We’ve put together some travel tips that we’ve learned along the way. Depending on the age of your kids and where you’re traveling to, these may or may not come in handy. Adjust to your family’s needs. Baby’s cry. Kids can be rambunctious. Parents lose their cool. Just remember, a large portion of people you run into have kids too. Try not to stress, go with the flow, and happy traveling!

Packing

If you are traveling with a baby or toddler that is not potty-trained yet, be sure to only pack enough diapers/pull-ups for your travel days. Once you get to your destination, you can purchase diapers at a convenience or grocery store. Purchasing diapers at your destination will save a ton of space in your luggage!

Bring lots of toys (the buckle toy in the Lovevery Companion Play Kit was a huge hit) in toddler backpacks, sticker sheets, lots of snacks, and an extra pair of comfortable clothes for each child. We also make sure we always have an Amazon Fire Tablet with headphones but we try to use it as a very last resort.

Travel Day Reminders

During take-off and landing, give your kiddo(s) a sippy cup/bottle or have them nurse if they’re still breastfeeding. This will help them pop their ears which can help them alleviate some of the discomfort which we all know can make for a not-so-enjoyable half hour of crying and wiggling.

If your kids do have a rough day of travel, try not to stress about it too much. Babies and kids cry. They get tired, they get hungry, they get frustrated. People are more willing to help you than give you grief about your agitated little one.

Finally, take a nice, deep breath; you’re on vacation!

Transportation

We are big fans of renting vehicles if there isn’t a strong transportation system (trains/subways) at the destination(s) we’re planning to visit. Renting a vehicle gives us the flexibility to explore areas we wouldn’t necessarily go to if we were only walking or using taxis. An example is when we went to Bavaria.

Literally the day of departure from the Black Forest area, we were trying to decide whether we should drive straight back to Munich, or if we should drive down through Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the far west side of Austria to get back to Munich. With the car and some quick research on border crossings, we decided on the long route back to our destination and we are so glad we did! Not only did we get the opportunity to see two new countries, but we got to see the Swiss Alps up close and personal.

If you plan on renting a car and not bringing your own car seats with you, just make sure you book car seats either during the booking or by calling the rental company. You will need to specify whether you need an infant or child car seat. Since our girls are now older, we brought inflatable booster seats with us which gave us peace of mind they were secured in their seat on tour buses.

Dealing with sleepy children

Let’s face it. Young kids are sleepy on just a regular, vacation-free day. Add jet lag, and they may be taking frequent naps throughout the day. We would prefer not to hang out in a hotel all day, so we make a point to either find a good park to take a nap in or allow the girls to either sleep in a child carrier (now too heavy at this point) or in a wagon. We love the Radio Flyer City Luxe Stroll ‘N Wagon and have taken it to another level with adding 4 stroller hooks to the handle. For about 2-3 years, both girls could sleep in the wagon together at the same time. The stroller hooks also helped out tremendously when transporting backpacks and luggage throughout the airport and to our destination, especially when our kiddos didn’t want to carry anything or wanted to be carried themselves.