Traveling with little ones can be both fun and stressful. They’re not used to regulating their emotions nor do they fully know how to handle big inconveniences that can come with travel. However, with careful planning and a patient attitude you can travel with your kids with little to no problem!

Tips For Traveling Internationally With Kids

At Travel Modern, we’re no strangers to family travel and the special challenges that travel with a young child can have. Check out our tips for traveling internationally with kids so that your next family vacation can go by smoothly and as painlessly as possible. With careful planning, your children will be having fun before they know it!

1. Schedule Passport Appointments

You never know how long the processing can be so get your passports taken care of as soon as you can. Check to make sure that if they do have a passport, they are valid months after your travel dates, and if not get the process started about 6 months in advance. You don’t want to be surprised super close to your departure date with an invalid passport.

2. Get TSA Precheck, Global Entry, and Mobile Passport

Children aren’t exactly known for being patient. These three things will reduce the amount of time your little one has to wait in line and hopefully reduce the chance of a frustrated breakdown. They may not always help, but they do increase your chances of beating hours of lines and having to stand around with a tired toddler. 

3. Get the Kids Involved

Kids are incredibly creative! Get them excited about the upcoming trip by getting them involved. Learn about the culture and history of the area and fill them in so they can get excited about seeing the places they’ve heard stories about. Talk to them about where you’re going and get them involved as you research things to do. They can sit with you as you search for family-friendly activities and let you know what sounds like fun. Depending on the child’s interests, we can help schedule some activities that get them super excited to go rather than be upset that their normal schedule is being disrupted. It may also help in the travel. If they’re getting impatient and tired, you can use their upcoming activities to brighten their mood and remind them that fun awaits. They just have to get there first. 

4. Be Considerate Of Sleep

It takes adults and kids both some time to adjust to a new time zone. Schedule some extra time into your stay in the beginning to overcome jetlag. Let them run around until that country’s bedtime and then get them ready for bed so they can rest up and get used to the new time. Even adults feel cranky if they don’t get enough sleep, so imagine being a tired little boy or girl in a new and strange place! They especially need time to adjust and get a few good nights of sleep. Later in the trip, you may be able to have some late nights but pick them carefully. You want to make sure your itinerary has lots of downtime for them to rest and acclimate. 

5. Keep A Travel Journal, Scrapbook, or Memory Box

Encourage your kids to keep a journal, collect souvenirs, and take pictures so that they can remember this trip in later years. The whole family can journal about their experiences in the new place and collect little mementos and pictures for a scrapbooking project once you are home. Bring a digital or Polaroid camera to take photos and keep up with tickets, postcards, magnets, figurines, and other little mementos that you can put into the scrapbook or tuck away into a memory box. Trust us, this will also be a fun memory for you once your kids are older. 

Your Family Is in Good Hands With Travel Modern

Traveling with your kids can be a lot of fun if you have a solid plan in place that sets you up for success. We think of all the little details so that you don’t have to. Whatever you need to make sure your kids travel as well as possible we will make sure you get it! Let us help take the stress out of planning by contacting us today to get started on your next vacation.