Holiday time with your family is precious. You’ve done all the hard work from booking the airfares and accommodations to saving enough money. Now you want to make sure this upcoming family holiday is perfect in every way possible. Who wouldn’t want to come home from a holiday feeling inspired and rejuvenated? However, time and time again we hear people getting disappointed and feeling exhausted coming back from their family travel.
The most common mistake when travelling with your family is trying to replicate the way you used to travel before you have children. Now, it’s not just about the two of you. Here are some pointers to keep in mind before embarking on your next adventure with your little ones.
Don’t squeeze too much activities and sights in one day
Don’t fly halfway around the world just to take photos in front of buildings. Go in! Explore and slow down. Plan to visit one or two major sights in one day and make time to spend some time relaxing at the park or a child friendly cafe. Children need down time to play and chill, so does us.
Don’t move cities too fast
Stay longer in each city and don’t make the mistake of visiting too many cities. Minimize the packing, unpacking and luggage carrying from one hotel to another. When you spend only a day or two in each city, you may have plenty of photos to show your family and friends but you will come home with no real knowledge of the places you visited. By spending more time in each city, you are not just skimming the surface. You will be rewarded with better feel of local life and immersion in that particular culture.
We often get asked “How can we cover Tokyo in 2 days”. The answer is: you can’t. We spent 9 days in Tokyo and we loved every second of it. Some districts are even worth an entire day of exploring. Set aside your itinerary for some “wandering time”. For example, in Tokyo, we intended to spend just a few hours in the Akihabara district. We ended up spending an entire day exploring the eclectic shops, browsing through endless collection of vintage action figures from Goggle V robots, nostalgic Sailor Moon cards, and vintage Nintendo games. Being 80’s kids, these were all the things we grew up with and it brought back fond childhood memories.
Know how long your child is happy to be out and about
Some children are happy to be out exploring the entire day whilst some may last 7 hours before exhaustion (followed by tantrums). Avoid this mistake and know your child’s limit. Work your sightseeing schedule around your child’s nap time. Our son Berlin’s nap schedule is almost like clockwork which makes it easy for us to predict his nap time. We utilize his nap to our advantage; by doing activities he won’t have the patience for such as museum stop, high tea visit or shopping.
Don’t travel as if it is your last time
Have a mentality that if you and your family happen to fall in love with a certain destination, you can always come back there in the near future. As much as we all aim to tick off the bucket list sights and attractions, the reality is you may miss out on visiting some due to unforeseeable circumstances such as bad weather. This is always a good excuse to re-visit that particular city perhaps in a different time of the year.
The last thing you want coming back from a family travel is to feel burnt out and exhausted. Slow down, embrace the little moments and set realistic expectations for each day. That way when you all come back home feeling rejuvenated and inspired, you are ready to start planning for your next family travel.
