With COVID-19 having an impact on many people’s travel plans this year, families around the world have missed out on their summer vacations. But there has been plenty of time to plan ahead for 2021 while in lockdown. If you have never been on vacation with your young family before, you may be apprehensive at the idea of traveling with small children in tow. In this guide, we’re going to provide some useful tips to take on board if you plan on traveling with young children on your next trip. Take a look at just a few below:

Pencil in travel breaks

When you’re traveling in a car for several hours, it’s important to plan for breaks within the trip to stretch your legs and release energy. Without getting out and enjoying some fresh air for a while, you may find that the children become agitated as time goes on, which can make the remainder of the journey a nightmare. This is the opportunity to give out snacks and drinks and make a much-needed trip to the bathroom, if necessary.

Keep them entertained

While on long journeys, it would be wise to consider how to keep the children entertained. Some options to consider include giving them their own cameras to take snaps of the journey, coloring books, a tablet, or even a storybook from the likes of juliana-sheikh.co.uk, which is designed to fuel their imagination and keeps them stimulated. 

Pack a medical kit

Children are adventurous, so it wouldn’t be unusual for them to have some form of mini accident while on vacation. With this in mind, you should pack a medical kit that is full of the essentials, including the likes of band-aids, painkillers, disinfectant spray and mosquito spray. Depending on your location, you may need to think about bringing extra supplies for the kit to ensure your health and safety is considered in advance. 

Take things slow

As a couple, you may have been used to sight-seeing and getting as much done in a short space of time as possible to make the most of your trip, however, when you have young children, this certainly isn’t a reasonable reality. Kids get tired, bored and hungry when out for long periods, so you need to take things much slower and even pencil in some relaxation time to cope better with a new environment – which of course, will be beneficial for you too.

Stay in a rented home if possible

If you’re contemplating whether to stay in a hotel room or a rented apartment or villa, the latter two options are certainly better when you have a small family. It gives you the freedom to plan your day around your requirements, so you don’t have to wake at a certain time breakfast as you would in a hotel, nor have to rush back to catch the evening meal. You even have the independence to take charge of sleeping arrangements and allow the children to let down their hair without fearing for their safety or disturbing other guests.