A Perfect Trip to Florence with Kids

So I won this contest. I usually don’t enter contests – especially photography contests. I have a problem with the overall concept – you sign away most rights to your photos in exchange for the tiny chance of winning something. It’s not that I try to make money off of my photography, but I still don’t like having to give away rights. But Conde Nast Traveler is different. Not only was the contest language different, but I love the magazine. I've subscribed to it since college and feel like I know many of the writers. Plus, the award was a $25,000 dream trip. So I picked out a photo that I liked from my most recent trip at the time – to Cuba – and entered. Was hoping to make the final 25. Never thought I’d actually win.

My initial thoughts, written while in London about to fly to Florence:

1) The best part of the winning the contest was getting to tour the Conde Nast Traveler offices in New York and have lunch with Wendy Perrin. Really, really enjoyable experience. Technically it wasn't part of winning the contest, but Wendy was nice enough to host me for a few hours when I was in New York. I would have been completely content if that had been the grand prize.

2) Second best part of winning: the planning. When I made the final 25 and needed to write the essay about my dream trip, I gave it a lot of thought and realized that it wouldn't be anything that I could plan myself – that’s too easy. Instead it would be a trip that I needed the magazine’s experts to plan so that it was done right. The only place that I've actively stayed away from the past few years with the kids (when we were nearby) was Florence, Italy, simply because as well as I knew the city after going there 7+ times and spending almost a year of my life there, I had no idea how to entertain kids there. Bingo.

3) Third best part of winning: the budget. I've learned that $25,000 actually doesn't go that far, but it has delivered a great upcoming itinerary. Which brings me to number four...

4) Business class is very nice when traveling with kids. I've never bought business class before this, although I’m upgraded often on United. If I’m by myself, I can sleep in any seat on a plane. Flat beds are nicer, but not worth paying for. However, with kids, if they’re not sleeping, I’m not sleeping. Being able to settle into 5 seats in row nine of UA934 LAX-LON was a pleasure. It completely took the annoying long-flight element out of the mix. All three kids immediately chose movies to watch, ate great dinners, and slept at least half of the flight.

5) Travel agents aren't dead yet. Conde Nast Traveler had Brett Snyder of Cranky Concierge plan our travel. I consider myself to be almost an expert when it comes to planning travel, usually certain that I’m getting the best itinerary at the best price. But Brett found ways of booking the tickets that I simply couldn't using Kayak and the other booking engines. He got us extremely reasonable tickets in business class to London and then in coach from Florence back to California, but booked the return in such a way that we had the best chance of getting upgraded. And we did end up getting upgraded – all five of us – on the way back. So we’re in business class both ways for not much more than coach tickets would have cost.

6) Likewise, the magazine’s travel expert for Tuscany, Maria Gabriella Landers of Concierge in Umbria, was a pleasure to work with. She booked us a boutique hotel on the Arno in Florence that sounds perfect for us, and arranged two weeks’ of amazing activities.

I’m now sitting in Room 101 at the Antica Torre di via Tournabuoni hotel with the windows open. It’s Sunday afternoon, and a violinist is playing below our room on via Tournabuoni. He’s been there for almost two hours, providing a soundtrack to the day. We've been slowly (very slowly) packing up a few things, listening to the music, and letting the kids relax a little. They deserve to relax. It’s been a very busy 12 days.

I wrote in my Conde Nast Traveler essay that I wanted the kids to have their own memories of Florence. It was a challenge to the magazine to create a kid-friendly itinerary in and around Florence. I had no idea how they were going to do it. I had been to Florence many times and it just never seemed kid-friendly to me. That wasn't a worry when I was studying in the city back in college, but it is a worry as a parent of 3, 5, and 7-year-olds.

The magazine and their travel experts certainly rose to the challenge. I just sat down and listed everything we had done the past 12 days. I came up with 29 things. Two were just us: a day trip to Rome and a hike up the Cupola of the Duomo. The other 27 things were arranged by the magazine, their recommended travel expert for Tuscany Maria Gabriella Landers of Concierge in Umbria, and our guides, primarily Elvira Politi.

I had originally envisioned a week in Florence with the kids, but once Maria started suggesting activities, the trip stretched out to almost two weeks. And really, the only way to really experience a place is to spend at least a couple of weeks there. This is peak tourist season, and the city is crowded with visitors. There are many, many large groups wandering through the city with earphones on, following guides and seeing the major sites. Some of these tours involve a couple of days in Florence; some just a few hours. When the cruise ships dock at La Spezia, a popular excursion is to Florence. Once you factor in the 2.5 hours of driving each way, people are left with literally 3-4 hours to see the city. You can’t see Florence in 3-4 hours - you can simply take a few photos and tell people that you went to Florence. I hope all of those people come back some day for at least a week or two. The city is deserving of that.

One of my favorite activities? Doing laundry. There is a lavanderia roughly 1km from the hotel that Elvira found for us. Three times I took our clothes over there in the morning. The walk along the Arno was great - not many people out yet at 9am. Then coming back from the lavanderia, either after dropping off clothes or picking them up in the afternoon, I would zigzag to the hotel a number of different ways that involved the Arno, Ponte Vecchio, Uffizi courtyard, Palazzo Vecchio, Dante’s house, and/or the straw market. There’s something about dodging large tour groups while carrying laundry that makes one feel like a local. I was walking by the wild boar fountain not to take photos but because it was between the cleaners and the hotel.

Another advantage to being here for two weeks is that we have become regulars at several places, including gelaterias, restaurants and paper stores. We are recognized, given extra attention, given special (free) deserts, and treated differently than the quick visitors. It’s a much better experience. Plus there are the bells. I love being able to hear bells from many, many towers simultaneously. It doesn't happen all the time, but today (Sunday) we've been hearing it often. Right this second I can hear bells from at least two towers, mixed with the continuing violin music. It’s wonderful, and something that you could easily miss if you’re not here long enough. And with less traffic now in the city center than I've seen on past trips, the car/moped noise is minimal – just a lot of bicycle bells, which interact nicely with the church bells and live music on the streets.

As I mentioned, we've done at least 29 distinct things while here. Each of us rated every activity, in order to come up with an overall Top-10 list that we would recommend to any visitors with families. I don’t know what some of these items cost, since the magazine covered the costs, but most weren't expensive. And some just involved minor entry fees. In order, our top 10:

1) Bargello Museum. We all really enjoyed the museum visit with Elvira, the Amazing-Race-like hunt through the museum that Elvira set up for the kids to find various art works, the art talks that Elvira did with the kids at various places there, and then relaxing in the courtyard with the kids sketched art. None of us would have guessed in advance that this would be the overall favorite activity.

2) Climbing up the Cupola of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. This was only Evelyn (7) and me, but it was a great way to start the day, and we were there long before any tour groups arrived. If you’re going to go, go at 8:30am, right when they open. I tried to pay for Evelyn, since visitors 6 and above needed tickets to climb, and the ticket guy gave me her entry fee back.

3) The Torrigiani Gardens the Bandierai degli Uffizi. This is Europe’s largest private garden. We had a great tour of the gardens by Giovanni Torrigiani, but the highlight was a private performance by members of the Bandierai degli Uffizi, one of the most prestigious flag carrying/throwing groups. The kids all tried out the flag waiving and drumming. Definitely a unique experience, and one of the advantages of using a connected travel planner. We never could have done this on our own.

4) Pizza making. This was fun. We went into the kitchen at Mamma Napoli (Piazza del Mercato Centrale 17 rosso, 50123), and all of us got to make pizza dough, form the dough, toss it, stretch it, put on sauce and make our own pizzas. It was the best pizza we've ever had, mostly because of the ingredients, partially because of the experience.

5) Chocolate tasting. Amedei makes the best chocolate in the world. We spent roughly two hours with them learning about the chocolate making process, tasting chocolate in all forms and percentages and then pouring chocolate to bring home. Really fun afternoon. You can’t go wrong with chocolate anyway, but this was as perfect a chocolate experience as you can get.

6) Uffizi Museum. We've generally stayed away from doing museums with kids, including last year in Paris, since kids under 8 or so usually aren't overly interested in art or art history. But Elvira made this really fun for the kids. She showed them the highlights, as well as obscure (but interesting) things, taught them about self-portraits, and had them draw their own self-portraits. Since the visit, every time the kids have seen anything from that tour in Florence (e.g. sidewalk artists painting Botticelli’s Venus, or postcards of the Medici children), they've spoken up and remembered the significance. A great introduction to fine art for all three.

7) Cooking school. We drove outside of Florence to the Boscarecce Hotel and Cooking School, near Castelfiorentino. The kids swam for a while, and then we all went into the kitchen to make pasta (pici), chocolate cookies, garlic/sage/sheep’s cheese chicken and stuffed zucchini flowers, with the owner of the property. The kids loved making the food, and we later sat down to eat what we had cooked. A really good dinner, and a very fun experience for the kids. We walked away with two aprons, a cookbook, a lot of leftover cookies, and a plan for Evelyn and me to cook at least once a month when we get home.

8) Vasari Corridor. I loved this because it is so rare to be able to walk above the Ponte Vecchio where the Medici walked. The history is fascinating, and the art (self-portraits of artists from the Renaissance to the present) is great and virtually unseen. It wasn't quite as interesting for the kids, but given the number of times we've crossed the Ponte Vecchio down below, I think it was fun for them to see it from above as well, and the related history lesson from Elvira brought elements of the Renaissance home for them.

9) Museum of Natural History. This was with Karen Giacobassi, a great guide who coincidentally studied at the same Pepperdine Florence program that I did, just three years before me. She had also taken us through the very worthwhile Galileo Museum, but the kids liked this one the best. The Medici put together an amazing collection of animals and insects from around the world, which the kids would have loved anyway, but Karen made it even more fun by giving them challenges throughout the museum.

10) Paper Making. This was just a small demonstration of paper making in the back of Il Papiro, but it impressed all of us. We had no idea how the Florentine marbleized paper was made prior to this, and it was fun to see it happen in front of our eyes. And given how often we saw similar paper in the markets and other paper stores, the kids really appreciated having the knowledge of how it was made.

And the next ten on our list, including a barchetto ride on the Arno, a fresco workshop, the Ferragamo, Galileo and Accademia museums, and visits to the workshops of contemporary Florentine artists Silvia Logi and Clet Abraham, would also add up to a great kid-friendly trip. And we all had our own personal favorites. My favorite was Amedei Chocolate. Missy’s favorite was Orsanmichele. Evelyn liked the visit to Silvia Logi’s home and workshop the best. Henry says Amedei Chocolate was his favorite, but the search through the streets of Florence for Clet Abraham’s work was a close second. Sadie liked the boat ride on the Arno the best.

We all loved the hotel. The Antica Torre di Via Tournabuoni is perfectly located right on the Arno, and we had two amazing connecting rooms with views of the Arno and the Duomo. The morning breakfasts were a highlight – the food, the views, and the staff (especially the wonderful Latifa). We also loved Elvira Politi, our guide most days. She made Florence and its history come alive for the kids, stopped often for gelato, and always had art supplies in her backpack for the kids, along with ways to stimulate their creativity. Overall a great trip. It was privilege to be able to be here as the guests of Conde Nast Traveler, and the trip was everything I envisioned when I wrote my Dream Trip essay.

Summary Information

Kid Friendly: Extremely
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Specifics

Trip: Customized trip by Conde Nast Traveler and Concierge in Umbria.  
Guides: Elvira Politi and Karen Giacobassi 
Airline/Routing: United, Air France and Lufthansa.  SBA-LAX-LHR / LCY-FLR-FRA-SFO-SBA
Hotel in Florence: Antica Torre di Via Tournabuoni 
Total Trip Length: 20 Days (London for 5 nights, Florence for 13 nights, 1 night on a plane)
Days of School Missed: Zero (summer vacation)
Ways We Brought the Cost Down: Cost wasn't a major factor because Conde Nast Traveler was paying for most of the trip, but we definitely saved money where we could.  We bought business class to Europe and economy back, but got upgraded to business for the return flights.  Cranky Concierge booked our travel, making sure that we got the best possible fares and routing, and setting us up for the upgrades.  And as much as we loved the hotel, we weren't about to pay them €6 to wash a shirt, so we had all laundry done at a lavanderia not too far from the hotel for €20 a load.  

Antarctica with an 8-Year-Old

When my daughter Evelyn was three and in Pre-K, her class studied penguins.  She came home excited and said that she wanted to go to Antarctica to see penguins in real life.  So I did some research and decided that eight was a good age for Antarctica.  Why eight?  At that point kids can entertain themselves on the ship, they can appreciate where they are in the world, and they'll be interested in some of the trip's educational elements.  So I promised her that when she was eight we would go.  She turned eight on December 16th and we departed on December 26th.

We started in Buenos Aires for three days, walking a lot, visiting El Ateneo bookstore (Evelyn loved the large children's section and picked out some Spanish versions of books she had back home), the Recoleta cemetery to see Eva Peron's tomb (Evelyn liked the cats that wandered around more than the tombs), the area around the cemetery, and La Boca neighborhood, home of the flamenco. The highlight for her was the empanadas. We ate at El Sanjuanino twice in two nights. This also turned out to be a good lesson in Argentine inflation. The first night the empanadas were 14 pesos each. Literally the next night when we went back the entire menu had been updated to reflect a new price of 15 pesos each. It was worth every inflating peso though - the empanadas were great. Very kid-friendly as well. Evelyn's not an overly picky eater, but still food in a new country is always a little bit of a gamble. The ham/cheese and the basil/tomato/cheese empanadas, followed by ice cream nightly at Freddo, meant that at least she wasn't starving under my watch.

We then flew down to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, to do a quick trip through Tierra del Fuego National Park before boarding the ship.  There's really not much to say about Ushuaia - there's an airport, it's near the national park, and it's relatively close to Antarctica.  I'll return someday to see more of Tierra del Fuego - a few hours there definitely whetted my appetite.

Then we arrived at the ship (the National Geographic Explorer) and set sail for Antarctica. It's only a day and a half or so across the Drake Passage to the outer islands and the continent, but that day and a half was rough. Very rough. In both directions. Heading down, the waves were 22 feet or so. Evelyn stayed in bed.  I stayed in bed most of the time, other than heading out to get meals and bring them back to the cabin. If you think it sounds difficult to walk while carrying plates of food while the ship is heading into 22-foot waves, you would be correct.  But that was just a precursor to the 30-foot waves that we would encounter on the trip back. iPods loaded with movies are a very good thing. There's not much else you want to do in big seas other than lay in bed and watch movies. The Drake Passage definitely isn't a reason to avoid Antarctica, but it's not a fun few days.

This was our first view of Antarctica - the South Shetland Islands. It meant that rough seas were behind us. And it meant that an amazing week was about to begin.

Before we could go onshore, we were taught the rules. You can't approach within five meters of penguins or other wildlife. If they came up to you, though, it's fine. You can't leave anything onshore or take anything from there. If you step onto the snow and sink in, fill up the hole so that penguins don't fall in and get stuck. Basically, leave everything like you found it.

Because no more than 100 people can be onshore at any one time and there were 145 people on the ship, everyone was divided into one of six groups. Your group would be called 15 minutes before departure time, which meant finishing getting dressed, putting on life jackets, putting on snow boots, grabbing camera gear and hiking poles, and heading down to the Zodiac departure area. Then we would hop into the Zodiacs, eight people or so at a time, and go to shore. Once arriving on shore we would take off our life jackets and head off to explore. It became a pattern twice a day or so going through that process - it sounds like more of a hassle than it was, but it wasn't much different than getting dressed to go skiing and then going to the slopes (other than the Zodiacs of course, and the decontamination fluid that they would apply to our boots both leaving the ship and coming back on-board).

Wherever we anchored, the ship's staff would go onshore first and mark out (with cones) rough pathways to interesting areas - mainly penguin colonies, beaches and overlooks. The nice thing about the paths is that eventually they would get packed down a little and you would stop sinking two feet into the snow.  The really nice thing about being a kid weighing 45 pounds in Antarctica is that you never sink in.

The first trip onshore was at Half Moon Island on New Years Eve. Chinstrap penguins awaited. After taking off our life jackets, we simply wandered around for a couple of hours. It's easy to spot the penguin paths between the rookeries and fishing spots since they're packed down and not quite as white as the pristine snow elsewhere.  We spent a lot of time just sitting next to the paths and watching the local traffic - lots of waddling and belly sliding penguins. No babies were on the paths - they were all just hatching and being protected by the parents at the rookeries. But there were a lot of adult penguins going to and fro and it was just a really fun experience. Anyone going to Antarctica will mention the sounds and the smells.  The sound of all of the penguins, mixed in with some other seabirds, was extraordinary.  The smell wasn't nearly as strong as I had thought it would be - penguin poop isn't that pungent, at least not where we were.

Evelyn's last comment before heading back to the ship: "I wish I could belly slide like a penguin."

Antarctica geographically has 24 time zones, so we probably could have celebrated the new year any time the ship staff wanted.  We stayed on Argentinean time though, meaning at least we got to celebrate a couple of hours before the east coast of the US. That made it a little easier to stay up, since we hadn't even completely adjusted to Argentinean time yet, and Evelyn got to experience her first countdown and clinking of glasses as the clock struck midnight.  On the ship they have the oldest and youngest passengers literally ring in the near year, with a large ship's bell. Evelyn was the second-youngest, just missing out to a German five-month-old.  For the record, there were around 10 kids on the ship under 18. There should have been more - it was an incredibly child-friendly trip, with not only the sites and adventures that everyone was experiencing, but also dedicated kid dinners, movie nights and activities on the ship.  But that's the point of this blog - to encourage you to take your kids somewhere new.

New Years Day started with kayaking. The water was smooth with no wind and just a light snowfall - absolutely ideal.  We went near shore, not getting too close in case glaciers calved, and circled icebergs, not getting too close in case they tipped over. A really fun experience for both of us.

Then the day got even better. We sailed over to Cuverville Island and spent the afternoon with Gentoo penguins. It was very similar to the first day with the Chinstraps on Half Moon Island, but the scenery was even more stunning (icebergs), and the Gentoos were fun to watch, going about their business and tending to their eggs and chicks. Evelyn never complained about all the walking - she was just taking it in, sitting and waiting for Gentoos to approach her, photographing some, and starting snowball fights with an 11-year-old from the ship. Totally in her element.

January 2nd brought the highlight of the trip for Evelyn. We anchored at Neko Harbor on the continental mainland and hiked for a while. Hundreds more Gentoos. Weddell seals. Amazing vistas of glaciers and icebergs in various hues of blue and white.  But then we neared an upper ridge and one of the ship's naturalists asked if anyone wanted to slide down the hill. Sliding like a penguin? In Antarctica? Bring it on. Not only did Evelyn jump right over the edge and slide down to the bottom of the mountain, but she ran back up and did it two more times. Again, one of the advantages of going places like this when you're young (and have good knees)! She was exhausted but ecstatic at the end of the day.

By January 3rd we were well below the Antarctic Circle. A stop at Petermann Island brought more hiking, more Gentoos, more icebergs, more stunning vistas and more snowball fights. It never came close to getting old or repetitive. When we weren't on land and were sailing south, every time we looked out the window we would see new towering mountains and new towering icebergs. The ship went around the larger icebergs but went straight through the smaller bergs and the sea ice. The dull scraping sound of the ice against the hull became background noise, reminding us exactly where we were in the world.

Then came January 4th - my highlight. The ship's captain located a large frozen fjord and plowed several hundred feet right into it.  Then we got off the ship and played. There were footballs, frisbees and beach balls. There were snowmen and snow angels. The ship's crew set up a hot chocolate stand (with Bailey's or schnapps for adults) on the ice.

When we were there, there was a Russian/Australian ship stuck in Antarctic sea ice that was getting international coverage. Not many of us would have complained if we had gotten stuck in the sea ice and been there for an extra week.  Alas, the ship was able to back right out with no problems.

  

Icebergs caught in the middle of the fjord when the sea ice froze around them.

We then turned around and headed back north through the Inside Passage. Icebergs the size of small towns? Check. Minke whales? Check. Rare Ross seals? Check. Amazing reflections? Check. More stops with hiking, penguins and snowballs?  Check. Again, it never got old. The ship's staff were constantly updating everyone on our position, on our plans and on our backup plans in case ice scuttled the initial plans. I was impressed by the adventurousness of the crew. They wanted to deliver the absolute best, most unique trip for all of us, and they were constantly adjusting course based on weather and what they thought would be the most fun. We rarely saw signs at any landings of previous/recent visitors, and only saw one ship far in the distance the entire trip. It was truly our own private (summer) wonderland for a week.

The photos below are from a landing at Dorian Bay.  Everywhere we went we would see the Scua birds trying to steal penguin eggs and babies. When we first got to Antarctica we thought of the Scuas as the bad guys. But throughout the trip there were educational sessions on board, including some on the natural balance and how the Scuas were necessary to keep the penguin populations in check.  It was funny to see people go from rooting for the penguins to rooting for the Scuas. Except for Evelyn - she was pretty addicted to the penguins and their chicks.

So at this point the only thing missing was whales. We had seen some Minke whales, but nothing up close. Bring on the Gerlache Straight. We were sailing slowly while the naturalists looked for whales. And then they found them. So amazing to watch a pod of killer whales for half an hour.

The next day brought a Zodiac cruise around Danco Island. This was one of the only things in the trip that wasn't very kid-friendly. When we were onshore every day, we could go back to the ship at any time. When you're on a Zodiac, though, and going around an island, you're kind of stuck until you get back to the ship an hour later, no matter how cold you get. I loved it - the photography opportunities with the tabular icebergs, penguins, sea ice and towering peaks were extraordinary. Evelyn wasn't miserable by any stretch, but she stopped having fun about 20 minutes into the tour.

Heading back up the Gerlache Straight, we didn't encounter any more killer whales. Instead, we saw well over a hundred humpback whales. As with the killer whales, the captain positioned us optimally based on the location of all of the whales and then we just waited for pods to approach the ship. Pretty amazing. It was cold up on deck, so Evelyn hung out in the room while I was taking photos like this. But she was still able to see whales right outside the window. A room with a view indeed.

The last day in Antarctica took us to Port Lockroy. This is an old British base that now has a gift store and a post office. We bought t-shirts, magnets, stuffed penguins and more. We were warned that the postcards we mailed may not arrive for a couple of months, but they actually took only three weeks to get from Antarctica to California via the Falkland Islands and the UK. Impressive. Plus there were a lot of penguins around Port Lockroy, which we never got tired of.

Overall it was an absolutely amazing trip and one I would recommend to anyone. Eight was a good age.

The ship was great, and very safe - as close as one can get to an icebreaker without actually being an icebreaker. The food was excellent. I'm partial to Scandinavian cuisine anyway, so I fully appreciated the Nordic touches that the Swedish chef brought to some of the dishes. Evelyn ate the food from the standard menu about half the time. The other half, when she just couldn't get excited about the fish or reindeer or polenta or other options, she was always able to request pasta or a steak and baked potato from the kitchen. And when Evelyn wasn't feeling well in the cabin on the trip back across the Drake Passage, Leizl, our cabin attendant, went to the bar and mixed her a special ginger-infused drink to help her. The staff and service were outstanding throughout. The internet was slow, but at least there was internet - even if it was $0.40/minute. The key was to get on early in the morning or when most people were ashore.  If everyone else was accessing it in the evening, it was so slow it wasn't worth even trying to log on.

No complaints about the weather - it was far warmer in Antarctica than most of the US that same week. Temperatures were rarely below 28F, unless you were on deck while the ship was moving. Our packing list included most of what we would take on a ski trip - lots of layers, gloves, hats, boots, etc... It was 95F in Buenos Aires for those few days so it necessitated a little over-packing, but everyone was in the same boat (literally) with a couple large suitcases per cabin.

Evelyn's Favorite Things

1. Sledding on my belly like a penguin.
2. How I could order anything for dinner on the ship.
3. The kid-oriented activities, especially the scavenger hunt.
4. Seeing the penguins.
5. Throwing snowballs at my dad and Matt.
6. The gift store on the ship.
7. Riding on the Zodiacs every day, but not the long Zodiac tour.
8. Ice cream, hot cocoa and mints anytime.
9. That I did not fall into the snow like everyone else.
10. Seeing the movie Frozen in Spanish when the airline cancelled our flight and we were in Buenos Aires for an extra day at the end of the trip.

Evelyn's Least-Favorite Things

1. The Drake Passage.
2. The observation deck and library.  It made me feel sick to be there, and there were no kid books.
3. The catamaran trip through the national park in Argentina.
4. Getting snow in my boots when I was sledding.
5. When my dad hit me with a snowball and it went down my jacket and made me cold.

Summary Information

Kid Friendly: Extremely
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Specifics

Trip: National Geographic Expeditions Journey to Antarctica
Airline/Routing: United via Houston to Buenos Aires
Hotel in Buenos Aires: Caesar Park
Total Trip Length: 16 Days
Days of School Missed: Three days (it was supposed to be two days, but United cancelled our flight and we had one extra day in Buenos Aires at the end)
Ways I Brought the Cost Down:  We flew United in Business. It's the first time I've actually purchased Business Class (that Conde Nast wasn't subsidizing). The conventional wisdom is to purchase international plane tickets four months or so in advance, but I start looking at fares as soon as I know I'm taking a trip.  In this case a full nine months before we were depart I noticed that business class was barely more expensive than economy.  The routing was terrible, but I grabbed it. I was hoping that United would change the flight times, thus giving me an opportunity to reroute for free. But they did me one better - they cancelled the route. So we had paid a lot less to fly via Newark, but then they did away with their Newark-Buenos Aires flights so I switched us to the optimal flights via Houston. That happens more often that not when I buy far in advance. I'm sure the flight changes annoy people who already have the perfect routing and flight times, but I always look at it as an opportunity to make the flights better and/or it gives me the chance to cancel with no penalties.

The other thing that saved us money is that National Geographic Expeditions gives you a nice discount on their ship trips if you've traveled with them at least three times before, which I had. As with the airlines, loyalty pays. And I highly recommend not getting one of the more expensive rooms with balconies.  A balcony is great if you're in the Mediterranean in the summer. In Antarctica, not so much. Whenever I spotted something amazing outside, I would run up a deck, head outside and snap some photos. A balcony would have been slightly more convenient for that, but we wouldn't have spent any time out there given how cold it was outside when the ship was moving.