Simple guide to traveling with a toddler

Simple guide for traveling with a toddler

Traveling is almost anyone’s favorite activity. But what if you have a toddler and babysitting is not an option for you and your partner to get away? Then your toddler is on board! That might frighten you because the majority of toddlers are very active and you won’t be able to fully relax with him/her. As this might be true it is always worth trying. Below are my simple 6 tips for traveling with a toddler:
1. Pack the snacks with you on the trip. Preferably not perishable. Healthy cookies, chips and veggie/fruit pouches would be perfect. As you want to care about your littles one’s health and have snacks that are healthy vs buying snacks at the airport or hotel that might be less healthy or limited. Many of them can be pricey and can save you a trip to the snack shop, while you try to enjoy your vacation as much as you can.

2. Take your child favorite entertainment with you toys, iPad, coloring book or reading books. Anything will do it to keep you sain and have a little quiet time by the pool or dinner time.

3. Pack sunscreen protection. Sunscreens, as snacks, can come at a higher cost at the hotels and airports. Other additional pool accessories like sun hats, swimwear and swimming gear can be difficult to find depending on the size and style preferred. And there is nothing more rewarding for a mom to have a ‘kids safe’ sunscreen on hand that you have done your research on.

4. Be a lifehacker. Meaning do your thorough research on the hotels and deals. Some hotels offer great packages with kids! For instance, we have booked the package ‘Kids eat free’ to our trip to Cabo, Mexico and didn’t realize that it’s all kids meals and drinks were included in our hotel stay (almost unlimited amount). How good can it get?!

5. Don’t skip your toddler’s nap time. You can get creative and use that time wisely once you put him/her to sleep. For instance, catch up on some work (if you work remotely), do yoga/light stretching or have some self-care time. On our last trip me and my husband decided not to skip the gym and gave each other 30 or more minutes of workout time. So he would go first to the hotel gym, get his workout done, come back and let me have a gym workout done while our toddler was peacefully sleeping.

6. Take your child to the beach or outdoor activities. Ocean sounds and sand can have a therapeutic effect (think foot massage type) and watching ocean waves can be very calming. Ocean breeze itself has humidifier effect on the respiratory system. As an activity you can collect some seashells with your child which will create one of the best memories. If beach experience is not an option think of zoos, bird watching or botanical garden trips. Anything to get your toddler moving and entertained will work great. As they can learn something new and use lots of energy while staying active.

Hope you found this guide helpful and useful. Please remember that traveling with a toddler might be stressful but new family experiences are worth every minute of it! Just looking back at the photos and videos from the trip could feel like one of the achievements.