Little Footsteps in the Big World

Yup, we're camping people. And nope, we don't have a camper-van. We're the kind of campers who sleep in a tent. Back in 2018 I shared some tips for camping with small children . It was our very first camping experience with the kids. If you're not a camper-van or a tent person, don't worry, all of the children-friendly campsites we've tried also offer other types of accommodation like apartments, mobile homes and glamping tents.  There are a lot of things about campsites that we absolutely love, from being outdoors all the time, being in the close proximity to the beach, to the fact that the kids have organised activities and entertainment most days. I did have an idea to skip camping this year and fly my family to a more exotic destination for the summer, but my idea got trashed and bashed in the family meeting by our kids so, yes, we're absolutely going camping again this summer in their favourite campsites. With summer slowly approaching and needing a pla...

Yesterday we got back from a 9-day camping holiday with two kids under five on the coast. The excitement is still here, the kids are still on the campsite in their minds. They were outside 24/7, sleeping under the stars, being in the sea all day, playing with pine cones and stones, getting together with other little campers, muddy and sticky at the end of the day, eating picnic on the ground, and basically, having time of their lives. After a long time, they were TV/monitor/cartoon free for 9 days! So while it's fresh in my memory, I'd sum up our experience and write down tips of camping with kids. We've camped with the kids for a music festival before, but this is the first time we stayed for so long, and we took a grandma along. To be noted though, these tips are for camping in a tent. So if your family opt for an RV (camper van, mobile home or caravan) or a glamping tent, probably not all of the tips make sense. What to do before you go: 1. Don't save on equipm...

I had seen this place virtually so many times before. Travel blogs, sites, magazines, everywhere I looked, I'd end up reading about this place. Usually on some high ranked position in the list of "the most unique lodging" or "the best glamping place" sort of articles. Garden Village Bled , that's the name of the place. It's a small resort near Bled lake in Slovenia that offers unique lodging experience in pier tents on the river, tree-houses and glamping tents with personal Jacuzzi. I told my husband about it and he was down immediately with a weekend getaway. I booked a pier tent for a weekend in June (it's €120 a night during high season including great breakfast, although the price is lower during low season). Tree-houses and glamping tents were too big and too expensive for us, so I checked with them on the phone and they say it's okay with them that we take pier-tent (normally for two persons) for us with two small kids. That Saturday we h...

Growing up, my husband's and my family were not camping families. We never stayed in a camp for a summer holiday. We had always stayed in a hotel, a hostel, or a private rented apartment. But both of us had always, always wanted to try camping for summer vacation. Now with two kids, for some (stupid) reason, we had been always delaying this plan. This summer finally we decided to at least try to be at the camp. To reduce the shock for the kids (and for ourselves), we took a mobile home. We thought, once we're used to the life in a camp, we'd do tent next summer. Although technically we did sleep in a tent already during one festival we attended recently . Mobile homes are relatively expensive, so we chose a short four-day beach break. We'd always loved the Istrian peninsula, so I booked us one mobile-home in Medulin Camp , at the most southern part of the peninsula. The mobile homes within the camp When we got our little house on Saturday, the toddler was ecstat...

The whole idea of going to the festival was, of course, my husband's. He accidentally found out that one of his favorite bands during his adolescence, Ugly Kid Joe, was part of the three-day long " Beer and Flowers Festival " organized annually in Laško, a small town in Slovenia. Taking a toddler and a baby to a rock concert, although not mainstream, sounded acceptable to me. But taking them to a three-day festival and sleeping in the tent? I wasn't sure. Up to that point, they never spent a whole night sleeping in a tent outdoor. But my husband assured me that it would be cool. We just need to try to sleep in the camp for one night, and our main goal was just Ugly Kid Joe. I accepted his proposal and I got us a one-day entrance ticket for the day when his band is performing, and camping ticket valid for all three days. The toddler (in pink t-shirt) looking for a spot to build our tents The day we came to Laško, Thursday, was a warm day. We exchanged our ticke...