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10 Tips for Traveling with Kids

Here are our top 10 tips for traveling with kids while keeping everyone sane and happy. Planning on taking a vacation with the kids?

By Fahad YousafPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Here are our top 10 tips for traveling with kids while keeping everyone sane and happy. Planning on taking a vacation with the kids? But first, our bonus tip is definitely worth keeping at the forefront of your mind: A vacation with kids is about the memories you make, not where you go. Keep it fun, keep it easy. The best gift you can give your kids this holiday season is time with your full attention and lots of love.

Don’t go too far in a day. Don’t plan long drives if you can avoid it; you’re just asking for the young’uns to start annoying you. Spread your journey out with multiple stops for things the kids will enjoy – the nut house, the aviation museum, whatever is on the way and remotely interesting. Help your kids stay engaged along the way by letting them “help navigate” on a spare map they can scribble on.

Don’t aim to tackle long walks, either. Young kids have limitations to what they can do easily and happily that are quickly reached. They might have way more fun playing in mud puddles and climbing a tree in the park than walking for hours through the bush to see a famous rock or driving for hours to go on the rides at Movie World. Remember that if they’re happy, everyone’s happy.

Avoid the queues and try a tour

If you’re away for a whole week, plan to hit the big attractions mid-week so you can avoid the weekend queues. It’s always a little hit-and-miss with what kind of children’s activities they’ll have at museums or galleries, so Google is your friend when it comes to finding something fun. You can often hit a home run with a free guided tour where your kids can ask an expert everything, they want to about dinosaurs, or planes, or the history of pirates.

Awaken the imagination

You can do a lot of easy things to get your kids as enthusiastic to go travelling as you are. Watch a movie or read a book about your chosen destination. Show them where the country is on a globe or on Google Maps. A ruined fort can be more than just a pile of old bricks if you dress up in medieval costumes and have a sword fight among the empty walls. A walking tour in the city is transformed for your teens if you can point out places where their favorite band has been known to hang out. In short, give your kids a reason to be excited to travel.

Plan for the munchies

Bring a whole day’s worth of snacks. Snacks, not sugar. Nuts, crackers, and fruit are all safe ideas. And bring lots of water – you all need to stay hydrated when you’re on the go! Think about where you’ll find breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Most kids aren’t too fussed about fancy restaurant food, but if you can find a diner or another place with simple, hot food, you should be okay. When you’re in a strange place, anything that feels familiar is a winner.

Pay in advance to save in bulk

Travelling with kids has the potential to seriously hurt your pocket. Even just two adults and two kids are an expensive day out, whether you’re buying plane tickets or cinema tickets. Look for online discounts and two-for-one offers in advance, or ask if they have a family group discount. Pay in advance instead of paying through the nose at the door.

Accommodation that’s right for your family and your budget

No one needs to stay in a hotel, but you don’t need to freeze in a tent either – unless that’s what you’re after. A stay on a farm where the kids get to help feed the animals or go hiking in the hills are a great way to make memories and save money. You could even stick to day trips away each day during your week of holidays, instead of staying somewhere away from home. With the extra money you’ve saved every night, you can do more during the day!

Call a friend

If you’re traveling with a teenager, you probably have teen angst on family holidays because they’ve been taken away from their friends during their only time off school. How could you? You can take that angst away by letting them bring a friend along with them – someone to hang out and have fun with, who’s not an ‘annoying sibling’. It can be a huge relief to them and you.

The Mary Poppins bag

Keep all your essentials in one bag when you’re out during the day. Obviously, you’ll want to keep your vital passports, tickets, and accommodation details with you, but you’ll also want everything you might need during the day:

Teach your kids to pack

Get storage cubes – Ziplock bags for keeping things separate and safe within their bigger pack – so they can easily find clean socks in a hurry. Teach your kids how to pack light and make sure everyone carries their own. After they’ve had to lug around a heavy suitcase on their own once, they’ll never forget to pack light again.

Set a budget but stay flexible

Make sure everyone knows how much money they have to spend on souvenirs and snacks each day. Of course, it wouldn’t be a holiday if there weren’t one or two special treats. Take them out for a late-night gelato. If it’s not in the food budget, stretch the budget elsewhere.

Vacations with kids can be a trying test of patience for even the calmest of parents, but give some of our tips a go! You might be surprised at how much easier managing your holiday becomes.

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