Nepal Tour with My Two Years Old Kid

I have just visited Nepal with my wife and two and a half year kid. This is my first trip outside of the country with family. So, there were a lot of things I didn’t know and I have learned a great deal from this trip.

I want to share some of the experiences I had during the travel.

Nepal as a tourist place

This was my first trip to Nepal with the family, but not mine. I have been several countries of the world. Every country has its own charm.

Nepal is one of the most visited places in Asia. Apart from the people who go there for the attraction of trekking towards the Himalayas, there are people like me who visit just for fun.

Before going to Nepal I read the book by Lonely Planet. The book was written for the trekkers and not for tourists like me. Although I got a great deal of information from that book.

I learned about the foods, hotels and the bus fare from the book.

Did this help?

Yes, of course. I have saved quite a few bucks on the road.

Traveling with a Kid

If you never traveled with your kid, you are lucky. Kids are pretty friendly when they are in their comfort zone, but when they are in a foreign realm, they start to act weird.

My kid loves traveling. In her 2.5 years of age, she already visited almost all the tourist places in her home country.

Every time we think this tour is going to be different, none! She acted the same at the right moment. Like, on the plane she started to scream because her mom went to the washroom. She didn’t want to sit on the plane seat, rather she preferred the lap. She didn’t want to fasten the seat belt too.

These are common I guess and most of you who travels with kids and family have faced these problems.

Among all the situations I have to take care during her visit to Nepal, the hardest was feeding her the right meal at the right time.

Kids can easily get ill and I didn’t want her to get sick during the travel at high altitude. She is strong, but she nags a lot.

I have had a hard time feeding her there. Most foods are not familiar to her and the taste wasn’t the same as home. She lived the week on fruits chocolate and some local food like rice, dal, vegetable, etc.

Advice: If you are traveling with a kid, do not forget a Thermo flask for carrying hot water. I used the Aqua flask while my visit to Nepal. Every 24 hours I changed the water from my hotel with new hot water.

Nepal, with Family, should you go?

Many people will not dare to go to a third world country like Nepal with their family. But, as I have just visited the place, I can assure you that Nepal is a pretty awesome place to visit with family.

Although you have to take extra preparation to visit with family. You can’t/shouldn’t book cheap hotels while staying with family.

The sights of Nepal is just astonishingly beautiful. Every time you will go back to Nepal you can see a different face of the season and nature. If you go in the rainy season, you might miss many things like the peaks of the mountains, sunset, and sunrise.

The people are pretty friendly in Nepal. They will go extra miles to make your journey comfortable. Most people will return back a smile if you ask any question. They understand English and Hindi pretty well.

So, to my observation, it is pretty safe to visit Nepal with your kids for a vacation.

Where to stay and where to visit?

Obviously, people go to Kathmandu, the capital first. Most tourists live in the Thamel area of Kathmandu. You can see hotels everywhere in Thamel.

If you have a smartphone you can easily find the hotel you want via Google map. Booking from online agencies might increase the hotel room price. It is always better if you can go to the front desk and ask for the available room in any hotel.

A good quality room with breakfast can cost you 40 USD to upwards. Whereas if you travel alone you can manage a room even at the price of 10 USD.

I had a booking via agoda.com (they have an online booking app), I booked at Holyland Guest House for 15 USD/day. My wife didn’t like the hotel and we stayed there for only one night.

Pokhara

The day after we reached Nepal, we went to Pokhara. It was pre-planned. I didn’t want to stay in Kathmandu. There are several reviews that Pokhara is the best place to stay. I wasn’t disappointed with Pokhara.

The lakeside view of Pokhara is just mind blowing. Pokhara is a much better place to stay and relax. The Phewa Lake, Devi’s Falls, Sarangkot, Tal Baarahi Temple in the middle of the lake, World Peace Pagoda etc. everything is perfect for a happy family tour.

Everywhere on the road of Pokhara, especially on the Phewa lake side, where I stayed, I saw foreigners. It’s like this is the place everyone wants to stay longer. The roads are clean, calm and people are not busy. Everyone is in a festive mood.

I wish I could be here during the Christmas time. I stayed in the Hotel Gurkha Summit. The owner told me during December Pokhara becomes a festival city.

I rented an AC Tourist car with the help of our hotel guide Santosh at Pokhara. He was with me the full day I visited places at Pokhara. Special thanks to him for his cordial support to me and my family.

You will sure love the Phewa Lake tour, Tal Barahi Temple and Sarangkot in the morning. Somehow I loved the atmosphere of Sarangkot better than Nagarkot in Kathmandu.

Foods

The foods are not much different from Kathmandu, but they are tastier. One item we loved so much, the momo. My kid loved the chicken momo.

Returning back to Kathmandu after two days from Pokhara, we stayed in the Kathmandu Grand Hotel. This is a mid-range hotel and a night stay will cost you 50 USD in season time.

What to be mentioned about this hotel is their nice behavior and the electric cattle in the room. Anywhere I go for a day trip, I needed hot water for my kid. I had to collect the water from the hotel kitchen most of the time. But, here I can grab it from my own room. Nice addition, thanks for that.

Between Kathmandu and Pokhara, I would love to visit Pokhara again. Kathmandu is too much crowdy, dusty and pricey for a tourist. There is very few place in Kathmandu you can actually love.

We have visited the Bhaktapur Darbar Square, this was a quite beautiful palace before the devastating earthquake. The Gov. is still renovating different buildings on the arena. We had few great pictures of the place.

We also went to visit the Pashupatinath Temple. There were a huge crowd and honestly speaking, the place wasn’t that much clean. We didn’t stay there for long.

The last thing I will remember of Kathmandu is the “Garden of Dreams”. This small place is so nicely organized and so much calm that you can easily think that this is not part of the Kathmandu.

Garden of dreams is a must visit place for people with family. Although, you can see most young couples are there for spending the time.

Nepal is a nice place to visit with family and kids. The country is full of historic places and temple. In my short stay, I couldn’t cover all the places. You need to stay at least a month to get the actual traditions and culture of the people.

Some Tips:

1. Do not get into the taxi without fixing the fare. They do not have a meter.
2. Do not take the rickshaw, they charge high.
3. Walk and you can discover most of the Nepal. If you have a kid with you don’t even try it.
4. Your hotel’s kitchen cooks the best food, believe me.

My Best Pictures