Whenever I tell someone about our travel adventures, the first thing I hear is, “Wow! That sounds amazing, but my kids would never be able to handle that.” I have probably heard this 50 times over the last few years—no exaggeration. And it got me thinking… what did we do to make our kiddos such good travelers? They were not born being perfect travelers, so we must have done something! And it turns out, looking back, we did.

To be fair, Gemma, our 7-year-old, was actually born a really good traveler. She’s always been a kid who can be in new places, off a routine, and just roll with it. Remi, our almost 5-year-old, on the other hand? Absolutely not. Until she was close to 2 years old, traveling with Remi was an adventure—and not the good kind. She likes her routines and spaces, so she had to adjust. But now? She’s a pro.

So, my friends, I want to tell you what we did, in the hopes that it will inspire you to do something similar and start traveling more with your kids, too.

Start ’em Young

This seems simple, right? The more you expose children to the various aspects of traveling, the more accustomed they’ll be to traveling, and the easier it will ultimately get. However, you forget just how much stuff babies need when you travel. And when you realize, it’s a daunting task.

I will never forget packing up Jared’s truck for our first week-long trip as a family of four. Gemma had just turned 3, and Remi was 7 months old, and we were heading to Rehoboth Beach, DE, for the week. I always handwrite a packing list, and this one was TWO PAGES. I pulled everything into our front room and told Jared, “Have fun—it’s like a big game of Tetris.” He then looked at me and told me I needed to cut a few items, as there was no way we could make that work. Hahahaha.

So, I started thinking about this in two ways—

1. I’m sure there are things I can get by without for the week (there were), and
2. I’m sure there are travel versions of things that would take up substantially less space and be worth the investment (there are).

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Here’s how I prioritized packing (infants & toddlers):

• What did Remi need for the basic functions of sleeping, eating, and bathing? OK, that meant I needed the Pack ’n Play, the high chair (ours folded in half beautifully), and a bathing tub—but maybe not the giant one we normally used. At 7 months old, she sat up pretty well, and for short baths, a chair would work.

• What were we going to do about transporting her around? I was planning to bring our double stroller for both girls, plus the beach wagon, plus the baby wrap carrier. Did I need all of them? No. Here’s why. Remi didn’t nap in the stroller; she just wasn’t that kind of baby. But she’d nap in my arms if we were out. So if we have the baby wrap (and she liked it), why bring the double? Bring the travel umbrella stroller for Gemma and baby-wear Remi. There were also four adults, so passing her around if you were carrying her wasn’t a big deal. I did bring the beach wagon because she would nap in that, giving her a secure, shaded place to rest on the beach so we didn’t need to trek back to the house every nap time. That was my one “luxury” item that trip.

• How many diapers do I bring? This was the golden question, and you can view it two ways. One: figure out how many diapers she normally used and go with that, plus a few extras. That would be about four per day. And if you ran out? Run to the store, as we were in a place with easy access to commercial retail. Or two: pack double what you think you need and come home with extras. I love option two; however, diapers (unless you vacuum-seal them) take up a ridiculous amount of space. So go with option one. And for wipes? I used thicker wipes so you didn’t need as many per changing. So I assumed two packs—one for the bedroom and one for the living room—plus a travel wipe container bag that I could put some in daily to bring with us.

• What about the non-essentials that are helpful? Think bouncer, sit ’n spin play areas, foam tile mats, and play yards, etc. This is where the “get comfortable being slightly uncomfortable” mindset comes into play. Yes, those items at home are great; however, they take up a ton of room, and in reality, we were going for a beach trip, not to sit in the house. So did I need them? No. As long as Remi had one safe place to play (since this wasn’t our house and things weren’t baby-proofed), she would be fine. So that’s what I did. I left it all at home and knew I would just move the Pack ’n Play into the living room with some toys during the day if we were at the house. Did she love being in there? No. But if she needed a safe place to be for a few minutes when the adults couldn’t keep a perfect eye on her, that was the solution. Otherwise, I knew we’d just always be hanging out with her and didn’t need all the extras. And we wouldn’t be at the house THAT much since, again, beach trip.

Here’s how I prioritize packing (preschoolers+):

• To bring electronics, or not to bring electronics – We do have tablets for our kids (Remi has an Amazon Fire Kids tablet, and Gemma has an iPad). And we do utilize those for long car rides (over 1-hour) and on flights (with headphones). However, once we get to a location, those electronics are promptly put away. We may bring them out for some downtime, but I usually find it easier to just remove them entirely once we’ve reached our destination. For us, the possibility of an electronic you know and love over needing to find something else to do is too tempting, so we just remove the temptation. I establish that rule well in advance of our travels, and remind them several times before we reach our destination that tablets are going away once we get there. You have to establish that expectation ahead of time, but we generally don’t have any issues removing the devices.

• Strollers, Scooters, or Nothing: I get SO tired of hearing parents say “you’re 7, you don’t need a stroller anymore”. Listen, I hear you. But there are times when they do, because honestly I do, and I’m grown. I quit listening to that a long time ago, because you know your kids and know what the best option is for them.
  
  We used a stroller with Gemma until she was 6, then we switched to a travel scooter for her because she wanted to. It folds in half easily, so we can carry it or store it in the basket under the stroller when needed. The scooter doesn’t negate that she’s walking, but it makes it more fun and easier for her. As you’ll read below, Remi is still in a travel stroller (that we LOVE) and will continue to be for the next few years. Gem and Rem usually switch off too, with Remi using the scooter and giving Gemma a break at times. Or we find a bench and just sit for a minute to rest, that’s always a good option.

• Good walking shoes are essential. Have you ever felt the soles of your kids shoes? Most are designed to develop your kiddos feet muscles so there is VERY little squish. This is OK when there’s a mix of desk learning and playground time and you aren’t on your feet all day. However, those shoes do not cut it when you’re traveling. We invest in squishy soled sneakers and sandals that are light weight but provide the support needed to be mostly on your feet. I know every kid loves Crocs, but they either need to be worn with socks, or you need another option, as they WILL leave blisters and start to make their arches hurt if you’re walking in them a lot. No matter how often they’re normally worn.

• Always bring a comfort item from home, but prepare to buy them something new. Every kiddo has some kind of comfort item that needs to travel with them from home (parents: do NOT let your kiddo be in charge of this item, or it will get left behind somewhere!). However, I usually plan to let the girls buy another “comfort item” for the trip once we get there. It’s a souvenir, but it also gives them something to love extra hard during our travels and it helps them remember that they don’t need all the stuff they have at home to be happy right where they are. This is small, nothing huge or expensive, but it goes a long way.

Consider travel versions of high-use items

If you are just starting with traveling and going on a short trip, skip this. If you find you’re traveling more often or you’re flying somewhere, here’s what I consider game changers and well worth the investment:

• Travel Stroller — Hear me out. I remember seeing the price tag on some of the travel strollers and being like, “Absolutely not.” However, our years of heavy travel have proven this wasn’t great logic on my part. Last year, we invested in a Joolz Aer 2+, and it has been the best decision we ever made. That stroller is SO light (it weighs 13 lbs!), it turns on a dime, and is legitimately one-handed to open and close. Plus, there’s a shoulder strap, so when we close it (it scrunches small!), I can throw it over my shoulder to carry it up stairs, etc. It fits on airplanes, trains, and car trunks and if I could go back, I would invest in one from the beginning and just skip the $100 umbrella strollers we originally had.

• Inflatable Boosters or a Rider-Safe Vest — We are not getting into the safety of these items. They are approved by various governing agencies, and that’s good enough for me. What’s good enough for me may not be good enough for you, and that’s OK. Alright, now back to the point. If your kiddo is big enough to meet the weight and height minimums of travel boosters or vests, consider it. Carrying around a bulky car seat is a nightmare. And US-made car seats are not allowed in many other countries, so you really need an alternate plan if you’re traveling outside the USA. What do we use? When the kiddos were tinier, or if we’re going on a longer car ride, we use Rider-Safe vests. If we’re hopping in a taxi for a quick ride, we use inflatable boosters. I prefer these Hiccapop inflatable boosters, but there are other brands out there.

• SlumberPods — If your kiddo is crib- or Pack ’n Play–sized, consider a SlumberPod. These things are GOLD. They block light, creating a very cozy sleep space. There are holders for a baby monitor and a fan, so don’t worry about not being able to see your kiddo. Our babies struggled to sleep even when everything else in the routine was the same, simply because they wanted to look around the new room. The SlumberPod eliminated that external stimulation, and we found they went to sleep easier and stayed asleep longer while we were traveling.

• Travel Dining Room Booster Seat — Again, Hiccapop comes to the rescue. We LOVED this travel dining room booster seat for our babies. Instead of lugging around the high chair or another non-folding dining booster, this thing folds up super tiny, taking up very little space, but was still surprisingly sturdy when we needed it. I know people use these at the beach, which we never did, but as a dining room booster, we loved it.

• If you are flying – consider padded car seat bags and stroller bags. This helps protect some of your most valuable items after you check them. And the car seat bags let you carry the seats on your back, which is immensely helpful! Don’t skimp on these – the premium versions are worth your comfort, I promise.

OK, packing is all for the parents. What about for the kiddos?

How do you help little travelers get better at traveling?

• Start small. And practice. Don’t jump into the deep end with travel for the first time. Start with one night away somewhere. Maybe two nights. Keep it close to home, low stress, and a slow itinerary. This gives you the chance to see how your kiddo travels without putting too much time and effort into it. If you don’t sleep great for one night, that’s OK. You’ll be home the next day, and it’ll straighten out. This also allows you to test how much stuff you actually need to bring.
  
  And listen. How mad would you be if you spent thousands of dollars on an epic trip and your child was SO off-kilter that you couldn’t enjoy it? That happens. A lot. And parents never want a repeat, so they just don’t travel again. It’s not a “we’ll travel more when they’re older” situation, because when your kids are older and they still haven’t been exposed to sleeping away from home, being off normal schedules, eating foods they aren’t used to, etc., they’ll just cry louder—and you’ll be even MORE upset because you thought by now they’d be better. And they’re not. So you missed out on all those years of traveling, and you still don’t have great travelers. I want you to avoid this!

• Use the same items at home as you do while traveling for sleep. This is where buying a travel version of something doesn’t help you. Most kids, if you put them in a different stroller, high chair, etc., will be fine. But put them in a different bed, with different sounds or lighting, and all heck breaks loose. We prioritize using the same items for sleep while we travel over everything else, because if everyone has slept well, they are more amenable to trying new things during the day. That means:
  • Same white noise / sound machine
  • Same night lights
  • Same pillows (if old enough for them)
  • Same stuffies / comfort items
    
• We learned the hard way that our white noise machine (a Dohm) at home sounds VERY different than the travel version of the Dohm. And my kids noticed. And hated it. It was a nightmare that I will never repeat.
  
  We also learned how different it is to have everyone sleeping in the same room, versus everyone having their own space. This one takes some practice to get used to! We’ve done living room sleepovers with all 4 of us, or put air mattresses in our room, just to practice!

If your kiddos are a little older, talk them through the plan!

They don’t need to know every detail of your trip. But, they do need to know the expectations. I do this simply:

Note: Parents with infants –

I know you can’t talk a baby through what’s about to happen on an airplane. I have a whole list of items I loved to use while traveling with infants. I am pulling that together in another post and will come back to this one and link it once it’s done. In the meantime, ask me questions.

Always start with the rules.

Yes, house rules and travel rules can look different. I always start with a clear reminder of my expectations during our trips. I have 2 key rules for any traveling we do, plus anything unique for whatever situations I’m about to put them in. I go over these before we get out of the car to start our adventures.

• Rule #1 – I ALWAYS need to be able to see you. You can walk ahead, but my eyeballs always need to be able to find you quickly. That sets the distance they can go (we’ve been doing this since they were 2, they understand this early if you’re firm on it). Helicoper parenting? Maybe. But safety is my job right now.

• Rule #2 – When I say “stop”, you STOP. Like. Freeze. Do not move one more step. We practice this at home, and trust me, it works. Most of the time, they’re being goofy and not paying attention because they’re kids, and as soon as I say “Gem & Rem, stop”, those feet stop walking. And they look back and wait for me to catch up or provide further instructions.

We always go over safety too, both before we travel and once we begin. Things like stranger danger, etc. can never be stated too much.

If we’re driving,

I tell them the length of the drive in terms they’ll get. That might look like “our drive is the same as you watching 5 episodes of Gabby’s Dollhouse” or “our drive is the length of Wicked”. You get the point. I also tell them if we plan to stop, and how long into the drive we plan to stop.

If we’re flying,

It’s a little more complicated because there’s more safety things involved.

First, I explain to them the process as we are approaching each step. If we’re checking bags, I start there. If not, skip straight to security. THIS IS IMPORTANT.

• Airport security is a high-stress situation most of the time, even if you don’t think it is. Kids have to come out of strollers, parents get interogated over breast milk and applesauce pouches, there’s big machines making strange sounds, and a ton of directions coming at you from the various agents. The best thing you can do is explain what a kiddo can expect.

• Remind them – when we get to security, you need to come out of the stroller. You’ll stand right next to me (little kids I say “you’ll stand right next to me and hold the corner of my sweater”), and then once everything is on the belt, you and I will walk through a big machine. They need to make sure we aren’t bringing anything onto the plane we aren’t allowed to bring. Once we’re through the machine, we’ll get all of our items off the belt and we can go find out plane. I need you to stay right next to me the entire time, even if I turn to talk to someone.

Yes, this is overkill, but as a parent whose child has lost their mind in the security line, this 100% helps. Gone are the nervous cries or the poor behavior at the one point of the travel day you really can’t afford behavior issues.

After security, let them know what’s next. Are you going straight to your gate? Is there a train or bus involved to get there? Talk them through it. Are you going to get a meal while you wait, or snacks? Let them know if there’s a bathroom, too. Letting kids understand what’s next and feel slightly like they’re in control really helps. Even from a very young age.

Once you’re boarding, explain what happens. They call sections, our ticket is section X. They’ll scan our tickets, we walk down a big ramp to get on the plane, we’re sitting in row X and you can find the numbers up top, etc. etc. Yes, again, this is overkill. But you know what? My kids understand every part of the process and are cool as cucumbers because I talked them through it. And now at ages (almost) 5 and 7, they can 100% board and deplane by themselves if they ever needed to.

Once we’re in a location, talk them through the expectations for the day. This is a good chance to go over Rules #1 and #2 again.

Each day, I tell them an overview of what we’re doing, and at each stop that day, I let them know what is next. The more prepared they are, the easier they follow along. That also acts as a chance to tell me if they’re hungry, need a potty, etc. so we can avoid some behavior issues without constantly prompting “do you need a snack”.

Incentivize good behavior.

We created the mythical “Trinkaus Traveler Award” about three years ago. It’s not something we hold over their heads, but we do remind them at the beginning of the trip that the best traveler wins the award. The “best traveler” looks a little different each trip—sometimes it’s the traveler who whines the least, sometimes it’s the traveler who tries the most new foods or participates most willingly in new activities. Sometimes they both win it for different things. Again, it’s not an “if you don’t try this right now, you aren’t getting an award” situation, but more a pride thing for kiddos who do well. And yes, the expectations are different for each kiddo, so it’s a little subjective. There is no actual award, no financial incentive, and no toy. We’re playing for pride here, people, and kids love a good-spirited competition!

Plan things that kids like, even if it’s not as exciting for us grown-ups.

I’ve said before that one of the things I prioritize most is playgrounds while we travel. I try to give our girls time every day to just be kids, with no expectations outside of letting them run around and be goofy. We find a coffee shop first, then my husband and I relax and enjoy some time watching them play while the girls explore new play equipment.

I also choose activities that suit their interests and meet them at their level—always. This could mean we are doing something that I have zero interest in, but I know they’ll love, and if that means they’ll have fun, I’m good with it (I also usually end up thoroughly enjoying whatever we’re doing too). That might also mean that we go to a museum I want to visit, but instead of doing the two-hour guided tour, we pick the top three “must-see” rooms or exhibits and I read about the rest later. I also LOVE museums that have kids’ scavenger hunts or other activities. More and more are providing materials to keep kids engaged, and it’s awesome!

My girls are also short. Both of them are “stand in the middle of the front row of class pictures” short. And it’s annoying when we want to go on rides or do things that have a height requirement that even my oldest can’t meet—when all of her friends could meet it two years ago. Trust me, I get it. That’s when you think, “Should we wait to do this trip until they’re taller, or do we go, knowing we’re missing those rides?” Yes, child swap exists in most places, but that usually means one or both kiddos is just sitting there waiting while Mom and Dad go ride something. And as I said above, that’s not what I plan for. We’ve done Disney numerous times, but not Universal—even though we’ve got two massive Harry Potter fans. Why? Because neither kiddo can ride pretty much anything, and it’s not worth it yet.

I get it—as parents, we’re paying for the trip, so we should get to do what we want, right? Here’s my thinking: If I really love a place, my husband and I can go back ourselves one day sans children. But right now, my job is to inspire our girls to be curious, seek adventure, and get on board with being comfortable while uncomfortable. So if that means I plan itineraries for them, so be it. This is where you have to pick your kiddos first.

Let them help pick activities, or the order you do things.

If you haven’t realized by now, I have a Type A personality. My hobbies pretty much revolve around our family travels—and now being a travel agent to help others do the same. So that means I spend an inordinate amount of time researching and planning. I want the best routes, the best entry times, etc. And the idea of letting my kids help me pick activities or the order of things was VERY hard for me. I decided to try it once just to see if they cared. And if they were happy to just go along with what I selected? I was more than happy to go back to 100% making the itineraries on my own.

And you know what? My girls LOVE to help. I give them a few ideas of places to go or activities we might do in a chosen location, and let them help me decide what they want to do. They get really excited to help me “plan,” and it makes going to do whatever the activity is that much more fun for them—because they helped decide we should go there.

What do you do with a child who doesn’t like crowds or lots of noise?

This was a big one for us, as Remi is definitely noise sensitive and crowd averse. You have to remember that being crowd or noise averse isn’t usually something you can train out of them, this requires more of a pivot in planning. So we did a few things. First, when we travel, we do have noise cancelling headphones for her. The problem? She HATES them. So we only use those in an emergency.

What I really did when she was younger was plan trips to lesser crowded places if I could, or pick off-season dates to visit, or visit during times of the day when crowds were lesser. This genuinely helped us. And now she’s better about crowds, still not great, but better. She still doesn’t love noise though, but at almost 5 she can communicate to us if it’s too much for her.

Lesser crowded places were always my preference, but there were times (ie. Disney World) when I knew it would be busy no matter what. So, I picked a week that was less busy (don’t always trust the crowd calendars, I’m from Florida, I know the lesser busy times 😉) and that’s when we’d go. And we wouldn’t do things like parades or fireworks where there were massive amounts of people and noise and I knew she’d lose it. And guess what? The lines are shorter for rides during those times, so, it wasn’t the worst thing to miss them. If my oldest really wanted to see a parade or fireworks, we’d just split up and one parent would take her, while the other did something else with Remi.

For things like cruises, where again, crowds will be crowds, we do a few things. First, we prefer the older ships with less frills. I know, most people want the newest everything, but my kids don’t. We bring lots of non-screen activities for them, they like the kids club, and we’re good. The older ships usually mean it’s a quieter, tamer crowd and it often is much less busy overall, so she functions much better. I also know if we’re doing something that’s heavy on the noise, I plan some downtime for her afterwards, either in our cabin or up on a deck somewhere away from people (empty theaters where it’s quiet but she can run around and not be in anyone’s way are my fav).

I also love traveling off-season to places. Yes, some things may be closed, but we’ve found you usually get a better experience at those places that are open during the off-season. Or I’ll pick a time of the day when I expect the crowds to have thinned some to visit, even if that means we get less time that day. I would rather maximize our family’s enjoyment somewhere than push us to go all day and everyone be grumpy for half of it.

How Often Should You Travel?

I would love to tell you to always be traveling, but let’s be realistic about work, school, etc. So my goal is to have a travel trip planned every other month. That does not mean a big trip! That could simply mean driving a few hours to my brother-in-law’s house for a sleepover. Or yes, that could mean a weeklong cruise. The point is, do this often enough to where your kids get used to it. Remember, exposure is key.

And if you can’t travel every other month? How about a sleepover in your living room? Or bring air mattresses or couch cushions into your room. Everyone sleeps differently, and it helps you get used to being in a new environment while being at home. Only last a few hours the first time? Totally fine, try again next month and build up!

Questions?

If you’ve read all this, hopefully you see that I genuinely LOVE traveling with my children.

I couldn’t imagine taking a trip without them, nor do I want to (minus the one weekend away my hubby and I take annually for our anniversary – our marriage is top priority too! ☺️). Yes, it looks different than if my husband and I were to go somewhere just us, but that’s OK. If you plan and prep for travels with your children, you will find it to be an amazing experience, one that creates memories to last a lifetime. And what you’re really doing is setting your kiddos up to be confident adults, who can function through new situations, quick pivots, etc.

If you’re thinking “I’m ready, let’s go somewhere with the kids”, reach out. I’d love to help you plan your next adventure. And remember, I don’t just book your trips. We’ll talk about all my tips and tricks to make it a success for your family, too.

Happy travels – I can’t wait to help you build your next adventure!