Step beyond the pages of books—Ten Q&As about traveling abroad with your baby

Dr. Yang Kunren

Why take your little one abroad? This is indeed a question many people have. If you take your child abroad, they won’t remember anything, so why bother taking them out? Yes, that’s true—kids won’t remember the details of the trip. But parents will remember—and we can also help document the journey through photos and videos for our children.

Moreover, the focus of parent-child travel isn’t really about where you go, but about the bond and connection nurtured during the process. Building that parent-child relationship is the true essence of such trips. Plus, letting your child experience riding a train or seeing an elephant in person is far more meaningful than reading about them in a book a hundred times.

If your focus during a family trip is purely on the travel, then bringing your child might feel like a burden—since you can’t hike mountains, swim in the sea, or stick to a tight schedule. But if your focus is on the bonding, then it won’t seem troublesome at all.

Even if you don’t travel, you still have to take care of your child at home. You still have to feed them and change their diapers. It’s not like staying home means you get a break from those responsibilities. And letting your child watch “Doraemon” at home isn’t better than taking them out to see a real tiger. Since you’re taking care of your kid at home anyway, why not take them out and let them run around freely?

Also, traveling abroad with a baby isn’t troublesome—in fact, it has perks. For example, you’re less likely to be hassled at security, you may get priority boarding, and you can use expedited customs lanes. These are benefits most people don’t enjoy. So do you still think bringing your child is a hassle?

The most expensive parts of traveling abroad are transportation and accommodation. Let’s start with transportation:

Generally, babies under two years old who don’t occupy a seat only pay one-tenth of the adult fare. On Peach Aviation, which I often fly, children under two don’t pay anything at all. The cheapest flight I’ve ever bought was a round-trip from Kaohsiung to Osaka for a family of three (two adults and one child), costing just NT$11,000. That’s not much more than taking the high-speed rail between Taipei and Kaohsiung or flying between Taiwan and Penghu.

Now, about accommodation. Taiwan’s hotel prices are unreasonably high. Staying overnight in places like Sun Moon Lake or Kenting often starts at NT$10,000 and even the cheaper options are around NT$4,000–5,000. But in Kansai, Japan, the most expensive room we stayed in was only about NT$5,000 per night—and that “most expensive” option either had a kitchen, was in the city center, or was on the 30th floor with an amazing night view. Still not impressed by the night view? Let me tell you, rooms with million-dollar views on Mt. Rokko only cost NT$5,000–6,000 per night.

So let’s do the math. If you stay in Taipei and travel to Kenting for five days and four nights, the round-trip high-speed rail between Taipei and Kaohsiung costs NT$3,000 × 2 people = NT$6,000, and accommodation at NT$10,000 per night × 4 nights = NT$40,000, totaling NT$46,000. Now, what about going from Kaohsiung to Japan? The flights cost NT$11,000 as mentioned, and accommodation is NT$5,000 × 4 nights = NT$20,000, adding up to just NT$31,000. So tell me, is traveling domestically more expensive or internationally?

Of course there will be tantrums. What if your child disturbs others? Well, what can you do? First, let’s look at these two articles: “In Taiwan, Why Must Parents Tolerate Being Discriminated Against Everywhere?” and “Why Must Kids on a Plane Be Quiet? Israeli Education: ‘Being Quiet and Obedient’ Isn’t What We Expect from Our Children.”

From my personal experience, children in Taiwan really do face discrimination everywhere. It’s led to a subconscious belief that taking kids out will disturb others, and that disturbing others is wrong. So people are afraid to take their kids out, and some are even afraid to have children..

But abroad? People think it’s normal for kids to make noise, and normal for parents to bring their children out. Combine those two, and it’s also normal to be disturbed by someone else’s kid while you’re out. Really—only Taiwanese complain about noisy kids, and Taiwanese are more likely to discriminate against children. The parenting environment abroad is genuinely more family-friendly than in Taiwan. So don’t worry about your child being noisy—noisy kids are normal. Just take them out.

If it’s your first time taking your baby abroad, I suggest choosing a country or city you’ve been to before.First, you’ll be more familiar with the place, reducing uncertainty. Second, since you’ve already visited, you’ve probably seen the major sights and won’t feel compelled to rush through a packed itinerary just because you didn’t visit some attraction.

The most important thing when traveling with kids is to relax and enjoy yourselves. What does that mean? It means being well-fed, well-rested, and savoring the moment. So it’s totally normal to leave the house at 10 a.m. or spend an hour on a single meal. If you’re trying to stick to a tight schedule under those conditions, you’ll be miserable—and you’ll miss the whole point of parent-child travel.

Also, try to choose countries with good hygiene, like Japan or island destinations (such as Guam), which are great for kids. Wait—Guam is all about water activities, right? How is it suitable for children? That’s exactly why it helps to have been there before. Most first-time visitors to Guam pack their itineraries full of water sports, but the second time you bring your baby, it becomes the perfect relaxing holiday of eating, sleeping, shopping, and playing in the sand. You won’t even feel like you missed out on the water activities.

We alsotry to stay at the same hotel and plan day trips radiating from our base,which helps reduce the hassle of moving luggage over long distances.

Recommended reading:

A baby’s essentials basically come down to eating, drinking, diapering, sleeping, and going to the bathroom. In our family, since I breastfeed directly, I don’t need to prepare bottles and other paraphernalia—basically, I carry the food with me. If you’re not breastfeeding and using formula instead? Then just bring the formula powder. Once you arrive, you can keep the big can in the hotel—it’s just like at home. Just bring enough for the day.

What about slightly older kids and baby food? You can’t bring jars of puree on long trips, so my family buys powdered rice cereal that you mix with water (though my kid didn’t really like it, so we ended up just breastfeeding). Besides rice cereal, you can also buy local fruits and make fresh purees. That way, you don’t have to bring tons of stuff. For toddlers, they can pretty much eat the same meals as adults—no trouble at all.

As for diapers, some people bring their own, while others buy them locally. My family prefers to bring our own. Aside from being used to the brand, when you first start traveling with diapers, you tend to use fewer and have more luggage space for souvenirs. If you buy them at your destination, unused ones take up space on the way back (technically, the return luggage space is the same either way, but it feels different!). As for quantity, just estimate roughly.

Before taking your child abroad, it’s a good idea to do an overnight domestic trip as practice. That way, you’ll learn what you don’t need to bring and what you forget.You’ll also get a better sense of what situations your child might encounter.

Actually, I think you should bring both.It's more convenient to carry a baby on the stairs using a baby carrier when boarding the bus, but it's not always easy to carry them for long periods of time. Although using a stroller makes moving around a bit less convenient, it can carry your child, your luggage, and your souvenirs — super handy!

My advice is: when traveling in Japan, bring a Japanese-style compact stroller, but you can freely use a larger European or American-style stroller when going to Europe or America. The train and subway doors in Japan have very narrow passages, so large Western strollers won’t fit through easily, which can be a hassle. But a Japanese-style compact stroller will just fit through perfectly with no problems. By the way, most airlines allow baby strollers to be brought on board for free, so you don’t need to worry about your stroller taking up your luggage allowance!

1. Let’s start with taking a portrait photo.
2. Then head to the foreign affairs office.

How old does a baby have to be to take a portrait photo? You can go right after the postpartum confinement period is over and you’re allowed out. What if the baby keeps squirming — how do you take the photo? Just leave that worry to the photo studio — you don’t need to stress about it. Usually, one of the parents holds the baby from behind, and the photos can be edited afterward. Either way, the final photo probably won’t look much like the baby anyway (laughs)!

After getting the photos, go to the foreign affairs office (in northern, central, or southern Taiwan) to apply for a passport. Remember to bring these four things:

1. An original and a copy of the baby’s household registration booklet.
2. Original and a copy of the parents’ ID cards.
3. Two baby portrait photos.
4. The baby and the parents themselves.

If possible, you can also make an online appointment or fill out the passport application form in advance to save even more time!

Sorry, booking plane tickets really isn’t my specialty — I only know how to book Peach Aviation tickets.

No one wants their baby to run into trouble abroad, but this issue has to be planned for in advance. How will you handle it when it happens? Getting medical treatment abroad can also qualify for National Health Insurance (NHI) reimbursement. For details, please see the NHI Administration website and apply at the local medical facility:

1. Original medical expense receipts and a detailed breakdown of costs.
2. A medical diagnosis or certification document.
3. If there was a hospital stay, also include a discharge summary.

However, there is a limit to NHI reimbursements. Compared to overseas medical expenses, the amount reimbursed by NHI is just a subsidy. But that’s okay — even if the medical bill reaches millions, as long as you cry and complain enough, the kind-hearted NHI Administration will help you out (just kidding).

Because overseas medical care is very expensive, remember to buy commercial travel insurance in advance to ensure real protection.

Wishing everyone a joyful trip out with your little ones and a safe return home. Let’s all travel with our babies!

[Authorized repost from Dr. Yang Kunren | 0.01 Change Every Day] Original article titled [Ten Q&As About Traveling Abroad with Your Baby]