We’ve all heard it before, vacation with kids is just parenting in another place, and to some extent that’s true. Believe it or not you CAN relax on vacation even with your kiddos in tow. When we found out we were expecting our first baby we talked a lot about how we still wanted travel to be a huge part of our life. Before Baby G turned two she had been on two US beach vacations along with her first trip to Turks and Caicos. We’ve also done long weekends more places than I can remember. Here are some tips to make travel fun for the whole family!

• Plan travel times wisely. If you have a long drive, consider leaving early in the morning so kids will sleep in the car. Build in times for breaks. When we drove from PA to the Outer Banks, NC we stopped overnight in Virginia and went to the Children’s Museum there in the morning before getting back in the car to break up the trip.
• If you have to fly, choose a flight time that lines up with naps or times of the day your kids generally are in the best moods. We also pay more for direct flights if they are available. It is also worth getting your child their own seat, even if they don’t technically need one yet. Lap infants are only comfy until about four months in our experience!

• Choose a rental home over a hotel. Having a home-like environment is good for several reasons. First, you can all have your own space. Now when the kids go to sleep you aren’t stuck in the same hotel room watching movies on your phone with headphones in- parent’s can have fun after hours while kids sleep. You can cook meals you know your kids like and have more amenities they may need.
• Plan for naps. I was always the person who wanted to pack as much into trips as possible, but with a kid who takes a nap that’s not possible anymore. Naps are super important for Baby G to stay happy, so planning for a few hours of downtime during her nap is essential when traveling. This is a great time to catch up on a book.
• It’s all about location! Not every destination is good for kids, choose wisely. My hubs and I took a trip to Austin after realizing there really wouldn’t be much for Baby G to do on the trip. We also took her to Deep Creek, MD for a long weekend and quickly realized that a boating-centered trip wasn’t super fun for her (or us with her in tow). We’ve had great success traveling to beach locations with her! Do some research when planning your vacation to make sure your destination is family friendly.

• Build in a day to recover from travel. My new favorite thing to do is get home from vacation on Friday night or Saturday. This gives us all one or two days to recover from travel and get back in our routine. From a mom perspective it also gives me some time to buy groceries and start on laundry from the trip. It makes going into Monday morning so much smoother.
• Screen time doesn’t apply on planes. Plane rides are boring, both for adults and kids. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with tablets, games, tv shows or movies on planes for kids. It makes them happy, it makes you happy when they are quiet- a win win all around.
• Rent baby gear. Instead of lugging a pack and play, clip on high chair, stroller, etc. to your destination (especially if you are flying), consider renting it. We’ve rented baby gear many times and most companies drop it off and pick it up from your location making it super convenient.

• Prepare for things to go wrong. Our first flight with Baby G she pooped through her sleeper right after takeoff and our connecting flight was delayed by several hours- it was honestly awful and I definitely cried (more than she did). We’ve also had multiple trips interrupted by an urgent care visit for ear infections and more. Things will happen, take a deep breath and remember a bad moment doesn’t make a bad trip.
• Perspective. Let’s face it- traveling with kids will ultimately be different than travel pre-kids. Vacation probably won’t mean sipping tropical drinks all day by a pool with a book in hand, or wandering through Italian streets at midnight, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Vacation should be about disconnecting from obligations and enjoying time together.