Traveling and toddler duty do not often mix well. Besides having to pack a ton more than you would have ordinarily packed, there are also the temper tantrums, toilet issues, and tired feet. But as veteran mommy travelers have attested to, having your kids with you can also be fun if you know where to go and how to travel.

Traipsing in the wilds of Africa or camping on the jungles of the Amazon may be the ultimate adventure but it is not something that your kids may like. If you want to enjoy, make sure that your kids are enjoying themselves. Otherwise, you’d have a nightmare waiting to happen.

Sandwich Technique

One tip is to include kid-friendly sights in your itinerary. Scatter them throughout the whole trip to keep them occupied. For instance, if you want to go to the Musee de Orsay in Paris, sandwich the trip in between a carousel ride at the Luxemborg Gardens and a visit to The Aquarium, which is Paris’ equivalent to The Ocean Park. It’s not as huge, of course, but your kids will love seeing all those different varieties of fishes and aquatic fauna. In between shopping jaunts in Hong Kong, you can occupy your kids with visits to the Space Museum in Kowloon and the Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

Make a Treaty

You can also use whole-day trips to certified kid destinations as bargaining chips to older children. If you are an architecture junkie, arrange a “snooty” tour of the Versailles Palaces in exchange for an Aquaboulevard adventure. Or dangle a fun day at the Hong Kong Disneyland or the Oceanpark as incentive if they behave on the trip to the world’s biggest Buddha in Mongkok. 

No Tired Feet

Toddlers, on the other hand, are much harder to deal with. If you have a couple with you, make sure that your itinerary does not involve a lot of walking. There are available city tours that can cut your walking into half. A Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour is ideal. It will get you to all the tourist spots around a particular city without the time constraints. Unlike other city tours, you can linger on some tourist sights and forego the others. You don’t have to follow a schedule or travel with a group. Your time is your own. This is ideal for parents who may be slowed down by their kids.

There are also city boat tours like the Batobus in Paris or the ones in Thailand, Cambodia, and China. These are great ways to quickly tour the city without inciting tantrums. Some kids will also enjoy a boat ride and in seeing the city from a different vantage point.

Another alternative is to sign up for cruises. Some cruise lines have daycare centers, where you can leave your kids for the day while you go exploring. They also have facilities that will make traveling with your kids easier. What’s more, you can travel from city to city without having to lug around your luggage and strollers.

If you have the budget and a great sense of direction, you can opt for car rentals. This, by far, is the easiest way to travel if you discount getting lost and being stuck in traffic. You can go anywhere you want, any time you want. Make sure though that you have pre-arranged your car rentals prior to leaving for your trip. Renting cars in foreign countries can be a harrowing experience especially if you have the language barrier to deal with. You will also need an International Driver’s License, which may take time to be processed. The Automobile Association of the Philippines is the place to go for this.

What to bring

Perhaps the most annoying part of having kids with you when you travel is the amount of things that you have to bring, not only in your luggage but also in your handcarry.

You must even sometimes be the human version of a vendo machine, which at the first hint of hunger must spit out biscuits, chips, milk, sandwiches, and drinks, anytime, anywhere. And if you have three kids with you, you’d probably have more stocks in your luggage than the vendo machine. You can, of course, buy snacks and not torture yourself with the weight but make sure that you can buy food that your kids will like. Otherwise, you will have a mutiny brewing.  Take with you some biscuits, cookies, chocolate bars, gummies, and gum. Buy gums with xylitol which does not cause tooth decay.

Besides food, you also have to pack diapers, clothes, first-aid kits, and toiletries. Below is a checklist of the travel essentials that you should not leave your home without.

Checklist

- Travel documents
- Washable and wrinkle-free clothing
- Comfy shoes
- Umbrella, sweater, raingear, coat, and cap
- Medicines, first aid essentials, vitamins
- Diapers and wipes
- Hand sanitizers or alcohol
- Baby blanket
- Favorite toy and book
- portable games, activity books
- Formula milk, feeding bottles
- Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.)
- Sunscreen and insect repellant
- Emergency Kit (Sewing kit, flashlight, swiss knife, battery-operated charger)
- Strollers (but if you can rent these where you are going, outsourcing is much better)