Traveling with Children: Tips for Planning a Great Vacation

Planning to take a trip this year with your little one? With some careful and realistic planning, your family vacation can be a smashing success. No, it won't be like the carefree travel days B.C. (before children) but with some smart thinking in advance, getting there will be half the fun.

When Planning the Trip

• Choose lodging carefully. Most Bed and Breakfasts are not suitable for children. If you have a small child and need kitchen facilities to prepare formula, baby food, wash bottles and countless burp cloths, consider this in your choice. Could you rent an apartment for a week or book a room with kitchen facilities?
• Consider taking children to an exotic place. They'll love to experience new sights, smells and sounds. Plus, you'll instill a love of travel early on - an important asset for the global economy.
• Consider a cruise. They do a good job of keeping kids occupied, which means you may just find some time to do exactly what you want for an hour! Wow!

When Choosing a Hotel

• Are kids free? If so, consider taking your child’s friend,* especially if yours is the only child in your party. 
• Do they have an arcade or game room? An indoor pool or an outdoor pool? A playground?
• Do they offer baby-sitting services?
• Do they have a restaurant inside the hotel, or the ability to get food nearby?
• Do they have room refrigerators available?
• Is there a zoo, playground or museum nearby?
  

1-7 Days Before You Travel

• Pack favorite books to read to the children.
• Pack coloring books, sticker books and crayons in a sealable container.
• Write a list of games to play in the car or plane: License plate search, landmark tic-tac-toe, brain-quest for tots. Book stores can help you find books with lots of ideas.
• Make a new MP3 playlist. If you're a real techie, podcast yourself reading favorite books so your young children can hear you read as you drive.
• Visit the library and borrow books/stories on tape. These can be lifesavers for filling empty hours.
• Pack wet towelettes. Bring more than you’ll ever need.  It's amazing how many uses you'll find for them.
• If you're flying, order special “kid” meals in advance.
  

Get Your Child Involved

• Map the trip, with the child’s help. Then during the trip, allow older children to follow the route with washable markers. This will help eliminate the questions about “Where are we now?” and “Are we almost there?”
• Talk about the trip! Where will we be going? How many days? How much time will we spend at each location? Who/what will we see? How long might it take to get there?
• Allow children to choose and/or pack their own clothing. Let them feel responsible for their own piece of luggage, if they are old enough.
• Consider giving older children their own cameras (disposables work well), so they can record their own memories.
• Suggest older children pack pre-addresssed mailing labels and stamps for postcards for their friends and family.
  

Protect Your Home

• Make an extra house and car key NOW! Make two!
• Leave a key and your travel schedule with a trusted neighbor.
• If you have a security alarm system, leave the home protection code with the neighbor. (Many systems allow you to enter a second code for temporary use.)
• Ask the neighbor to check your home occasionally. Consider alerting police that you will be gone.
• Place radios on timers, tuned to “talk” stations. Program a lamp or two to come on and off. A dark house is an invitation to criminals.
• In cold weather, leave faucets on a s-l-o-w cold-water drip to prevent possible frozen pipes.
  

The Day You Leave

• Dress children in layers to ensure their comfort as the climate (or air-conditioning level) changes.
• Bring neat snacks, low in salt and sugar. Some good choices: unsalted nuts, O-shaped cereal, low salt pretzels, air-popped popcorn, water in re-usable drink bottles. Do NOT bring fresh fruit or juice that can spill, stain clothes and get sticky.
• If traveling by air or bus, try to keep children from napping on the way to the airport or in the terminal. Save naps for the long journey!
  

If You're Traveling by Airplane

• Bring with you enough of everything to last for one night and day, in case your luggage is delayed. BUT, in these days of high security, pack as lightly as possible to avoid delays during random searches.
• Carry on any and all prescription medications, for all family members. Bring a written prescription as well to be extra safe.
• Tie matching ribbons on all your bags to identify them easily.
• Walk the airport, see the shops, use up energy prior to flight time. Eat small meals before departure.
• Carry plastic bags for dirty diapers, clothes, garbage, etc.…just in case.
  

Final advice: Make it memorable. Your children will remember. If they are too young to remember the events, they will remember the feelings of spending this special time together.

*Important Information for Guests and Children Traveling without Both Parents*

• You must have a notarized note from one or both parents for your child’s friend who is traveling with you, which will allow emergency medical treatment.
• If you are going on a trip and your child is staying with a friend, do the same: a signed, notarized permission slip is a must!
• A permission slip, notarized by parents, is necessary in order to take children out of the country. This is necessary even for your own children, unless both parents are on the trip.
   

Pam Ardell is a travel agent with 32 years of experience. Andrea Garfinkel is a freelance writer now living in North Carolina.