Far away travel with children choosing a destination

We love to travel. Before we had children we used to make a nice trip in special countries every year. Last year we did it for the first time with a toddler. We liked this so much that we are going to make another long trip with children this year. Now of course also with the baby.

I'll give you some tips you can look out for when you're also planning a far away trip with kids. Perhaps it will convince you to travel outside Europe after all.

Travel with kids

There is seriously nothing that should stop you from taking a long trip with kids. No, not even the age of your children and certainly not the long flights. Young children are quite flexible and thoroughly enjoy the experience. We experienced this last year when we went on a three-week trip to Sri Lanka.

Sure the little guy was tired or annoying at times, but you can have that at home too. That's no reason not to have a good time.

Tips; what to look out for when choosing your destination

Before embarking on a long journey with children it is useful to think about a few things. So one of your first choices will be where your trip will go. Of course, you can just throw a dart at the world map and risk staying somewhere in the ocean.

You can also consciously think about it and consider some factors.

Destination

First you have to decide on your destination. Where would you like to go? What would you like to see / do? Do you go for nature, culture or a combo of both?

In addition, there are some factors that can determine your destination when traveling with children. We had our choice determined in part by a number of factors;

• Malaria; is it a malaria-free area or not? We consciously choose destinations where we do not have to take malaria medication. I was once very sick from this medication and I do not find it suitable for children.
• Travel distances within the country; with small children we opt for destinations where we are within a relatively short distance again in a new nice place. In Sri Lanka, we spent no more than 4 to 5 hours in the car per travel day. Sri Lanka is not that big so after a few hours of driving you already have a totally different destination, climate and environment. Very special.
• Flights; we like to choose direct flights or flights where we make a stop over at a nice destination. Also pay attention to the transfer times. Nothing more annoying than stressfully running around a busy airport with your children because you only have 1 hour to change flights. So choose a flight where you have plenty of time to transfer. A travel day is tough but this is how we made it a little more relaxing.

So now we are looking at a trip to Costa Rica and Panama. Costa Rica was the first far away trip we took together in 2006. We thought that was such’s a cool country that we would love to go there again.

The above factors also played a role in determining our destination. Costa Rica is malaria-free, easy to fly to (especially with a direct flight to Panama) and the distances in the country itself are perfectly doable. In addition, nature is very diverse and you are guaranteed to see many animals.

Something we like a lot ourselves.

More tips, do’s and don’ts

Soon you will find part 2 of this series, far away travel with kids. What can you do to prepare your kids for their (first) far away trip. Flying with children, do’s and don’ts. Of course you may always ask questions.

I do not have all the wisdom but I do speak from experience.

Do you already have vacation plans? Would you consider a long trip with your children?

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