What to Consider When Planning a Trip With Kids
Planning a trip with kids can be exciting but it comes with its challenges and it’s easy to get overwhelmed or stressed, especially if you’re not a seasoned traveller.
From ensuring they’re entertained on long travel days to balancing the holiday experience with sticking to some form of routine, a well thought out and structured plan is essential for making the process stress-free and enjoyable.
Planning a trip with kids in tow is about more than just choosing the perfect destination, it’s about making sure that every part of your trip is tailored to the family experience. It required a bit more foresight and creativity but the reward is an unforgettable family adventure.
What’s in this post
In this post we delve into 7 things to consider when planning a trip with kids based on what we’ve done right, done wrong, and leant while traveling with our own two children.
We also answer some common questions about traveling with kids including where to start planning, how to make traveling with kids easier, and what is the best age to start travelling with your kids.
If there’s something on this list you’re particularly interested in you can skip straight there by clicking on that section in the contents below. If not, then scroll down to read about what you need to consider when planning a trip with kids.
What to consider when planning a trip with kids?
Be consistent
While I’m a huge advocate of going with the flow and letting some things slide when you’re travelling with kids, I do think it’s less stressful if you can stick to some of their routine. Of course, you’re going to need to flex if you’re in a different country or on a travel day but don’t just throw everything out of the window.
It could be as simple as still eating at your normal meal times, leaving for a road trip early in the morning if they’re car sleepers, or choosing an overnight flight for long haul so they can get settled and fall asleep around their normal bedtime.
Start with familiarity
If you’re new to family travel or travelling with your own kids then start off with places that you’ve been to before. You won’t feel the need to rush around and see every single sight and attraction because you’ve seen it all.
You can take it a little slower and hit just the highlights. It doesn’t even need to be abroad, you might just book a weekend break a couple of hours away to get used to not being in your own home.
Be prepared
It’s a much smoother travel journey if you just spend some time before you leave thinking about everything you’re going to need. These are the two pieces that people often forget,
Extension cable: a lot of hotels have one or two single plugs, this isn’t enough to charge phones, tablets, battery packs and still use your hairdryer. Bringing an extension cable gives you 4 or 5 plugs off one hotel plug and you only need one adapter too.
First aid kit: I speak from experience when I say that if you need medicine for your child when you’re abroad and you don’t know what to get or where the nearest pharmacy is it’s so stressful – even worse if they fall sick in the middle of the night! As a minimum I always take the kid versions of antihistamines, paracetamol, ibuprofen, plasters and painkiller tablets for the adults.
We also prepare an individual backpack for each of our kids (or one between them if we fly) every time we travel. They include stickers, favorite snacks, a couple of drinks, a small new toy, a book, and their tablets. They’re young kids so need to be entertained or it’s more stressful for everyone – if you prepare something simple to keep them busy you’ll find traveling so much easier.
Just start
I hear so many parents who say that they’ve put off traveling with their kids because it’s too difficult, too stressful or they just don’t know where to start. Honestly, traveling with kids isn’t as hard as you think, it’s less stressful if you plan well and will be easier the more they get used to it. Ultimately, you don’t know what your experience is unless you just start!
I’ll tell you a story – when Jacob was just 6 months old we decided to take him on holiday and he didn’t agree with something while we were there. He was fine in himself but projectile vomiting and diarrhea all day for 3 days. We were first time parents and really didn’t plan very well. We ran out of nappies, melted a bottle in the microwave and had to buy soap to try and scrub the many sheets he’d ruined.
We still had a great holiday and now look back and laugh at the image of us scrubbing sheets on the balcony. It also didn’t put us off travelling with kids and taught us a lot about what to do when you’re away from home and things go wrong. The next year we took Jacob abroad again and if Finley hadn’t been born in 2020 we would have taken him abroad in his first year too.
Plan well
I wish I was one of these people who can be spontaneous and arrive somewhere with no accommodation booked and no plans at all but I just can’t! I’m an organiser at home and in my day job so I like to have plans. I was like this before I had kids but now I’m even more planned, it just makes it easier and way less stressful.
Knowing exactly how we’re getting around, where we’re staying, what the area is like, where the good places to eat are, and what you can do around the area are all things you don’t need to think about when you’re trying to get from one end of the airport to the other without losing a child or passport. It also gives you time to find some cool kid friendly things to do and make sure you’re able to get them booked if they’re particularly popular.
Get them involved
Travel is exciting no matter what age you are! Get the kids involved in some part of the planning and build the excitement for your trip with them too. Here’s some ideas of how we’ve got our two boys excited in the holiday planning process before,
- Let Jacob click the button to book our holiday to Ibiza
- Watched Youtube videos of the rides before we went to Disneyland Paris and spoke about what rides we all wanted to do
- Let them choose an excursion or activity and actually do it!
- We teach them to count to 10 and say please, thank you and hello in the language of every country we’ll be visiting.
Slow down
Travelling with kids is more difficult than travelling by yourself but it’s so worth it. Just slow down and accept that everything is going to take longer and there may be some hiccups along the way but that’s okay. It’s only stressful if you let yourself get stressed out over the little things – just take a deep breath and relax!
FAQs for planning a trip with kids
Where do I start when planning a trip?
Start with your destination, there’s really not much you can do until you’ve decided that. Look at popular travel destinations, read a few travel bucket list books and research to figure out what destination offers you the kind of holiday you want – whether it’s active, a beach holiday or a city break.
How to make traveling easier with kids
Plan, plan and plan! Plan your itinerary and include family friendly things to do, plan where you’re going to stay to take the stress out of finding somewhere, and plan how you’re going to keep them entertained on those long travel days.
How far in advance should you plan a family vacation?
For the best deals you should try and plan a year ahead, however we’ve had some great holidays that we booked last minute (around 6 weeks before) and got a great deal.
If it’s an all inclusive beach holiday then a last minute trip is fine. If you’re going to a far flung place or a city break to somewhere you haven’t been before then I’d try and book in advance so you have time to plan you itinerary.
What is the best age to travel with kids?
The best age to travel with kids is age five and above, they understand what’s going on so get excited with you, are relatively easy to keep entertained and you don’t need as much bulky equipment with them like a pushchair.
What is the hardest age to travel with a child?
The hardest age to travel with a child is under one year old. This is because they’re more susceptible to catching an illness, everything has to be correctly sterilised and it can be hard for them to understand on the plane.
Summary of planning a trip with kids
We’ve travelled pretty extensively as an adult with and without my kids and these are the top three tips I stick by when planning a trip with kids.
- Be prepared and take the stress out of your trip. Two things I absolutely could not travel without is a go bag for the kids with snacks, toys and electronics. Plus a first aid kit or just some basic medications, if something goes wrong and you need some painkillers or antihistamines there’s nothing more stressful than trying to figure out the name of what you need and where to find it.
- Get the kids involved in planning and booking the trip. It keeps them engaged, excited and ensures that when you get there you’ve included some stuff they really want to do – this is particularly important if they’re a bit older.
- Just start! If you keep putting it off and waiting for the perfect time or the perfect age you’re going to miss out on such amazing experiences. Some things may go wrong and that’s okay – you learn and know what to do on your next trip.
No matter how much more stressful, expensive or time consuming it is to travel with kids there’s nothing that compares to exploring the world with them and introducing them to new sights and experiences.
