My daughter and I live in NYC- she just turned 5 and her passport just came in the mail. I have traveled extensively in Europe and can't wait to take her. We have 3 weeks off in August and I am itching to take her someplace. Any suggestions for a first trip with a 5 year old? I would like to use someplace as a base and take short trips from there. Thanks !

Speaking as a Londoner, I can highly recommend London! Plenty to do and easy to do trips around the UK. Not too hot (27C today) and we speak the same language, sort of! Check out my blog for stuff to do in London with little children

Thanks! Can you recommend a neighborhood to stay in London? Last time I stayed at The Hotel Russell which was fine but I would like to hear someone else's thought on a good location. I need to be near a tube stop and close to a park for my daughter to run in.

You don't mention your budget, but a good, reasonably priced option is the premier inn at County Hall. It's right on the South Bank with a small park nearby and the river front is all pedestrianised. It's near Waterloo tube. Another good option would be to stay on Kensington High Street (that's also name of tube), which is near Kensington Gardens and the brilliant Princess Diana playground. There are a couple of hotels there but I'm not sure how expensive they are.

If you want to go somewhere closer to home then my eight year old daughter and I are currently living in Mexico City. We ignored the warnings and 'friendly' advice not to come here, however we are having the time of our lives.

We have been travelling for 14 months and this is the best country we have been to as far as friendliness overall, especially towards my daughter who never wants to leave.

We have seen no signs of any civil unrest in Mexico City and travel on crowded public transport all the time.

There is problems with drug gangs but that is in the rural areas, it hasn't touched Mexico City.

The weather here is fantastic, it is the rainy season right now but it only drizzles in the evening. We have eaten wonderful cheap food, had great fun in Garibaldi Plaza with the performing Mariachis in the evening and my daughter hasn't been overwhelmed like she was in Asian countries.

There is a fantastic museum here for children where it is all interactive and hands on.

You could always visit a beach or two while you are here and unlike London (I am a Londoner myself) the weather is dependable and you are not stuck paying for expensive indoor activities if it is raining all day.

If you would like to go somewhere in Europe then I suggest Paris, as you have Eurodisney close by and Versaille as day trips. You also have the Champs Elysee which is a magical spot for a picnic, Parisians themselves go there at the weekend with a picnic basket. You also have the Eiffel Tower.

In London, I HIGHLY recommend the street theatre in Covent Garden and on the South Bank, this was my daughters favourite day out when she was your daughters age.

You've probably already decided by now since I didn't write earlier.

When my son was 5 we went to Germany. As we flew home, he drew castle after castle, including a castle-spaceship. He really enjoyed the castles obviously.

When he was 4 and again at 6, we went to Australia. That was also one of his favorite places. He loved trains at age 4 so we tried to hit all the trains we could. He loved the animals we saw. And he still talks about the chimneys of fire outside the casino in Melbourne.

I think it doesn't really matter where you go as long as there are things the kid will enjoy. In my experience at age 5, you need to have places where they can run around outside. Parks are great. Also, I always try to connect with my son's interests. We found toy train displays, trains to ride, even a boat that had separate "cars" that called itself a train. I took him to zoos and nature walks he would enjoy.

What does you daughter really like? I'd plan it around her idea of fun, then you get plenty of fun too.

i would love to hear where you decided to go and how the trip went. travel is a very important part of my life and with a baby on the way i will soon be planning more kid friendly trips in the hopes that my child will catch the travel bug:)

dear mrsh09,

Before I had my son I thought it would be hard to travel with children and that I'd have to stick to domestic trips. However, this is definitely NOT true. We have been all over the place. Here are my thoughts on destinations and types of travel.
Infants - in some ways the most easy to travel with. They don't care where they are. You take the kid, food (in many cases that just means mom is there with her internal feeding supply), diapers, a toy the kid loves to cuddle with, other baby supplies and off you go. The biggest hassle to me at this point was packing the stuff I liked to have for the baby. Still, we went to various places in the US including Hawaii.

Toddler up to age 3 - At this point it seems like you need ever more stuff so packing is a drag. Still, we went Tahiti, Bora Bora and Easter Island at this point. We brought little trucks to drive in the sand - boy was that popular. Sand and beach are perfect. And my son loved the a construction site in Bora Bora.

Preschool - You can go anywhere as long as you count in run around time and keep a bag of surprise toys. We went to Australia when my son was 4 and Germany at 5 (like I mentioned above).

School age - Very easy to travel with. Just need a bag of stuff like with younger kids. Also playground are still helpful for short term bursts of energy. You can prep the kids with books well at this age. Took my son to Australia again at 6 and loved the wildlife. At 8 we traveled through Italy - this was a tougher trip due to hot weather and being more urban - lots of whining. Scotland was colder and less urban so much more popular. I also try to add water where possible - either access to a pool, ocean or lake, especially when it's hot. Also in Japan the ninja museum was very popular as was the Sega amusement park.

Now I'm at the teenage stage - key at this age is access to social opportunities. Bringing along another teen works well or finding a place where they will meet other kids. Also kids like adventurous stuff. Right now my son is rebelling so he "hates" travel because I love it. But he's learned alot during all the years of travel and is proud to share where he's gone.

In any case, I find it really helps to find something in each trip that they would enjoy doing and build your trip around it.