International Travel Tips for Families with Small Children

Tips for traveling internationally with young children:

• Get the passports in the first couple months of life. If you have the itch to travel internationally with young children, I would highly recommend starting the passport process as soon as a baby is born. Get the forms printed in advance and make an appointment at your local post office within the first couple months of your child's life for passport photo and processing. This can take awhile to get your passport processed (6–8 weeks for routine service). It's often easier to travel with a baby when they are in the first year of life as opposed to the toddler years, so I would recommend starting the process early.

• Look for where you can travel direct from your home airport - one of my strategies has always been looking for where I can travel direct from my home airport. Living in a major city, I have numerous options for direct international flights. It's a bit easier to take young children on one plane vs. stopping for a layover and having multiple flights. So my advice would be to see what your options are for direct international flights from your closest major airport. Living in Denver, some examples of great options for families with young kids include: Costa Rica, Panama, Paris, Munich, London, Japan, Mexico, Hawaii.

• Bring new (fun) activities — before your trip, head to your local dollar store and spend $20–30 on new activities (aka "dollar store junk"). Then take these new activities home and wrap them up with wrapping paper. This will allow your small children the opportunity to stay busy and enjoy something new for a good chunk of the flight. On our flight to Maui, my oldest daughter spent a good 1–2 hours decorating her seat with sequins and had the time of her life with a simple $3 purchase from the dollar store. Other options include: coloring books and crayons, regular books, tablets and squishy toys.

• Bring adequate supplies (snacks, food, pouches, formula, milk) - kids travel better when they have full bellies. Make sure you have adequate supplies, including milk (we always stock up right before boarding), formula, pouches, snacks, etc. If you are taking a long-haul flight and have picky eaters, be sure to pick up something they will eat before boarding. Kids will sleep better and generally travel better when they are full, so bring plenty of food and snack options.

• Invest in an airplane seat extender for long-haul flights — with young children (under 2) you have the option to have them fly free on your lap or pay for their own seat. If you are taking a long-haul flight, it may be worth the money to pay for a seat. This gives you the option to bring their car seat on board or purchase an airplane seat extender for kids. Depending on where you are traveling, you may not need to bring a car seat, so I would advise you to leave the car seat at home and pay for the seat extender instead. With many of our European trips, we use public transportation and packing as light as possible will make your trip so much easier! Working with me as your travel advisor also allows the option of arranged transfers, and these transfers can provide car seats when needed.

• Travel as light as possible — with two young children and some nifty packing skills, I've been able to pack for myself and my two kids in one very large checked suitcase. That way, heading through the airport, I am only wearing my carry-on backpack (diaper bag) and bringing 1–2 strollers that are gate-checked with stroller bags. The lighter you travel, the easier your life will be with small children.

Traveling internationally with young children can seem intimidating, but it doesn't have to be and is very doable. Working with me as your travel advisor and family travel expert, I can help make your trip as smooth as possible and inspire you to keep going!