Summer is in full swing here and this felt like a perfect time to give you my favorite family travel tips.

I love traveling… even with kids!

My husband and I have always loved traveling. We wanted to continue that love after we had kids. There have definitely been seasons that our trips were close to home or non-existent. But, we make it a priority to budget for trips as often as we can.  I have heard the horror stories, seen the memes of traveling with kids, and been through the trenches of a few bumps in the road on vacations with our own kids. However, those bumps do not stop us from planning the next trip.

Preparation is my travel key

I have always been the friend or family member that pulls up with what some may think is an extreme amount of things for a one week trip. This preparation has been key to why we have fewer bumps on our trips. I am a planner, and I feel much less stressed traveling with kids when I feel prepared for the week ahead. This lets me have some items I may need for all the unknowns that are bound to come up on a trip.

How I want to help you with your next family trip

I could truly make this a three part series, but I will save everyone my rambling and consolidate the best I can for this post. This post will focus on tips for trips that you fly vs drive. Here are some of my favorite things I do before or during the trip to keep things smooth sailing and fun for all. 

Create a packing lists for the following:

• Each Member of the family List…
  • the essentials
  • medications,
  • favorite blanket/stuffed animal to sleep, and
  • 1-2 small items I let the kids pick to bring for the week
• Kitchen and essential List: This list varies on if we drive or fly to our destination, but for the sake of this post I will tell you what we pack when we fly. The rest of the items I have delivered to where we are staying. I pack…
  • kids plastic bowls,
  • water bottle x 2 for each,
  • take and toss straw cup pack,
  • tupperware,
  • zip locks,
  • trash bags,
  • dishwasher pods,
  • tea bags,
  • command hooks,
  • Norwex cloths,
  • clothespins,
  • kid potty seat,
  • step stool,
  • Dixie cups, and
  • sound machine.
  • We also have a beach wagon and box fan delivered to our condo for the week (when we had littles we would also rent a crib, stroller, and booster seat). The box fan helps the kids that actually sleep in to catch a few extra ZZZs. 
• Beach/pool items List
  • Beach bag,
  • cooler,
  • sunscreen,
  • sunscreen bag,
  • Wet-Dry comb,
  • Detangler,
  • small first aid kit,
  • gum,
  • sanitizer,
  • goggles,
  • a few pool toys,
  • inner tubes,
  • life jacket,
  • towels for kids only,
  • stroller fan,
  • a few sand toys,
  • nets,
  • shell bags,
  • ball and glove,
  • pool ball 
• Plane bags for each child and parent.
  • I prep each kid’s backpack with the following items:
    • Headphones and tablet with downloads of shows and games for the drive or flight
    • Activity packs
    • Gallon ziploc full of a breakfast item and array of snacks
    • Empty water bottle (fill with water after through security)
    • I also have a gallon ziploc full of snacks that I use to restock their bags for the way home that I pack in a suitcase, so I don’t have to worry about that at the end of the trip. 
  • My bag includes:
    • my tablet,
    • air pods,
    • tissue,
    • sanitizer,
    • gum,
    • suckers,
    • a few bandaids,
    • chapstick,
    • Waterwipes,
    • grocery bag for trash,
    • a few snacks,
    • my water bottle,
    • wallet, and
    • pain reliever.
• I also make a list of last minute items that I need to throw in a bag right before we leave because we need them until then. When packing, I put an outfit (one for each person), pjs (one for each person), swimsuit (one for each person), medications, travel size bathroom items, and chargers in my carry-on in the event our luggage gets lost. 

Do your research on where you are staying!

I look at a variety of condos or places that will meet the needs of our family for a particular trip before booking. For instance, we travel to the same place most summers and benefit greatly from a ground unit with the age of our kids. This makes for very quick access to and from the pool, beach, and car.
I also strive for a unit that has a washer and dryer in the condo to allow me to pack less clothes and do laundry at my leisure when needed.
I also look for a unit with enough beds for my kids. Sleep is key to keeping my kids pleasant and going on vacation! If we are in a hotel, I still bring all key items to help us get decent sleep.
Google or ask others for recommendations for places to eat or fun places to try with kids.

Eating while on vacation.

Create a loose meal plan before you go! This has saved us hundreds of dollars and gives a bit of prep for the week ahead. Our kids are finally at the age that we like checking out a few restaurants, but we also like the flexibility of eating in for a slow evening. 

• I always have the same staples we have at home on vacation for the kids with a few new items to mix it up and try new things. I do find my kids are ravenous from long days outside, so do your food prep the first day or two of the trip to have food ready to grab. I chop a huge watermelon, have easy grab and go snacks ready, chop any veggies, make my veggie dip, and have plenty of drink options to keep them well hydrated. 
• I remind my kids often to keep drinking water and a Gatorade throughout the day to prevent dehydration. I also drink a Liquid IV at least every other day while we travel to keep myself hydrated. I drink a ton of water at home and tend to not get as much as I should when we travel, so I find this helps me a lot. 

A couple weeks before the trip I use the loose meal plan to make a list for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, drinks, and miscellaneous items we will need for the week. I place our grocery store and Target orders online days in advance to secure a delivery window that works for us. Prices tend to increase in some of the tourist hot spot grocery chains, so I get the bulk of our items from Target. I get our produce, meat, and a few sale items from the grocery store. This saves so much time the first day, and I am not scrambling every day trying to figure out what we are going to eat and making daily trips to the store = MORE TIME FOR FUN!

Travel activity planning

Whether you are beachside, visiting the mountains, an amusement park, or traveling for sports, all parents know that each day in a new place with kids benefits from having some staples. Here are some ways I prep for each day:

• I like to optimize my time in the morning when we are on vacation to actually sit or take early walks around the property with my early riser and enjoy hot coffee. This alone motivates me to prep a bit for the day.
• The night before or while my morning coffee is brewing I do the following:
  • Prep snacks in bags for the day, make sandwiches or wraps, get water bottles for the day, and empty and reload the dishwasher.
  • Pack the beach bag or if not a beach trip the backpack with essentials for the day. A few items I have regardless of where we are and what we are doing are…
    • chapstick,
    • gum,
    • tissue,
    • small first aid kit,
    • Water wipes,
    • a grocery bag for trash, and
    • snacks.
    • If we are outside in heat, I also pack hats, sunglasses, stroller fan, extra drinks, sunscreen, and sometimes cooling cloths.
  • Doing these things the night before or in that 15 minute window while the coffee brews makes my morning so much less rushed. Then I can focus on getting the kids moving and out the door for the day after the morning coffee of course.

Miscellaneous Travel Tips

• Summer brings the joy of endless sunscreen application, and this one is a game changer for me! I use a foam makeup puff to apply face sunscreen and the complaints have disappeared. It goes on so smoothly and quickly. I will never go back to using my hands to apply!
• Command hooks: Anytime we travel I run into the issue of having towels hanging all over the place to dry because there are never enough hooks with 5 people. This year I brought a pack of command hooks, wrote each kid’s initials on them to avoid confusion, and it felt like magic having a place to sit without a wet towel drying beside me.
• Unpack and get settled as soon as you arrive if possible. Living out of a suitcase with kids gives me unnecessary stress and frankly drives me batty. I unpack and the big kids help me with their space to figure out a place for their things. It does not take long and is so worth it to me to feel settled.
  I always place my youngest son’s items in the lower drawers so he can reach them. I also place some snacks, breakfast items, and bowls within their reach in the kitchen.
• Remember to keep any medications out of reach and do a quick safety check of the space you are staying. I used to have to pack outlet covers when my kids were little and place anything breakable in a closet the whole time.

Note: My kids are now 11, 8, and 5 years old, so my packing has changed as they have gotten older.

Comment on this blog here or social media if you would want my packing list for traveling with an infant or toddler! I could also create a blog for what to pack for road trips vs flying.  If there is interest, I will make another post!

Happy Traveling!