r/familytravel

seriously just looked at flights and hotel packages for a generic beach resort and almost had a panic attack. It's like $4000 just to be stressed out in a different time zone while my toddler screams about the wrong color of sunscreen being applied.

We literally just gave up on the whole "core memories" pressure last weekend. we loaded the car, drove a couple hours, and just stayed at a camp happy grounds spot instead

The kids spent like 6 hours poking dirt with a stick and trying to catch frogs. didn't cost a second mortgage and nobody had a meltdown in terminal B because of a delayed flight. Kinda starting to think we just overcomplicate everything for the sake of social media tbh. im officially done with the whole resort rat race

We are just back from a night in a hotel with a 7 year old and 3 month old. Safe to say it wasn’t ideal having the baby and 7 year old in the same room. How do people holiday with young children - what kind of accommodation do you use? If you do use hotels what’s the secret to everyone sharing the same room and not waking each other up?

We have a vacation coming up! We’ll be driving from Ohio to Georgia. It’s a 10 hour drive but we’re planning for 12 with all the extra stopping we’ll have to do.

I’ve seen a bunch of posts on flying with an 18m old but how is driving that long with one?? The longest trip he was on was when he was 10m up to my husband’s family in Indiana. He did marginally okay but I’m wondering how a double long trip would be.

Any tips or tricks?

He’s also 18m actual, 16m adjusted (preemie) if that makes any difference. I believe he behaves maybe more like a 17m or so old.

He also just started walking so probably won’t be walking all that well on vacation.

I'll go first — I have a portable door alarm that I bought after reading some safety thread three years ago. Packed it every single trip. Never once took it out of the bag. It just lives in the side pocket like a little security blanket I never activate.

Also a full-size first aid kit when honestly all I've ever needed is Advil and Band-Aids.

I feel like half my suitcase is stuff I pack "just in case" that never gets a case. Meanwhile I forget the things I actually use every trip — like the Anker 313 power bank (~$15) that I somehow leave on my nightstand every time.

What's your dead weight? And how do you remember what actually gets used vs what just rides along? I swear I need a system because my memory resets between trips.

Hi! Our baby will be 9 months in October and we want to take a week long trip. Anywhere in the US. Any suggestions?! We will be flying from a major airport (delta hub).

We do not want to go to San Diego since we have plans to do so next year.

We are planning ahead for next September to take our (37/38 parents) 2 year old and 8 year old, along with our two moms (late 60s) to Orlando.

We just did the whole nonstop Disney trip this past January, so looking for a more relaxing trip this time around with maybe 1 or 2? park days mixed in.

We really want to find a resort with a 3 bedroom suite that has enough for the kids to do, but is relaxing enough for the grandmas on days we want to just hang at the resort.

So far we looked at:

the grove (scared by the bad reviews recently and the resort + parking fee)

Floridays (doesn’t look like a ton to do)

Wyndham bonnet creek

holiday inn with a waterpark?

and animal kingdom but they wanted 4 months of my salary so that’s out.

Any recommendations? Ty in advance!

I’m looking to book a vacation to a Caribbean (island or Mexico) resort in February 2027 for my family. Time period not negotiable because it will be during a school winter break. First vacation of this type.

We have two kids, ages 9 and 6. We want a resort with lots of activities that we can enjoy together (pools, water slides, boat rides, etc), so kids clubs or places with separate kid/adult areas don’t need to be a focus. We also don’t need exciting nightlife. Good food would be a plus, but we intend to eat most or all meals together so we don’t need Michelin star restaurants.

Cost wise, we’d be looking for a moderately priced vacation. Luxury not needed, but we don’t need to pinch pennies so much that we don’t have a good time.

I hear good things about the Hyatt Ziva hotels, and have gotten a variety of recommendations, but we have never been to a Caribbean resort or any all inclusive resort so we need some guidance.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Hi!

I am taking my dad to downtown DC Nov 10-13 to see the Air and Space Museum (his special interest is rockets and planes).

Looking for recommendations for low-stress, uncrowded eating, events, museums. We are staying in the central downtown DC area and going to the Air and Space museum Nov 11.

He does not enjoy crowds or eating at restaurants. He can tolerate them, but it is not preferred. I'm making an itinerary for us.

Any advice or recs welcome!

Thanks!

Update: shared some ideas with my dad, and he decided he wants to do all things walkable from our hotel (downtown DC). Thanks for all the amazing ideas and recs so far! This community is the best!

I’m stuck here guys, mom of 2 peeps trying to find us decent flights (Ottawa to London). I’ve been planning to visit my family abroad without paying a fortune and the search never ends. I’m pretty flexible, don’t care if the route is weird or if I fly out of an airport that’s an hour and a half away, whatever saves me the most. I’ve been poking around on Google flights and messing with the date grid and map view to see where prices drop. Sometimes shifting the trip by two days cuts like a hundred bucks off, other times not so much. Also curious about nearby airports, are we supposed to just check them one by one? Open to any tricks really, cheap is the whole point here.

My wife and I are trying to decide whether to turn an upcoming work trip into a family vacation.
I have meetings near Denver on August 26 and 27. Afterward, we were thinking of visiting Glenwood Springs and Ouray before returning home around September 3 or 4.
We have a 2-year-old and a 4-month-old.

OPTION 1: FLY ROUND-TRIP
• Approximately $1,500 for the additional family airfare
• We would rent and return a car in Denver
• Much less travel time
• We would need to manage the airport with an infant, toddler, stroller, luggage and car seats
• We would probably need to buy a lighter FAA-approved car seat for the toddler

OPTION 2: RENT A VEHICLE IN PHILADELPHIA AND DRIVE ROUND-TRIP
• Approximately $2,000 for a two-week SUV or minivan rental before gas
• Additional hotels and meals along the way
• Around 26 hours of driving each direction, divided over several days
• More room for baby equipment and the ability to travel at our own pace
• The drive could become part of the vacation—or become an exhausting amount of time in the car

OPTION 3: SKIP THE FAMILY PORTION
• I fly to Denver alone for the meetings
• My wife and children stay home
• We save the money and take a dedicated family vacation another time

Initially, Colorado sounded like a fun way to combine a work trip with a family vacation. Now that we’re looking at the costs and logistics, we’re questioning whether bringing everyone is worth it.

Parents who have traveled this far with a toddler and infant: which option would you choose?

Did a multi-day road trip feel easier than flying, or was flying much more manageable than expected?

Does this Colorado trip sound worthwhile with approximately a week available after the meetings?

We have been having a debate in our family. We take a big family vacation every year or two. The debate is when should kids be responsible for paying for their costs on a vacation?

Please give me your opinion, thoughts and reasons.

Update: to add context now that I’ve gotten some good opinions. I have invited my kids to go but it’s never been an expectation that they go. There is a 16 year age gap between my oldest and my youngest. My older 2 are in their early 20’s one is working full time with his own child and the other has graduated from high school, has decided to take a break before college but is not working full time. My youngest is in elementary school. As their mom I feel that I should be paying for not only my all children but my grandchild as well. I am a single mom and I am not well off and I have had to save for several years to be able to give my kids a trip like this and I think thats where my family is coming from but this is something I want to do for all my kids.

My family feels that my older kids should pay for some things ( i.e. their food, theme park tickets any extras that they want while we are away.) and that my oldest should be covering the cost of his own child.

Hey everyone,

We’re supposed to leave for Japan in 2 weeks with my wife and our 23-month-old daughter. Pre-trip anxiety is peaking and I’m honestly thinking to cancel it (full refundable)

I’ve been to Japan 4 times already, so I know my way around and how things work. What’s terrifying me is managing my daughter. She is extremely active, super energetic, and currently in that phase where she falls and bumps into things constantly.

Our plan was to stay for 1-2 months with a super slow setup: 2 weeks fixed in Tokyo (Asakusa/Taito area) and 2 weeks in Kyoto, using apartments as bases so we can respect naps, cook at home, and take it easy. No rushed itineraries.

Before I pull the trigger and cancel, I'd love your take:

• Is managing a super hyperactive/accident-prone toddler in Japan a total nightmare, or manageable if we go slow?

• How bad was the jet lag from Europe with a kid this age, and how long did it take to adjust?

• For those who did it, was it actually worth it or did you regret not waiting until they were older?

Be brutally honest. Is canceling a smart move, or am I just panicking over nothing? Thanks!

i’m a busy professional who barely gets proper time with family. after weeks of nonstop work i was dealing with anxiety, insomnia and constant irritation. my family finally pushed me to take a real break, so we planned a himachal trip in august with a few friends. focus was on spiti extensions and local experiences rather than the usual tourist circuit.

august turned out to be a sweet spot — roads were open, landscapes were green, weather was mostly pleasant with occasional light showers. we skipped the big package operators and went with a more experiential setup (simple village homestays). the drive from manali to kaza was stunning. we stayed in basic homestays in tabo and dhankar, ate local food, did short treks to the monasteries, and spent quiet evenings with the host families. the mountains, clear skies and the slow pace washed away most of the stress. the kids ran around freely and we actually reconnected as a family for the first time in months.

if you’re in a similar burned-out spot and want something quieter than the usual hill-station rush, himachal in august (especially the spiti side) worked really well for us. the broader window is roughly june–september, but august felt magical for us.

anyone else done spiti or similar slow / village-homestay trips in the hills with family or friends? would love to hear how it went for you — what worked, what didn’t, any tips for travelling with kids.

My parents live out of state, and we came to visit them for the first time since having my baby. She is 6 months old, and I’m realizing the house is NOT baby friendly. My parents have a 4 bedroom house. One of them is their room and one other is a guest room but they use it as their storage room so there is not a ton of room for us when we come to stay. The other bedroom is a home gym and the last one is full of fish tanks with a small desk for an office. They have a smallish living room that is entirely taken over by a pool table. They have a very untrained dog who is very interested in the baby and seems like he could definitely accidentally hurt the baby. He actually keeps trying to jump when I’m holding her to grab her foot playfully but it makes me very nervous.

I don’t feel comfortable putting her down anywhere and the solution to this was to put a mat down in the gym and move some equipment to the side temporarily. I guess this is fine now because she’s not very mobile, but we are coming back in 3 months. She will most likely be crawling at that point. My mom keeps asking me “well tell me what I need to do” because I have made it pretty clear that this trip has NOT been easy with how chaotic everything is. I asked them to clean up the room a bit and to work on training the dog a bit more. But I don’t even know how to go about having the baby in the house otherwise. It’s not fair for us to be locked up in their gym just so the baby can play. What do I do or even ask for?

Hi all!! I’m sure this has been asked a ton, so please bear with me. I have searched previous posts, but find the responses very overwhelming.

We are planning to travel to the Boston/Salem area towards the end of October. It will be myself, my husband, and our 2.5 year old. I know it will be very packed, so I am trying to plan and reserve ahead of time. What are some must see things in both areas? We are less focused on activities directed towards children. Our kid will (hopefully) be happy running wherever.

What restaurants would you recommend? We are open to any cuisine. We are definitely foodies, but recognize this is complicated with a 2.5 year old. Bonus points if you can recommend a brewery or 2 along the way!

Thank you for any suggestions!

We’re planning a full two-week family trip to South America with 2 adults + 2 teenagers, flying from Düsseldorf (DUS).

We’d really like to fit in:

Brasília → Santiago → Buenos Aires → Montevideo

I know two weeks is short for four cities/countries, but unfortunately that’s all the time we have, so I’m mainly looking for advice on how to make this route work as efficiently as possible rather than cutting it down.

We’re thinking roughly 3 nights Brasília, 3 Santiago, 4 Buenos Aires and 3 Montevideo, flying between the first three and taking the ferry from Buenos Aires to Montevideo.

For anyone who has done a similar trip: how would you divide the two weeks, and what tips do you have for making this itinerary work without feeling completely rushed?

Any advice on flights, neighbourhoods, transport, must-sees and travelling with teenagers is very welcome!

We will be flying to Hawaii from California next month with a 2 year old boy. We have mixed opinions on whether to put him in a car seat for the flight or not.

Pros:

1. He will sleep really well in his car seat
2. We can lock him in
3. It’s obviously the safest way to fly with a toddler

Cons:

1. If we pull him out, there’s no way he will get back in without a fit

As I’m typing this, I’m realizing we only have 1 con.. however, I’d still like to hear about personal opinions from everyone else here

We want to go on a 1-2 weeks trip with our at that time almost 5 months baby, but we do not know where is baby friendly? Any suggestion for country/special place?
We used to travel a lot all around the world and our trips were always adventurous. However now with the baby we will need something more stroller and baby friendly but we have no idea where to go.
Anyone has any experience with traveling with 4-5 months old?
We prefer Europe for this trip because I am mentally not ready to have a long haul flight yet with the baby.