Family Travel Resources and Planning Tips

Family Travel usually takes a bit more planning and a whole lot more patience, than the trip around Europe or Asia you took in your 20’s to find yourself.

Having travelled around the world for over 35+ years, to 23 countries and 5 continents, plus recently completed 6 months of amazing travel through Southeast Asia. I’ve learned what to do (& not to do), through my experience as a solo traveller, and travelling with my kids from babies to teens.

From finding good deals on flights, to choosing a destination, or preparing your house and packing. There’s a lot to think about. 

Here you’ll find all our latest resources and tips on family travel planning, budgeting and packing. The fun doesn’t stop here as we are planning on adding more resources over time, and updating as we learn more through our travels. 

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Family Travel Tips – What You Need To Know!

Three people wearing orange life jackets sit on a turquoise boat with their arms raised and smiling as they ride across calm turquoise water. A cloudy sky hangs over a tropical shoreline in the distance with other boats visible on the water, for a sunset cruise in Boracay.
Enjoying our sunset boat cruise in Boracay, Philippines | Photo: Packed for Life

PRE-TRIP PLANNING

Can there be anything more stressful than realizing you forgot some key item on your to-do list as you head out the door to the airport? Passport expiring? Housesitter prep? Extra keys for the car for the road trip in case you accidentally lose them?

All our pre-trip planning resources for families are here to help you make organizing before you leave on your trip easier. So all you have to do is relax on vacation ( and ignore the kids arguing every 5 minutes).

Pre-Travel Checklists

Make a list and check it twice. Or let us help you with our comprehensive checklists and articles.

Other travel checklists & planners to check out:

Opt in graphic promoting a free family travel emergency toolkit with text that reads “be prepared for travel emergencies!” and “free printable emergency plan checklists, contact cards & emergency info sheet.” It shows a stack of printable pages and a booklet titled “family travel emergency plan toolkit” alongside checklist items “know what to do in an emergency,” “help your kids feel safe and prepared,” and “keep critical info easy to access,” with a button that says “get your emergency toolkit” and the word “free” displayed prominently.

Pre-Travel Family Vacation Considerations

Before planning even starts, there are many things to consider about your next family adventure.

Things like can your family afford to take time off work and school and how often you should take a family vacation (uh…as much as you can! Ok reality, stop ruining the fun).

Family Travel Gear

There’s so much to consider when packing up your kids and hitting the road.

We have a full page of essential travel gear recommendations we’ve either tried out or on our list of must buys for our family.

Choose a destination

The world is wide, and has so many great options for places to travel. We have many itineraries and family friendly destinations to explore.

Here are a few amazing places to add to your family travel bucket list

Vietnam

Vancouver Island, Canada

USA

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DESTINATIONS

Book and Save Money on Flights

Use websites like Skyscanner and Google Flights and their explore tools. Put in your home airport to see a map of the world with all the flights on it to easily compare multiple destinations, prices and dates of travel. If you have more flexibiilty on dates and destinations, you can often get better deals.

Cheap Flights

  • GOING (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) – We use & recommend Going to get cheap flights out of the USA, straight to your inbox, no scouring the internet (+ you book directly with the airline & can save 40-90% off).

Where To Find Fun & Afforable Lodging

Tropical Palm Bay resort setting with a large blue-tiled swimming pool surrounded by palm trees and cushioned lounge chairs, flanked by two-story buildings with wooden balconies, under a clear blue sky. The main building at the end of the pool features arched windows and a dark tiled roof, creating a relaxing Phu Quoc vacation atmosphere.
Palm Bay Resort in Phu Quoc, Vietnam | Photo: Packed for Life

Before booking our lodging for trips, I like to do research into the best places to stay. I ask around to friends and family for their recommendations.

I also keep an eye out in family travel facebook groups for places that consistently get recommended for my destination. Then read reviews on Trip Advisor, google reviews and the like.

Once I have an idea of what I’m looking for, then I head over to our go to booking sites:

  • Booking.com for good deals on hotels, resorts, cottages & other accomodations
  • ​VRBO for family friendly accommodations that have the comforts of home, but without the cleaning!
  • Agoda for affordable accommodations throughout Asia. We used this app 90% of the time during our 6 month Southeast Asia trip.
  • Expedia – Expedia can help you find great deals, the best hotels in unfamiliar locations due to it’s robust search filters & can streamline purchasing insurance. Just be aware of cancellation policies before booking.

Booking directly with a hotel can give you more flexilibility with cancellation policies, changing reservations and other perks if you have rewards cards with a specific hotel chain. I usually only do this if I’m looking for larger chains like:

  • Hilton Worldwide – A major international chain offering everything from luxury Waldorf Astoria properties to reliable mid-range and budget brands like DoubleTree, Hilton Garden Inn, and Hampton. Known for consistent standards and the Hilton Honors rewards program.
  • IHG Hotels & Resorts – A global hotel company with brands across all price levels, including luxury InterContinental and Six Senses, upscale Kimpton boutiques, and popular mid-range options like Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
  • Hyatt Hotels – A premium-focused hotel group known for high-quality upscale and luxury properties such as Park Hyatt and Grand Hyatt, along with modern mid-range brands like Hyatt Place and Hyatt House.
  • Marriott International – The world’s largest hotel group with 30+ brands ranging from luxury stays like JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton to mid-range options like Courtyard and extended-stay hotels like Residence Inn. Known for its global presence and the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program.

Rental Car Resources

Rental Cars – Helps you compare car rental deals from many different companies around the world. So that you can get the cheapest rate or choose the best one for your next trip.

Budgeting Tips for Family Travel

Budgeting is the key to a stress free and successful family vacation. Here you will find all our latest posts, printables and tips to help you make the most of your family trip, no matter what your budget or style of travel.

Grab some expert tips on making family road trips or your summer travels more affordable and fun.

Packing Lists & Family Travel Tips

Packing, you either love it, or hate it. Personally I love packing as it means I will soon be going on an adventure. Now unpacking is a whole other matter!

Either way, you’ve come to the right place if you are looking for some checklists, tips and hacks to make packing easier for your next journey. 

Carry On Questions and Must Haves

TRAVEL ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

One of the most dread sentences a parent can hear only 1 hour into your much anticipated family vacation: “Mom / Dad I’m bored.” It’s a good idea to have some fun age appropriate activities up your sleeve to make those long travel days, and vacation down times more manageable.

Family Vacation Meals & Recipes

If you like saving a bit of money, and making your own meals, then these family vacation meals & recipes are for you.

FAMILY ROAD TRIP TIPS & RESOURCES

Promotional graphic for a free 7-page printable road trip planner showing family-friendly planning pages for meals, daily itineraries, research notes, a bucket list, and a journal, with a call-to-action to get the free road trip planner.

Dreaming of an open road, wind blowing in your hair, kids peacefully keeping themselves entertained in the back seat? One can hope right.

We have some essential road trip tips and planning resources including a free road trip planner, to help make your family vacation & road trip prep more successful. We can’t guarantee your kids won’t fight in the back seat, but we can help you make things easier.

Don’t forget all your Family Road Trip Essentials. We’ve put together our favourites list to help you and your kids survive those long stretches on the road.

✅ CHECK OUT ALL OUR ROAD TRIP RESOURCES HERE

CAMPING TIPS & RESOURCES

Opt in graphic promoting a free printable camping planner with text that reads “stress-free camping starts here!” and “free done-for-you camping & RV checklists.” It shows a stack of planning pages and a booklet titled “the ultimate camping planner” alongside checklist items “meal, gear & schedule planners (45 pages)” and “plan faster, forget nothing,” with a button that says “get the free camping planner” and the word “free” displayed prominently.

Camping with kids can be so much fun, but oh so much work. I take my youngest daughter on a camping trip solo every year as my partner dislikes camping, so I get it!

Planning is the key to an easy, fun and successful family camping trip.

You’ll want to make sure you do some campground research, plan out your meals, and activities and have a packing list so you don’t forget important items.

✅ SEE ALL OUR CAMPING TIPS & RESOURCES HERE