A few years ago my husband, our two children, then aged nine and twelve, and I embarked on a holiday of a lifetime to the Golden Triangle in India — the best holiday for me, at least. For them? It’s complicated.
The children of JD Vance, the US vice-president — Ewan, seven, Vivek, five, and Mirabel, three — may have struggled to smile or even open their eyes at the Taj Mahal last week, but as soon as we arrived, my nine-year old “‘couldn’t breathe”. This panicked announcement — delivered with a sweaty brow and fevered expression — was a low point. The ethereal magic of the grand mausoleum was not entirely lost on him, but it was somewhat diminished by a combination of high humidity (travelling in August may have been a win for our holiday budget, but not so much for the temperatures we experienced), jet lag and a dawn departure from Delhi.
Ah, yes, Delhi. The world’s second most populated city, where navigating traffic is an enthusiastic pastime and drivers honk for the hell of it. Where we had based ourselves for two days before quickly realising that the crowds and noise made my son anxious; where we stopped for an (exquisite) take on a local high tea and had to ask for fries; where an exhilarating rickshaw ride through backstreets with shops selling colourful wedding fabrics and pompoms was reduced to, “Mum, you know this is basically India’s Flying Tiger?”
JD Vance and his family visited the Taj Mahal
AFP
Claire with her family at the same spot
I gloried in the colour and chaos; they felt attrition and worried about the stray animals. Mine was a multisensory experience; theirs an assault on every sense — and as Delhi belly almost predictably struck, I mean every sense.
There were high points for all of us, however — not least a tiger safari from a stunning tented camp in Ranthambore that left pug marks on all our hearts. We stayed at some of the most extraordinary places I’ve experienced — Sujan Sher Bagh and Six Senses Fort Barwara among them.
We also met some wonderful people and had a lot of laughs and some unforgettable adventures — game drives into the jungle; passing trailers with blaring 20ft sound systems celebrating ten days of Ganesh Chaturthi; my husband wearing a traditional hat through dinner; our friendship with our guide, Pu; campfire thali dinners; flying kites from a Delhi rooftop; a bush walk with an elephant. I know my children will look back and marvel at our trip in years to come (one, now 16, asked when I mentioned that I was writing this piece to “say how much I loved the colours and the culture”). And we rib each other with funny memories from it almost more than any other holiday we’ve had.
There have been many other unplanned “experiences” when holidaying, long haul particularly — such as when the infant’s body clock refused to adjust to a five-hour time difference and we hardly saw daylight for a week. There was also the time that the toddler refused to set foot on sand (at all) during a tropical island getaway and the three-year period when the youngest refused to be photographed. His dislike of boats has been a constant, turning even the shortest sea excursion into a parental endurance test.
Navigating the busy streets of Delhi can be stressful at the best of times
ALAMY
Long flights don’t always equal problems, however — our most successful holiday was in South Africa, where the relatively small time difference made for easy adjustment. But, I’m afraid to say, it gets harder and more expensive as they grow up and out of free flights. Staying closer to home doesn’t always help either — I reference our ‘spag bol summer’ when the youngest ate 13 bologneses during a seven-night stay in Portugal. And the weekend at a family-friendly hotel in Somerset where the children’s menu was delightfully colour themed. The then six year old chose brown and ate sausages for every meal.
• Read our full guide to family holidays
So if you’re lucky enough to be in a position to make your long-held long-haul dreams come true, or those closer to home, understand that when travelling with children it may not play out exactly as you’ve planned it. Just ask JD Vance — in his words: “I know, buddy. It’s hard.”
Tell us about your experiences when travelling with children in the comments