Memorial Day marks the start of the summer travel season in the U.S. School is almost out and it’s time for summer vacation! While the kids are probably excited, the thought of long car rides and tiring flights can make travel with kids seem overwhelming. Family travel doesn’t have to be stressful or difficult, though. Travel with kids can mean air travel or a good ol’ fashioned road trip; simple weekend getaways or splurging on all inclusive resorts. But, no matter where you plan to travel with kids, we have lots of advice to help you keep your summer vacation fun and easy!
First off, you’ll want some ways to keep the kids entertained while you travel. Whether you’re taking a road trip or have air travel in your future, happy travel with kids means keeping kids busy during long car rides and even longer flights. All that sitting and waiting means you’ll want great travel toys and lots of them. To help you find travel toys for kids, you can read our posts on great toddler travel toys to help you travel with a toddler, as well as our 3 Great Toddler Travel Toys and Top 10 Great Toddler Travel Toys posts.
Travel with baby in your future? We’ve got you covered! Find some great travel toys for baby in our Top Ten Baby Travel Toys post, and find must-have gear in our newly updated post on Top 10 Items to make Travel with Baby Easy and Fun. Make family travel easier on everyone by preparing your kids ahead of time. While everyone’s situation (and kids) is different, we share our suggestions on ideas that have worked for us here: How to Enjoy Travel with Kids: Five Ways to Travel Proof Your Child!
Before you get started buying new travel toys for kids, don’t forget to check out Make Travel with Kids Fun: How to Choose Travel Toys. Also, buying travel toys can get expensive, so make sure to check our suggestions for Great Travel Toys that will "Grow" with your Child and Great Travel Toys for Kids that You Can Get at the Dollar Store. Both will help save you money so that you can spend more on vacation!
Do your travel plans involve a flight? Lately, it seems there are endless stories of delayed flights, TSA snafus and extra fees for just about everything! Is it even worth considering flying with kids? Air travel with kids can be challenging, but there are ways to make it easier! Our guide – Travel with Baby: Flying Tips for Fearless Family Travel has lots of practical tips for family air travel including what to bring, and how to help your kids deal with spending all that time in a confined place. Early morning flight? Don’t start off your family vacation on the wrong foot! Read our Flying with Kids: Why Airport Hotels with Shuttles Make for Good Travel Mornings and start your holiday out well-rested and ready to take on flying with kids!
Heading to the beach is perhaps the quintessential summer family vacation. If the thought of relaxing in the sun with the waves lapping at your feet seems out of reach now that you travel with kids – think again! The beach is a great family travel destination and one that can work well for families who travel with baby, too. We had a wonderful time with our toddler during our family beach vacation to the beautiful island of Aruba. Our week there was everything a family vacation should be – plenty of fun activities for the whole family and plenty of relaxation, too! For tips on how to have fun in the sun at the beach with kids, check out Beach With Baby–How to make the Most of Your Beach Vacation. Then, grab your beach towel and sun tan lotion and get ready to hit the beach!
Is the thought of planning a family vacation stressing you out? If your hectic life means you don’t have time to plan a vacation, why not head to an all-inclusive? While we’re not huge all-inclusive “types”, we’ve definitely done this kind of travel in the past and can see how it could be a great choice for travel with kids. Club Med is like camp for adults – and kids! With everything organized and already paid for, you can kick back, relax and do as much or as little as you’d like – with your kids or by yourself. Kids “camps” keep everyone from baby to toddler to teenagers busy and having a great time. We very much enjoyed our time at Club Med, Cancun. Since we were there, Club Med has added Kids Clubs, making this a great destination for travel with kids!
No matter where your summer vacation takes you, the important thing is that you get out there and travel. The world is full of amazing experiences just waiting to be had! We firmly believe that your and your kids’ lives will be richer for the experiences that travel brings and family travel just makes the experiences all the better for having been shared with the ones you love! Bon voyage!