“Good luck travelling after having kids!”
It’s a phrase we heard more than a few times after finding out we’d be welcoming our little boy into the world at the start of 2026. And while yes, travel does look a little different for us these days, we’re determined to continue doing it! So far, we’ve explored close to home with trips to the Mornington Peninsula and Port Fairy, ventured interstate to Tasmania, and even made it across the ditch to New Zealand. This December, we’ll be taking on our biggest adventure as a family of 3 yet—a trip through Spain and Germany. Stay tuned for more updates to come!
In the meantime, we thought we’d share our top five tips we’ve learnt so far when it comes to travelling with little ones.
1. Embrace Slow Travel
It goes without saying that when you touch down in a new place, of course you want to see and do as much as you can to really make the most of your time there. Even before kids though, we started appreciating the benefits of slow travel—and with a little one, it’s become essential.
Rather than racing from one tourist attraction to the next, we focus on experiencing the atmosphere of a destination. We love discovering local cafés, wandering through neighbourhoods, relaxing in parks surrounded by locals, and choosing one “must-do” activity each day. Anything else is a bonus.
2. Invest in comfortable accommodation
While travel can be expensive and we love a bargain as much as anyone, we’ve found when it comes to travelling with kids, it can be worth forking out a little bit extra to find accommodation that suits your needs. For us, that means having a place with a kitchen so we can easily cook our own meals (which actually helps lower the cost of food) as well as a comfortable bathroom to make bath time much easier for everyone. If you’re looking at hiring an Airbnb it can be useful to filter for places with family friendly amenities such a Portacot and a highchair. Those small conveniences can make a huge difference to the comfort of your stay.
3. Consider hiring or purchasing a travel pram
If your little one is not yet walking and just the thought of carrying them everywhere is exhausting, it might be worthwhile investing in a travel pram. This will hopefully make sightseeing and exploring local neighbourhoods much more manageable. There are quite a few options available either to hire or purchase – we just invested in the Redsbaby Skip3 which weights <7kg and conveniently folds down to fit into the overhead compartment on flights. The real test will be how it holds up against Europe’s cobblestoned streets – we will be sure to report back after our trip later in the year!
4. Minimise long travel days
Travel days are almost always longer than you expect – on paper a short flight from one city to the next seems feasible, but once you add on the time it takes to get to and from the airport, checking in and waiting around for your luggage, what should have only taken 2 hours seems to take up the larger part of your day. For that reason, we would advocate for finding destinations that you want to stay in for longer periods of time and basing yourself there. You can then explore new cities via day trips or simply enjoy a slower day to recover from the jet lag. If you can’t sit still for long and feel the need to keep moving, consider catching a train to your next city – we find trains much easier as there’s no need to get to the airport 2+ hours before and they generally drop you off right in the middle of the city centre. This means you can start exploring the second you disembark. Game changer.
5. Be Flexible and Adjust Your Expectations
Some days won’t go to plan. Naps might be missed, meals might happen later than expected, and occasionally you might be dealing with a toddler tantrum. But that’s okay. Children have a wonderful way of encouraging you to slow down and notice the little moments not only at home but also abroad. In fact, we tend to find that some of our favourite travel memories aren’t the ones we spent hours planning, but rather the spontaneous moments that unfold naturally along the way. So embrace the chaos and leave a little extra time in your schedule to experience the ‘unscheduled’. Who knows? Those unplanned moments might just end up being the ones you remember most!
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