Mindful Travel: 10 Tips for Making Travel with Kids Fun
Travel with Kids
Traveling with kids can be so much fun with a little planning and creativity. I have been so inspired by the folks out there wandering the globe with their kiddos in tow. My husband and I have done quite a bit of traveling together and we have so enjoyed taking our kids along to show them the world…well at least a few parts of it. We have many more adventures ahead. Our local adventures include all around the Northwest and West Coast including countless adventures hiking and camping. Below are a few things that we have learned along the way. These are tips that we feel make the adventure more fun and seamless for everyone involved.
1.Kids Travel Journal
This is a fun way for kids to get excited about traveling and recording their adventures. It is also a nice way to look back on the memories made. My kids’ journals have included train ticket stubs, museum pamphlets, photos and their own drawings, a list of vocabulary words, common greetings and numbers written out in the language spoken in whichever country we are in, or simply a journal entry, if they are old enough to do some writing. Setting a side time to do some journaling while you travel is a nice way to incorporate down time in the afternoons. This is a fun item for them to bring to show and tell at school when they return. This also shows the teacher that their adventure was a learning experience.
2. Kids Help Plan
Encouraging kids to be a part of the travel planning process helps them take some ownership in the trip and gets them excited about travel. Of course, sometimes you have to do some planning without them involved but where appropriate include them. My son really loves doing the lodging and vacation rental searches, learning about the neighborhoods, reading reviews and setting the filters. It is also great fun to get maps of the places you are traveling to and help kids do some navigating and route planning. This teaches them about the lay of the land as well. Working in educational opportunities wherever possible is an awesome way to make your adventure more meaningful for your kiddos.
3. Assign a Photo Journalist
With their journals in mind, have kids take turns being the photo journalist. Help them think about what they might want to include in a photo. This is also a good opportunity to teach them about being respectful of people’s space and privacy as well.
4. Books, Books, Books
This falls in to the “down time” category. For older kids, investing in a Kindle is a great tool to bring along on any trip. While you want to make sure to balance out screen time each day, kindles also have games and the ability to watch movies. Especially helpful for long train rides or travel days. My son has the Kindle Fire and it works great! For younger kids I like a small stack of light weight, paperback books for down time and bed-time stories.
5. Easy Lightweight Games
Light, portable games important for down time and travel days. A deck of cards, a booklet of Sudoku, Spot It and memory cards are some of our favorites. My kids also like to pick out a Dot-to-dot book….(doing a dot-to-dot can be quite meditative! Check out this one). Other fun and easy games to remember are the old classics: Ro Sham Bo, Hot Hands, Eye Spy, Thumb wars, Tick Tack Toe and Hangman. Tap into your own childhood and try to remember the silly games you used to play.
6. Don’t Over Schedule!!
I can certainly be guilty of wanting to do it all!! Luckily my sweet husband gently reminds me that there is always another day or another trip. It is easy to fall into the trap of over scheduling your travel days but it is so important not to overload kids with too much. A good strategy is to get up earlier, beat the crowds and do some site seeing in the morning, enjoy a nice lunch and then have some down time in the afternoon. In many cultures, this is the norm.
In some countries, shops and restaurants close down in the afternoon for a few hours, opening back up in the late afternoon. If you are traveling to a more humid climate, this schedule also works well, as temps rise in the afternoon. It is a good time to do some journaling, read a book or have some cool down time in the pool. It is also a nice idea to have unscheduled days where you have leisurely mornings, perhaps stroll neighborhoods and let the day unfold more spontaneously.
7. Travel with Another Family
Let’s be honest, kids need other kids. It is important to set aside some time to take family trips that prioritize reconnecting with each other, taking a break from our routines and busy schedules. However, if you are planning a much longer excursion, it is great fun to meet up with extended family or good friends that have similar aged kids. You can break up longer trips into sections where you just travel as a family and then at one point meet up with some friends for a few days.
If you are planning any kind of expedition to get outside that may include some longer distance hiking, this plan works well. Some times adults can be boring and my son would correct me by saying, “Sometimes, grown-ups can be fun!”. Classic.
8. Geocaching
Do your kids like hunting for treasures? I know mine do! There is a mobile app for Geocaching that allows you to use your phone as a GPS to find hidden objects located all over the world. EVERY time we travel ANYWHERE we end up doing some geocaching at some point. We love how it takes you off the beaten path a bit, to explore neighborhoods and places you may not have otherwise checked out. No worries, as the clues give you plenty of insights as to what kind of location you are getting into. In Maui, it led us to a cliff side hidden capsule and later that same trip, into the Makawao Public Library (Makawao is like a little Hawaiian Western town in upcountry, pretty awesome). We have found geocaches located in the cobblestones walls of ancient churches in Italy and hidden neighborhoods of Puerto Vallarta. Check out the app here.
9. Getting Kids Outside and into Nature
Don’t forget to play the same games I talk about in this post. Getting outside and exploring the natural areas of the places you travel can teach you so much about the world. You often can see wildlife different from what you see in your home town. Of course plants look different in other places and then sometimes they look the same, reminding you of home and maybe even giving you a sense of connection to a new place.
10. Connect with the Locals
Attempt to get to know some locals. This creates a much more meaningful experience for the kids and for you to get the local perspective on a place and make friends abroad! You just might get invited to a meal, a local sporting event or learn of a special insight into a place. If we find a cafe or certain spot we are fond of, we will return regularly. Show your face enough and a local may want to chat and learn about where you are from. Be friendly. Step out of your comfort zone and stumble through some basic greetings, testing out your language skills. Another beautiful thought is to do a little research and see if there might be some volunteer work you could participate in for an afternoon...or longer! You may check if any local schools are in need of supplies, as one example.
Be a Mindful Traveler
What does it mean to be a mindful traveler? The practice ofmindfulness is all about being present, really living in the moment andsoaking in what is in front of you. Perhaps listening deeply to anotherin a conversation, observing how a place or a life style is bothdifferent and/or the same as your own, connecting to people and placesin a way that fills us with joy and illuminates the realization that weare all in this together. Truly at the core of all things is the pursuitof happiness.
At My Peaceful Wild we strive to share our adventures in a way thatencourages others to go out into the world and participate in a style oftravel that is mindful and connects to a place with kindness andcompassion. Of course many have a “bucket list” of travel destinations,myself included. It is a big beautiful world after all! Along with goingplaces to see beautiful landscapes, cities, architecture, let’s worktogether to spread a message of hope, kindness, environmentalstewardship, supporting and celebrating local communities and cultures.Let’s get out there and experience a place as a citizen of the earth on amission to connect to a sense of place. What does it mean to be anOregonian, a Hawaiian, an Italian, a Mexican or a Kenyan? The world isso full of beauty, mystery, language, food, traditions, history, joy andsorrow. As you get out there and experience it, do it mindfully andwith compassion. Now go!
Be well, be kind and make time to get outside and explore!