Top Tips on How to Travel with Kids

We’ve been traveling the world for the past 5 months. We have 4 kids. We’ve been to 9 countries. So, we know a thing or two about how to keep kids happy when traveling! And let’s be real, how to keep the parents happy too. These are our top tips on how to travel with kids that we’ve come to learn over the last few months that have made all of our lives easier.

Audio Tours with Rick Steves

There are really some awesome historical places to visit around the world! And when you go to those places, you want to learn all the things! But going on guided tours can be very boring for kids. But Rick Steves has a free app where you can download guided tours onto your personal devices. You can start and stop the audio as you please. You can even listen to it in double time. This is a great way to still learn the history but have it catered to your needs.

We listened to many of his guided tours in Italy. Our kids listened when they wanted to and as parents we did it at our own pace too. We didn’t have to be crowded with a large group of tourists, we didn’t have to listen to a long speech, and we went at our on pace. And everybody was happy!

Lots of Snacks

This is crucial to keeping our kids happy! We always pack a variety of snacks to have on hand for hungry bellies and cranky kids. We can almost always get them to do anything or go a little longer when we have something yummy to feed them.

Stop When They See Something That Interests Them

As parents, we sometimes forget to involve the kids. We go go go and head to all the places we want to see and do. But when they see something that interests them, we try to stop and let them look. We want our experiences to be memorable for them, not just us. So even though looking at a bug or an animal or a certain painting might not catch our eye, it does theirs. And they end up remembering those things most. And enjoying it much more!

Google About the Area Before You Go

When we visit a new place, we try to research a bit about it before we go. We get onto good ol’ google and have the kids learn about things in that area. The food, the animals, the popular things to see and do. And when we arrive and see some of those things they learned about, they are much more excited and interested in being there.

Let Them Choose Their Poses for Pics

I don’t know about you, but getting our kids to take a picture is like asking them to poke their eyes out. But when we have them choose to pose however they want, we get enthusiasm and creativity instead of eye rolls and complaints. Score!

Let Them Take Pictures

As photographers, we love to be behind the camera. A lot. And we’ve come to realize that our kids are loving it too. They enjoy a place so much more when they can capture the beauty. Whether it’s a camera or phone or ipad, our kids love getting behind the screen and taking pictures of what interests them. You’ll be surprised to see what catches their eyes!

Don’t Overdo It

As much as we would love to go from sun up to sun down to pack it all in, it will most definitely not make for happy kids. So make sure to schedule in down time. As full-time travelers, we make sure to have days where we don’t go anywhere. Or days where we just go out for an hour or two. Or times when we take a longer lunch break or stop. When we slow down and rest, our kids enjoy traveling a lot more.

Prep Them at Home How to Get Used to Trying Different Foods

Traveling introduces you to a ton of new foods. And that can be very overwhelming for kids! So start now introducing them to new foods instead of on the road. We always encourage our kids to at least try something once and if they don’t like it, then they don’t have to have it again.

You will be surprised at how resilient and tough your kids can be! Traveling brings out the best in all of us, but it can also bring out the worst if we’re not prepared. So try out these tips and see if you can make your travel experiences with your kids happy ones!