traveling with kids

Travelling with kids is no science fiction. Even though some might try to convince you that it is impossible to travel with kids, they could not be more wrong.

Travelling has always been a big part of me. Travels make me happy, alive and richer in so many ways. When I am not travelling, I dream about distant places and all the adventures. I have been travelling all my life, so I knew that becoming a mum, I will not just leave all up and stay at home. In fact, being a parent made my wanderlust even stronger as I now want to show the world to my little explorer too. I want that he experience all the diversities the world is offering, even though not everything is picture perfect.

There was time when a new travel destination was chosen just because of the costs, but now that we are travelling as a family, I have to be honest. Apart from the costs of travelling I always help with some other criteria too. These are especially important in the first few years of a child, as they can really help you to make travelling with kids much more pleasant, easy and nice.

5 criteria to make your travel with kids perfect

The distance

For many parents the distance of the final destination represents the main concern. Some cannot imagine themselves travelling for more than couple of hours by plane or by car with their baby or a toddler. As much as some say the difficulty in travelling is because of the child, I think we are the ones to blame. The most important thing is to feel safe and self-confident as a parent. It is nothing wrong not to be too adventurous when travelling with kids, staying closer to home, but at the same time, it is nothing wrong to be travelling to the other side of the world, if you feel good doing it. The best distance is the one, where we, as parents, feel comfortable with.

traveling with kids

Far away places are great if you feel comfortable with them

Exotic destination

Exotic is interesting and does not mean it is a bad thing., even though you are travelling with kids. After all kids are born and live all around the world. As much as I enjoy exotic places, I am still a bit careful what kind of exotic destinations I choose. I have nothing against other cultures, nature, people, but so far we are avoiding the areas with malaria. As much as we enjoy off grid, we are still a day or two ride to civilisation.

traveling with kids

Being exotic is not a problem, but be prepared

Family friendly

Travelling with kids is not a holiday, so taking them to a family friendly destination can be a big help to all the parents. I am always so grateful for a good playground, where I can drink my coffee in peace.

traveling with kids

Family friendly destinations can make your travels much easier

Food

Simon and I eat almost everything and we are lucky enough we have no food restrictions or allergies. But when travelling with kids, everything becomes more challenging. Believe it or not, but the easiest travels are when you are traveling with a baby, who is being breastfeed. Older they are, things get more demanding and tricky because of being picky – even more if kids are dealing with food allergies. Nevertheless, travelling with kids is much easier when you find yourself in a destination rich with vegetables and fruit and in general diverse with tastes. It is also much easier to be in a country which does not represents any difficulties in communication, so you always know what you will get on your plate.

traveling with kids

Diverse culinary helps a lot when travelling with kids

Health care

The biggest concern when travelling with kids is no doubt the health issue. I have to admit, I did not put much focus on this the first year of being a parent, as we had home a very healthy kid. But as soon as he started with kindergarten, we sat on a roller-coaster and I’d rather erase some of the hospital days from my memory. Ever since then, thinking about health has become my concern too. But in general, if you are travelling to more exotic places with lower hygiene standards, you definitely have to decide about additional vaccines, health care and other health issues, your child might be having. The most important thing for us is also having a good travel health insurance. Visiting a doctor is a must when you are travelling with kids who cannot yet tell you, what is wrong with them and how they feel, as in that case, only doctors can make a diagnosis. These kind of visits and additional treatments can be very expensive in certain countries, especially USA and that is why you really have to have a good travel health insurance.

traveling with kids

Make sure to have a good travel health insurance

Travelling with kids is definitely not the same as travelling without them. It does make sense to know yourself, your kids and decide for a destination according to all the above criteria. But remember, travelling does not need to stop when becoming a parent, as this only means you need to watch out for few more things when organising your next adventure.