Having been traveling with kids for 15 years now I have tried many strategies to make each trip as stress free as possible until I finally figured out what really works. Here are the best tips for stress free traveling with kids I can share with you:
Tip #1 for stress free travelling with kids
Choose a road trip whenever possible. The advantages are numerous: you are fully in control, you can stop when you want, you can change the itinerary whichever way you like and you will save the cost of airline tickets.
Tip #2 for stress free travelling with kids
Make the journey (the drive) as appealing as the destination itself, don’t rush to get there in 1 day, piling 8-10 hours’ drives with just 1 quick bathroom break. Stop every 2 -3 hours to get out of the car to do something exciting. It can be a stop at a roadside attraction or a local playground. In most of my itineraries you will find suggestions for stops along the route.
Tip #3 for stress free travelling with kids
Turn a refueling stop into a special treat. We usually buy kids 1 special item at a gas station that we typically do not buy in our every day life as much. Here in California it is dried fruits and nuts from local farms. They are a healthy snack and they are a great alternative for all the sugary stuff that kids typically ask for.
Tip #4 for stress free travelling with kids
Let kids pack a small bag or backpack of their own things they are going to use in the car. These can be toys, books or really anything they want.
Tip #5 for stress free travelling with kids
Know beforehand where and when exactly you are going to eat while on the road. I am not a fan of roadside fast-food chains, so I am always on the lookout for healthy and yummy foodie destinations. For example, on our trip across America we found an unbelievable Basque restaurant in the middle of nowhere in Nevada desert.
Tip #6 for stress free travelling with kids
For really long trips we pack a DVD or two. If you have an in-car entertainment system – great, otherwise you can get a portable DVD Player
.
Tip #7 for stress free travelling with kids
Play road trip games that are fun for entire family. License plate game and road trip bingo are classics.
Tip #8 for stress free travelling with kids
Plan for unplanned. Sometimes I don’t leave room in the itinerary for unplanned surprises and unpredictable beautiful moments and it is just impossible to know and predict everything before you depart. There were moments, like the one during our recent Canada trip, when I said to myself: “I wish I had an extra day to visit the marine park that I didn’t know existed until we were already in Canada”. So always leave an empty “window” or two to be filled on the go.
Tip #9 for stress free travelling with kids
Prepare for unpredictable weather. I truly believe in a statement that there is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. I have seen girls in Grand Canyon National Park in dresses and sandals (most likely coming from Vegas on a day trip) struggling through the freshly fallen snow.
Tip #10 for stress free travelling with kids
It may sound cliché but do always look on the bright side of things. Even if you are stuck in a traffic jam, consider it a gift of extra family time together and use it accordingly.
Tip #11 for stress free travelling with kids
Remember, quantity does not always equal quality. If you plan to jam a gazillion attractions in 1 road trip so that you can snap a selfie at each one of them and move on, you are setting yourself up for a failure. Such a trip will be very low on educational value but very high on stress.
Tip #12 for stress free travelling with kids
Check Travel Resources page on this blog – there you can find a lot of useful stuff for your trips, such as gear, books, road trip games, etc.
Tip #13 for stress free travelling with kids
Reduce “budget stress” (i.e. make your trip less expensive) by:
a. choosing the lodging in smart way – see my separate post about hotels’ loyalty programs HERE
b. utilizing reciprocity programs at various attractions. For instance, if you have a membership at a zoo in your local town and that zoo is a member of American Association of Zoos and Aquariums you get a FREE or discounted entrance to all aquariums and zoos that are members of AZA in the country. The same goes for Association of Science-Technology Centers (aka science museums). But choose your membership wisely: we hit a jackpot by joining CuriOdissey in San Mateo, CA: membership is just $100 a year BUT CuriOddisey is a member of both, AZA and ASTC so we get a lot of benefits when we travel. On our recent trip to Santa Barbara, all 3 major attractions were absolutely FREE for us (a zoo, MOXI museum and Sea Center)
c. checking out existing free passes: museum passes with the libraries or Every Kid in the Park for National Parks (all 4th graders and their families get free access to all the U.S. National Parks for a year)
If you found these tips on stress free travelling with kids useful, please do me a little favor and share this trip with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂
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- Santa Barbara Off The Beaten Path
- Grand Canyon Railway Review
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