Category: Travel Tips

Beach Trip with Young Kids

  By

Growing up in Houston, I was lucky enough to live within an hour or so from the beach, and beach vacations were a constant through my whole life. My childhood summers are consistently punctuated by memories of walks along the shore, collecting sand dollar fragments, building muddy, crumbling sand castles, boogie boarding in the occasional rough surf. As I got older, these activities evolved through some Spring Break-esque misadventures and eventually beach vacations became all about relaxation: lounging in the sun, book in hand, toes in the sand.  The beach became my favorite type of vacation destination. I loved everything… Continue reading

Long Haul Flights with Young Kids

  By

We’ve done many long haul flights over the years, including several since we started traveling with kids. Flying with a baby in general is a whole new ballgame. When you combine that with a long overseas flight, you are definitely going to want to be prepared. Each time we have flown with the kids, we have learned new things about the experience, and hopefully some of our flight tips will help brace yourself for the adventure to come. All those other flights – the ones before kids, the shorter domestic flights with and/or without kids… those were your hours in… Continue reading

Global Entry for the Family

  By

Travel days are always filled with excitement and anxiety. We are anticipating our destination and looking forward to enjoying the trip. For the actual transit, the kids still get pumped up about airplane rides and the endless screen time we allow on these days. Anxiety normally comes into play when we are wrangling our luggage, trying to get through security, and then collecting ourselves at our destination city (made even more stressful if that involves customs and passports). One way to reduce a large part of the travel day stress is to obtain TSA Precheck or Global Entry (GE). Both… Continue reading

Tips for Air Travel with a Baby

  By

I vividly remember the days leading up to our first trip with our first baby. I was terrified. I love traveling, but let’s be honest, air travel can be difficult in the best situations. J was almost six months old before we took our first family trip, so I was well aware that anything with the baby involved would fall far short of the “best situation”. We were headed to San Fransisco, a place I was so excited to visit, and yet, I found myself dreading the trip. We were regularly running 20+ minutes late for everything outside of the… Continue reading

Tips to Enjoy Your Perfect AirBnB When Traveling with Kids

  By

Staying in a vacation rental home has become our absolute favorite way to travel since we began traveling with kids in tow. Before kids, we had used AirBnb and VRBO a couple times – for beach vacations or travel with large groups. Our first time that we took J abroad as a baby, we used AirBnb exclusively and have been hooked ever since. The extra space in a vacation home coupled with kitchen and sometimes laundry access has been crucial on many of our trips.  Don’t get me wrong, a plush hotel with concierge and daily housekeeping is a wonderful… Continue reading

How to Choose the Perfect AirBnB For Your Family

  By

Before having kids, we didn’t have much experience using AirBnb type vacation rentals. We used AirBnb and VRBO a handful of times previously for large family trips and always had good experiences. It wasn’t until our very first trip to Europe when J was an infant that we thought to expand our AirBnb use for travel abroad. Why AirBnb?  Traveling with young kids is a whole different animal than child-free travel. Your days are typically structured around naps and bedtimes, and you will likely spend a lot more time in your accommodations than you would have otherwise. With that in… Continue reading