Although summer feels over with the arrival of Labor Day, the truth is, there’s still time to enjoy warm weather – especially if you head to the Caribbean. Even after temps in the northern US have started to head drastically south, rates at most properties stay low until high season, which begins December 15th. That means a nice period of time for you to visit without paying the highest rates. Biras Creek, a luxury resort in the British Virgin Islands, has a Family Summer Fun package that’s valid until November 15th. While it won’t be in effect during the Thanksgiving break, if you’re not averse to pulling the kids out of school for a week, a very nice break awaits you. See the details and more about Biras Creek after the jump.
Grand suite, copyright Biras Creek (more…)

Bathrooms, books and bags – all part of today’s trip around the web.

• “I come from a land down under” – and it has a lot of bathrooms. The Aussies have a public toilet map online, courtesy of the government’s Dept of Health and Ageing (their spelling, not ours). Cool that the government actually considers this important – we just hope it’s up to date. (Yes, the potty obsession continues.)
• Our daughter loves our vacations. She loves pictures of herself. And she’s also become obsessed with puzzles (and pretty good at them too). We can put this all together over at Jigsaw2order, where they’ll make a puzzle out of any photo you upload, from 30 pieces to 1500.
• We just bought about thirty books for dear daughter, some of which are coming on vacation. When we’ve read those 1000 times by night two, we can turn to SillyBooks.net, which has animated books online (narrated too!) – a great save when our other books are back at home.
• If you’re off to England with wee ones, they (and you) might appreciate Storybook England, a website that takes you on a journey through the best of children’s literature. You’ll find the places that inspired authors such as Lewis Carroll and J.K. Rowling, bringing the children’s classics to life.
• The Kaia Peterka handbag below, aptly named the Getaway, caught our eye. Roomy enough to do double duty as a diaper bag if need be, this stylish bag is designed for taking “stuff” and stashing new “stuff” you pick up in your travels. It’s perfect for fall and a wonderfully stylish carry-on, and you can have one for $550. [via Luxist]

In congested NYC, few residents own cars, and visitors often don’t bother to rent one. But if you prefer taxi service to the trains and buses, you’re in luck. KidCarNY is a car service that doesn’t just have a few extra car seats to throw in when needed – the company’s purpose is to help transport parents and their children around NYC. The fleet consists of minivans, each equipped with top-brand carseats from Britax, Graco and/or Safeguard. Up to 3 children needing carseats can be transported at a time, making this great for families. Even their operations are child-friendly: although cars will leave after waiting for 15 minutes, the first 2 no-shows per year don’t get charged to your account, thanks to the company’s understanding that kids can sometimes be, well, difficult. (After that, though, you’d better get your kids in hand.)

KidCarNY is really geared towards NYC parents, with a yearly membership of $300 and a per-trip fee of $25. However if you visit often, you can register as a NYC family and take advantage of the reduced trip fees. Even infrequent visitors can take advantage of KidCarNY by registering as visiting families. You’ll skip the membership fee and pay a higher trip fee instead: $35. If you haven’t arrived in town with your own carseats in tow, the safety concerns and comfortable trip are well worth the fee, especially if you’re staying in the Village and headed to the museums all the way uptown.

Special Touch: NYC expecting parents who register for the service before baby’s arrival (and it doesn’t have to be your first baby) will get a free trip home from the hospital!

KidCarNY LLC, 212.862.SAFE (7233)