25+ Hacks and Tips for Traveling With Kids That Will Make Life Easier

Planning a family vacation is always exciting, but it can also be a little stressful. With summer upon us, I wanted to share some hacks and tips when traveling with kids. From the journey to the vacation itself, there’s a ton of ideas to make your family adventure a little more manageable.

this idea now...

25+ Hacks and Tips for Traveling with Kids

There’s more to traveling with kids than keeping them entertained, although there are a few ideas I’ve listed for that too. From snacking to safety, I’ve got over 20 hacks and tips that will help make your life easier!

On the Road or in the Air

No-mess snack packs. Use inexpensive dollar store containers to make snack packs for each child for those extended trips. By planning this ahead of time, you’ll make life easier than trying to distribute snacks in a moving vehicle. Plus, they can use the containers as crumb catchers!

For road trips, consider using laundry baskets instead of duffel bags or suit cases. They’re easy to carry and you can see exactly what you have without needing to dig through a bag!

Make your own travel tray. I Can Teach My Child has an amazing tutorial for a magnetic snack tray that doubles as an activity table too!

Stay hydrated. Airport security restrictions are much different from when we were younger. To avoid paying for overpriced water behind the security checkpoint, carry an empty water bottle through then refill at a water fountain.

Make sure you have “The Bag”. If you have little ones that get carsick, make your own natural air freshener out of essential oils from Gym Craft Laundry. She also puts together a motion sickness kit just in case.

Build a cocoon. When you’re traveling with an infant sometimes the sun or the hustle and bustle on an airplane can be overstimulating. Use safety pins or velcro strips to attach lightweight swaddling blankets on the upholstery to create a visually quiet space for them. It really makes a difference!

DIY Kid Entertainment

Make your own activities to keep the kids entertained. Provide the kids with non-tech option to keep them unplugged during the plane or car ride.

Travel Coloring Kit
Travel Kit Binder
DIY LEGO Travel Board [The Nerd’s Wife]
Travel Memory Game [Kids Activities Blog]
Create a Travel Journal with these free printables [Small Travel Bugs]

Need to get your vehicle cleaned out and ready for a road trip with the family? Check out how we organized our minivan! The methods we used are super practical and effective!

At the Hotel

A quick trip to the grocery store can be a sanity saver. My kids love to snack, but dining out and convenience store runs can drain the vacation budget very quickly. Visit the nearest grocery store to stock up on items that will satisfy the family in between meal times. Hay Hay Life offers a few great in-room meal planning ideas for some money-saving inspiration.

Double-Dootie? Use ziploc bags

for organizing clothing and many other things as you pack. Not only are they perfect for keeping things organized and easy to see, but they have a dual purpose if you have younger children in diapers. Use them for containing smelly diapers until housekeeping works their magic!

Baby shampoo and body wash works great for the whole family. When you’re traveling with kids, those tiny complimentary toiletries won’t last a day. Packing a baby shampoo & body wash eliminates having to pack multiple bottles.

Purchase an Entertainment Book for the specific city you’re planning on visiting to save money on dining out and other activities. You might discover some real gems!

Planning a trip with your family? Here’s 25+ Hacks & Tips for traveling with kids from moms who have been there. Save time, money, and most of all your sanity by incorporating just a few of these neat ideas!

Lavender Oil is an essential! From deodorizing the room, calming overstimulated kiddos to soothing sunburns there are so many great uses. Coupon Closet shares 25 uses for lavender oil that will definitely make you want to keep it on your travel necessity list. (This is my favorite brand of lavender essential oil.)

Kids eat free. Double check the restaurants near your hotel to see if they have any “Kids Eat Free” promotions. IHOP and Denny’s are known for this program and can save your family a lot of money!

Tech Tips

Super-size that Kindle Fire. If you happen to own a Kindle Fire, we just discovered that you can not only expand the memory using a MicroSD card, but you can also set it up so you can download movies!!! It’s one of the most inexpensive tablets on the market and with this hack, you can leave extra tech toys at home.

Put that pencil box to use. While school is out, you can put that pencil box to good use by keeping all the chargers neatly stored.

Avoid excessive data charges. As soon as we get into the hotel room, we start connecting our smartphones and kids’ gadgets to the hotel’s wi-fi. It’s always fun to stream some music while getting settled into our temporary home.

Tech Tips and Hacks When Traveling With Kids

Disable in-app purchases. This doesn’t just apply to traveling, but we always double check our settings. During down times of our trips, our kids enjoy a little time with their gadgets. Some of those free apps can be “tricky” so in order to avoid accidental purchases, we disable in-app purchases.

For a low-tech option, pack a few favorite DVDs. Most hotels have DVD players (NOT Blu-Ray though!) We packed a few Looney Tune DVDs for a recent 2 night trip and it was perfect to keep the kids occupied after a long day of fun when Mom & Dad wanted to relax.

Playing it Safe

Childproofing made easy. Pack a roll of painter’s tape to cover outlets within reach of little hands. These won’t leave any residue or peel any paint off.

In case of emergency. While we are on the subject of safety, if you’re planning on visiting a crowded amusement park or busy city, give your child an extra layer of protection. Danya Banya has a tutorial for cute phone number bracelets.

Even making an “ID” card with their name, your phone number, and a family photo will make it easier for employees and security officers to get your little one back to you safely. You can grab the free worksheet, Create Your Own Child IDs, from Hay Hay Life.

Make a checklist of medicines. When it comes to food allergies or a random stomach bug, make sure to have a checklist of basic medicines to keep on hand. The two OTC medicines we always bring with us is Benadryl and Children’s Tylenol. Of course, with more serious allergies you’re going to want to keep your EpiPen handy.

Bring a mini first aid kit. We always bring extra band-aids, arnica cream (for bumps and bruises), and colloidal silver gel for any boo-boos that may appear. You just never know!

Traveling with kids means memories, so make it meaningful.

If you only walk away with one tip it would be this, there’s no such thing as perfection.

Family adventures are meant to have its challenges because it gives us opportunities to overcome them together and create amazing memories.

On my recent trip to Disneyland, I witnessed more parents having breakdowns than kids. Yes, you may have this ideal itinerary in your head or on paper, but it’s okay to stray from it when necessary. Maybe the weather isn’t co-operating or that toddler is overstimulated. Take a break, it’s a vacation.

Look around at your family, breathe in the moments because the kids will get older and so will we. All the hacks and tips we come up with will make traveling with kids smoother, but it’s up to us to make it meaningful.

Happy travels!

Comments

Ellen says

June 29, 2016 at 11:28 am

Summer travel with kids or without can be hectic. Definitely it’s important to remember to stay hydrated.

Sharon says

June 29, 2016 at 6:16 pm

I love the idea of hooking up to the hotel wifi immediately when you get to the hotel. Great tip for saving money on data!

Melissa says

June 30, 2016 at 10:58 am

OMGosh this is really fantastic! While I don’t have younger children, they are teens, I can agree that this list is helpful across the board to making sure you can travel with kids without the headache or unexpected oopsies!

Jennifer says

June 30, 2016 at 3:12 pm

These are all excellent tips. My niece and nephew have been traveling with my sister since they were little. Even though it was mostly short day trips, it’s still been something that required most of these tips.

Dawn says

June 30, 2016 at 7:37 pm

these are some great hack tips. i will def have to share this with my friends.

Deb Pearl says

March 27, 2018 at 8:33 am

Thank you for all the tips for traveling with kids. My husband and I really want to go on a trip since we haven’t been on one since we had our son. I think it would be a great idea to provide our son with non-tech options to keep himself entertained in the car. We will have to look for fun things he can do.