At some point we’d love to travel all around the world as a family and I firmly believe that family travel is important. Here are the places we’ve been so far and here are things that have worked for us:
Family Travel by Car (ahem van)
We used to roll in a mini-van with a giant bin full of toys, diapers and extra clothes. We traveled long distances during naps or planned active stops to break up the monotony. We had an Elmo DVD and a Sesame Street DVD that we used on occasion on the tv that came in our van. We let the kids eat in the van too. Now we usually travel in a Tesla electric vehicle so we are learning a lot about where super chargers are located and where is the best place to charge when we travel too.
Airplane Travel with kids
This method has evolved over time. On our first long haul to Hawaii when the kids were 9 months, we carted a pump, a zillion bottles, bucket seats and a double stroller. In the early days of airplane travel we used to drop me off curbside with the kids and our luggage, and I entertained and supervised till backup arrived. Travel is a lot easier now with the kids and our motto is still “If we forget something, we can always buy it as a souvenir” We’ve even bought and sold a pack and play in Hawaii on Craigslist. Now that the kids are in elementary school they can roll their own suitcases but we have to figure out homework and how to negotiate unexcused absences if we want or need to travel with kids during the school year.
Some other tips:
If you forget to Renew your Passport
Also, here are some Family Travel Bloggers from all around the world that we love who also have some really great tips!
We roll in a mini van, too and it is awesome even as the kids get older than what I thought was the mini van ‘age’! So much room for so much stuff! Mini vans ROCK!
Natalie, The Educational Tourist