Stroller or Backpack?

[Baletrina]

We will be cruising from Venice with our 3 year old and 1 year old. Are the streets alright for a stroller? Have you seen other strollers around? Our stroller has been around the world with us but this is the first European adventure for it. The alternative is to purchase a pricey backpack.

[Crusin6]

Take a stroller!! A double stroller

 

 

Can't imagine doing a trip like this with 2 kids on your backs and you definitely don't want the 3 yo walking all day

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[buchhalm]

Mind you there are countless bridges that can have ramps (not many of those) or lots of steps. Plenty of cobble stones. Can be very crowded in places and you may have trouble pushing strollers around.

[luvtheships]

Mind you there are countless bridges that can have ramps (not many of those) or lots of steps. Plenty of cobble stones. Can be very crowded in places and you may have trouble pushing strollers around.

 

 

Lol better than carrying a 1yo on your back and a 3yo in your arms. And that 3yo will not be walking all day and what should the parents do when the kids want to sleep? 3yo touring Europe will nap btw

 

2 parents just lift the stroller up when need be on the steps

 

 

A double jogger stroller sounds best to me

 

But whatever kind of stroller you choose with 2 kids your kids ages please bring a stroller

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Baletrina]

Thank you for your suggestions. I am mainly worried about cobblestones and stairs and narrow passages. Paris cobblestones did a number on our rolling luggage so I worry about bringing in a

 

Our travel gear is a nice umbrella stroller with a boogie board attached to stand on. The whole setup is very compact but the stroller reclines flat and the boogie board can be folded up when not in use. Compact is key because I cannot imagine bringing a double jogging stroller, though it may be nice, through a crowded square.

[Crusin6]

Thank you for your suggestions. I am mainly worried about cobblestones and stairs and narrow passages. Paris cobblestones did a number on our rolling luggage so I worry about bringing in a

 

Our travel gear is a nice umbrella stroller with a boogie board attached to stand on. The whole setup is very compact but the stroller reclines flat and the boogie board can be folded up when not in use. Compact is key because I cannot imagine bringing a double jogging stroller, though it may be nice, through a crowded square.

 

 

 

As long as you have a stroller of some kind and a place for the 3 yo to sit it could work

 

 

Are you planning on your 3yo walking all day?

 

Will the 3yo be happy on the boogie board when he gets tired?

 

 

Why not bring your current travel gear and a cheaper umbrella stroller? If for nothing else but to have a place for the 3yo recline

 

Plus I would make the narrow streets easier to navigate

 

 

 

 

Also I would bring one of those chest straps for the 3 yo and attach it to your wrist. To easy for a yo to wander off or be pulled away.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[mapleleaves]

my nephew spent 3 days in Venice last summer with a 2 yr old and 2 month old. They picked up cheap collapsible strollers at Target or Walmart before they left home. Each parent had a kid to transport. They also had a pack for the baby. Didn't have any troubles with strollers in Venice or anywhere else they visited. While in Venice they also visited Murano via water bus .... no issues.

They stayed in an apt, another nice benefit when travelling with kids.

[GOLDENBONNY]

We will be cruising from Venice with our 3 year old and 1 year old. Are the streets alright for a stroller? Have you seen other strollers around? Our stroller has been around the world with us but this is the first European adventure for it. The alternative is to purchase a pricey backpack.

 

 

Best solution would be a different cruise :rolleyes: but if its not possible stroller will lbe best solution .

[luvtheships]

Just to chime back in here

 

Without a stroller you will be holding or carrying your kids the entire trip you realize that don't you?

 

You need a place to securely put them down

 

I would forget the boogie board deal and just get2 cheap umbrella strollers and keep them each secured in each and every port

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[euro cruiser]

Heck, the strollers are worth it just for the long walks in the airports! Take them all the way to the plane and gate check, it will make your trip more comfortable for everyone.

[ljandgb]

What other ports will you be visiting? Our Baltic cruise had some serious cobblestone streets that I'm pretty sure would have destroyed an umbrella stroller.

 

I also vote for strollers - two, since a double would be hard to navigate narrow streets. But it might be worth your larger ones depending on where you go.

[KSH120]

I have to comment in favor of having a backpack in Venice, assuming you are fit enough to carry them comfortably. Definitely BRING the stroller (and use it in all the other ports - maybe even for shorter evening walks in Venice), but I think the backpack would be worth it. Ideally, 2 backpacks - A sturdy one with a frame that could fit the 3 year old if he/she gets tired of walking (but the 1 year old the rest of the time), and a frameless one that can just be used to carry your stuff if the 1 year old is in the other one. We used this strategy in several hiking settings when our kids were those ages.

 

We were in Venice last summer with our 6 and 3 (almost 4) year olds. We brought no backpack or stroller, and the youngest did ask to be carried some, but she managed fairly well. We did see many people using strollers, and the streets did not destroy them, but the hassle of carrying them up and down stairs in crowds every block made us feel bad for the parents. We commented that we definitely would have wanted a backpack.

[Baletrina]

I have to comment in favor of having a backpack in Venice, assuming you are fit enough to carry them comfortably. Definitely BRING the stroller (and use it in all the other ports - maybe even for shorter evening walks in Venice), but I think the backpack would be worth it. Ideally, 2 backpacks - A sturdy one with a frame that could fit the 3 year old if he/she gets tired of walking (but the 1 year old the rest of the time), and a frameless one that can just be used to carry your stuff if the 1 year old is in the other one. We used this strategy in several hiking settings when our kids were those ages.

 

We were in Venice last summer with our 6 and 3 (almost 4) year olds. We brought no backpack or stroller, and the youngest did ask to be carried some, but she managed fairly well. We did see many people using strollers, and the streets did not destroy them, but the hassle of carrying them up and down stairs in crowds every block made us feel bad for the parents. We commented that we definitely would have wanted a backpack.

 

Thank you! Your experience is exactly the information that I was seeking. :)

 

I also found this page to be helpful to determine the terrain: http://www.sagetraveling.com/Venice-Disabled-Access

[ColoradoCruiser87]

I'll start out by saying this is only applicable if you are in good shape. If you are, a backpack is very convenient and doesn't care what the ground is like underneath it. You don't need to take the long way around in order to find the ramp that gets your the same place a set of stairs would. You can bring a child in a backpack in to almost anywhere, even small shops with narrow isles where a stroller would need to be collapsed and a child carried anyway (now you are carrying a child and a stroller, good luck). Our kids, when they fall asleep, tend to sleep longer in the backpacks because they are constantly swaying and moving with your body, so they get good rest.

 

As an additional benefit, you get some killer exercise out of having your best friend right there behind you.

[iancal]

We have walked all over Venice-many times. Plus extensive use of the vaporettos. I cannot image pushing a stroller along the cobbles, let alone constantly lifting it up and down stairs on the bridges over the canals. Let alone on and off the vaparoettos-especially during busy periods.

 

It is a very difficult city for strollers. Suggest you spend some time on the web looking at videos and stills of the popular areas in Venice. Pay attention to the bridges and how busy the vaporettos are. Then make up your mind.

[kerryincork]

I went around Venice with 2 y.o. there are loads of bridges with steps and narrow streets with crowds of people. It was doable. I would say be aware of locals and don't be blocking passage ways or bridges.

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk