Getting away for a family vacation is never an easy feat. It can be the cause of stress for many parents, whether they are preparing to jet off on the holiday of a lifetime or loading up the car and driving. But, once you know these tips, it will take those stresses away, and you will be able to start enjoying your vacation from the moment you put your out-of-office notification on at work. 

Book In Advance

Not only will you benefit from those early-bird discounts but you will have a better chance of being able to secure seats together and more favorable travel times and options. This applies to all forms of travel whether you’re looking at hire cars, booking flights, trains or buses. So, it is definitely worth planning in advance. As they say, the early bird gets the worm. 

Sign Up For Cashback Or Reward Programs

If you can, collect points, travel rewards, or get cashback on travel makes the most of it. It will make it easier in the future for those next outing and holidays to use them to get the preferred seating and possibly save you a little.

Give Yourself Extra Time

As much as we all love them, children can hinder the best-laid plan. So, build that knowledge into your schedule. Allow for the extra rest stop breaks you’ll need to take and plan accordingly. Where possible try to allow for double the expected travel time.

Stay Calm

No matter what goes wrong or the situation you face, stay calm. Unforeseen circumstances can happen, whether that be bad weather causing flight delays, the car popping a flat tire, or unforeseen traffic, there is no benefit in getting frustrated. Ultimately, it won’t change the situation. Plus, your bad mood could rub off onto your children, and no one wants to have to unnecessarily entertain bored and miserable children if it can be avoided. So take a deep breath, collect yourself and smile through the drama. You never know. It is in moments like this that you can rally as a family and make those extra special memories.

Plan Travel To Coincide With Nap Times

There is no quieter or easier way to travel than with a child that is asleep. Use this to your advantage. If your child is on a set routine and you know they will be asleep for two hours at a set time of the day try to plan your travel around that time. Of course, this only works if your child is a napper and has the ability to fall asleep anywhere. If this doesn’t apply to you and the stimulation would make for an overtired child plan the opposite way so they can benefit from a good nap before you get going. 

Plan Your Luggage And Storage Solutions

When traveling anywhere it is inevitable that you will have luggage. So before leaving and heading out the door check out what options you have to drop your luggage off in a secure location such as the Radical Storage Network,  so you can give your undivided attention to the kids. 

Pack A Travel Goody Bag

The best way to keep a child entertained is to provide a good bag of activities to keep them busy. Kids love new things, so where possible pack a new coloring book, or travel game, download a film they’ve never seen onto their tablet, and sit back and enjoy the peace in the confidence you have them happily occupied for a reasonable time period.

Plan Stops For Entertainment, Not Just Necessity

If you know you’ve will have the children in a small confined space for a long period of time it is a good idea to plan in rest stops that are specifically designed to let the children release some of the pent-up energy and stretch their legs. Not only is this a good way to wear them out and let them burn some steam but it also offers mini benchmarks for them. It can be such a challenge and a big expectation to ask a child to sit still and quiet for hours on end, but by having these stops planned in you are giving them multiple breaks to not only look forward to but also to break up this long stint of time into more manageable, bite-size windows. If your children are old enough they could help with the planning of this. These little stops could be anything from stopping for a picnic, a short walk, or a coffee (for you) and cake.