Little Footsteps in the Big World

Our first sailing trip was meticulously planned for an entire year, both financially and logistically. For most of us, it would be our first time on a sailboat, so we wanted to make sure everything was well prepared. Another reason for the careful planning was that we would have four children under 13 on board. Our crew consisted of two families - ours and our friends' - each with two adults and two children, as well as a skipper (our captain) who also happened to be a friend. Gounod, our 4-cabin 14.5 m Jeanneau Sun Odyssey that we hired for a week We flew to Croatia and picked up our sailboat, Gounod, from a small marina near Šibenik, just north of Split on the Adriatic coast. It was a 15-metre sailboat with four cabins (10 berths) - perfect for our two families and our skipper. We chartered Gounod for a full week, from Saturday to Saturday, during our children's May school holidays. Our first sailing adventure quickly became one of our favourite coastal holidays. Here I'l...

During our two-week stay in Indonesia in November 2023, we spent four days on the island of Lombok, part of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Similar in size to Bali but far less well-known, Lombok offered exactly what we were looking for - a calmer, more relaxed stay with the kids. It's an absolute tropical paradise and easily accessible from Indonesia's major cities. We flew in from Surabaya in East Java, where we had been staying, but you could also reach Lombok by fast boat from Bali. There are three main areas to stay on the island: Kuta, Senggigi, and Gili Islands. Kuta is a popular choice - though not to be confused with Kuta in Bali. Lombok's Kuta sits on the south coast and is especially loved by surfers. Senggigi is a bit calmer, while still offering easy access to shops and supermarkets. Gili Islands are small, car-free islands reachable by boats from Lombok. There are three to choose from, each offering a wide range of accommodation opstions.  We chose Senggigi as our b...

On my previous post about our story of cruising with little kids , I promised to write a separate post for tips and tricks for cruising on budget. I mentioned how we took the cheapest cabin available in the ship. The price also covers all meals and access to most facilities like pools, gym, theater, library, etc. Of course, you'd have to pay extra for spa and its services like massage. The good news is, kids don't pay until their 18th birthday, and they get their own beds in the parents' cabin. So if you're not crazy about private balcony or windows with sea-view, take the cheapest inside cabin for your family and spend most of your time on the outdoor deck. You'd literally just sleep and shower in the cabin. Apart from the main price of the cruise, these are our tips to keep your experience low budget: Research well to avoid taking their official shuttle Most cruise ports are located a little far from the city center or the old historic port of the town. B...

Two years ago we planned to go on a cruise. After a couple of years of saving and planning, we booked to sail in late summer of 2016. But then I got pregnant with our youngest and we had to delay sailing until I give birth. We re-booked for late summer 2017 and we finally sailed last week with Costa Pacifica , with two little kids instead of one. The ship departs from Savona, Italy, 800km from Zagreb, where we live. With the toddler and the baby, we knew it would probably be the drive from hell, so we decided to drive during the night, when both of them are asleep. We left home at 3am on Wednesday, and got to the port of Savona only at 1pm with five breaks from driving. Someone was hungry, someone needed the restroom, someone was crying, and all that. The deck where we spend most of our time At the port we were welcomed with valet parking, handed them the car key and our suitcases. We walked toward the terminal and were given priority boarding (yay!) and walked directly into th...