With all the travel we’ve been doing while living abroad, I started thinking about what goes into the process of planning our trips. How do we decide where to go, what to do, where to stay? These past few months, with Jeff’s busy time at work, we’ve been on hiatus from big trips, so I suppose I’ve been fantasizing about where to go next and reflecting on how I go about planning.

For the most part, I’ve been the designated trip planner in the family (though of course Jeff and I discuss and decide things together), but I really enjoy researching and planning itineraries for trips, so I don’t mind! Here are some of the factors that have gone into our trip planning and some of the tools/resources I’ve used:

Deciding where to go:

• a country or city we’ve never been to. Since Jeff and I met during a study abroad semester in Prague, we were lucky enough to get to travel to a number of countries together during that time, especially in Central Europe. So Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Hungary were all places we’d been so were not our first priority for this time around. A few exceptions: we will be returning to Prague to see all the old haunts, we’re hoping to return to Italy because it’s one of our favorite places, and we returned to England to visit our family there. But other than that, we are trying to get to places that are new to both of us.
• a mix of city breaks and more beachy/sun holidays
• a direct flight from Dublin. This is pretty easy and there is no shortage of choices! A few places we’ve considered going (like Slovenia) don’t have direct flights, so we’ve ruled those out in favor of other destinations
• a good place to go with kids. This is a very subjective choice and everyone is different in what they consider an ideal family place. For the most part, anywhere we’ve gone we have managed to find things the kids enjoy, and sometimes we’re surprised at how little it takes to entertain them (chasing pigeons around a town square for example). But I’m sure there are places we would consider (perhaps with lots of hiking or museums or more romantic spots) that don’t seem as suitable with kids in tow
• safety. This is a tricky one, as it seems nowhere in the world these days is guaranteed to be safe, but there are a few places we had considered visiting earlier in our time here that we definitely won’t be visiting given the state of affairs. Turkey is the main one in this category. But even Greece, while I’m sure safe, has such an influx of refugees now that I’m not sure what it would be like to visit at this point.

Deciding where to stay:

• Hotel vs. AirBnB. One of the key factors of a successful trip with kids is figuring out the best place to stay. We’ve done a mix of hotels and AirBnB stays, depending on location and what sort of experience we want on that particular trip. AirBnB’s (or other apartment/house/self-catering type accommodations) have the advantage of being able to make your own meals and have multiple rooms/bedrooms. Hotels, on the other hand, often have pools, spas, and kid-friendly facilities, as well as the convenience of meals in the hotels for those times you just don’t want to go out or cook. Still, we have mostly found that AirBnB’s work best for us with the kids as we have more room to spread out, can hang out in another room after they go to sleep, and have the convenience of a kitchen. And it’s been fun to experience the uniqueness of each apartment/house we’ve stayed in and the hosts we’ve met — they’re certainly all quite memorable!

Deciding which activities to do:

For me, the most fun part of planning a trip is deciding what to do and see once we arrive. I love just soaking in the vibe of a city, walking around and taking in the architecture, the cute hidden streets, the sidewalk cafes, and, with kids of course the parks and playgrounds! I’ve consulted guidebooks for a few of the places we’ve gone, but for the most part, I rely on online resources and a few apps.

• Rick Steves website and podcast: before we moved to Ireland, I often listened to the Travel with Rick Steves radio show on NPR and it always got me so excited and inspired to travel! So I tend to check his website for ideas, and, even more so, listen to his podcast which often interviews guides from various cities or offers audio walking tours you can listen to while exploring a city
• Tripadvisor: this is my go-to site for reviews on everything from hotels to restaurants to tourist sites. I like that you can post questions about places and hear back from people who have been there
• A city’s website: when I know I’m going to a certain city, I simply Google it and get to one or more sites devoted to life and activities in that city, most of which have a ton of resources and often beautiful photographs to excite and inspire
• kid-specific sites: after Googling a city, I then often search that city + kids/family and I usually find several sites devoted specifically to kid or family friendly activities in whatever place I’m looking at. There are also general travel websites focused on kids, with articles for multiple countries. One I’ve recently started using is “ciaobambino.”
• Visit a City app: this is an app my dad introduced me too, which has a number of guides to various cities, including sites to see, maps, and itinerary ideas depending on how long you have in a given place.
• friends’ suggestions: comparing notes with friends here, especially other expat friends who travel a lot with their kids, is another great way to get some tried and true tips for what to see and do on a trip
• serendipity: sometimes the best activities have been those that happen unplanned, that aren’t in the guidebooks, or that a local tips you off to once you arrive!