You always wonder (especially if you have lived in the west and got used to its comforts), how easy it would be to travel with toddlers/ babies in India. I can't speak for the entire country but Jaipur is a beautiful destination to visit with kids
Time of visit: January 2014
Duration: 5 days
Hotel: Megh Nivas
Jaipur is full of beautiful family run properties. The owners are very considerate and take great care of their guests. We booked a suite, so that it gave our son plenty of room to play and move around in.
The owner of our establishment was very nice. She would let us use her kitchen to prepare the kids meal, would let us cook using our own ingredients, water etc. She would also prepare off the menu items for the babies as per our request, for no additional charge.
The hotel had a nice garden where the babies could walk/ crawl. They also had a very friendly dog who our son had a blast chasing around the garden.
* They could not provide a baby bed. If you are particular about baby beds, you could go for any one of the chain hotels - Marriot, Taj etc. They would be sure to provide you with cribs.
We pre-bought tons of bottles of mineral water for the kids milk, food etc. I had carried my electric sterilizer to sterilize everything. But you could always ask the hotel to boil them for you if you don't want to lug it around.
January is a beautiful time to visit Jaipur. There was a nice nip in the air so the kids were very happy being bundled up in their strollers. Yet it was nice and sunny during the day, which made being outdoors very pleasant! Carry plenty of warm clothes (but plan in layering). Layering is always easier than that one thick jacket that makes your baby too hot!
Only drawback is the traffic is crazy no matter what time of the day! And for some reason, wherever we went -there was no way to avoid the city center. And within the gates of the old city we would always crawl - that did bother the kids at times.
Places to visit: Everyone is very child friendly and accommodating. In a sling you could take the babies everywhere, for strollers, read on
The stroller friendly places were:
1. Jantar Mantar
Very stroller and sling friendly and loads of fun. It is a real science marvel and would be even more exciting for older kids. For us, we were happy taking our son around in his stroller. We were there at his lunch time, so we sat on a nice bench under a tree and gave him a snack. Highly recommended!
2. Part of the city palace (everything on the ground floor is very stroller friendly. As long you ask someone to help you up the initial flight of stairs. There are ramps too in some places!). We left our stroller in the big palace courtyard and took our baby to the next floors in a sling.
*We might have frustrated the tour guide a bit as our son was a bit fussy and we seemed distracted. But he was pretty sweet about it. If you have more time than we did in Jaipur - then plan Jantar Mantar and City Palace as 2 separate excursions. Our son found it a bit too much of sight seeing in one go - if you know what I mean :-)
3. Amber Fort
The guards let us use the elephant path to take the kids up. Its a rough path and quite steep in places, but if you have a good sturdy stroller you will be golden. If you have an umbrella stroller - a sling is better!
I would not say it is very sling or stroller friendly. It is an u
hill climb and would be a long walk either ways. We just walked around the fortress on the top and came back down. Did not really get around to visiting the inside of the fort - kids were out of patience by then.
Also it is at least an hour's journey to get there from the city center and a lot of it is through slow moving traffic.
4. Anokhi
Anokhi is a great shop to visit. It has a nice little cafe to it where your kids can get some nice cakes and you can get a snack
5. Madras Cafe
In the heart of the old city, in an old building, this is a must visit. They have little alcoves - so we just took a table in one of them and the kids were doing there own thing there! Great food!
The rest of the time we sat back, let the babies crawl/run around, enjoyed the atmosphere, ate good food and had a great time.
You will definitely enjoy Jaipur!!!!!
Time of visit: January 2014
Duration: 5 days
Hotel: Megh Nivas
Jaipur is full of beautiful family run properties. The owners are very considerate and take great care of their guests. We booked a suite, so that it gave our son plenty of room to play and move around in.The owner of our establishment was very nice. She would let us use her kitchen to prepare the kids meal, would let us cook using our own ingredients, water etc. She would also prepare off the menu items for the babies as per our request, for no additional charge.
The hotel had a nice garden where the babies could walk/ crawl. They also had a very friendly dog who our son had a blast chasing around the garden.
* They could not provide a baby bed. If you are particular about baby beds, you could go for any one of the chain hotels - Marriot, Taj etc. They would be sure to provide you with cribs.
We pre-bought tons of bottles of mineral water for the kids milk, food etc. I had carried my electric sterilizer to sterilize everything. But you could always ask the hotel to boil them for you if you don't want to lug it around.
January is a beautiful time to visit Jaipur. There was a nice nip in the air so the kids were very happy being bundled up in their strollers. Yet it was nice and sunny during the day, which made being outdoors very pleasant! Carry plenty of warm clothes (but plan in layering). Layering is always easier than that one thick jacket that makes your baby too hot!
Only drawback is the traffic is crazy no matter what time of the day! And for some reason, wherever we went -there was no way to avoid the city center. And within the gates of the old city we would always crawl - that did bother the kids at times.
Places to visit: Everyone is very child friendly and accommodating. In a sling you could take the babies everywhere, for strollers, read on
The stroller friendly places were:
1. Jantar Mantar
Very stroller and sling friendly and loads of fun. It is a real science marvel and would be even more exciting for older kids. For us, we were happy taking our son around in his stroller. We were there at his lunch time, so we sat on a nice bench under a tree and gave him a snack. Highly recommended!
2. Part of the city palace (everything on the ground floor is very stroller friendly. As long you ask someone to help you up the initial flight of stairs. There are ramps too in some places!). We left our stroller in the big palace courtyard and took our baby to the next floors in a sling.*We might have frustrated the tour guide a bit as our son was a bit fussy and we seemed distracted. But he was pretty sweet about it. If you have more time than we did in Jaipur - then plan Jantar Mantar and City Palace as 2 separate excursions. Our son found it a bit too much of sight seeing in one go - if you know what I mean :-)
3. Amber Fort
The guards let us use the elephant path to take the kids up. Its a rough path and quite steep in places, but if you have a good sturdy stroller you will be golden. If you have an umbrella stroller - a sling is better!
I would not say it is very sling or stroller friendly. It is an uhill climb and would be a long walk either ways. We just walked around the fortress on the top and came back down. Did not really get around to visiting the inside of the fort - kids were out of patience by then.
Also it is at least an hour's journey to get there from the city center and a lot of it is through slow moving traffic.
4. Anokhi
Anokhi is a great shop to visit. It has a nice little cafe to it where your kids can get some nice cakes and you can get a snack
5. Madras Cafe
In the heart of the old city, in an old building, this is a must visit. They have little alcoves - so we just took a table in one of them and the kids were doing there own thing there! Great food!
The rest of the time we sat back, let the babies crawl/run around, enjoyed the atmosphere, ate good food and had a great time.
You will definitely enjoy Jaipur!!!!!
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