For parents taking a vacation with kids can be nerve wracking, especially if you are traveling a far distance and your trip includes a lot of travel time. We just took a vacation with our kids that included a 12 hour flight that had us a bit nervous. Luckily, with some planning ahead it was a breeze! Here are some of my tips for traveling abroad with kids.
Healthy Traveling
It seems like one of us always gets sick during or right after traveling. It’s not that surprising, you are typically exposed to more germs, you tend to be off schedule with sleep and diet and this tends to compromise our immune system. Here are some of my tips for traveling healthy with kids and/or food allergies.
Another huge tip for traveling abroad with kids is using essential oils to help calm and relax and also for immune boosting support while traveling. When we had a 12.5 hour flight back from Europe we had a small child on our flight who cried for 3.4 hours. The poor parents felt bad for the other passengers and just looked exhausted as they would pace up and down the airplane isle. I finally went up and asked them if they would like to try a kid-friendly oil to help relax their little one. They happily obliged and rubbed a couple drops on the feet of their babe while I went back to my seat to finish my movie. I’m happy to report that the baby didn’t make a peep for the remainder of the flight and the parents were so appreciative. Click here to learn where I get my essential oils.
Travel Snacks
Nothing is going to make a kid act out more than if they are hungry. I mean, I know how hangry I get when I don’t have food, and my kids take after me. One of my biggest tips for traveling abroad with kids is to make sure to have some snacks for the flight. We each had our backpacks filled with some easy, healthy, portable snacks such as:
- Larabar Mini’s (where to buy)
- Jerky Sticks (where to buy)
- Freeze Dried Fruit Snacks (where to buy)
- Sea Weed Snacks (where to buy)
Travel Games
You also want to make sure your kids don’t start to get too bored. I made sure to have the kids pack some games for the airport layover, on the plane, or when we had downtime on our vacation. We packed stuff that was easy to play and that didn’t take up too much space. If your kids are reading age have them bring along their favorite book to read on the plane! Here are some other great games to take along to keep kids busy while on a long trip:
- Go Fish (where to buy)
- Old Maid (where to buy)
- Uno (where to buy)
- Crazy Eights (where to buy)
Family Pictures
Moms specifically, I want you to think about how many pictures you are in? Does it seem like you are always playing photographer but never getting in the photos yourself? Some places deserve more than just selfies. I made one of the best decisions ever when I booked a photographer for our family vacation in Venice, Italy. It was a great way to capture my family while in a beautiful picturesque place to have the memories forever. Here is some of our family pictures. We went through a great company called Flytographer who I highly recommend! They work with photographers all over the world. Our photographer Marta was amazing and so friendly! She took us on parts of the city we hadn’t visited yet and was so helpful telling us restaurants to try and places to check out. This is one of my favorite tips for traveling abroad with kids. Talk about AMAZING family pictures that are perfect for holiday cards. I will always book a photographer when we take another amazing vacation! I’m obsessed!
Photo Credit: Marta Buso Photography – Venice, Italy
Head over to the Flytographer Website using this link and get $25 credit off your package!
