6 Tips For The Perfect Family Trip

4. Take Advantage of Having Mini-Ambassadors with You.

Traveling with a child is like bringing along a mini-ambassador who will open up doors of cultural interaction that you would never have otherwise.  When you travel with young children you draw a lot of attention.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, we attended the annual Janadriyah festival.  In the evening we sat on the ground to eat a traditional Arab meal of rice and roasted lamb slow-cooked over hot coals in a hole in the ground.  Relaxing on the ground, I practiced eating with my fingers in the traditional style.  Before we could stop her, our toddler waddled over to a group of completely covered women and dove into one woman’s lap.  Burning with embarrassment, I ran to grab my daughter.  The women laughed and fed our daughter sweets while they took pictures of her on their phones.

Trick-or-treating through Bangkok with two little kids, I met people I would have never met on my own.  In Istanbul, a concerned Turkish mother was certain her baby would catch a deadly cold because she was wearing sandals.  The mother insisted on giving me socks for the baby.  In Spain, our youngest of three flirted with the flight attendants.  In Lebanon and Jordan, we had more conversations than I can recall about children and how they are God’s ultimate gift.  You cannot be low profile with young children.  Go with it and take advantage of all the new friends you will meet on your next trip because of your kids.

5. Pack Less.

My favorite travel writer, Rick Steves, https://www.ricksteves.com says there are travelers who pack light and travelers who wish they had.  The same is true of travel with kids.  On one of our first multi-country trips with a baby, we went to Norway, Denmark, and England.  I still remember changing trains at Victoria Station on the London Underground with two giant suitcases in each hand and a huge baby cot.  As I struggled up the steps of the station, an elderly woman pleaded with me to let her carry one of the suitcases.  When you have so much luggage that old women feel pity for you and want to carry your stuff, you are doing something wrong!  I vowed then and there to do better the next time.  Last summer we took all three kids on a ten-day road trip around Iceland.  We fit everything for five people into two duffle bags.  Believe me, you will be happier with less.

6. Stop Comparing.

When I first started traveling with the kids I kept a list of all the places we had been and shared it with everyone.  I was determined that our daughter would make it to twenty-four countries in twenty-four months.  We accomplished the goal and do you know what happened?  Nothing!  No one cared.  I came to understand that the checklists and maps with pins in them to show all the visited cities mattered only to me.  No one else was paying attention.

When you travel this summer, you are taking the trip for yourself, not for anyone else.  Make a conscious effort to let go of thoughts and concerns of whether or not this trip is good enough and comparisons to someone else’s trip.  Release any spirit of competitiveness or keeping up with others.  You are not in competition.  You are on the trip to build experiences and a deeper relationship with your family.  Who cares what anyone else thinks?