a day ago
I've taken my child to 20 countries. I always follow these 8 rules to make sure a trip goes smoothly.
I've been taking my kids on international trips with me since they were toddlers.
Right now, I average three to four trips a year with at least one of my children.
For a smooth trip, I always download regional ride-share apps ahead of time and stick to carry-ons.
Traveling is my favorite activity, so it's important to me that my two kids — who are 7 and 14 years old — get to experience the world, too.
My kids have traveled with me since they were toddlers, and I average three to four trips a year with at least one of my children.
Over the years, I've picked up a lot of tips for kid-friendly travel. Now, I make sure to follow these eight rules to ensure everything goes smoothly and everyone has a great time.
I make local transportation part of the adventure.
When it comes to hotels and lodging, location is everything. We always try to choose a hotel with proximity to public transportation.
Not only is it important to be able to get to all the spots we want to see, but also my kids enjoy the novelty of trains, subways, ferries, and buses. They loved taking the tube in London, the bullet trains in Japan, and the ferries on the Greek islands.
For this reason, I always find lodging within walking distance of public transportation. In Amsterdam, we even stayed in the Red Light District because its proximity to the train station let us take easy day trips to Giethoorn and Zaanse Schans.
We never rely just on Uber, and always research ride-share apps ahead of time.
Although public transit is ideal, having a backup mode of transportation is crucial in case of emergency.
Uber is available in over 15,000 cities worldwide, but not everywhere. In some countries, tourists can use Uber, but local alternatives are more reliable and affordable.
Ahead of a trip, I make sure to research country-specific ride-hailing apps and download whichever ones are popular locally to have as backup.
Whenever possible, we opt for local theme parks and museums over global franchises.
To avoid massive crowds, I'll typically avoid global sites and popular spots from big franchises (like Disney parks) when I travel with my kids.
Instead, we try opting for local amusement parks and museums, which we've found to be a little less crowded.
On our various trips, we've visited Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, Brussels' Choco-Story museum, the Historium Brugge in Bruges, Puerto Plata's Monkeyland, and Seoul's many pet cafés.
We make it a point to learn key phrases ahead of time.
In the weeks leading up to a trip, I'll download a language-specific learning app to learn (and teach my kids!) local phrases and questions we might find ourselves asking.
Recently, we discovered HelloChinese for Mandarin; previously, we've had luck just using YouTube videos to learn Korean. Duolingo works here, too.
Although I encourage my kids to try new things, I don't say no to comforts from home.
Instead of hopping from hotel to hotel, we set up a base camp and do day trips.
I always like to pick a single hotel as a "base camp" from which we take all our day trips.
This helps us avoid the hassle of re-packing and often has the added bonus of allowing for the most cost-efficient modes of transportation, like budget airlines that only allow a personal item.
For example, when we visited Athens, we planned a day trip to Santorini. It took under an hour to fly there via a budget airline, and even though we just spent a day on the island, the trip turned into one of my children's fondest memories.
We prioritize minimalist packing to avoid checking bags — and, thereby, limit souvenirs.
Checking a suitcase can get expensive, and I also get nervous about losing my luggage. So, I never check anything, only travel with a roller carry-on and backpack, and wear any necessary outerwear while boarding the plane.
Not only does this trick save money and assuage my anxiety, but it also helps me put a limit on the number of souvenirs my kids can buy. After all, they can only fit so much in their carry-ons.
Now that my son is older, I let him play a role in creating an itinerary.
When my kids were young, I did all the planning. Since my older son became a teen, though, I've involved him in the itinerary.
I'll set the budget and scope of the trip, but ask him to do some research on where we should go.
After a childhood spent seeing castles in Europe, his last two picks included a weeklong Caribbean cruise and a string of trips across Asia — over the past year, we've visited Japan, Korea, and China, and next month, we'll be traveling to Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore.
Including him in the process has helped me ensure we'll both have a great time — and it's passed on to him the same passion I have for discovering the world, one trip at a time.
