1. Pack Light
  2. Plan around kid friendly activities
  3. Always carry snacks
  4. Use GPS 
  5. Book Direct
  6. Check your bookings, then check them again
  7. Bring kid friendly activities for restaurants

 

  1.  Pack Light – I know, I know, kids need a lot of stuff.  But, here’s the thing…when you’re traveling, especially when you’re moving from one location to another too much stuff becomes cumbersome and will drag you down.  Having just returned from 2 weeks in Europe, this is fresh in my mind.  We arrived late in Venice and had to get our luggage from the airport onto a water taxi, off the water taxi onto a narrow cobbled lane, up and down three sets of cobbled stair bridges, and finally up 4 flights of a narrow spiral staircase to our apartment.  It was challenging, even though I had packed light.  Over a two week period we slept in 6 different locations.  That means living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks and strategically packing and unpacking (use packing cubes!) 6 times.  The less stuff you have the easier all this will be.  Refer to my previously posted 2 part blog on packing!
  2. Plan around kid friendly activities – Traveling with kids is different.  Forget the stuff you used to do.  Kids don’t want to just stroll through quaint villages.  They don’t want to listen to long, boring museum tours.  They don’t want to sit around enjoying gourmet food and drink.  When you begin planning your trip, immediately start thinking about activities that will be fun for the whole family and plan around those destinations and activities.

    Think about seeing things from a different perspective – get on bikes (our favorite), get on boats, get on the train.  Look for caves, look for animals, look for castles, look for picnic spots and parks and playgrounds.  You’ll be surprised by how much you end up enjoying all these activities as well!

  3. Always carry snacks – It’s amazing to me how many times snacks have saved the day!  This is true for us at home and even more so when traveling in a foreign country.  Many hotels throughout Europe include breakfast.  My kids don’t typically eat a lot at breakfast, so I usually take a few items from the breakfast buffet to go (I pack a couple zip lock bags in my purse!).  I’ll grab a piece of fruit or lunch meat and bread for a sandwich.  Whatever I know they will eat in a pinch.  It seems kids are always hungry at inopportune times and these to go items always come in handy.  We also frequent local supermarkets, farmers markets and fruit stands for another way to stock up on snacks.  It’s always interesting to see what’s in a local supermarket and the fresh fruit at local stands is usually super fresh and delicious.  Don’t forget some fun sweet treats for those moments when you’re really in a pinch!
  4. Use GPS – If you’ve rented a car and are driving for any portion of your trip, use the car GPS system or your smart phone.   This has literally revolutionized travel for us.  I remember travelling 10 years ago, pre kids, with my husband in Europe.  We circled the entire city of Paris on an outer ring road trying desperately to figure out where we were going using a paper map.  A lot of inappropriate language was used along the way!  With that in mind, I was so thankful for GPS on our most recent trip while toting two kids and their grandmother along.  Before pulling out of any parking lot we plugged the destination in and poof we were off.  So much less stress!  It is still a good idea to check the map – sometimes GPS gave us multiple route options, so you do still need to familiarize yourself with the area.
  5. Book Direct – While I am a big fan of sites like booking.com and Kayak for trip planning, its always best to book directly with your hotel or apartment when you can.  Prices are almost always best when you book direct and most importantly booking direct leaves you with the most flexibility if you need to change or cancel reservations.  This also holds true with airline bookings.  Do all the research you want on consolidator websites, but in the end, take the time to book with the airline directly even if it costs a few more bucks.  This will make dealing with any delays, cancellations or missed flights much easier should they arise.  Its also a good idea to contact your booked accommodations via email, text or phone a couple of weeks before your arrival.  Do this to confirm your booking while also letting them know a little bit more about your group, and any special needs your might have.   Most places are quite accommodating especially when they know kids are part of the equation!
  6. Check you bookings, then check them again – We’re moms, we’re dads, we’re crazy busy and trying to book travel arrangements while doing a million other things.  Mistakes are bound to happen.  Better to find out and fix them before your adventure begins.  Remember to account for time zone changes, military time, and overnight flights that take off one day and land on the next.  Some friends of mine recently showed up at 6 pm for a flight that actually departed at 6 am…turned into a very costly, not to mention stressful day.
  7. Bring kid friendly activities for restaurants – You probably already do this at home, but its easy to forget when traveling abroad.  Pack a small supply of crayons or colored pencils and a coloring/activity book in your day pack for the kids while eating out.  Unlike many American restaurants, restaurants in Europe almost never provide crayons or menus for kids to color.   As a parent this tip may just buy you enough time to let you enjoy that second glass of beer or wine or just give you that much needed moment of relaxation!