Tips for Family Travel

As fun and exciting as it is to take a family vacation, traveling with a group usually isn’t easy. The more people involved in the trip, especially children, the more difficult it can be to appeal to everyone’s interests. However, the important thing is to keep in mind why you’re going in the first place: to have a wonderful time with each other and enjoy whatever destination you’re traveling to. The following are some tips to keep in mind for family travel that can help you keep the peace and stay focused on making the vacation one you’ll always remember for all the best reasons.

Create Travel Journals
Traveling with kids can be expensive, but making travel journals can be a budget-friendly way to have a great souvenir to keep for a lifetime without breaking the bank. The best part is that everyone – parents and children included – can each keep one. You can fill it with everything from notes and drawings to pictures and ticket stubs.

Get Everyone’s Opinion
If you’re traveling with school-age children, regardless of what grade they’re in, don’t hesitate to ask them where they’d like to go; you never know if they’ll give you a good idea that you never thought of. Ask them their opinion about activities and let them feel as though they have a voice in the planning. It will allow them to feel that much more special.

Do Your Research
It’s so important to do your research before you travel, especially when you’re vacationing with children. For example, is the apartment vacation rental you want to stay at kid-friendly? Are there restaurants nearby that you and your children will like? Are there any kid-friendly activities to do near where you’re staying? You can never start researching early enough to ensure that everything is in place when you arrive. Before you make any reservations, don’t forget to read past customer reviews to see what other people had to say about the same places you’re considering visiting.

Pack Ahead of Time
When you’re packing, it’s best if you don’t leave it until the day before. The last thing you want is to be hundreds or thousands of miles away and realize that you forgot to bring something, such as your child’s favorite toy they can’t sleep without or an inhaler you wanted to pack in case of an emergency, and there’s no way for you to go back and get it. The earlier you pack, the more confident you’ll feel that you have everything you need.

Bring Goodies
You can’t always prevent a tantrum – every child has them at some point or another – but what you can do is prepare ahead of time to try and prevent them as much as possible. For example, bring an electronic device that’s loaded with their favorite videos, bring some treats that they love, or include a brand new little toy that is vacation-inspired so you can do what you can to keep them calm and happy while you’re traveling.

One last and final tip is to make sure not to overbook your itinerary while you’re traveling. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself even more trying to constantly go from one place to the next. Consider picking just one or two main things you want to do each day then go from there depending on everyone’s moods by the time you’re finished.