Samantha Brown Gets Real About Traveling Abroad With Kids
Her PBS travel show, “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love,” may be Emmy-nominated, but this mom can’t get her 6-year-old twins to try new foods on vacation, either.
Photograph by Brad Ogbonna
Best known as the fun-loving host of travel shows such as Passport to Europe, Girl Meets Hawaii, and Great Weekends, Samantha Brown has spent the last two decades exploring over 250 cities in 62 countries. The consummate globetrotter hasn’t let becoming a mom of twins slow down her wanderlust one bit — but that’s not to say she hasn’t had to make some adjustments to her travel plans along the way. Here, she shares her best advice for hitting the road with kids in tow.
Home Base
I moved to New York from New Hampshire to do musical theater and Shakespeare. I auditioned to be a host for a travel show, and 20 years later, I’m still in the business. Last year, I was on 40 flights.
Packing M.O.
Before kids, I could wear the same jeans three days in a row. With kids, I change outfits twice a day. You’re crawling around with them, and you don’t realize how dirty you get.
Never Leave Home Without
Peanut butter, for me, is magic. Those 200 calories can be the difference between me figuring something out and totally losing it. Side note: A snack pack counts against your liquids and gels, but a peanut butter sandwich is safe. It can be smushed. You can sit on it. It still tastes fine. Foolproof.
TSA Screening
We did a mock “going through security” at home so my twins wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Our salad bowl was the bin and they put their stuff in it, and I told them Mommy will go through the door first. A lot of children’s fears stem from the unknown. Now they love going through security, God help them!
Flight Routine
I suggest not pre-boarding with kids. My husband goes first to secure the overhead bin and set up, while I wait with the kids and board after the last zone has been called. That way, we aren’t subjecting our young ones to the most stressful part of any trip — we adults turn nasty at that point. A child absorbs that, and then when everyone is calm and reaching an altitude of 30,000 feet, that child releases it.
Jet Lag Coping Mechanism
A few days before I fly, I stop drinking caffeine. When I land in the morning, I avoid coffee and go for a walk to get sunlight. Only until my body is seizing and I’m practically falling asleep on the sidewalk do I allow myself a double espresso. It hits my system like 20 horses, and I can go for the rest of the day. But when we took the twins to Asia, the first three days were rough. We kept them active until they adjusted: a playground, the pool, trolley rides. We saw what fascinated them and kept doing that. Definitely no museums.
Kid Culture Shock
In Hong Kong, we went to a place where the dumplings were shaped like pigs, turtles, and sheep, and it’s all so adorable you could die. My kids would not eat one. They ate French fries the entire time. I think that’s a child’s way of saying, “I don’t know where I am. Every day is new and different. But I still have control. And I want French fries.” You try, you fail, you move on. At some point, they’re going to want pad thai.
Feeling at Home Wherever We Are
We stick to the routine the kids have at home. We don’t go all day. Instead, we stop for quiet time to color or play from 2 to 4 p.m. All of us lose steam around then.
Worst Travel Fiasco
My daughter lost her beloved stuffed animal in the Hong Kong airport. I searched everywhere; I mean, I went through trash. She was inconsolable to the point where an immigration officer questioned me as if I were kidnapping her. She cried all throughout our trip to Korea. Word to the wise: Don’t bring their favorite toy on vacation. Tell them you’ll buy them something special there.
Making Connections
I was walking by myself in Cuzco, and an older gentleman joined me. With broken Spanish and English, we exchanged hellos and how are you’s. It was right after 9/11. So when I said I was from New York, he traced a tear down his cheek. Then he asked my name, and I said, “Samantha.” His eyes lit up. He took his finger and wiggled his nose like on Bewitched and said, “Magic!” We had a lovely moment. It’s hard enough to break the ice with people who speak our language; it’s important to not have high expectations when talking with locals. Go for the smaller moments, because they’re there. Put yourself out there to have them.
About the author: Yolanda Wikiel is the senior editor at Airbnb Magazine. Her work has appeared in Real Simple, Parents, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Redbook. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two cats.
