have internet, were there is a huge variety of information that can help you to know your airport in detail.

You can see, for example, our article about Changi Airport, one of the best airports in the world, and one of the easiest to do a long layover.

LEAVE THE AIRPORT AND EXPLORE

Whenever possible, we like to explore the nearest city, or any other point of interest. For example, on a recent trip we spent 9 hours at Heatrow Airport, and we were able to take advantage of the hours to take a terrific ride through the city of Windsor, which only made our trip even more wonderful.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT: HOW ABOUT INCREASING YOUR LAYOVER HOURS?

It may be weird but, this can also be a strategy to make a layover more interesting. I explain with a situation that occurred to us when our son was 4 years old, and he was crazy about dinosaurs. On our trip to Iceland (you can see here by clicking this link), we also had to do a layover in London for a few hours.

Although we knew London, our son had never been there and one of his main wishes was to visit the Natural History Museum in London. So when we organized our trip, we managed to have a Layover of about 24 hours, which allowed us to arrive in London in the morning, to visit the Museum of Natural History that so much joy gave our son, we still managed to walk a lot around the city and, we reserved one night at a hotel next to the airport, and the next day we headed to Iceland. It was a phenomenal day, instead of a boring Layover. Click here to see our one day itinerary in the city of London.

AIRPORT TOURS

If the number of hours is not too big and, of course, there is a fear of venturing into the city on their own and loose your next fly, it may be a cool opportunity: airports or private companies often offer Tours, some even for free, exiting from the airport. The advantages of these tours are that, as they do this daily, it is possible to be sure of the time it will take and when we will be back to the airport, so that we do not risk losing our plane.

Do your research online and this could be a good option to explore a little the city where you do your layover.

TURN ALL THE SITUATION INTO AN ADVENTURE

When we know that we are going to spend many hours at an airport, we rarely see it as good news, and our facial expressions as well as our comments often go along with those feelings. Now we are going to share a little "secret" of psychology, since we are both psychologists: when children are faced with new situations with their parents and are not sure how to evaluate them, they will turn to their parents to evaluate how they react.

This works, for example, with fear: when a child is faced with a situation that causes him / her some fear, discomfort, and is close to his parents, the child will look at them and when parents can transmit safety, they will be able to overcome this fear more easely. In the opposite whay, when parents transmit them also fear, they will increase this feeling in children, and it is more difficult to overcome such fears.

Although not exactly the same, there are many similarities in the whau of how parents face the situation of spending several hours at an airport. Those parent's expressions and verbalizations can play a key role in how children deal with this situations.

Although isn't a desirable situation, when faced with a positive spirit, it may be easier and even pleasurable. And this is what we should try to transmit to the child. Talking to her about what is going to happen is essential, talking about thee xploring that they are going to do, what they will look for, where they can eat and, doing it with a positive feeling will certainly help a lot in the way they will deal with these hours in the airport.

EXPLORE THE AIRPORT

As we mentioned, it is important to be able to meet the airport so we can talk and prepare the children for the hours we will be there. Of course it depends a lot on the airports that you will be staying but many of them have children's zones and are increasingly prepared to receive children and entertain them for hours. We've had fabulous experiences, from free movie theaters, wonderful playgrounds, playstations, tablets and internet available, butterfly's to visit, gyms, fabulous terraces to see planes flying and landing, scheduled activities for kids ...

Find out what is at the airport, and what captivates your children, so you do not waste time and be able to go straight to those activities.

The same in relation to what to eat, we are all happier when we have a full belly, especially with something we like. Find out what the offers and location of them at the airport and, at this time, nothing like a treat for children and let them choose what they want to eat.

PREPARE AND GO EQUIPPED

Any plane trip with children refers to the need for preparation and, as we said in our article Tips for traveling with kids, there is nothing like having the Fun Bag to travel with the child. Besides the Fun Bag being important for the flight, it can also be during the layover at the airport.

Some small games and easy to carry, drawing and painting materials, children's books... Although we are not the biggest fans, the new technologies can also be a good aid in these adventures. Try to bring some movies that kids like, some game ...

AND HOW ABOUT SOME REST?

Sometimes the tiredness is so great that there is nothing better than trying to rest a little. A free strategy is to look for the "Silence Zones", which exist in some airports and are suitable to lie down and rest a little. Something what can also be done is to look for a boarding area that is more isolated and not being used, that may be the ideal place to rest a little more.

A FEW HOURS ON A LOUNGE?

Spending a few hours in an airport lounge is a great way to enjoy those waiting hours. However, this is an activity that is usually expensive. There are a few tricks to lowering the price or, even being free, so it does not cost anything to try.

One of the tips we leave is to try to find out if your credit card does not entitle you to free entry into the airport lounge where you will be staying. This is one of the advantages of some credit card brands and it does not cost anything to do this research online before starting your trip.

For those who travel frequently, we advise you to explore LoungeBuddy, the Priority Pass and the Lounge Pass online, so you can discover good opportunities for yourself. Something you may also be able to find is through ebay, maybe you can buy a Lounge Pass from someone who will not use it and, by approaching the expiration date, decides to sell.

HOTEL

Regarding the idea of some rest, one last but more expensive suggestion could be to book a hotel room next to or even at the airport. For large layovers, this may be the best chance they can all rest, relax and prepare for the next stage of your adventure.

WI-FI

We live in the 21st century and the internet is part of our lives. Many airports have free WI-FI available, but not all. Something we consider very useful for those who spend a lot of time in airports around the world is WiFox app.

WiFox is a continuously updated map of passwords for airports and lounges around the world, which is available offline (when you download the appropriate Google Maps) so you do not need an Internet connection to use it. You can access more information about the application here.

To find out more about some of the applications we use most when traveling, here's our post we made after our trip to Tokyo, a wonderful destination for a family trip.

SECURITY ALWAYS

Although it is wonderful to travel with children and, in our opinion very recommendable, one must always be careful in airports. Because they are places with many people, full of movement and new to children, there is always a greater risk of being lost.

Zero risk is always impossible to achieve but we can always be super careful and help the child to know how to react in these situations.

Something we always like to give our child under these circumstances is an identifying bracelet, in which, in addition to the child's name, are the contacts of the parents. It is now possible to buy very attractive wristbands online, which children love and, it is always an extra security.

What we also bought recently was a GPS alarm that, when connected to the adult's cell phone, begins to signal in the case of the child goes a little further from us.

A fundamental thing to do is to explain to our children where we are going to be and how they should behave, namely to not to leave their parents without authorization, not to run wildly, not to talk to strangers and, in case of being lost, to contact always a police officer or an airport clerk, who will be able to contact their parents. Nowadays, it is even possible to do an online survey and show pictures of the local police to our children, to familiarize them with this presence and always offers safety to our children.

CONCLUSIONS

Although we have left some security advice to the end, we do not want you to get scared and stop traveling. Traveling as a family is a wonderful way to increase the bonds that unite a family, and is always an extraordinary way to stimulate learning and curiosity in our children, as well as being fun.

The long layovers at airports are not usually wanted and we also try hard to avoid them. However, this is not always possible, and instead of being miserable hours waiting for the next plane, with some care we can turn those moments into good experiences and memories.

We hope this article helps you plan your next family trip, be sure to give us your feedback, as well as other strategies that have helped you by using our comments box. Thanks for your visit to our Non Stop Family blog, we hope you continue to visit us.

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Its frequent for those who visit Lisbon to reserve a day to visit Sintra and, with all the reason of the world, they do this, as this is one of the most beautiful and romantic villages you can meet and is even considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. The palaces, statues, historic buildings, the streets full of mystery, will make adults and children feel in the middle of a fairy tale, and its a perfect day for a family trip.

Several tour operators offer the possibility of doing this activity from Lisbon but, being this village so close to Lisbon, about 30 km, it’s not necessary and the amount you would spend on this excursion may help you to pay for a delicious lunch in the Village and, of course, to eat a delicious dessert, which Non Stop Family has to recommend to be a Quejada de Sintra or a Travesseiro (Pillow), which you can buy in Pastelaria Piriquita, located right in the center of the village (see it here).

Sintra is a perfect an one day trip, but if you could, I would recommend that you spend at least one night in this villa, it will be worth it.

How to get there?

There are 3 main options to get there: by bus, train and car. However, the Bus option is the least recommendable, in addition to lead to bus changes, it passes through various cities, the travel time is the largest and we certainly not recommended, so we will leave aside that option.

From Lisbon to Sintra by Train

This is undoubtedly the best option for those who wish to travel from Lisbon to Sintra, whether for comfort, travel time and price, especially for a family trip because the costs of a tour are much higher.

The Lisbon-Sintra train line starts conveniently at the beautiful Rossio Train Station, which is right next to the Baixa (Downtown) of Lisbon, in the historical center of the city and is, by itself, a historic building to visit.

Even if your hotel or place of departure is not in downtown Lisbon, or even if you come from the airport and want to go directly to Sintra, Rossio Train Station is linked to the Rossio Metro Station on the Green line of the Lisbon Subway, so you can go by metro from your location to Rossio Station and then take the train that will take you to Sintra, the last station of the trip.

The journey takes between 30 to 40 minutes and although there is no possibility to buy tickets online, there is no danger of don’t get tickets, as they will always be available.

The price of travel in 2018 is € 2.25 for adults and for € 1.15 children, Sintra is considered to be in Zone 4 when you buy the ticket. You can check more information about the updated ticket prices here.

To purchase it, you must buy the Viva Viagem card (more information here), which costs € 0.50, is reusable, has a validity of one year and gives access to several public transport operators in the metropolitan area of Lisbon.

The card allows you to load a single type of ticket at a time, that is, after buying the card, you must at each station purchase the ticket for the route you want before you board the train (in this case, Lisbon to Sintra, Zone 4), and in the return do the same.

Do not forget to validate the ticket before entering the train in the machines before the entrance to the trains, are easily visible and, save your ticket until the end of the trip.

There is also the possibility of purchasing the “Traveling all Lisboa “ticket. This is a great possibility for those who want to walk around Lisbon and see Sintra and Cascais. For €10.40 (2018 price, for more detailed information, see here) you can buy with your Viva Viagem.

And the ticket “Traveling all Lisbon”, besides allowing you to travel by all the trains, buses and metros of Lisbon, still allows you to use the train to Sintra and Cascais, being able to go out and return whenever you want, wherever you want. There is also the advantage of being able to use the lifts in Lisbon, which is an added advantage to, among others, climb the Santa Justa elevator (see more information here).

Schedules

The Sintra line is widely used by Lisbon as a daily means of transportation to reach the city center, so there's a big frequency of trains, making it difficult to wait more than 15 minutes for the next train. The first train leaving from Rossio towards Sintra takes place close to 5:00 and the last one leaving Sintra back to Lisbon leaves at around 00:20. However, we recommend that if you want to leave early or return late, check the correct schedule here.

Like the Rossio station, Sintra Train Station is also close to the historic center and less than a 10-minute walk will make you feel at the center of a fairy tale.

Tourist bus 434

After getting to know the Historic Center of the City, you will probably want to get to know the Moorish Castle, as well as the Park and the Pena Palace. Although it is possible to walk to these tourist attractions, it is a long and steep walk and we advise you to do it through the tourist bus 434, which leaves next to the railway station, passes through the center of the village of Sintra, then follows to the Castle of the Moors, passing by the Pena Park and finally by the Pena Palace, before returning to the Sintra Railway Station.

The price in 2018 is €5 for the tourist circuit, which can be purchased on board the bus with your Viva Viagem card. In summer there is more Bus offer than in winter, but to check the updated timetables and prices see here.

This is undoubtedly the best option to know the beauty of Sintra for those who only have one day in the Village.

Car trip from Lisbon to Sintra

In addition to the bus and the train, we mentioned as a third hypothesis, the car trip to Sintra. This route takes you through one of the country's busiest roads, the IC19, in a journey of about 30 km, with at least the same duration as the train journey and, on bad days, much longer.

There's the additional problem that the historic center of Sintra is not the easiest place to park. If you go by car, it's better to park far from the center and do the rest of the journey on foot. For a consultation of the offer at the parking level in Sintra, check here.

We hope this information helps you to plan your travel, a perfect destination for a family trip. We are waiting for your comments and suggestions. Discover here the best itinerary for one day in the perfect village of Sintra.

We hope that our article will help you plan your trip to Portugal and if you still do not have a place to stay, we always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and it's with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals in your destiny by clicking here, it will not cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.

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If you wanna discover more information about family activities in the Lisbon area, click here to check our post. We would also like to invite you to leave your opinion and questions and, in case you have already visited Machu Picchu, let us know what is your opinion and experience using our comments box. Thanks for your visit to our Non Stop Family Travel Blog, come back often and, if you liked our article, don’t forget to share it with your friends.

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The city of Porto, strategically located on the banks of the Douro, is anything but the "second city" of Portugal. Once overshadowed by the fame of Lisbon and the beaches of the Algarve, recently the city of Porto began to win the attention of tourists and international press, having already received several international tourism awards.

Famous for the production of Port Wine, the historical center, the fantastic architecture characteristic of the city, the Douro River and the stunning landscapes of its banks, the nightlife, Serralves and Casa da Música and also for its strong gastronomy (do not forget to try the famous francesinha), this is a city that has much to offer, so that more and more visitors discover the charm of its streets.

This is also a perfect city for a family trip with your kids, so we wanted to go beyond the most famous tourist attractions for childrens and, leave the Non Stop Family opinion on what's best to do with children in the city. And, believe me, this town is not just for adults, it's fantastic to visit with your family.

We wood love to give the Non Stop Family opinion of what to do in a family trip, when traveling with childrens. Enjoy your trip.

1. Lello & Brother Bookstore: Are your kids fans of the Harry Potter saga? So, Porto is your city. Something that you may not know is that part of the universe of the first book of Harry Potter saga, namely Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was created in the city of Porto, where Joanne Rowling lived for almost 2 years, and in which she walked with the manuscript of the book under her arms.

Several places in the city are connected to the world of Harry Potter, but probably the most mythical is the famous neo-Gothic Lello Bookstore, probably one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, founded in 1906 by the Lello brothers. Who does not remember the Hogwarts stairs, which takes the students from the castle to places they do not want to go to? The stairs of this bookstore served as inspiration for the book and, when entering the bookstore, you will not fail to feel in the world of Harry Potter.

The entrance used to be free but, at the moment it is necessary to buy a voucher (€ 4) that can be reimbursed in the purchase of books. For more information about prices, location and timetables check their website.

2. Crystal Palace Gardens: The gardens of the Crystal Palace occupy an area of 8 hectares in the center of the city, and are the lung of the city from the Séx. XIX.

With free entry and easy to go with yourstroller, enjoy the abundance of flowers that decorate the space, and let your child be marvel at the ducks and peacocks that inhabit the park.

More information about the location and timetables can be found here.

3- World of Discoveries: This new space in the center of the city, just infront of the Customs Building on Miragaia Street is a mix between theme park and an interactive museum, which shows that a visit to a museum can be exciting.

With a duration of about one and a half hours and suitable visits to differentlanguages, this is an adventure that will transport your children throughouthistory, especially for the time of the Discoveries, one of the most important in the history of Portugal.

We also highlight the boat trip in which they willgo through representations of the different countries and continents for whichthe Portuguese left their mark at the time of the discoveries.

More information on prices,location and timetables here.

The museum has the possibility to purchase a Skip-line-ticket, with more attractive prices, for that explore here.

4- Mini Golf in Jardim do Passeio Alegre: Next to the mouth of the Douro River is the garden "Jardim do Passeio Alegre", founded in the 19th century and is the ideal place for a relaxed stroll at the end of the day, strolling through the gardens and seeing its fountains, all in a good state of conservation, while enjoying a privileged view of the Douro River as it meets the Atlantic Ocean.

This is a garden further away from the city center but a must see, and even the electric journey to get there is a tour not to be missed, as you may read further on.

To play mini golf you will have to go to "Clube de Minigolfe do Porto", located in the center of the park and rent the respective equipment. The price is € 1.5 for childrens under 13 and € 2.5 for adults. For more information on up-to-date schedules and prices see the website here.

5- Tram 1: This tour on the old tram along the banks of the Douro River is another activity that cannot be missed. A tram trip through the historic city of Porto is fantastic and, what better route to take than to go from the City Center until the mouth of Douro River? Add this activity to the visit to Jardim do Passeio Alegre.

More information about the itinerary here and prices here.

7- Parque da Cidade: The City Park is the largest park in Portugal, with about 83 hectares and up to 10 km of paths. This is the area of the city where the locals come together to play sports, be with friends, feed the animals and have direct access to the beach, which makes it even more appealing.

It is possible to have a light meal in the Soundwich, to the sound of good music and in a tempting esplanade.

8- Pavilhão da Água: This space is inside the City Park and is one of the most visited places by families in Porto. As it is easily understood by its name, it was created with the intention of alerting to the importance of water and the care that we must have in our daily life, all of this in a very playful and interactive way, being possible to carry out a set of experiences that allow children to combine fun and learning.

It is open every day except Sunday. For more information about timetables and prices, check its website here.

9- Sea Life Porto: How about taking a trip inside the ocean? This is possible in the Sea Life Porto, also located next to the City Park. It was here that the first underwater tunnel of Portugal was installed, which will allow you to cross through 500 thousand liters of water and see the aquatic world from a perspective never before seen. In addition to this experience, there is also a vast collection of marine animals to explore and get to know, and even catch sea urchins or feed Mariza, the resident green turtle.

More information about prices and times here.

10- Rent a bike and stroll along the mouth of the River Douro: It is not very easy to cycle through the historic streets of the city, but next to the Douro River everything changes. With several cycle paths and a more flat route, this is the ideal place to rent bicycles and take this route, which can take you from the city center to the beaches of Matosinhos by the river banks.

If you do not wish to take a bicycle, this is also an ideal route for family walks. There are already several possibilities to rent bicycles in the city in Porto, but we leave here a contact to be able to analyze and compare prices. See the site here.

11- How about a Surf lesson? Since we are talking about the beaches of Matosinhos, how about a surf lesson? The sea of Matosinhos can be very difficult to go to the baths, either by the waves or by the temperature of the water, but is often ideal for a Surfing experience. Even if you are already an experienced surfer or a beginner that wants to take a first class, there is already a wide range of surf schools prepared to help you, so if your child is old enough, this is definitely an experience that will excite him.

We leave some contacts here, but the variety of offer is great, so we advise you to explore and compare prices but, it is undoubtedly an activity to perform: Link Link

12- Boat Riding on the River Douro: Porto is inseparable from its River and, a trade mark of the Douro River is the Barco Rabelo. This vessel, typical of the Douro river, was used to transport the Porto Wine barrels from "Alto Douro", where the vineyards were located, to Vila Nova de Gaia, where it was later marketed and shipped worldwide.

Enjoy your trip to Porto to make a family-friendly 50-minute cruise on one of the traditional Rabelo boats crossing the 6 bridges of the Douro River that connect the banks of the River. See more information on prices, times and tickets online here.

13- Helitours Porto & Douro: Finally we leave a suggestion that may not be for all family budgets, but, why not a helicopter trip through the skies of Porto? Your kids will love it. If you want to experience this adventure, see more information here.

Gastronomic suggestions

For last, we leave two gastronomic (we could leave so many!) suggestions. The first is that you cannot miss the famous francesinha, a kind of unforgettable sandwich for those who visit Porto. You can see here Anthony Bourdain experience:

It's a little spicy but, several restaurants already have the hypothesis without spice, which will do the delights of your children.

The second suggestion werecommend is a visit to Macdonad's: It's a strange suggestion but, this is not a "normal" Macdonad's restaurant at all, we are probably talking about the world's most beautiful Macdonald's restaurant, which is in Porto, in a restored 1930s historic building.

You can see it here on this youtube video:

Address: Avenida dos Aliados, 4000-065 Porto

We hope you enjoy your family trip to Porto, do not forget to leave your comment and share our Non Stop Family blog.

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