As an expat, my kids and I have logged some serious air miles. We also drive across the entire country of France every summer, a 10 hr feat. Over the years I have taken notes of what works for us to actually enjoy traveling with kids. We’ll start with roadtrips, then move to flying and travel by train! For a deep dive into air travel don’t miss these tips for flying with babies and flying with kids!

Compared to flying, roadtrips allow for much more baggage and control. You can stop when you need to and bring more things to keep the kids busy.

First things first, when talking about road trips we must talk about car seats. Infant car seats are great because if your baby falls asleep in the car seat you can carry them inside. And sometimes they will stay asleep. You can even clip the car seat onto your stroller, which again, makes these transitions a breeze. When you have an infant car seat you can also take advantage of the handle to clip toys on. Those that vibrate when pulled have always been a big hit for my kids.

However, once your baby gets a little more curious and falls asleep less in the car, it is worth considering moving them to a taller car seat so they can look out the window. We have the Joie I-spin 360 and love it. It is on its third user now and still comfortable, easy to use and easy to clean.

Now that I have three kids, I also think about car seat arrangement. If it’s possible I would recommend to seat the kids according to age, so that the kids closest in age are closest together in the car. This way the kids who are more likely to play together are within reach. They will have less issues with reaching over the middle child to pass toys or do an activity together.

In terms of snacks, I always recommend to overpack. You have the space in your car and in the worst case scenario you finish the snacks on vacation. I like each child to have their own water bottle within reach and their own snack bag. Dried fruit is great for traveling, it’s not messy, on the healthy side and takes some time to eat. I keep the candy up front, under parental control, and hand them out sporadically for treats and rewards as we progress on our journey. Think about insulated water bottles to keep drinks cool!

Make sure you don’t forget about adult snacks and clothespins on any bags that aren’t resealable. You don’t want to ruin your snack bag with a snack leak. We pack a front seat snack bag with adult snacks and special treats, and a back seat snack bag with kids self-serve kids snacks and water bottles.

We also find it handy to have a game bag on vacation for restaurants and other times when you want to keep kids busy. In the end, traveling with kids is a lot about organizing and planning ahead. I always recommend to get at least one “new” game per kid for a trip and then of course bring some old favorites!

Surprisingly I find short flights more painful than long-hauls. I think this is for two reasons 1) the expectation is that a long-haul is going to be horrible and so you are more prepared mentally and logistically to handle whatever comes up and 2) the extra legroom and ability to walk around on bigger airplanes makes a huge difference when you have a child on your lap. 

Two general recommendations for air travel with kids below, and if you want more check out: tips for flying with babies or for flying with kids.

I would rather drive 4 hours or take a train to another city upon arrival then have a layover and a connection. When you take a direct flight you know that once you take off the countdown has begun and there is an end in sight. With a connection there can always be delays, cancellations, weather, etc. And there is also the stress of changing planes with all your stuff and your kids, getting to the gate early enough, getting food, finding the toilets, and so on. 

However, if you are traveling into the US, remember that you will have to go through customs in the first US airport you reach. This means that if you have a connection you go through a faster customs – since they know you have a plane to catch, whereas if you go through customs at your final destination you can be “left-to-die” as I have felt many times. There are some new ways though to make customs more bearable like Mobile Passport Control. Again, if you are traveling with kids you just need to plan ahead because waiting in a customs line for hours is just not possible sometimes.

You want to be on the airplane for as little time as possible. When boarding starts we head to the toilet for a last pee-pee and to fill up our water bottles. This is required for every family member and babies get a fresh diaper at this point no matter what. Then we generally go for a walk a few gates up and then a few gates past ours to get in a final stretch. 

“But I need to make sure there is room to store all my stuff over head” you say. If you are two adults traveling with kids, one of you can pre-board with the stuff and the other one stay off with the kids – but pick straws for who gets kid-free time on the plane! There will be room, they will make room somehow. You can always leave your stroller at the front of the airplane – not gate-check, actually on the airplane if things are getting full in your seat.

Kids love schedules and messing with their sleep schedule is ALWAYS to be avoided, but unavoidable if you are changing time zones. When traveling with kids, you really need to follow all “travel advice” such as getting on local time as soon as possible. Yet, depending on the length of your stay you may want to slightly adjust “local time”. Let me explain…

We live in Switzerland and my family is on the East Coast. That’s a 6 hour time difference. If we are visiting for less than 10 days, I try to adjust our body clocks by only 4 hours to make the transition there and the transition back home easier to manage. That means if my kids usually go to bed at 8:30 PM, in the US they are in bed at 6:30. Same goes for me. I usually go to bed at 11, so in the US I am in bed at 9.

I know what you’re thinking, “Yea but then they will take up at 5AM. No thank you!”

This actually doesn’t happen for us. Think about the flight over. “Getting on local time” means that during the daytime flight to the US, my kids who don’t nap are awake an extra six hours on our travel day. So they make up for that a little bit each night by going to bed early.

Once my children were old enough we started using melatonin and now I wouldn’t travel without it. It’s hard to find in Switzerland and France, but you can order it on Amazon 😀 We like Mommy’s Bliss – maybe because of the name? 

So when we go to the US, my kids take melatonin the first night when we arrive at 6PM, and then the next two nights generally to make sure they get to sleep and stay asleep. Then on the return flight they also take it, right when we take off. That’s right, we do not eat dinner on the airplane on overnight flights – we sleep (well, the kids sleep). And once we’re back home, I generally give it to them for two nights as well, 30 minutes before bedtime.

If your children have never taken melatonin, do a practice run at home before your trip to see how long it takes to start working and how your children handle it. 

If you are traveling with a baby who cannot take melatonin, the baby carrier is your friend. You will just plan to stand by the toilets and sway them to sleep, or nurse them to sleep in your seat and then spend the next hours afraid to move an inch and wake them up. Read more tips for flying with babies.

In Europe, we are lucky to have a really nice train network and nice trains. You can get to a lot of destinations by train, car or plane. Train is amazing for a few reasons – 1) you can move around freely, 2) you can bring more stuff than the plane (but not as much as the car) 3) you don’t have to deal with parking when you get to your destination and 4) there are often kids play areas in the train. 

When deciding between the different means of travel, don’t forget to consider the time you need to be at the airport before your flight, the risk of delays/lost baggage, the cost of gas and parking, and the means of transportation you actually need once you get where you are going → If you are going to Paris, you really don’t want your car with you there. 

You should definitely pick your seats if possible and get a 4-seater and settle in for games.

There is a lot to consider when planning to travel with kids, but whether you fly, drive or ride taking into consideration the age of your kids, what keeps them busy and where you will be most relaxed you can decide the best means of travel and prepare yourself and your kids for a great vacation!