We all have ideas of grandeur when it comes to our summer travel plans. We envision rest, relaxation, adventure, and of course sleeping in. No more getting up for school, or making lunches… just family fun and seeing where the day takes us! Of course a beautiful location is icing on the much needed cake.
Some of us crave a tranquil and silky sand beach.
The thrill seekers may hit the mountains for some biking, hiking, rafting, or ziplining.
Or maybe it’s the theme parks that are calling you this summer.
Wherever your summer travel destination…just know with little kids in tow there’s still work involved. Lots of it. Meals, snacks, baths, and of course adapting to new sleep environments and schedules. I learned this first-hand when I traveled solo to Orlando to visit family and one of the parks.
I thought we would have a leisurely week of spending time with family, friends, and just have some summer fun. Instead one child had a fever with diarrhea for three days and was up for several nights. Then the older one came down with a cold and cough which kept us all up the rest of the nights. My hope of a fun boat day on the lake at my brother’s house sank when neither of our girls would even board the boat. And I was further frustrated when both were too afraid of rides at Legoland.
Our road trip may have been a bust but yours doesn’t have to be. Here’s how to avoid vacation hell with kids!
top 5 tips to avoid vacation hell with kids
Lower your expectations.
My very wise husband once said, “I try not to have expectations because then I can’t be disappointed.” Now I get it. My restful week to have some “me” time and make some decisions never happened. Because…you know…life happens.
Pack meds.
I’m so glad I had some Advil, a thermometer, and a few other natural remedies with me. Sure I could have picked them up on the road, but it was easier at 3:00 AM to rummage through my suitcase.
Don’t push your kids.
I tried to make our girls try boating and other things they weren’t quite ready for. My visions of tubing capsized when they wouldn’t even go near the lake, but I did get them on a SeaDoo. (Ironic they’ll get on a jet ski, but not a boat!) I gave up trying to get them to go on roller coasters too when I learned they were terrified of baby rides. No more theme parks for us until they are braver and a bit older, which is totally fine…I mean think of all the money we’ll save! I find when we travel for a week that planning just two to three activities is enough. Usually you find awesome family friendly excursions when you arrive at your destination. We ended up going to see Inside Out, had a blast at the local farmers market, and the mall is always a hit of course. Plus with Nana in tow, I actually had time to shop for myself! (Now that’s a vacation!)
Throw out your sleep rules.
I let the girls bunk with me and laid with them until they fell asleep. It’s so much easier to just move them to the pull out couch when they are in a deep sleep. And let them guide you with naps, some need them, some don’t.
Wine & Earplugs = Bliss.
I usually have a glass maybe twice a month, but on this trip, wine was my BFF. It helped me relax at night and sleep better. Plus its vacation right?! It was the perfect cure for my lake day – which turned into a pool day. I also need ear plugs when we travel. Kids make sounds, move alot, talk in their sleep, not to mention hotel sounds. Ear plugs are the key to ignoring snoring and trying to get some rest.
To cap off our lovely vacation hell, I woke up the last morning with pink eye. It’s not a vacation unless everyone gets sick right? We were contemplating a mountain getaway at the end of the month…but now I’m re-thinking any trips indefinitely!
Despite all of issues the girls really did have fun; they visited their grandparents and cousin, went to the movies, saw their favorite Lego Friends at Legoland, and we went to a hotel for two days with a killer pool and splash pad. To them, it was an awesome summer vacation, and that’s all that really matters right?
But man…there’s no place like home.
Please follow along on Facebook for more parenting tips and encouragement.
Looking for travel tips? Here’s what not to do on an airplane with kids,
and what not to do on a road trip with kids.
This should be dubbed “The Bible of Traveling with Children”
Damn I need you to title ALL of my posts!
We had a similar experience at Legoland and it was SO HOT! There was no shade anywhere when we went a couple of years ago and even my little Lego addict said he was ready to leave three hours after we arrived.
Kids keeps us on our toes though! Hope everyone is feeling better 🙁
Yes they really do need more shade there!
Vacations with young ones is def difficult at times, but they will only remember the fun parts.. and that makes it all worth it! 🙂
totally. went to the beach with my 5 month old… it was SUPER not restful! but my husband had a grrrrreeat time!
How timely, we leave tomorrow! I am fully preparing there will be more than our fair share of hellish moments, hopefully they do not outweigh the good ones.Now if only I could drink some wine to dull those moments… Maybe a doughnut and a BIG Q from QT will work! Have a great week!
haha We just got back from a week long vacation with my son, so this really hits home. Too bad I’m pregnant and can’t take advantage of number 5!
I totally agree with your husband and I think from now on my only “travel with kids” expectation will be drinking wine. I feel like that’s a sure thing:) Awesome tips, being flexible is a total must.
I agree with all of these!! I learned early on to lower my expectations on every outing in general when there are kids involved, but it’s tough.
I make up for it with wine!
Aww, I’m sorry it turned out so bad! I hope you’re all feeling better!! Just think, you’ll know what not to do for your next vaca!
It wasn’t that bad – just a serious of unfortunate incidents! The girls really did have fun!
My travel tip with kids is to bring extra fun activities to do and don’t let them know about it! A deck of cards, a coloring or sticker book, fun pad, mad libs, aqua doodle. Easy to transport and if you don’t use them, great put them away for next time but I swear when my kids are full of craziness, brining out a ‘hey look what i have activity’ certainly can change the mood around and/or buy me a few more minutes to get ready for the day (or have that glass of wine!)
I love the water wow and aqua doddle! So awesome!
Great post! I literally used all of these on vacation with two toddlers. I’d add two little helpers…bring bubbles and squirt guns to buy yourself adult time! Heehee
These are great tips and your experience is also why I am so afraid of travelling with my crazy ass kids!
I swear baths are my least favorite part of everything. I’ll be so happy (and also sad) when my kids just take showers, assuming they take showers. Des might be one of those boys who emulates Pigpen (like my brother).
I think meds are important. When my husband was leaving for Brazil, my only words of advice were, “Pack Imodium!” Nice, right? He didn’t even need it, the food was so good there.
My advice is to bow to the sand. You can’t fight it. It will be in your children’s scalps and underwear. Just roll with it.
Oh no! I’m so sorry:(. And Pink Eye? Yuck. In addition to meds – I bring garbage bags, paper towels and rubber gloves. This, after a stomach virus wiped out all four kids when we were at the Grand Canyon. They don’t even remember the Grand Canyon! That’s how sick they were. Our hotel room was a Hazmat area! I had to tip housekeeping $50 to help me. It was awful! So yes, cheers to wine, wine, wine!
So sorry to hear that much of your vacation was a bust of sick and scared kids! My sister used to have a tendency to get sick every single time we traveled, so I learned even before having kids to always travel with fever reducers! Love your advice to lower expectations until the kids are ready. And plenty of wine is always on the menu at our house!
I always take some essentials for the kids like Floaties, board games, kites, bubbles, water trampoline, ski boat or jet ski, and fishing rods.