Tag: rental car

  • Costa Rica Rental Car Insurance and Vamos Review

    Costa Rica Rental Car Insurance and Vamos Review

    Last year, my family traveled to Costa Rica for spring break. We scored some awesomely inexpensive tickets from DC to Liberia, but I was completely stumped when trying to figure out an affordable rental car. Rental car prices for our one week stay varied from extremely cheap ($80) to cost prohibitive ($900+) and the insurance requirements were indecipherable. Even more troubling were the numerous reviews from unsuspecting vacationers who booked a seemingly affordable rental car, only to be hit with excessive fees upon arrival. After a few hours of research, I was able to figure out a way to ins and outs of Costa Rica rental car insurance and after reaching out directly to a number of rental car agencies, decided to book with Vamos. Here’s what I learned about Costa Rica rental car insurance and my review of our experience with Vamos.

    Costa Rica Rental Car Insurance:

    Rental car insurance is a government monopoly in Costa Rica and thus, every rental must have liability insurance from the INS (Instituto Nacional de Seguros). The mandatory insurance costs anywhere from $10-$20/day, depending on the vehicle you rent and provides only minimal coverage (it does not cover your rental car at all, only damage to other people, their cars, or property). Thus, if you want coverage for any damages to your rental car, you must purchase supplemental collision ($15-40/day, depending on rental car company and vehicle) or, if you have it, rely on your credit card’s rental car coverage.

    My husband and I both carry the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, which offers primary collision as an included benefit. Primary insurance means that the Chase’s rental car insurance benefit kicks in before our regular car insurance and, for those who might not have a vehicle and thus, do not carry car insurance, the Chase benefit serves as your insurance policy when renting a car on travel. Prior to travel, I called the phone number on the back of my Chase Sapphire Reserve card and inquired about the rental car benefit. I was transferred to Card Benefit Services and, upon confirming my personal details, was emailed a letter verifying my CSR insurance benefit and the terms of coverage. A redacted copy of the letter can be found here.

    Choosing Vamos Rent-A-Car:

    When researching Costa Rica rental car options, Priceline.com and various independent car rental websites were willing to rent me a car for the entire week for as little as $100, without any insurance. Reading numerous online reviews, however, I feared that we would suffer the same experience as many: showing up and being held hostage at the rental car line and being told we needed to add on hundreds of extra dollars of coverage to our car.  Of all the car rental companies I researched, Vamos Rent-A-Car was the only one that allowed me to: (1) select the mandatory liability insurance and (2) waive the collision insurance during our reservation. As an added bonus, Vamos also included one free child car seat rental and a free cooler. Although the quoted price was just over $300 and thus $200 over the least expensive option I could find online, I valued Vamos’ transparent booking process (and the numerous positive online reviews didn’t hurt either). Moreover, after reserving our vehicle, I emailed Vamos to confirm that our credit card collision coverage would be sufficient. I attached a copy of the letter from Chase’s Card Benefit Services and within hours, received a reply that it was fine and would be accepted. My husband reports that he had no issues when picking up the vehicle and that the final estimated price was the quoted price online.

    Why book a rental car?

    I’m sure you’re asking — why book a rental car? The honest truth is that we are not resort people. My husband and I (and our kids) get antsy if we are in one place for an extended period of time and, traveling with young kids means that we have very little desire to be stuck on hotel shuttles and guided tours.

    Moreover, although our resort offered shuttle services to and from the airport and to other nearby locations, utilizing the cheapest transport option of a private shuttle for our family of four to travel from the airport to the hotel would have cost $280 round trip. Thus, the cost of the rental car was essentially the same as taking a shuttle to/from the airport… but we would also have a rental car available for us to use for the duration of our stay.  Note: it ended up costing us $338 to rent the car for the duration of our trip.

    Car Seats in Costa Rica:

    It may come as a surprise to many, but car seat laws in Costa Rica are significantly more stringent than laws in the United States. Indeed, all children under 12 must be secured in an appropriate car seat when traveling by car in Costa Rica.  Vamos graciously offers one car seat or booster free of charge for the duration of your rental, which was one of the immediate benefits to renting from Vamos as both our kids would require car seats.  I’m a bit of a car seat junkie and almost always insist on bringing our own car seat on trips. For this trip, my intent was to utilize the IMMI GO Child Car Harness. Unfortunately, when my husband arrived at Vamos, he learned quickly that the IMMI GO’s LATCH attachments would not work with our Costa Rican rental car. This being our first international rental car experience with a car seat that wasn’t just a simple booster, we had neglected to consider that international cars may have different attachments. Luckily, Vamos was great and provided us with a rental car seat for my not quite four year old. Although Vamos’ original quote included only one free rental car seat and I had selected a booster seat for my nine year old as our “free seat,” the attendant noticed that my husband was unable to get the IMMI GO to install properly in our rental vehicle and supplied us with a convertible car seat at no extra charge. The convertible car seat was in excellent and clean condition and I was immensely grateful.  Had I been aware of the issue, I would have likely packed the RideSafer Travel Vest, or just brought a booster for my older kid and used the free car seat option on a convertible car seat, which is more cumbersome to travel with.

    Snug as a bug in his Vamos car seat.

    Getting Gas in Costa Rica:

    Our rental car came with a full tank of gas and we only ended up having to fill up once, immediately prior to returning the vehicle. I’m no expert in getting gas in Costa Rica, but our experience was that all of the gas stations are full service – meaning you cannot pump your own gas. While getting gas, we were approached by an individual offering to clean our windshield. I have on idea whether that was a complimentary service, but we declined by waving the individual away. We were able to pay our bill via credit card and I was thankful that we had change from our trip to Rincon, so I could tip the individual who pumped our gas.

  • Icelandic Weekend Getaway With Kids: Getting to Iceland and the First 18 hours

    Icelandic Weekend Getaway With Kids: Getting to Iceland and the First 18 hours

    When I decided to take a trip to Iceland with kids, I never imagined that the opportunity would present itself for my older son and I to take a solo mommy-son trip. We were super excited for our trip to Iceland as it was really a stolen weekend of sorts. My 3.5 year old was spending the week with his grandparents and this really gave me and my eight year old an opportunity to bond and enjoy each other’s company.

    Our Wow Airlines Flight from Baltimore to Keflavik:

    The night before our departure, I eagerly logged on at exactly 23 hours and 59 minutes to check in for our flight. I was prompted to enter our passport information and within seconds, confirmed that we were checked in and seated next to one another. Wow did not give us the option of changing seats or even seeing the seat map to ascertain how full the flight was. But, I was pleased to have been seated next to my son (in a window and aisle seat – our preferred and default seating arrangement when traveling just the two of us).

    The drive from our home in Alexandria, VA to Baltimore Airport took nearly 90 minutes, so I was very glad to have left with plenty of time to accommodate the heavy traffic. Upon entering the airport, we quickly dropped off our one checked bag and made our way over to The Club BWI, which I was able to enter for free using the Priority Pass membership that comes with my Chase Sapphire Reserve Card.

    Although The Club was very full, we were able to secure two adjacent seats and I was more than willing to take advantage of the complimentary beverages, including not one, but two manhattans (it was a long drive up there after all)! After about 30 minutes at The Club, we made our way over to the boarding gate, noting, along the way, a few extremely family friendly features about the Baltimore airport: playground and nursing pods, like the ones they had at Kidspace in Pasadena.

    The kids’ playspace at BWI

    Once on board, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was ample leg room and available charging ports. A lot of people complain about the fact that Wow doesn’t provide free beverages but I just picked up a bottle of water at a shop on my way to the gate. I also planned to purchase a meal for my son as it was essentially our dinner time, and the $15.99 WOW Deal was perfect.

    I appreciated that for $15.99 my son could get a pizza, drink, and a candy bar (which we shared) and to my surprise, the flight attendants did not heat up the pizza until after we ordered, so it was basically as fresh as it could be given that we were up in the air.

    The only negative thing I can think of to say about Wow is that the boarding and deplaning process was extremely slow. I’m not sure what the issue was, but on both legs of our flights, there was a lot of waiting on the boarding bridge and then a lot of sitting after the plane doors opened before we could get off the flight. Nevertheless, given that I went into the Wow experience with bated breath, I was pleasantly surprised by just how enjoyable the experience was. In fact, the standard seat we were assigned seemed just as roomy if not roomier than some of the most recently revamped American and United flights I’ve been on.

    Our arrival at Keflavik Airport and Viking World:

    Everyone gushes about how amazingly beautiful Iceland is, but I certainly did not expect to be greeted with an arrival rainbow.

    Our arrival rainbow at KEF

    The customs experience and baggage retrieval was standard and within an hour of our arrival, we found ourselves in a shuttle on our way to the rental car. Picking up the rental car was a seamless process. They quickly found our reservation and went over the terms of the agreement with me. I was moderately perturbed by the excessive bolded warnings that damage from wind, hail, and gravel was not included in the provided insurance as… well, Iceland is the land of wind, hail, and gravel. I was also surprised when the rental agent recommended that I take photos documenting the car prior to leaving the agency and then again on my return back. I had read before that Iceland takes its rental cars very seriously and this was clearly the case.

    I really enjoyed driving an X1 around, despite the heartburn over every possible flying rock that might hit the car and cause me to incur additional liability.
    My rental came with a broken rear view mirror, which I documented heavily prior to departure.

    Once I had taken about 100 photos of the rental car, we made the 10-15 minute drive over to Viking World, which has an exact replica of a famous Viking ship as well a Viking millennium exhibition produced by the Smithsonian Institute called Vikings: the North Atlantic Saga. Importantly, Viking World also opens at 7am and has a cafe. Having not slept, at all, on the red eye flight, I desperately needed something other than a 2.5 hour drive down to Reynisfjara to wake up a bit.

    Knowing that I needed something to eat, I signed my son and I up for the Breakfast Buffet, which includes museum admission. For a total of ~$32USD, we spent the next hour snacking and wandering around the museum.

    The breakfast buffet that I was thrilled to nibble from.

    My son’s favorite part of the museum was, as expected, the replica ship that we could actually walk on to and explore.

    On board the Icelander.

    Personally, I loved the Settlement of Iceland exhibit, which deals with archaeological findings from the Suðurnes/Reykjanes region, including remains from the oldest occupation on Reykjanes peninsula from the ninth century.

    icelandic burial at sea?

    After spending about an hour indoors, we went to check out the traditional Icelandic settlement located just outside the museum’s doors. Unfortunately, it was so bitter cold that we really could not stand to spend much time outside. I’ll also note that there did not seem to be much by way of explanatory information, so we were clueless as to what we were looking at.

    The outdoor viking settlement.

    Our drive from Keflavik to Reynisfjara:

    After nearly freezing our tails off exploring the outdoor settlement, we piled back into the car and began the journey down to Reynisfjara. I knew that it would be a long drive with multiple stops along the way, but I was not really prepared to find that most of the attractions were on the second portion of the drive. In other words, although the scenery was beautiful, it was a long hour to 1.5 hours before we hit the first item on our list: Seljalandsfoss Waterfall.

    My son quickly fell asleep in the backseat of the car and I had to pull over a full times and step outside just to wake myself up and get some air. Luckily the scenery was so gorgeous that I didn’t mind the detours and stops.

    Taken on one of my many “fresh air” stops.

    By the time we reached Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, I was tired enough that I knew we weren’t going to be able to get out and explore every item on our original list of things to do. I parked and took a quick peek at the waterfall and was happy enough that my son stirred enough to go “oooooo…waterfall!” In other words, despite Seljalandsfoss being one of the waterfalls that you can walk behind, we did not actually walk to the falls. We just enjoyed it from the parking area and were happy to continue on our journey.

    Despite the novelty of walking behind a waterfall, I also really did not want to get wet, so opted to just enjoy the waterfall from the parking area.

    The next stop on my list, Eyjafjnallajokull, the site of a major 2010 volcanic eruption that required the evacuation of 800 people living in the town immediately below the volcano. Although there used to be a Visitor’s Center, which featured artifacts and a 20 minute video of the eruption, the Visitor’s Center is now closed, with no signs of reopening. We were only able to enjoy the information signs located outside the Visitor’s Center, which is located across the road from Eyjafjnallajokull.

    View of Eyjafjnallajokull from the now shuttered Visitor’s Center.

    View of the area surrounding Eyjafjnallajokull.

    From Eyjafjnallajokull, my next intended stop was Gljufrabui Waterfall, which is partially hidden by a large rock wall. With my son happily snoring in the backseat, I had no desire to wake him up and go searching for a waterfall (which I was previously told required wellies to discover). I simply continued on driving to Skogafoss waterfall where we again admired the waterfall from a distance. My original intention was to walk the path leading to each and every waterfall (after all, when in Iceland…), but I don’t regret that we did not. We were literally so tired that my goal was just simply to get to our cottage in Reynisfjara in one piece.

    View of land around Skogafoss.

    As you can see, the country is so beautiful that simply being there and taking in the entire surroundings was plenty. From Skogafoss, I stopped quickly at Solheimasandur Beach to take a look at the walk and signs, knowing that the walk to the US navy plane wreckage would have to take place on our return journey, if at all.

    After Solheimasandur, I decided that it was really time to get to Reynisfjara. Although it was only 1pm, that was a good 8 hours after our arrival at Keflavik airport after not having slept at all on the plane. Although the drive from Reykjavik to Vik is billed as 2.5 hours, the numerous stops and detours we had taken quickly added to the driving time and thus the late hour. Our cottage check in was not until 4pm, however, so my son and I spent a few minutes on Reynisfjara after locating our cottage, which was located just above the beach. In fact, I was thrilled to see that our cottage was one of three cottages that are the closest accommodations you could secure to Reynisfjara beach and would highly recommend it to anyone looking.

    Our two nights at Reynisfjara were spent at the middle cottage.
    basalt columns at Reynisfjara

    At the beach, I noted the existence of Black Beach Restaurant and filed it away as a possibility for the next night, our second night at the cottage.

    Black Beach Restaurant, located within walking distance from our rental cottage and literally on the beach.

    Given that we had some time to kill before we could check in, we ventured into Vik for lunch and some groceries.

    Our cottage was only a short 15-20 minutes drive to Vik and just prior to entering the village, I spotted a sign indicating the existence of a brewpub, Smiojan Brugghus. A burger, fries, and a beer was just what the doctor ordered.

    The service was great, with the servers offering me samples of their various brews before having me commit to one. My son devoured his burger and I relished very bite of mine. I ordered the combo meal, which included burger, fries, and a non-alcoholic drink and my son had the kid’s burger which came with fries. In addition, I ordered a beer (giving my soft drink to my son) and the total for our meal was approximately $45 USD. A tad steep for two burgers, fries, and a beer, but the quality was good.

    After lunch, we stopped at the grocery store, Kronan, where we picked up a few essentials: milk, salami, crackers, and yogurt, before returning to Reynisfjara where we were luckily able to check in about 90 minutes prior to the stated 4pm check in. The cabin was small, but included everything we needed: a small kitchen, microwave, private bath, and wifi! My son was pretty energetic, having slept most of the journey down to Reynisfjara, but I really needed a nap, so I set him up on his iPad and took a very glorious 2 hour nap.

    Upon waking up, we briefly contemplated what we wanted to do for the rest of the afternoon/evening, before deciding that we really just wanted to enjoy the quiet. Having had a large, late lunch, we decided to just snack on salami and crackers (luckily, I had a bottle of wine I picked up from the duty free shop on our way out of the airport).

    Photo taken at 11pm at night – it never got dark!

    Our evening at the cottage was peaceful and just what we needed. From our front window, we could gaze out at Reynisfjara beach and eventually, we noticed that sheep were wandering over and all around. That night, we slept with one window open and could hear the crashing waves and the sheep baa-ing well into the night.

    Although there was a lot that I had hoped to accomplish on our first day but did not actually accomplish, I was so thankful to get us down to our cottage in one piece. Everything had worked out smoothly, I simply decided to just make up what we missed on Day Three, during our drive back up to Reykjavik. Fortunately, my son is pretty easy going and was perfectly content to be along for the ride. The fast wifi was definitely a bonus and he had no trouble hanging out and relaxing in the cottage with me.

    Planning your own trip to Iceland with kids?  Continue reading about our Icelandic Weekend Getaway With Kids: Our Rainy Day Journey to Jökulsárlón, and be sure to check out our listing of all Iceland posts or join our Facebook group We Go To Iceland With Kids, a forum to ask questions and share ideas about family travel to Iceland.

  • Icelandic Weekend Getaway With Kids: Logistics and Itinerary

    Icelandic Weekend Getaway With Kids: Logistics and Itinerary

    The inspiration for We Go With Kids came last summer, as Catherine and I were busy sharing notes following our respective vacations to Iceland and South Africa. For years, I’ve been intrigued about traveling to Iceland, which numerous friends and family have recommended as an ideal honeymoon or baby moon location from the East Coast. My husband and I never quite made it to Iceland, however, largely due to lack of time and availability of fight options. In 2012, Wow Air, an Icelandic low cost air carrier, began offering incredibly affordable direct flights from Baltimore International Airport to Keflavik. As a serious miles and points junkie, however, I never seriously considered flying Wow Air until after reading about Catherine’s experience. Prior to reading about Catherine’s experiences, I truly did not consider Iceland with kids to be a viable option.

    On a whim, last November, I happened to check for flights to/from Baltimore to Keflavik and found round trip flights over Memorial Day weekend for $225/person. Within a matter of hours, I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to jet off for a long weekend with my oldest son, who would be just two weeks shy of his ninth birthday on our trip.

    View of Reykjavik from Hallgrimskirkja

    Booking Flights:

    In November 2017, I booked two round trip tickets on Wow Air from Baltimore to Keflavik for $567.06. The total includes the $99.98 fee for checking a bag to/from, but otherwise, I did not pay for any other up charges or services, including advance seat selections or carry on baggage. The flight was scheduled to depart on Thursday night, arriving at Keflavik at 5am on Friday and departing Keflavik on Monday at 9pm.

    Booking Accommodations:

    With four full days and three nights to fill, I consulted with Catherine who strongly suggested I make it over to Jökulsárlón Lake. Luckily for me, I was able to take advantage of her Iceland With Kids: Suggested Itineraries post before deciding that we would spend two nights in Vik and one night in Reykjavik. At Catherine’s prodding, I also began looking into accommodations in Vik and Reykjavik around Thanksgiving of last year, which seemed extremely early to me, until I remembered that Catherine’s family experienced difficulty securing accommodations despite beginning their search five months prior to their trip.

    Our rental cabin, taken from Reynisfjara beach

    After a few hours of poking around online for options, I discovered that Catherine was quite correct and that numerous guest houses were showing up as rented through early May and up to mid-May. Spurred into action, I decided to book two nights at a cottage on Reynisfjara Beach and one night at a guest house in Reykjavik. Having previously had only a less than stellar experience with an Airbnb rental, I had originally hoped to stay at a hotel. But, there aren’t very many hotels and certainly none that were affordable. A basic Hilton in downtown Reykjavik was asking $300/night, whereas our one night stay at Nina’s Guesthouse was a much more affordable $185. Our two night stay at the cottage on Reynisfjara beach $515.99.  Since both the cottage and our room at the guest house included a private bath and free parking, I decided they were our best bet and went ahead despite my initial misgivings.

    Booking Rental Car:

    I knew I wanted to rent a car to get around Iceland, instead of relying on tours or groups. After searching around online, I decided I wanted to rent from a local Icelandic rental car company (versus a national chain) and I ended up on the Holiday Autos website, which provided me with quotes for various local Icelandic rental car companies. I secured a vehicle from Route 1.IS via Holiday Autos. The rental for the four days, three nights cost $359.36, and provided for an automatic transmission, four wheel drive vehicle, which included taxes, airport fee, breakdown assistance, collusion damage waiver, personal accident insurance, third party liability protection, and unlimited mileage. Although there were certainly cheaper options, knowing that I would be traveling solo with my eight year old, I really did not want to have to worry about anything beyond ensuring that we were safe, so this seemed to offer the most security and peace of mind. Unlike most rental car reservations, however, Holiday Autos charged us at the time of booking (November 2017), but the cancellation policy provided for a full refund if the reservation was cancelled 24 hours prior to pick up.

    Scheduled Itinerary:

    Having booked our flights, accommodations, and rental car, I mapped out the following itinerary:

    Day One:

    • 5am arrival at Keflavik Airport
    • Viking World, located just 15 minutes from the airport and opening at 7am
    • Driving to Reynisfjara Beach, visiting Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Eyjafjallajokull, Skogafoss, Solheimasandur Beach, Solheimajokull, Dyrhalaey rocky outcrop, and Reynisfjara sand beach along the way.
    • Staying at Reynisfjara cottage

    Day Two:

    • Making the 2.5 hour drive to Jökulsárlón for the glacial lagoon amphibious boat ride, visiting Eldhraun Lavafield, Fjaðrárgljúfur, and Vatnajökull along the way
    • Returning to Reynisfjara beach cottage for the night

    Day Three:

    • Driving back to Reykjavik and staying at the guest house

    Day Four: 

    Although I had a long list of things I wanted to and hoped to see on the drive to/from Reynisfjara, I purposely did not over schedule our third day with activities, knowing it was extremely likely that we would not actually be able to see everything we hoped to on our first day. This ended up working out great, because after our red-eye flight, my son slept most of the way from Reykjavik to Reynisfjara on our first day, so we ended up using the third day to make up for what we missed on Day One.

    Planning your own trip to Iceland with kids?  Continue reading about our Icelandic Weekend Getaway With Kids: Getting to Iceland and the First 18 hours, and be sure to check out our listing of all Iceland posts or join our Facebook group We Go To Iceland With Kids, a forum to ask questions and share ideas about family travel to Iceland.

  • Visiting Malaysia With Kids:  A Sabah Family Blog

    Visiting Malaysia With Kids: A Sabah Family Blog

    Guest Blogger: Melanie, her husband, and two kids are traveling the world from South Africa to Vietnam. Together, they’ve visited eight countries, with many more planned. Accompany them on their adventure on Instragram and YouTube.

    Sabah is a Malaysian state, located in the northern portion of Borneo Island. Sabah shares a land border with the Malaysian state of Sarawak as well as Indonesia’s Kalimantan and shares maritime borders with Vietnam and the Philippines. Sabah’s earliest human settlement can be traced back 20,000-30,000 years, and its trading relationship with China dates to the 14th century. Because of its location, Sabah is notably diverse in both ethnicity, culture, and language.  We recommend a Sabah family trip to anyone visiting Malaysia with kids.

    photo credit

    My family and I already planned to be in Malaysia, so we decided that no trip to Malaysia would be complete without spending at least a few days in Sabah. Intra-Asia flights are relatively inexpensive, thus making travel so much more affordable. We flew from Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, into Kuching where we relied almost entirely on public transit and the ride hailing service Grab (a car service similar to Uber) to get around. Although the rules vary depending on which passport you hold, we were granted 90-days visa-free entry to Malaysia, which was also valid for traveling to Borneo, the island on which Sabah is located.

    With limited time and a limited budget, we narrowed our trip down to four primary destinations to add to any Sabah family trip itinerary.

    #1: Kota Kinabalu

    Picture from Kota Kinabalu family trip blog

    Kota Kinabalu is the capital of Sabah and where we chose to start our journey. Known by locals as “KK,” we loved walking from the marlin statute to the KK Central Market, which is located on the busy waterfront. The Central Market is lined with displays of the most amazing fresh seafood, which can be prepared at the onsite restaurant. My family and I were able to do this, and we highly recommend it.

    The marlin statute that marks the entrance to KK Central Market.
    KK Central Market

    The Central Market graduates into a Handicraft Market, formerly known as the Filipino Market. The Filipino Market is extremely busy and full of activity, but can be claustrophobic when extremely busy. Overall, this was a wonderful stop for us and we loved experiencing the true culture.

    The KK waterfront

    The KK Waterfront itself has a variety of upmarket restaurants to pick and choose from. Although not as local an experience as the Central Market, we enjoyed the lovely view from the waterfront with a sundowner.

    If you are in KK on Sunday, the Gaya Street Sunday Market is not to be missed. The market closes early (13h00), so go early for the best selection of cheap buys and good food.

    Gaya Street Market

    KK BUDGET ACCOMMODATIONS:

    Hotel Tourist – great location, close to Gaya Street and within walking distance to the waterfront.

    Switz Paradise Hotel – set in an old shopping mall, but clean and close to the waterfront.

    We stayed at both the Hotel Tourist and the Switz Paradise Hotels. The rooms are very basic, but clean and comfortable and located in the town center (thus minimizing the need for walking and car sharing services). Our entire family shared only one room, but since we were out and about most of the time, we only needed a comfortable and clean place to sleep. I was happy to be able to book our reservations in advance online.

    #2: Mount Kinabalu

    Mount Kinabalu is a world heritage site and the highest mountain in Malaysia with a height of 4,095 meters! We made the trip to see Mount Kinabalu by renting a car and driving about one hour from Kota Kinabalu. If you are able to spend the night, wake up EARLY to see the mountain in all her glory as the mist sets in around 10am, thus obscuring the view. The weather gets chilly at night, so pack jackets. Although a hike up the mountain is challenging and NOT suitable for kids, we were able to take advantage of the surrounding jungle around the base of the mountain, and took a morning hike on one of several trails. If you are not comfortable renting a car, there is a tour bus that will take you on a day excursion.

    MOUNT KINABALU BUDGET ACCOMMODATION:

    Crystal Hill: We were able to book a room with a balcony and the most amazing view of Mount Kinabalu. Our reservations were booked online in advance of our arrival and the hotel provided free WiFi and also had a serviceable restaurant. It was approximately 15 minutes driving time away from the entrance of Mount Kinabalu and the main hiking trails.

     

    #3: Kokol Hill

    From Mount Kinabalu, we did a road trip to Kokol Hill, a city set on a hilltop with the most amazing views of Kota Kinabalu and Mount Kinabalu. Kokol Hill was approximately 2.5 hours away from Mount Kinabalu by car, but it is a beautiful place to stop and enjoy the view.

    KOKOL BUDGET ACCOMMODATION:

    Our balcony at Kokol Haven Resort

    Kokol Haven Resort – We spent one night at the Kokol Haven Resort, which is set on a hilltop with the most spectacular views.  They have the best pizza that we have had in the whole of Malaysia and a lovely restaurant overlooking Kota Kinabalu on one side and mountains on the other side. The hotel was very secluded, with no other shops or attractions nearby.

    #4: Kinabatangan River

    The Kinabatangan River is Malaysia’s longest river. There are cabins nestled in the woods amongst pygmy elephants, orangatuns, and proboscis monkeys. There are a number of attractions available – guided night walk in the forest, overnight camping in the forest with the sounds of the jungle. You can also take a river cruise during the day and see the proboscis monkeys fall from branch to branch as well as the airborne flying lizards. This is definitely a place for nature lovers and adventurers but be forewarned: no hot showers! Our kids absolutely loved the rainforest, which was very kid friendly and save – we encountered no snakes! We used the public bus system to get to Kinabatangan from Kota Kinabalu and the trip took about 7 hours. We were able to book our bus tickets online, but hotels are also very helpful in assisting with bus schedules and bookings, so ask if you have questions!

    KINABATANGAN RIVER BUDGET ACCOMMODATION:

    Tungog Rainforest Eco Camp – The camp offers numerous packages that you can tailor to your liking. There are several different activities to choose from and a guide can be included during your stay. The food at the camp was fantastic and our guide provided us with a lot of information about Sabah’s wildlife.

    Travel Tips:

    • We typically relied on public transportation, including the bus system, which is extremely organized and easy to use and can also transport you to nearby national parks. While in Kota Kinabalu, we used Grab to get to places that were not near our hotel, but did rent a car to travel to the mountains when we wanted to escape the crowds.
    • For currency, we found it best to withdraw money from ATMs, which we found nearly everywhere.
    • Of the Asian countries we have visited, Malaysia is the country with the best English and thus, we had no language barriers whatsoever.

    We really enjoyed our stay in Sabah. We were welcomed with open arms, and we learned so much about the culture and the food. We would definitely recommend visiting Sabah with kids. There are so many more places to explore in and around Sabah, which we did not get to this time, but hopefully will another time!

    We hope you enjoyed Melanie and her Sabah travel blog as much as we did!

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  • Iceland With Kids: What I Wish I Knew

    Iceland With Kids: What I Wish I Knew

    Our first few hours in Iceland were rough.  Although we read a number of guide books and blogs and asked friends who had traveled with children for advice, we did not find a great resource for families traveling the Ring Road.  Lonely Planet’s Iceland guidebook states, “It may be a good idea to limit yourselves to one part of the island to avoid boredom induced tantrums and frequent bouts of carsickness. Reykjavik is the most child-friendly place simply because it has the greatest variety of attractions and facilities.”  We did not have issues with boredom induced tantrums or motion sickness, and Reykjavik was one of the least exciting destinations for them.  While I believe traveling the Ring Road with children can be an amazing experience, we could have been better prepared for our trip before heading to Iceland with kids.

    We arrived at about 6 a.m. after a six-hour flight. While we had prepared ourselves and the kids for the time change by going to bed and waking up very early in the preceding week and all went to sleep rather quickly on the plane, none of us slept more than six hours. We stepped out of the plane without putting on the fleeces, gloves and hats packed in our backpacks into a cold, damp and windy morning to board our shuttle for the airport.  Herding our luggage to the rental car office was further complicated by our daughter unexpectedly getting sick, twice.

    After completing paperwork and installing the car seats, we plugged our first destination into the GPS to find that it was not identified because our GPS did not have an Icelandic keyboard. GPS coordinates, which we had not recorded, were often necessary.  Also, the helpful Geysir employee who processed our rental warned us that speed limits were strictly enforced by speed camera and police, but when we set out in our car, we found that it was pre-set for miles.

    After heading out of the airport, we decided to pick up something to eat, but the only available option was a convenience store near the airport, which was probably the grocery that was the most expensive with worst selection that we visited in Iceland. It would have been better to eat the protein bars we brought with us, taken a nap in the car and held off shopping until Bonus, Netto or Kronan opened.

    When we visited AAA in preparation for this trip, we found that AAA did not have a map of Iceland or really any helpful tourist information. This was a first for us – we usually rely on AAA to provide backup maps for any road trip.  We hoped to pick up a good map of Iceland at the first visitor’s center we found, but we did not get one until that first evening.  So, we spent that first day in a bit of a sleepy daze and mostly unsure of where exactly we were.

    Early arrival in Iceland after a night of not so great sleep is practically inevitable, and our daughter’s fluke (but luckily short-lived) illness was purely unlucky, but you can substantially ease first day stress by being prepared with your itinerary and all the directions you might need to navigate. If you are using a GPS, try to preset the Icelandic alphabet and kilometers and make sure you have GPS coordinates (which are included here whenever available) pre-programmed and, if possible, a map of the country with you when you arrive.

    It took us a few hours to get organized, but we ended up having a rather astonishing day. From the moment we left the airport, we were in awe of the views we saw along the side of the road.  The purple flowers (Alaskan lupine) growing everywhere were an instant favorite. We made an unscheduled stop at Reykjavik’s first Costco, which had opened only a few weeks earlier, took the Lava Tunnel tour and visited Kerid Crater before stopping for the night.  Our kids were all asleep when we reached our guest house and slept while I made dinner.  When our oldest woke up, he thought he had slept a full night when it was time for dinner.  Despite the late naps and 24 hours of daylight, none of us had trouble sleeping that night (or any other night of our trip, for that matter).

    Want to find out more about Iceland with kids?  Check out our listing of all Iceland posts.

  • Iceland With Kids: Logistics

    Iceland With Kids: Logistics

    Logistics related to travel in Iceland with kids were somewhat more complicated than many other family travel destinations.  Public transportation was not a feasible option for our trip around the Ring Road, and the cost of eating out and availability of restaurants required us to prepare many meals on our own, something we typically do not do on vacation.  This was our first time renting a car in Europe and the most expensive destination we ever visited.  Here are some of the logistical considerations necessary when planning a trip to Iceland.

    Driving in Iceland

    The Ring Road is a two lane highway that was well maintained and clear.  Many side roads are gravel, and we were glad to have a 4WD vehicle.  If you do not rent a 4WD vehicle, many rental car companies do not permit you to drive on F-Roads.  The speed limit on the Ring Road is 90 km/hour outside of cities and towns and 70 km/hr in residential areas.  There are speed cameras, mostly around Reykjavik, and speeding tickets can be costly.

    Speed Camera in Reykjavik

     There are a number of specific rules that you need to remember if you rent a car. Headlights and seat belts must be used at all times while driving. Also, the DUI threshold is half what it is in the United States.

    We used our Garmin, which was one of the few GPS units that includes European maps.  It was very helpful, but having a good map of Iceland is important. It would have been preferable to have brought one with us, but we picked one up at a tourist center early on in our trip.  Because of the complexity of the Icelandic alphabet, we did have some GPS challenges and recommend using GPS coordinates when possible, which is why I have included them here when available.  The GPS/map combo was sufficient for navigating in a country where we were on the same road for most of our journey.  All of our accommodations had wifi, and we never needed to turn on cellular data.

    Icelandic Language

    When we travel to non-English speaking countries, we learn and use basic phrases as often as possible.  As much as I tried, I was not skilled enough to incorporate any Icelandic words into my vocabulary.  Even with a pronunciation guide, we really struggled with all the consonants and extremely long words.  However, the only place we had any trouble communicating was placing an order at a Chinese restaurant in Akureyri.  It was clear that the English was at least the third language of the server taking our order, and even though our boys study Chinese at school, they have not mastered menu ordering.  The food came out fine, but it required some humorous pointing.

    Food

    Food in Iceland is very expensive. While restaurants are usually a big focus of our vacations, we warned our kids that this trip was going to be more about visiting sights rather than enjoying great meals.  We were prepared for outrageous prices in restaurants and groceries and were pleasantly surprised to enjoy a number of great meals at not quite so exorbitant prices.

    Skyr ingredients, including one of the longest Icelandic words we saw

    All of our accommodations had kitchens, and we used them. Our favorite grocery was Bónus.  Some of our favorite items include Hamilisbraud bread, Skinka ham, Maribo cheese, Mjukis ice cream, Nutella and barbecue and paprika chips.  Skyr yogurt is very popular, but was not our preference.  Chicken and produce were particularly expensive, but fish was not, and we enjoyed many meals of amazing seasoned salmon that we baked ourselves.

    From the airport to the Lava Tunnel, we passed Reykjavik’s first Costco, which opened only a few weeks before in May 2017. By the time of our June 2017 visit, one in four Icelandic adults was already a member. We arrived a few minutes before the store opened, and there was a line out the door of people waiting to get in.  The membership line seemed to be never ending.  We heard that the opening of Costco led to lowering of gas prices and produce all over the country.

    The membership line at the popular new Costco

    We picked up a rotisserie chicken, water bottles, apples, Nutella and Ella’s Kitchen squeezies for our toddler. Honestly, the per unit prices for these bulk items were probably comparable to Bónus, but witnessing the Costco mayhem was worth the visit.

    Takeaway is often considerably less than dine in – likely because tipping is not customary. Our favorite was Fish & Chips in Húsavík. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur is also a wildly famous hot dog stand in Reykjavik that sells only hot dogs and soft drinks and sports a photo of Bill Clinton’s visit in 2004.

    Shopping

    While we often enjoy clothes shopping and finding items not typically available in the US when traveling, Iceland is definitely not the place for clothes shopping due to extremely high prices.  You want to make sure you bring the gear that you might need with you. There are many cute souvenir shops and artists’ studios in Reykjavik, especially near Hallgrímskirkja. Prices are relatively consistent, but if you are looking for a certain item and check out several different shops, you may find slightly different prices.

    We did enjoy a short stop at Kringlan, the country’s largest mall, for some souvenir shopping and just to experience an Icelandic mall.  Our only purchase was from Eymundsson, Iceland’s largest book store chain that also sells souvenirs. We also stopped at the Icewear and 66 North outlets just outside of Reykjavik because we passed them on the way to our Airbnb.  If you want or need to purchase gear, these outlets are the place to do it, but it will be hard to find something comparable to typical US prices.

    While the Keflavik Airport boasts that its duty-free is completely tax-free, we generally found that the cost of souvenirs was higher than in the Reykjavik city center or Kringlan. However, the Airport’s Blue Lagoon shop had the lowest prices offered for Blue Lagoon products – even significantly cheaper than Amazon.

    Money 

    It is not necessary to use cash in Iceland. We literally did not exchange any cash because credit cards were accepted everywhere, even as payment for use of a restroom. My kids were desperate for some Icelandic coins for their international coin collection. Thankfully, a nice clerk at Eymundsson in Kringlan, Iceland’s largest shopping mall, added to our bill and gave us two of each Icelandic coin.

    Continue to Part IV – Reykjavik or check out our listing of all Iceland with kids posts.

  • Planning a Family Trip to Iceland

    Planning a Family Trip to Iceland

    Planning a trip to Iceland requires significant planning.  Some major considerations include timing, flights, accommodation, packing and cell service.

    Timing

    Major considerations when planning what time of year to visit Iceland are average temperature and daily sunlight.  We traveled in June with daytime temperatures typically in the 50s, and we had no concern about snow challenges.  During our visit, the sun set around midnight and rose around 3 am, and the sky was never darker than dusk.  Because it was never dark, there is no chance of seeing Northern Lights, which are only visible from September to mid-April (but dependent on weather conditions).

    View from our guesthouse in Höfn at midnight on the Summer Solstice

    Booking Flights to Iceland

    There are a number of carriers that offer flight deals to Reykjavik.  We flew on one of Wow air’s first direct flights out of Pittsburgh and had a great experience. Wow air and Icelandair also offer free layovers in Iceland to passengers traveling from North America to Europe through Reykjavik and recently announced direct flights to Reykjavik from Cleveland starting in May 2017.

    We did not pay extra for advance seat selection and then worried later that we might have made a mistake and wondered what might happen if we were all placed in middle seats in separate rows.  Luckily, we were able to use online check in as soon as it opened 24 hours before departure and secure five seats in the same row.  We did get a good laugh thinking about how other passengers might react if they found our toddler sitting in the middle seat of their row.

    Iceland Accommodations

    If you are traveling during the June-August high season, you need to book your accommodations very far in advance.  We started making arrangements five months before our trip, which was completely unheard of for us, but we found accommodation options – particularly around Vík and Höfn – extremely limited and had to spend two nights in rooms of guesthouses with shared kitchens/baths.  We spent the other eight nights in our own apartments.

    Traditional hotels are not so common in Iceland and often very expensive.   We actually did not stay in any hotels.  All accommodations we stayed in were extremely clean and included kitchens, something not commonly available in typical US hotels.  Due to the exorbitant cost of food, we regularly prepared our own meals.

    However, our accommodations did not usually include amenities common in US hotels like soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner or a hair dryer, and none had an iron.  I made sure when booking that we had access to a washing machine every few nights and would definitely recommend that. Also, there wasn’t a “front desk” at any of our accommodations.  It was necessary to make plans in advance to meet the host for the key.  Our key was once left in a lockbox outside of the apartment and another time under a flower pot.

    We were able to book Airbnb apartments in both Reykjavik and Akureyri but did not find availability in less populated areas of the country.  These were our first Airbnb experiences, and we enjoyed having our own apartments.  The kids particularly enjoyed bunk beds in our Akureyri accommodation and the large sectional in Reykjavik.

    Akureyri AirBNB
    Reykjavik AirBNB

    We booked accommodations in guesthouses and apartments for the rest of the trip through booking.com. Booking.com was especially helpful because you can search for accommodations suitable for two adults and three children, even though we took advantage of our daughter’s preference to co-sleep when all we could locate was accommodation for four. The amenity descriptions and reviews are very detailed, so you know exactly what to expect.

    Iceland Car Rental

    Car rental is almost always the most affordable transportation option for families visiting Iceland, even if you are visiting only Reykjavik.  There are lots of day tour options from Reykjavik, but the cost of those tours would well exceed the cost of a daily car rental for a family, not to mention travel from the airport to city centre. If you are planning to travel the Ring Road with children and not taking an organized tour, car rental is essential.  Also, if you rent your own car, you have much more flexibility than you would on a tour, and that is key when traveling with kids.  Cars are driven on the right side of the road like in the US.  While the Ring Road is paved, not all roads in Iceland are paved or even well-maintained.  Rental companies permit only 4×4 vehicles to be driven on the F-roads, which are certain gravel roads that are not clearly marked.  So, rental of a 4×4 for a Ring Road trip is important.  Car rental companies include Northbound, Lagoon, Lotus, Go Car Rental, RAS, Thrifty and Geysir. We rented a Suburu Forrester from Geysir at the Keflavik Airport.  A shuttle took us from the airport to the Geysir office, which had a kids’ play area and a free coffee/hot chocolate machine.

    WOW air permits a free stroller or a car seat for each child under seven.  Because we were not bringing a stroller, we did bring a convertible car seat for our daughter. We knew there was a chance that our LATCH system convertible car seat might not work with ISOFIX, and most cars in Iceland do not have self-locking belts.  We brought installation instructions for the seat and safety clips but were pleased that the seat installed perfectly with ISOFIX.  For each of our boys, we brought an inflatable BubbleBum Travel Booster Seat. These fit into our suitcase easily but needed to be re-inflated frequently.

    Note that seat belts are required for all passengers at all times, and headlights should always be turned on while driving.  Also, the DUI limit is half of what it is in the US.  You must always be prepared for sheep, cows horses and reindeer straying into or crossing the road.  Drivers who injure animals may be liable for compensation.

    We had heard that rental companies in Iceland inspect their cars very carefully, and renters are cited for damage more often than in the US. Most rental car damage in Iceland occurs as a result of wind – usually car doors flying open with more force than expected and hitting something.  The car we rented had some exterior damage that was noted in our rental papers.  However, in the middle of the trip, we could not remember the exact extent of the damage and wondered if we would be cited.  Next time, we will definitely take pictures of the car before leaving the rental company parking lot.  Our Costco Visa that we used to book our rental car provided additional rental car insurance, but we were fortunate not to need it.

    Our rental Suburu Forrester

    Packing

    Packing for potentially very cold, wet and windy weather has challenges.  See our detailed Iceland packing post.  It is essential to bring layers and good rain gear.  The best packing advice I received was to bring rain pants.  None of us had ever owned rain pants, and I was a bit skeptical about whether or not they were really necessary when I purchased a pair for each of us.  I left the tags on to return if they ended up not being needed.  However, we discovered in the first few hours that they were definitely necessary and served as great protection from both the rain and the wind.

    On cold/wet days, we wore hats, gloves, base layers, shirts, fleeces, rain jacket and rain pants. Waterproof hiking boots are highly recommended, but we did not all have them and still managed fine.  We each brought a two pairs of sturdy shoes but found that we only needed one pair 90+% of the time. On warmer and sunnier days, a long-sleeved shirt and pants could sometimes be sufficient, but we generally needed to have a light jacket available.

    It is important to check airline size and weight baggage allowances. WOW air allows each passenger to carry a personal item (e.g. a small backpack) on board free of charge. However, regular sized carry-ons luggage and checked bags require additional fees, which often raise if you add after booking or check in.

    When we booked our flight, we added one checked suitcase for our whole family to share. I worried later that we would not have enough space for all of our coats, gear, pool towels and car seats, but because we chose the items we brought carefully for versatility and planned do to laundry every few days, it turned out to be sufficient.  We packed most of our clothes in our individual backpacks that we carried as our free personal items.  This method kept our clothes separate and organized.  We packed all the gear and large items in the suitcase, which almost exactly hit WOW air’s size and weight limits.  If I went back, I would definitely be even more efficient in terms of packing.  The most notable items that we did not need were flip-flops (it was too cold to wear them outside, and they were not permitted at pools), pool cover-up and extra outfits.

    I found that we definitely had more changes of clothes than we need.  We were wearing jackets in almost all of our pictures so you cannot even identify our shirts.  Our rain gear protected also protected our clothes, so they did not really get wet or dirty.  So, a variety was definitely not needed.

    When we wore our rain gear, the clothes underneath really did not get wet, even during the rain (except for the time my son fell into the ocean at Reynisfjara Beach). I found that we had more changes of clothes than necessary and did not really need flip flops and bathing suit covers, which we used only at the Blue Lagoon and not at any of the other pools.

    Iceland Cell Service

    We researched relatively inexpensive options to add voice/data in Iceland but ended up not using cell service during our trip. We were able to unplug during the day and use WiFi at our accommodation in the evenings.  While most guest house/AirBNB hosts assumed we would have phone service to call them when we arrived, we were able to arrange in advance to get WiFi passwords to contact our host on arrival if they were not already on site.

    In addition to usual preparation, there are unique logistical considerations after arriving in Iceland with kids, including driving concerns, the Icelandic language, food and shopping challenges and money exchange.  We enjoyed planning a family trip to Iceland.

    Continue to Part III – Logistics or check out our listing of all Iceland posts.