Travelling with your kids, especially if you’re heading overseas, can feel like a fairly daunting prospect, especially if you’ve been used to the freedom that comes with travelling alone. However, experienced families will tell you that travelling with kids doesn’t have to be more stressful – it just has to involve more planning and a little bit of compromise. To help you have an awesome trip, we’ve put together these five pieces of advice that will make your next adventure a piece of cake.
1. Get the full lowdown before you go
Fully understanding where you’re going and what’s on offer will make your holiday far more enjoyable. There are plenty of websites out there that will help you find out more about your planned trip and save a little bit along the way. The way we travel is changing, with increasing numbers of people booking trips on their mobile devices – 48% of smartphone users in the US, for example, are happy to book their whole trip on their phone, from beginning to end. This means that it’s easy for you to do a little bit of travel research during your commute and gradually put together your family holiday over several days and weeks before you book.
2. Understand your airline’s policies
Many airlines offer pre-boarding and other benefits for families traveling with young children. With some airlines, though, you may have to check your strollers into the aircraft hold and turn up at the airport early. Before you book, take a look at your particular airline’s website to find out about their policy and make sure that it’s suitable for your family. Then, use a website like Seatguru to find comfortable seats for you all. It may well be worth paying a bit more to avoid airport stress and travel in a little more comfort.
3. Find out what the weather will be like
Kids tend to get a bit cranky if you let them get too hot or too cold. Before you start planning days involving 12 hours of sightseeing in hot conditions, check out what the climate is like in your chosen destination. The Wikipedia article for the town you’re visiting is a good place to start.
4. Plan things in advance
Spontaneity may be fun, but trust us: with kids it isn’t easy. While it’s not essential to preplan every single thing you’ll be doing on each day of your trip, it does help to have a rough idea. Be sure to include at least a few days with fewer activities where you can hang around the beach or a swimming pool, especially if you’re off to a hot destination during the summer.
5. Let the kids have a say
Being dragged around doing what other people want to do is never fun, so make sure that your kids feel involved in what’s going on. Talk to them in advance about where you’re going and find out what kids like to do there. The more involved they feel, the more likely they are to truly enjoy the trip and create memories that will last a life.
This is a guest post and the views and opinions expressed in the post are those of the authors.
