I unintentionally haven’t been around these parts much lately – other projects and the holidays have made for a very busy December, and I’m afraid that this blog has suffered as a result. But I wanted to take a quick moment to share some travel tips as part of the Tripbase Three Travel Secrets series. The aim of this series is to unite travel bloggers and create a great list of top travel recommendations across the globe.
I was tagged not once, but twice. First by Carolina at Kids Go West and then by Amy at The Q Family Adventures who both offer some wonderful suggestions. My own top three tips for traveling with kids are:
1. Make a plan, make it a realistic one. It’s fine to be flexible but without at least a loose plan I guarantee you will end up frittering away precious moments of your vacation trying to figure out what you will do, or getting somewhere and finding a two-hour line, or walking very very very very far only to discover the restaurant, museum, or store you want to visit is closed.
2. Know thy children. Knowing what your children are passionate about – and what they really don’t like – will help you make good decisions. And if you’re kids can’t stay awake past 7 p.m. at home, don’t expect them to be good dinner companions at 9 p.m. just because you’re on vacation.
3. Enjoy! Suspend some of the rules. Eat dessert for dinner (we did this very successfully in New York). Let your kids go on rides or buy cheap souvenirs. Try to say “yes” more than you say “no.” Don’t let a little rain spoil your fun and take a few risks, even if it does mean missing the occasional nap.
To see more fleshed-out versions of these tips, as well as a few bonus ones, please see A little travel wisdom, which I wrote after our two-week trip to Paris in 2008.
Next week I’ll be back with a year-end wrap up and a look forward to an exciting 2010 with lots of new trips, plans, and projects. Merry Christmas and I’ll see you all on Monday – I’m off now to find some travel bloggers to tag!
I've taken with my children and those I want to take. Explore and you'll find family travel tips, information about vacation destinations, and lots of stories about our adventures! 
excellent tips!!
.-= jessiev´s last blog ..Cleveland? A Whole Lotta Love for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame =-.
Fab family travel tips, thanks for sharing!
Great tips! I totally agree about planning but be flexible. I always have list of things to do which typically more than we can fit in one day but we are flexible to skip some on the list based on their energy level that day.
I love the last tip. Sometimes, we get carried away on trying to enforce a good parenting rule and forgetting that we are on vacation.
.-= Amy @ The Q Family´s last blog ..Happy Holidays and Happy Anniversary =-.
I love your post. As a home schooling SAHM of 3 and business owner, I strive daily to ‘know thy children’. But I also know thy husband, and he tends to put a lot of his likes into the trip planning. Being flexible is key, but staying firm to make sure everyone gets to enjoy the trip is what I tend to have to do. Thanks for the great tips and the great blog!