Travelling with kids? 10 best tips for travelling with kids

Travelling with kids may seem to be intimidated by thinking thousands of “if” and “how” running through our mind. But the passion for travelling cannot be compromised. I am a mother of a six-year-old kid and I love travelling.

During the first year of our parenthood, we didn’t plan much vacation other than visiting our family. Then from next year we started planning our vacation with our toddler. So from last 5 years we are going for vacation with our kid and enjoying it to fullest. I have learned so many tricks and tips that will surely help parents who are a bit doubtful to travel with kids. It is true that we had to keep so many things in our mind if we are travelling with our children. Like choosing the place of vacation, mode of travelling, what to pack and many more things like these to decide. But believe me, kids will add more excitement and fun to our trip too. It just needs some extra and prior planning for the trip.

One thing I have learned while travelling with kids is that you have to be more organized. Instant planning and carrying a pack on back will not work for parents. But here I will share you the checklist for traveling with children, so parents don’t be disheartened.

10 Best tips for travelling with kids

1# Planning

Yes the major part of a vacation is planing. Your planning will set the quality of your vacation. A bad plan can ruin your holiday. So be on safe side and plan it properly considering all the sequences. And I feel there is an extra benefit of prior planning is that you can feel the vibes of vacation from many days before of your vacation. Planning is a whole big chapter in the vacation story. A vacation need planning of so many things:-

• travel dates
• no of days in a vacation
• budget for your trip
• activities and sightseeing
• place to stay
• things to pack

2# Booking your hotel

Hotel booking for a trip need lots of research. A glowing deal on the website may not be always a good deal for parents. The discount price of hotel may attract us and spontaneously we booked the hotel without checking much. We need to keep few things in our mind while booking our hotels if we are travelling with kids like:-

• the location of the hotel, if it is uphill then it will difficult for parents to carry their kid or pushing pram uphill
• read all the services offered by the hotels
• if you need to prepare your kid’s meal try to check hotels with kitchenette options with the room.
• choose hotel near by attraction sites or public transportation
• Select hotels with complementary breakfast so that you don’t need to rush out in the morning to have breakfast for your family.

3# Packing

Packing has always been the best part of vacation for me. Soon after booking travel tickets, I start planning for packing. It gives me the pleasure of vacation, you can say I can smell the aroma of vacation. But you need to be wise during this excitement and pack stuff wisely. Make a list of things required and then segregate them according to their priority. Always take extra clothes for kids. Carry a handbag that have enough space to keep that your kid can demand any time like water bottle, snacks, napkin, moisturizer, diaper(if your kids is so small). Try to give your kid a small bag to carry when they are little big. They can carry their own stuff like water, snacks, books, colour. This will give them a feel of self-worth and it is the first lesson to learn for travelling to carry your own stuff.

4# Choosing Pram or Carrier

If the age of your child needs a pram or carrier while travelling, then I will suggest pram is the better idea. It is always a great option to carry a lightweight, small and compact pram then carrying the weight around our body. Depending upon physical fitness, the carrier will be more tiring.

5# Make an itinerary

Itinerary help us to use maximum time of our trip by planning it beforehand. It helps us to decide what activities you are going to do or which sight seeing you will see during your vacation. There are so many places to visit and we can’t cover all the places in few days. So itinerary help us to prioritize our wants. And it also helps us to calculate the travel expenses so we don’t go overboard after the trip. In one word travel itineraries ensure hassle free vacation. You can make your own itinerary based on the information available on internet or you can take help from travel agents too, but that will be an extra expense.

6# Mode of Travel

Mode of travel is decided depending upon the following factors:-

• Duration of the vacation
• Budget of the trip
• Comfortability of your child

We need to analyze all the three factors above to choose our mode of traveling. If it is possible to reach your destination through road trip, you can go for a long road trip. Travelling by your own vehicle will have the flexibility to take breaks according to you and your family. Kids can enjoy scenic road trip and they will be comfortable in their own vehicle. Though when kids are little grown from toddler, they are excited for train journey. They are very much fascinated with all the stories of train journey and very much keen to experience travelling by train. It can be fun for them. Only concern of travelling by train will be the time, but it’s fine it will be a part of your family vacation plus it will save your pocket too.

And if the time is the concern, you are on a tight schedule then travelling by air is the best option. Be sure to take some kids’ snacks and activities with you in your cabin luggage to keep them engage. Be ready to hear them complaining about the ear sound. You can give your child something to chew that will ease their discomfort in the ears.

7# Have Enough Break

During vacation we are so much interested to cover maximum sight seeing places that kids become bored. They don’t feel like holidays; they become restless. Kids become tired very easily and so become cranky, hence parents have to deal with their tantrums. These all things make vacations daunting. Try to plan your days that have enough breaks within. So kids can have some time at a place, they can explore or let them play whatever they want. Kids need time-off and the whole family will get a chance to relax. So go for slow travelling. Just remember you have spent so much time and money to enjoy and live a stress-free days, so don’t overwhelm yourself.

8# Stay Calm

Stay calm is the mantra to enjoy a vacation with family. Don’t think too much about maintaining your kid’s daily schedule. Holidays are to break the mundane routine, it same for children too. Let them have fun and you enjoy too. Be prepare that everything will not go according to the plan, something may go wrong. It happens in every trip, so keep your calm this will help to calm kids. Don’t panic over the things like if kids are on junk food or they become picky while eating. Let them mess with their daily routine for few days as we are also doing the same. Its fine once in while.

You may like to read :- How To Deal With A Fussy Eater

9# Plan With Your Kid

Planning a vacation has its own joy. Personally I always felt we can enjoy much in planning a vacation more than the vacation. The few days of vacation pass within e blink of eyes but we have enough time to plan for the vacation, we dream of the places we will visit. Always involve your kids while planning, let them feel that excitement of holidays. They will also eager to visit those places without being reluctant. They will learn so many things that they want to experience them in real. Seeing their thrill and joy to travel will make your vacation much more happier and enjoying.

10# Enjoy Travelling With Kids

Travel with your kids as much as you can, these are the stories you are creating for their life-book. Gift them stories of adventures not stuff. Travelling teach children the invaluable lessons of life. Capture the expressions of their when they witness something first time in life. I can never forget the magical shine and happiness I had seen on my daughter’s face when she saw sea first time in her life. The only legacy we are leaving behind for our kids are the memories of travelling.

You may like to read our recent travel blog post :- Darjeeling And Kalimpong in 5 Days

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