[Toddler Trips] Best Ways to Enjoy a Vacation with your Toddler

Having a toddler in your life is an amazing but tiring experience. Organizing a toddler’s life on a day-to-day basis can be a difficult task and for many families, the idea of traveling with a toddler can be a little overwhelming.

This is totally natural, our toddlers are the center of our lives and the idea of taking them somewhere new is scary. Especially the idea of taking them abroad to a place where you don’t know how everything works.

Here are 6 tips that will make that first journey with your toddler a little easier.

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#1 – Make sure your travel insurance is sorted before you leave

We know that a lot of people see travel insurance as a waste of money. However, we want to urge anyone traveling with little ones to take it out.

Travel insurance can protect you if your trip is canceled by the provider, or if you have problems with your transportation. But the most important thing travel insurance has to offer is protection during medical emergencies.

Some countries have very expensive medical prices and knowing that you can get your family the best medical treatment without bankrupting yourself will be invaluable.

#2- Research all your activities in advance

The last thing you are going to want to do when you arrive at your location is to fill your time on the fly. If you’re looking for a way to make your whole trip smoother you should take some time to do some advanced research.

Not every activity is toddler-friendly and not every activity is enjoyed by toddlers. The good news for you is that there are families out there that have tested activities, reviewed them, and posted them to handy online guides. Our favorite is Toddler Trips – we found their guide to “a day out in London with toddlers” incredibly helpful.

#3 – Pack entertainment for the journey

You will know best how your toddler copes with traveling. Some people are lucky enough to have little ones that are fascinated by the whole process and will sit wide-eyed and silent for the whole trip. Others are not so lucky.

If you know that your toddler hates to sit still, doesn’t like to be contained, or hates being in vehicles then you will need to have entertainment and distractions on hand. Take note of the things they are loving in the weeks leading up to your holiday and make your plans based on that.

#4- Bring touches of home with you

Traveling to a new country and staying in a hotel or holiday home can be pretty overwhelming for adults – and we understand why we have traveled. Now, imagine what it’s like for toddlers who have never had this experience and don’t understand why it’s happening to them.

How can you make things easier for your toddler? Well, you can start by bringing little bits of home with you. How much you can bring will depend on how you are traveling. We recommend bringing bedsheets from home with you, as they will smell familiar to your toddler. If you don’t have much space for packing you could spray your perfume on items in the hotel so the room smells like home.

#5 – Research where your nearest changing room is

When you have a toddler that urgently needs to go to the toilet, you don’t have time to ask for directions. Especially, if you don’t speak the local language and no one else knows English.

You can solve this problem by printing out a map of all the areas you are visiting in advance. Then, research where all the public toilets and changing rooms are located and mark them down on these printout maps.

You’ll never have to worry about not finding a toilet on holiday again.

#6 – Make the snacks the night before

When you have a busy day of sightseeing and adventuring in front of you, the last thing you want to be doing is worrying about how you are going to feed your toddler throughout the day.

We recommend always having a spare meal and set of snacks with you. That way you don’t have to worry about finding somewhere that is toddler-friendly to eat at. We also recommend you do this prep the night before so that you don’t have to worry about it when you’re rushing around in the morning.

Read more: Finding The Right Place for Your Child’s Early Years