“Can you leave the country for maternity/paternity leave?” Incredulous looks abounded from many who I discussed my family’s idea to head out of the country together when I took my one whole month of paternity leave. I heard quips mainly themed around, “that’s not leave, that’s a vacation.”
I want to be clear from the start, the photos and blog (as much of social media and our culture of comparison does) will make it seem like a carefree fun filled journey, but it was HARD to travel with little ones, and many times we wondered if we had made a good call to go on the road at this time in our lives.
The answer was always, yes, albeit sometimes a bit slow to come to. Traveling with kids is type 2 fun which means the lows can be low, but the highs are profound and worth the effort.
My wife, Caroline, and I went round and round trying to figure out if we should take the leap. It was a daunting proposition to leave the comfy/cozy confines of our nest and head into the wild to share time and build family bonds with a newborn. Also, we needed to make this decision before we knew what kind of baby, temperament wise, we were going to get. Our first was full value when it came to character and high power would be a decent describer of what it was like to get him to the sleeping stage so many parents yearn for in the early days.
For me, leaps of faith yield extraordinary results and after long discussions Caroline and I landed on leaving the nest for a month to celebrate and in some ways set the course for the future of our growing family. “Traveling is a muscle and we began exercising by going to Oaxaca with our oldest son for Día de los Muerte’s in 2022 and while he may not remember these trips, we believe that the experience will have a lasting positive impact on him and shape who he becomes.”
While before we kids, we strove to cover ground while traveling and experience a plethora of things in a day. Now the plan was simply to get to Portugal, hang in Lisbon for a few days, then plop down on the coast where we would essentially do what we would do at home which with a newborn is very little. If you make it out of the house for lunch, you have succeeded for the day. The only wildcard was our toddler who had distinctly different needs than the newborn and which we would spend significant time ensuring were met. We hit two cities in a month and the rest of the time we lurked along a 60-mile stretch of the coast near the famous wave of Nazere.
A magnificent city where historic architecture and modern life blend seamlessly. Lisbon locals have felt the strain of it becoming one of the top remote working cities in the world. With endless dining options, a laid-back vibe, and beautiful apartments everywhere, one can see why expats would flock there. We chose the Estrella, neighborhood for its calm local vibes yet proximity to its much cooler next door locale, Principe Real, which if you are sans kids is a no brainer. We chose a safe and quite location with two playgrounds for our toddler within a five-minute walk. Playground culture in Portugal is legit with restaurants at the parks serving snacks and beer so parents can gather and socialize while their kids enjoy a bit of action. Also having parks framed by ancient aqueducts provide for a bit of a surreal juxtaposition between old and new.
Lisbon does tourism but what we found with early jet lagged rising kids is that if you get out and about before 8 am you get a full value experience of enjoying the sites without throngs of other tourists. Traveling with kids also means that you get to pick one thing per day to enjoy and then after that you are rolling the dice on if it will be an enjoyable traveling experience or a crisis management seminar. Remember, only attempt one activity per day if you have littles so one great day is to ride Tram 28 and on the next day head to the Ocenario de Lisboa .
Start early and head to the beginning, Martim Moniz, or the end, Campo Ourique, of the route to ensure a good seat and take the ride. It will whisk you through the city taking in the majority of the great sites of antiquity and many appealing neighborhoods on Day 1 and give you an idea of what parts to spend more time in. You can get on and off but as the day goes on it becomes increasingly difficult to get a space.
It is a phenomenal example of an Aquarium done well and the classical dreamy music they play in dark rooms with giant tanks filled with fish gliding along is mesmerizing and nap provoking simultaneously. Beautiful natural exhibits set on the waterfront lends authenticity to the interesting architecture and exhibits. the Metro which was easy to access and relatively far reaching. Plus, often, kids love trains. Take the Red Line to Oriente and it’s a short walk from there.
Lisbon is full of beautiful nooks and crannies where art, food, and architecture intersect. Spending time in parks with other families, and/or popping out of the restaurant for a quick Strider bike session brought us to parts of the city we would have never seen and arguably a local only perspective.
We visited Porto after spending three weeks on the coast so decided to opt for the historic area which was a great choice. Getting immersed in the more touristic side of the city was invigorating as it centers around a blend of revitalized historic architecture, steep cobbled streets (the Bob Stroller is essential), and a vibrant culinary culture around every turn.
We stayed at the Mohouse and found it to be ideal for what we were after. A newly renovated old Porto classic with a hip yet functional ascetic that was close walking to everything but a bit off the beaten path. Walk uphill and head to a the Torre de Clergios and a few parks for the kids to run around in, head down the hill and hit the Douro River where a nice hour long boat ride visits the six bridges which the city takes great pride in.
The plan was to get to San Martin Do Porto and post up. It is the next down to the South from the now famous Nazere and during May is a sleepy off-season tourist town with a few great seafood spots, and a number of very local authentic restaurants on the ridge 800 feet above the ocean that connects the two towns.
May on the coast is just before the season starts and it can be hit or miss weather wise, but it was nice to have private beaches when it wasn’t too windy. Dining with young ones is difficult for Americans in Europe as restaurants don’t open until 7 which seems extremely late.
The coast also had incredible ridge soaring in Sao Martinho do Porto at Gralha Beach where a beautiful launch sits in perfect direction to the wind. We would set up the at the beach below in the morning and as the wind came up I would head up and fly while the family headed home for nap time.
Best tandem operation there:
Hyperlink
Seafood is bountiful all down the coast and while it is not cheap it is very fresh and extremely tasty. Barnacles is a delicacy served on the coast and in truth quite tasty.
We visited the fairy-tale town of Obidos as one of our trips for the day activities which has been around since the Moorish Era (late 1200’s) and which our toddler relished in pushing comfort limits as we climbed around on the ancient walls to get good views. Watching kids interact with something this cool and at this scale is worth the price of admission and it always amazes me when you’re allowed to walk on walls that are 900 years old.
Just an hour from Lisbon this town is another example of how in Portugal you need to get up early to get the goods as tourism thrives after 10 am.
Other than a few field trips, and three days in Porto and Lisbon, we don’t have much more to report. We went to the bakery, hung out on the coach, made dinner, watched sunsets, played at the beach, had successful and unsuccessful nap times, and made it out on one date night.
For us the key was to create a normal life in an exotic locale and do the same things we would do at home while nurturing a new baby but get at least one or two big hit adventures each day to create memories from. We went to be with the baby but in truth we mostly got to hang out with our toddler in a cool place and watch him adapt to a new beautiful environment.
Was it easy?
No.
Did it fulfill our dream to be able to look back and have no regrets for not taking the risk?
Yes.
KAVU Days, Indeed!
Nick Greece
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© 2026 KAVU
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