Since we’re back from our anniversary trip to NYC, our travel plans for this year are pretty much wrapped up; after all, baby #2 is expected to make her arrival in just a few months. I have one more trip planned for September, and then I’ll be hunkered down at home.
That doesn’t mean we can’t plan for next year though. 😉
About a week and a half ago, I was perusing Google Flights’ Explore tool (as one does) to see what sort of deals were available for next spring. Flights, as a whole, have gotten pricier, so I’ve had to get choosy about what I feel comfortable paying. And then I spotted it – flights from Tampa to Tokyo, only one layover each way, for just under $1k per person.
Now, is this an amazing deal? Not really. I mean, we had tickets to Shanghai for March 2020 that were under $400 apiece – not that we actually made it on that trip. That being said, we feel that threshold is a solidly good price to pay to get to the other side of the world. Last year, we jumped all over those New Zealand flights because they were actually under $900 per person.
However, that involved travel with one toddler. Come next spring, we’ll be traveling with one toddler and one infant. We ended up booking the tickets before the price went up – taking advantage of the 24-hour rule to cancel without penalty – and then having a long discussion about whether we felt comfortable traveling with two kiddos in tow, especially when one will be so small. After a lot of research and talking through it, we determined it was worth trying.
As a bonus, we also got both our moms on board with the trip, so we will have some extra adult help on this vacation! It’ll be a little bit like our family trip to Ireland last year all over again, but this time in a country we’ve never visited before! We’re also making the most of my parental leave policy – I’m off work anyway – and staying there for about two weeks.
Are we crazy? Maybe. But if it sucks, we’ll just spend most of our time in the hotel and chalk it up to a lesson. And if it doesn’t, we get the chance to explore both Tokyo and Kyoto (tentative plan, that’s definitely a work in progress) with our two kids and show them a little bit more of the world.
So as soon as this baby is born, we’ll be filing for her passport (likely expediting, based on current timelines) and applying for Global Entry. It’s a lot to plan, but we couldn’t be more excited!