A Q&A with Traveling Tips With Kids
After our trip to Boston, someone asked if I could share my best tips for how to travel with kids.
We’ve been traveling with our four kids when they were little (we really ramped things up when our oldest was 4 and our second daughter was 18 months and we did a semester abroad in London and went all over Europe while we were there!).
Travel has been one of our favorite things to do as a family and I’m happy to share some of the things that work for us!
Here are some of the questions about how to travel with kids that came in:
How do you set your kids up for success and flexibility handling unexpected changes in plans?
A few things! One, we talk a lot before we leave and then also daily during our trips about handling hiccups.
Second, we role-play things going wrong (you get to the restaurant and it is closed – what is a good way to react and what is a bad way to react?) and talk about how one of the reasons we travel is to practice being flexible.
We also have had great success with our Good Traveler budget system!
Plus, you get to be the role model for adapting to change without panicking or losing your cool.
Do you combine toiletry bags or does everyone have their own?
Everyone has their own so they can easily access their own toothbrush, hairbrush, etc.
I also have a full post about my favorite travel products for gear recommendations!
What do you bring on the airplane for long flights?
Frankly, my kids love to fly – the novelty of unlimited screen time and soda being brought around means they’re pretty happy on a flight! Usually they bring their Kindle readers, Yoto players, and a few small games and activities, but once they’re about 5, I don’t really worry about entertaining them at all on a flight.
I also let them pack their own backpacks so they have ownership of what they bring along (check out this blog post if you need some screen-free activities).
Tips and gear for sleeping on planes?
Bart and I both love these travel pillows (and our older teens use them too), but for our younger kids, they usually just curl up and sleep. I don’t find travel pillows to be very helpful for them and they just take up space, so we skip them. My kids are huge blanket lovers, so they do often bring their blankets which I don’t love (kind of gross to drag them around, in my opinion, and we’ve had blankets left on planes) but if they want them and are willing to carry them, I won’t say no.
How do you deal with picky eaters?
We’ve been all over the world and never had trouble finding food even my pickiest eaters will eat. It’s pretty easy to get yogurt, bread or fruit almost anywhere, so nobody goes hungry even if they’re not interested in trying local foods. I have a whole post with suggestions for handling picky eaters when you travel!
Tips for handling jet lag?
I swear by melatonin (for adults and kids!) and a good travel sound machine. If we land early, we try to check into our Airbnb or hotel early for a quick nap so we’re not suffering through for hours. We also try to walk a lot and be outside to help tire everyone out for a good night’s sleep and get on the local time.
How to help kids grow into good travelers when you don’t travel often?
There are so many good ways to practice! You can do day outings in your own town, practicing being out for a while, hitting multiple stops, and walking a lot. Try new foods at home, go for long walks and hikes, and point out when you’re doing things like you might do on a trip (visit museums, sleep outside your bed, eating out, etc).
How do you handle little kids’ whining and discomfort over routine changes like food and sleep?
A phrase I’ve said to myself one million times is “I’m an adult and I can handle some whining.” I expect it to be hard on kids to have their routines disrupted. We stop for a lot of snacks and have visited playgrounds all over the world. One of the biggest things about traveling for me is to spend uninterrupted time with my family, not to see every possible tourist destination.
How do you choose your destination and how far ahead do you prep?
We have a list of places we’re interested in and times during the year when we’d like to travel (spring break, a winter escape trip, etc) then we watch for deals to pop up on Going.
How to work out sleeping arrangements?
It can be tricky! When my kids were little, I cared SO MUCH about having a hotel room with a big enough closet for a pack and play (something I never think about now). We’ve done all kinds – Airbnbs where everyone got their own room and all 6 of us in a hotel room with 2 queens and a pull out sofa bed. Basically we’re always trying to balance cost and comfort and there’s no right answer.
How do you navigate transportation in other countries? How do you know when to do a bus or a train or a rental car?
Generally if we’re in a big city, we don’t rent a car – in New York or Paris or London, a car is going to be more of a hassle than a help because parking is tricky and public transportation is so good. If we’re going to multiple cities in a trip, we’ll usually rent a car to get between them (like our Croatia trip, we rented a car because we were day tripping to different countries almost every day!). Sometimes we’ll do a little of both – in Boston, we had no car for the first half of our trip when we were staying in the city and then when we were headed out to Vermont, we picked up a rental car and had it for the rest of our trip until we returned to Boston.
My biggest tip would be to figure out what you want to see and do on your trip first and then figure out the best way to get to those places (Google Maps is really helpful because you can look up directions from place to place and it’ll show you the options and often the costs).
What to do when your kids are not interested in exploring on foot (but its what I love to do!)?
Our kids know that a lot of walking is part of the gig when we travel. Our first big big walking trip was London in 2021 and the first couple of days our kids were DYING over all the walking. But by day 3, they didn’t even notice it anymore and now they just expect it and are awesome at it.
We stop a lot of snacks and treats, hit up a lot of playgrounds, and are often Uber home at the end of the day when everyone is worn out. My kids also love seeing how many steps we do in a day now (we just check it on our phones each night).
How do you manage/prevent kids fighting during traveling? It puts a damper on trips for us.
I think the first day or two of a trip is almost always a little rocky when everyone is getting used to being together 24/7 (I thought homeschooling would change this because they’re together more, but it still happens!).
Setting clear expectations and using the Good Traveler budget helps a lot and also being willing to look the other way a little bit instead of coming down hard every time they get on each other’s nerves.
How do you plan your itinerary (activities for different ages and interests, how much to do each day, etc)?
I lean on the side of over-planning and then being willing to cross anything off the list as needed. When our kids were younger, we usually planned for a morning outing and an afternoon outing, but now that our kids are a bit older and seasoned travelers, we can pack more in. And I tend to love being out a bit late in a city – it’s so magical at night! I have a whole post about planning trips here!
We also try to have our kids involved in the planning – we watch YouTube videos or look at blog posts and everyone can weigh in on what they’re excited about doing. Then we try to be good sports about making sure everyone gets at least a few things on their list checked off!
Any other questions or tips about how to travel with kids? I’d love to hear!
