Since we’ve been back home in Seattle, I’ve been asked a lot about how we managed to do so much traveling while abroad, particularly with two young kids in tow! I have to admit, before we did it, I was completely doubtful as to how it would all work. There were certainly many, many “blooper” moments — times when Jeff and I would look at each other and ask “why are we doing this again?” or just laugh at the sheer ridiculousness.

Tantrums, bug bites, broken bones, dashing through airports to catch almost-missed planes, when one of the kids threw up on himself and me at the beginning of a 10 hour flight (and we had no change of clothes). Missed naps, late naps, naps on the go. Missed meals, late meals, meals on the go. Pushing the double stroller up huge hills in 90 degree heat (Jeff). Both boys having a bathroom accident on the hotel bed and in the hotel closet at the exact same moment. The boys trying to wash their hands in hotel bidets (isn’t this just a small sink?). When one of the boys fell head first into a pond and Jeff jumped in after him. And many more…

For all the gorgeous moments we captured in photographs, there are many more that captured the “real” experience. But despite all of that, despite the fact that we often felt crazy for traveling with kids, what remains in our memories are all the incredible moments, all the places and sites we got to experience as a family. When Isaac’s Kindergarten teacher told us that he seems to have a strong interest and knowledge in history and geography, we thought “ok, he must have absorbed something from all our travels. Maybe it was worth it after all!”

But as I’ve reflected back on the practicalities of how we actually made the traveling work with two young kids, I came up with a few key tips that helped us make things go as smoothly as possible (still not all that smoothly — but at least manageable!) . These may not work for everyone, but were a few things that worked well for us amidst the many crazier moments of travel!

1. Routines and rituals: with so much newness and novelty of all the places we were visiting, it helped (for the kids especially) to have the consistency of a few little routines and rituals. At the Dublin airport before flights, we’d almost always stop for coffee and croissants at Butlers coffee, and then let the boys pick a magazine or coloring book at the newsstand for the flight. Whenever we were waiting for luggage at an airport, the boys loved helping spot the bags and (attempt to) lift them off the carousel. In each place we visited, Isaac helped me pick out postcards for a collection I’m making for the boys, so this was another ritual we always looked forward to. And certain treats like ice cream or getting a Happy Meal when there were no other food options, were special things we rarely did at home that we reserved for traveling.
2. Bring along a few small toys: between plane rides, airport wait times, and eating out at restaurants while traveling, there’s lots of need for ways to occupy and entertain the boys. While trying not to over pack (usually not successfully!), we always made sure to bring along a few little toys — small cars for Rafi and little Lego figures for Isaac, for example, that they could play with throughout our trips. Sticker books, coloring books, and a deck of cards were also easy and lightweight to bring along.
3. Buy what you can at your destination: when we went on longer trips, we tried to save suitcase space and weight by buying some things there. Diapers and toiletries, for example, take up a lot of suitcase space! We would pack enough to get us through the first few days and then stock up again at our destination. For our first few beach holidays, we brought our buckets and spades with us (and back home again), but eventually realized it made more sense (and was much less sandy in our luggage!) to find new sand toys at our destination and leave them there for other kids when we left.
4. Pace yourselves: we found that our kids need a lot of downtime when traveling. Whereas Jeff and I could bash through all the sites in a city in a day or two, and be out all day walking around and exploring, this wasn’t realistic with our kids in tow. We could usually squeeze in one main site or activity a day and then either needed to go back and rest or let them run around at a park. Or we would have one busy day and then follow it with a more relaxed day. It may have been a different pace from what we adults would have done, but in the long run it made for happier moods and helped us realize we don’t have to do it all and can try to soak in and enjoy what we were able to do.
5. Find kid-friendly activities and lodging: I’ve written before about how I tried to plan our travels to include places and sites we could all enjoy, as well as family-friendly places to stay, sometimes in an apartment and other times in a hotel with a pool. A lot of times we could figure out a way to make a traditional site fun for the kids (“let’s chase bubbles around Old Town Sqaure in Prague” or “let’s chase pigeons around the square in Sarajevo” or “let’s do an art scavenger hunt in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris”), but we also tried to mix it up with specific kid sites: Legoland in Windsor, Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, the Christmas market in Bruges, the children’s museums in Belfast and Vienna, the marine park in Tenerife, the water park in Seville. These were some of the most memorable times for the boys and lent an air of joy and fun to our travels.
6. Get creative with exploring: I’ve also mentioned in the past how different modes of transportation are an excellent way to make traveling kid-friendly. Boats, trolleys, trains, bikes, horse and carriages, camels, double-decker buses…any time we did one of these with the kids we were guaranteed a fun time and a unique way to see a city while simultaneously keeping them interested and entertained.
7. Accept that meals won’t be 5-star or relaxing: sometimes when planning a trip somewhere, I’d hear about amazing restaurants that I would have loved to try. Noma in Copenhagen or Joel Robuchon in Paris — or other such delicious and gourmet restaurants that Jeff and I may have tried if it were just us — would have been incredible to go to, but with young kids there was no way this was realistic. We still managed to have some tasty meals and try local cuisines, but just as often we found ourselves opting for whatever was easiest, most kid-friendly and casual.
8. Go with the flow: one of the biggest lessons I learned traveling with young kids is to not get too caught up in rigid plans. I tried to have a general sense of a city or place and a few things we really wanted to see or do, but to know (and accept) that we most likely wouldn’t do it all or that we’d have to shift or adjust or scrap plans on the go. If there were certain things we really didn’t want to miss, we would prioritize those. And while a lot of kids follow strict schedules with naps, meals, etc., we had to learn to do things on the fly — naps in the stroller, baby carrier, or on an airplane.
9. Take care of the practicalities: passports, vaccines, and more are key practical matters not to overlook. When we were scheduled to go to Paris, I happened to find out that you need a passport with more than 6 months til expiration in order to go to France. Isaac’s was due to expire in 5 months, so I had to rush to the embassy, order an expedited passport, and cross my fingers it would arrive within a week (luckily it did!).
10. Try to incorporate a little bit of the local culture: it’s hard to get young kids to fully appreciate being in a new country — often their favorite part of a place is something totally mundane that could just as easily be experienced at home, like a playground or a swimming pool. But on the other hand, even doing “normal” daily-life things can still be a cultural experience. Still, we tried to add in some touch of local food, language, or custom to teach the boys (especially Isaac), whether it’s saying merci in France, eating pizza and gelato in Italy, or watching flamenco dancing in Spain, we tried to sprinkle a little bit of the unique culture into our kids’ brains.
11. Relax and enjoy the ride: I didn’t really embrace this one until our last few trips, but I started to try to just chill a little when we were back at the hotel/apartment and sit and read a book or drink a leisurely coffee or glass of wine…you know, what vacations usually look like without kids. Granted it was usually only for about 10 minute increments, and more often than not involved the boys watching an iPad, but I tried to let go of that guilt and allow myself a few minutes of downtime. Sometimes Jeff and I would trade off taking a few minutes for ourselves — whether to pop into the hot tub or get a massage, or just sit at breakfast a few extra minutes and read the paper — but other times we and the kids would all be relaxing (as much as possible with kids!) and trying to feel guilt-free about it.

Looking back, despite all the crazy, frustrating, messy moments, I’m grateful we took the leap and bumbled our way through all our travels. Somehow along the way, we gained a few tips and tricks that served us well. If you decide to travel with kids, I don’t think you’ll regret it. Happy traveling!