There’s nothing better than making treasured new memories with your little ones. That said, there can be roadblocks along the way when traveling internationally with kids. Between long flights, unforeseen roadblocks, and new cultures, your kids may become a handful to deal with.
That said, traveling is a great opportunity for character development. Your children will learn how to interact with new cultures, deal with adversity, and (hopefully) love and appreciate their family more.
To help you along the way, we’ve outlined some of our favorite family travel tips below.
Get Your Kids’ Input
Ideally, you don’t want to have to drag your kids on a vacation. For this reason, when choosing a vacation destination, it’s a good idea to get the whole family on board. Talk to your kids and let them be a part of the process. Maybe you and your partner make a list of places you’d like to visit, then help your children narrow down your options according to which locations excite them the most. Maybe while you’d like to go on an African safari, your kids would be more interested in an Arctic destination. Make sure to talk through different possibilities to arrive at a compromise.
This will allow your kids to get really excited about the trip. The more invested they are, the more motivation they will have during the boring parts of the trip such as sitting on flights.
Make Sure You Have Your Passports
If you are thinking about planning an international trip, every member of your family needs a passport. It’s a horrible feeling when you plan your vacation only to realize that someone’s passport isn’t valid the day before you’re scheduled to leave.
For this reason, the moment you start planning a vacation, make sure to schedule passport appointments for everyone.
Apply for Global Entry
Applying for Global Entry can make the process of traveling much more smooth, particularly when traveling with kids. It can reduce your time filling in paperwork, waiting in processing lines, and gives you access to other expedited entry benefits in other countries.
Since whining and complaining can be at an all time high when your kids are bored, minimizing the time your family must spend in these monotonous processes will help make your vacation less rocky overall.
Choose a Variety of Activities
When you’re traveling with kids, you want to make sure that you aren’t just choosing activities catering to you and your partner. You’ll want to try to strike a balance between family-friendly activities and more “adult” activities that your kids might find boring.
For example, instead of spending three days dedicated to visiting museums, aquariums, and eating at fancy restaurants, you may want to balance those activities with more kid-friendly ones, such as playing on the beach, or visiting theme parks. This is part of why it’s a good idea to get your kids’ input when planning the vacation in the first place.
Think About Renting a Car
Depending on where you visit, renting a car may be the best transportation option for your family. While some vacation destinations are walkable or have solid public transportation options, not all of them do. Do your research to determine if you’ll need to rent a car.
If you do decide to use a car as your primary form of transportation, make sure to stay safe. You may even want to rent car seats as well if your kids are really young and need them. As always, make sure your family all has their seatbelts on and that you’re familiar with traffic laws in the area you’re visiting. This can help prevent you from getting in a car accident or your family being injured on the road. If you are injured in an accident, you may want to contact a car accident lawyer to make sure you receive the financial compensation you deserve.
Stay Safe
Different travel locations will have different crime rates. Make sure you do your due diligence researching the safest spots to visit at any given location. And keep an eye on your children whenever possible. The last thing you want is for your child to run off and get lost or find themselves in a pedestrian accident in an unfamiliar location.
Book Long Flights for Night
For kids, they can get antsy when on long flights. To make it a little easier on you and your family, it’s a good idea to plan your longest flights at night, if at all possible. That way, you’re able to get some shut-eye while on the plane. You may also want to invest in the necessary neck-pillows, blankets, and blindfolds to help your little ones sleep.
Conclusion
Vacations with your family can be beautiful opportunities to bond and create valuable memories together. However, it’s a good idea to plan ahead to make sure that the usual roadblocks of traveling don’t ruin your family adventure. Follow our tips above to make the most of your vacation.
Image: Pixabay, Pexels.
