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My TOP 5 Family Holiday Travel Tips

After 26 years in the travel business, hundreds of airplane trips, hotel/cruise stays AND 8 years of being a Mom; I have learned a few things about making a family holiday more enjoyable.  These tips make sense for my family:


Snorkling in Cozumel
1.   Book with a Travel Agent – I can’t stress     this enough.  Even I, with decades of know-how on planning trips, book through a travel agent that I trust.  Nothing replaces the ability to contact an actual person to solve a problem if you need help along the journey.  I certainly don’t want to spend my own precious holiday time working out a problem – I gladly pay a small service fee to transfer that responsibility to my trusty agent.
 

Beach day in Belize
2.       Pack Less – Take the time before the trip to list all holiday events and preplan an outfit for each event, including footwear and accessories.    Take neutral shoes that can be re-worn, since footwear is one of the heaviest and bulky items to pack. Take 10% extra outfits for kids who tend to have accidents.  Pack a small box of detergent for quick washes in the room and a stain-pen for emergencies.  Packing less will cost you less in checked luggage, and make travelling through the airport easier with small children.  And yes, I will say it – Moms, wear pant liners.  It will get you a second wear out of shorts/pants.

3.       Make dollar-store run – Buy 5-10 new items for the kids.  It will cost under $20/kid with no worries if something gets lost.  From markers/colouring books to stickers, water toys and craft kits, there are lots items to keep your kids busy during travelling or destination lulls.

4.       Outerwear when heading from cold/hot climates – Winter coats are tough to store once you reach the airport and hot climate.  Instead, have each family member pile on the layers, t-shirt/long-sleeved shirt/hoodie/sweater then add hat, scarf and mittens.  Layers may be shed as the temperature warms up, or added as it chills on the way home.  Each layer of clothing can be used on the trip individually so it has a double purpose.

5.       Lock in the memories – We often worry that kids won’t remember the great memories made after all the money, time and energy we have invested in a family trip.  We have found that this simple exercise improves the odds.  At the end of each day (we like to do it over dinner), each person describes their favourite moment of the day and then the moment they would like NOT to repeat.  We find it both helps us direct future experiences towards the favourites AND the exercise of verbalizing helps the kids remember those very special experiences.
We work so hard to gain the time and money for a family vacation experience; it makes sense to squeeze the best possible value out of each holiday. 

What other travel tips make sense for your family?
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  1. Tots to TravelApril 8, 2013 at 10:25 AM

    Touching further on child safety, cliched as it may sound, you cannot pout a price on it. If you know your children are safe and sound, wherever you may be in the world, then you can relax and truly enjoy yourself. This unwittingly passes down to your children, as they wont be wrapped up in cotton wool with a worrying parent and will be able to enjoy themselves and such valuable experiences at such a young age.

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