10 Top Family Travel Tips To Make Your Vacation Smooth & Enjoyable

Last Updated on Nov 15th, 2023 by Renu Dahiya, Leave a Comment

Traveling with family can be overwhelming; it is fun, a fantastic learning opportunity, and also an adventure full of pitfalls. It can be one of the most stressful yet rewarding activities you can do as a family. Traveling with children can be an adventure in itself, and parents have a lot to consider to make the family holidays safe and enjoyable. Making plans and choosing strategies in advance can save a lot of stress and you can rest assured that your family vacation will be a getaway for the good memory books. 

You’re going to run into a few challenges any time you travel with your whole family, for sure. But, don’t worry, we’re here to help! We’ve penned a few basic family travel tips you can consider to make things easier when you travel with family. 

Top 10 Family Travel Tips For Traveling With Family:

1. Choose The Destination Carefully

Don’t forget, it’s a family trip, preference of each member is equally important to make your trip happy. Always consider every family member’s preference while planning for a new family adventure. Most importantly make sure it’s practical for every family member (Kids, parents, spouse, etc.) because not every location is suitable for everyone. While choosing a location always keep in mind the health and suitability of your parents or kids so that you all will be able to enjoy the trip as much as possible. Also, involving the kids from day one keeps them super excited about the trip and seems to reduce any travel anxiety. 

2. Book Far In Advance

Want to make your trip budget-friendly? Of course! Who doesn’t want this? We know everyone wants to fit their family travel on a budget. So, for this, book your trip far, far in advance because the earlier you book your trip, the more likely you will be able to take advantage of incredibly best yet cheapest options and huge savings, even during peak travel times. 

To make sure you’re all sitting together on a plane, always reserve your air tickets as early as possible. You’ll need to request a special bulkhead seat and the use of a bassinet if you’re flying with a young baby. Also, don’t forget to pre-book the meals for kids. Booking your (and yours) flight tickets, and rooms in hotels well in advance can not only result in a hassle-free vacation but also allow heavy discounts. 

3. Pack As Little As Possible

We know that some families think that packing more luggage and almost everything kids use at home will make their trip as smooth as possible. Unfortunately, this is a terrible idea. Taking care of your child along with 100 pounds of luggage won’t make your trip easy and comfortable. Nowadays, you can almost always buy whatever you need for yourself and your children at your destination. So, don’t overpack, trying to preserve all the things isn’t going to work, it’ll just lead to frustration and sore arms. The less you bring, the easier it is to pack, the less you have to carry and the more room you have for souvenirs. 

4. Choose A Great Hotel

When you are traveling as a family (especially with kids and parents), your accommodation should be perfect and comfortable. Make sure it’s somewhere you can all relax at peace. Always look to get a kid-friendly place to stay. And, if you’re planning to go on a long vacation, consider upgrading to someplace with a nice pool, playground, and other amenities that you and your family will enjoy. Make sure there are plenty of fans or air conditioning, and open windows if you are heading someplace hot, and for a colder place, make sure there’s proper arrangement for heat. 

Ask to have cartoon channels on the TV while booking a room as we all know that kids love watching cartoons. And, don’t forget to ensure that there is nothing dangerous at the kid level in the room which can harm them badly. 

5. Get Travel Insurance To Protect Yourself

It is one the most important thing to secure yourself and your family by taking a family travel insurance policy before going on a trip. Always do some research and comparisons on various websites before buying one to save some more bucks. Often buying a family policy is more cost-effective than buying separate policies – but, this won’t help couples with only one child or single parents. Getting an annual insurance policy is the best bet if you’re likely to take more than one trip in a year. And, if you are planning to do some winter sports or any outdoor activity, make sure that your travel insurance policy covers them too. 

6. Keep Your Travel Documents Safe

Nobody wants to lose their travel documents in a foreign country while traveling. This is indeed the worst situation any traveler can face. So, to keep your (and your family’s) documents safe and handy, buy a passport holder or a small bag preferably with a sling. If you’re traveling with your kids, it is better to keep their passports or any other travel documents with you and be extra careful. And, always keep a copy of your originals and never keep all the original documents in the same place or same bag, this advice will surely save you from some big troubles. It is better to be more careful than to regret it later! 

7. Slow Down. Explore More.

Don’t make your vacation tiring and sad just because you want to see and try everything. It will make your trip miserable, let your kids and family play and explore, or just have some quiet time. It will give you and your family inner happiness and peace. So, instead of packing every second full of activities, save some family or quiet time which will help you all relax and enjoy the company of each other. Enjoy your big adventure in the morning when everyone is full of energy, and after this spend some quality time back at the hotel before heading up to the next activity.  Just remember, a family trip is all about having fun with your loved ones, so make it one!

8. Always Travel With Basic Medicines

While packing travel essentials for making your trip as comfortable as possible, one must never forget to keep medical contingencies in mind, especially, if any of your family members has a history with it. It completely ruins your vacation if any of your family members get sick. Whether your child has an upset stomach or if anyone has asthma issues, you must be well prepared to make the sick family member feel better as quickly as possible. Some of the basic medications you must carry with you while traveling are headache medicines, allergy medicines, medicines for upset stomachs, motion sickness prevention medicines, and any other specific medication that your family member requires. 

9. Bring Entertainment Devices

One of the most important things you must carry with you while traveling is good entertainment devices. You cannot always do outdoor activities, or adventures on your trip, so to keep yourself and your family entertained in your free time or while relaxing bring some novels, games, and electronic devices. 

Keeping your kids entertained while traveling is very critical, right? We understand that. So, always remember to pack their favorite toys, drawing games, magnetic games, and electronic gadgets with video games, audiobooks, and shows downloaded to them. All of these things will keep them occupied during the whole vacation. If your kids are captivated by some electronic gadgets or toys, you also may get some quiet time to enjoy on your own. 

10. Always Remember To Be Flexible

Don’t spoil your mood, if things don’t go your way on the trip. It is not always necessary (possible) that everything should be as we thought. We don’t know what are we going to face and what kind of situations we may have to deal with on our trip. So, always be flexible and go with the flow! No matter how much you have planned for your trip, things may go wrong, you may find some places closed you want to visit, any of your family members may get sick, etc. It’s normal, so instead of worrying about what’s happening, keep calm and relax. Just keep your family happy, live in the moment, and enjoy! At the end of the day, this is all that matters – family happiness. 

Family Travel Trip On A Budget

Wants to travel with family on a small budget? Consider the following tips that will help you to get cheap flight tickets for your family vacation. 

• Purchase air tickets on weekdays instead of weekends to enjoy more discounts.
• Use travel credit cards for booking flights for you and yours, it allows you to rack up points you can redeem for cheap flights. 
• Book your flights a month or two in advance to bag the cheapest flight deals.
• Always search for cheap flights on the best flight booking agencies like MyTicketsToIndia. 
• Reserve tickets with budget airlines instead of major airlines to save huge on your flight booking. 
• Consider booking red-eye flights, you’ll be able to reserve airplane tickets at the lowest prices. 

Conclusion

You take the wrong steps and your vacation can easily be ruined by many things. Overpriced restaurants, tourist-trap attractions, seedy rooms, and late-night flights while crammed in the middle seat – sound familiar? So, to make your travel with family easy and fun, consider this handy guide to top family travel tips. This will surely help you to make your family trip one to remember. Don’t forget to take some me time and let yourself relax. Whether that’s going for a walk, sipping a nice glass of wine, or soaking in a pool, travel should be enjoyable because it’s not about seeing everything, it’s about seeing things differently and peacefully. 

Make happy family memories. But, don’t forget it’s your holiday too! 🙂

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I bring snacks when traveling with kids?

A: Yes, always have snacks available for your kids because they always need something to eat after every few hours. Having a few small and easily transportable snacks with you on a family trip can keep you and your kids happy. 

Q: How to save more on hotel bookings for a family vacation?

A: Check out the deals online on various websites and compare them while booking a hotel for your family trip to save big. Also, try to book well in advance for cheap rates. 

Q: How to get the best value for family flight tickets?

A:  To book cheap flight tickets for you and yours, book airplane tickets in the off-season. This allows you to save more on your air tickets. Our team, at MyTicketsToIndia, is also here to help your book tickets at the most affordable fares. 

Q: What are the best tips to enjoy more while traveling as a family?

A: Don’t rush into things, slow it down, let your kids explore more, and spend some quality time with your family to enjoy more on your family vacation. 

So, are you ready to make your next family trip the most memorable and full of happiness? Just consider these tips and you’ll surely be able to give your family one of the happiest trips of their lives. Good luck to you! If you have any further queries, just remember our team, at My Tickets To India, is just a call/chat away. We are available 24/7 at your service. 

We are one of the best flight-booking agencies in the USA with 13+ years of experience. We deal in offering amazing options on the USA to India flights and vice versa at economical rates. With our big discounts, cheap rates, and easy payment solutions your flight booking experience with us will be a smooth one. Get in touch with us to save big on your air tickets! We’re always here to help you travel more for less.

About Renu Dahiya | View Posts

Renu Dahiya is a passionate writer who worships her profession. Her love for writing has encouraged her to pursue her career as a writer. Her friends call her a “travel worm” and always come to her to know some interesting traveling tips and destinations. Renu is a repository of knowledge about traveling who knows which place should be visited in which season. Oh yes, she is insanely in love with dancing too. Writer, traveler and dancer, a perfect combination! Without a doubt, she is a complete package.