Saw magazine article about campervanning around Tassie. LOVE the idea. We like caravan parks anyway but moving around is a hassle - so much packing and unpacking and getting out by checkout time. Your experiences?
What are your two like in an evening? We just took Liebs on a caravan holiday and he was so overtired in the evening because the adults were still up.
But then, we were with my mother who kept getting him excited all evening and waking him up in the morning, so that's something else to consider - not only will they sleep, but what are they like in the morning when you have to move?
The larger caravan/campervan/camping parks usually have a play area nearby: when packing up, Liebling just plays at the park or, in smaller places, with a football outside. Sometimes he will sit and colour when we're doing stuff. But it's preferable that he's outside. And I'd suggest you take longer than the magazine says to do it all in just because you have a young family: you don't want to be moving every other day, you will need the odd "recharge" time and to see some child-friendly attractions too. With big slides and dinosaurs if possible (that's Liebling's request anyway).
we camp all the time with our 3.5 year old.
He adores it.
We mostly bush/river/beach camp with him, we like the sort of places where we can sit on the bank with a cool one while he swims till his heart is content. We also love having a campfire.
We have no problems with him sleeping, when he is tired, we just put him to bed as normal.
The only thing that would put me off "booking" a camping holiday would be the chance of ****e weather. The advantage of having our own camper and being self employed means we can be picky.
Camping is awesome
Hopefully it can be fantastic! I have booked a three week caravan holiday down the South Island over summer. The kids will be 5, 3 and 1. We have planned 3hr max driving per day, plus no more than two driving days in a row and it will be broken up by a day or three here and there at towns we want visit.
we did 6 weeks around NSW with a then 6mth old and a 3 1/2 yr old camp trailer was fine
last year we did 6 weeks with a 18mth and a 4 1/2 yr old in a caravan was best ever.. we could put the kids to bed and sit out under the awning.. we had no dramas packing and being gone by 10am .. if not earlier most days we tended to stay 2-3 nights most spots with full on days, we did a couple of 1 nights stays again no dramas, its just a matter of going with the flow you knwo your own kids you know if they need to get out and run for a little while travelling do it they will have a great time
We camp with our kids a lot. They are 2.5 and 4 atm.
We free camp and in go to caravan parks too some time. Caravan Parks aren't so pushy with checkout times - not like hotels/motels. They have great playgrounds and our kids will make friends with anyone - and everyone. Adults and kids. So we rarely have any issue with them being occupied when we need to pack up or unpack. They have their bikes and scooters always too. When we got rained out in a storm once we had more than one family offer to look after the kids while we got packed up.
We have seen some of the greatest places in Vic just by camping in national parks etc - usually slightly off the beaten track and often just one composting toilet. But so amazing and the kids love collecting wood for a fire and just mucking about.
FB - the girls are fine in the evening. DD1 completely wears herself out during the day and would easily go to bed at 7.30 BUT DD2 is a potterer who expends little energy and it's a struggle to get her to sleep before 9pm.
We like to move around - if we just wanted to spend five days at one caravan park we might as well just book a cabin. But we tend to spend usually two nights, sometimes only one before moving on. The girls don't mind long drives at all of up to 5 hour stints BUT I hate having to pack everything up before we can get on the road. I'd rather be on the road by 8ish rather than be packing and rushing. The beauty of a campervan is that there's very little packing and if we start driving with everyone in their jarmies, well, it would be part of the adventure. The earlier we start driving the earlier we get to our next destination and the more time we have to enjoy it.
Our other option is a cruise. Yes, I know, one extreme to the other. But I don't know whether the girls would have much fun on a cruise. They are used to being outdoors a lot. I know they have kids programs but I'm not sure they're any good.
What we might do is do a campervan roadtrip from Melbourne to Sydney then do a 3 night cruise from Sydney as a bit of a sampler.
If going around Tassie, the distances are so small. 5 hours would just about get you around the whole state. So there is no major rush to get on the road, as the chances are the next place is only 1/2 hour to an hour up the road
Yeah, I've been to Tassie a few times Astrid and the small distances was one of the things that initially appealed. But now I come to think of it I think I've been too many times for it to be exciting (I went three times one year alone) so we might do Melbourne to Sydney instead either via Canberra or along the NSW coast. It's been a good 15 years since I did that so more excitement rating. Plus if we did it slowly there's no need to do long 5 hour drives.
I think I just like the idea of getting a head start and driving with everyone in their jarmies!
All of our holidays when we were growing up were camping/caravaning - it's all my parents could afford and they were the best holidays ever!
FWIW, my mum was camping a month before I was born - my brother would have been 4.5 and my sister 2.5. We started back again that summer - I would have only been 6 months old.
Caravaning around Tassie sounds like an awesome idea. Don't forget to let us know how it goes.
Campervanning with 5yo and 2yo
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