Traveling is great but it can also be challenging. And traveling with kids is a whole different ball game! But don’t be put off, it’s incredibly rewarding and doesn’t have to be difficult.
Here are our top tips for traveling with children.
- Give them time to play. This means having unstructured time during the day where you’re not rushing to get somewhere. It also means taking your time when you are going somewhere. If they find something interesting on the way, let them stop and check it out. That’s much better than them being bored. This leads to our second tip…
- Don’t rush, less is more. Allow plenty of time for activities, travel and day to day errands. You’ll enjoy it more when you’re not rushed. If you finish something earlier than you expected, that’s fine. Have a coffee and a croissant and relax.
- Engage the kids creativity. Get them a fancy journal they can draw and write in, and make a big thing of it. Get them to spot certain things on the way. Follow their interests and curiosity and tailor your travel around that.
- Always carry food just in case. Don’t rely on being able to buy something right when you need it. There either won’t be anything, the kids won’t like it, or it’ll be too expensive.
- Get a babysitter at some stage. You will need time away from the kids, whether it’s a meal or even just a relaxing walk.
- Stay flexible. Be ready to stop and walk away at any time. You may have just sat down at a restaurant and one of the kids starts having a meltdown. You have to think ‘is this worth it?’. Don’t be afraid to just leave.
- Involve the kids in the planning. Otherwise you’ll just be dragging them everywhere. Tell them what you intend to do that day and give them options.
- Avoid busy times. Weekends, holidays, high seasons. Those periods are stressful enough even without kids.
- Have a plan. Don’t try to decide what to do that day when you’re heading out that door. Make a plan, but keep it flexible.
- Take videos of the kids, not just photos. The kids love watching themselves, even on the same day they were taken! And years later you’ll only watch the videos, you won’t look at the photos.
- Try and keep some sort of routine. Most kids thrive on routine. With so many changes while traveling, they’ll need some certainly. Even if it’s just mealtimes and bedtime.
- Remember most problems are money problems. I.e. they can be solved with money. Whether it’s paying for a toilet, snack, Uber ride back to the hotel. Sometimes you just need to pay your way out.
Go and have an adventure with them, it’ll be good for all of you.
Check out our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/breetventures
I wrote a book on how to travel with kids: https://bit.ly/twkbook