Travel with Kids, Worth the Trip!

Let's be real! When traveling with children we all encounter an incredible amount of stress! What do we pack? What do we budget? Do we really have to bring the kids?

I was right there with you until I started traveling regularly for work and for travel soccer with Outer Banks Storm. We travel at least once a month for a soccer tournament for Joey and that means hotel stays and a food budget for a family of 5! Pretty sure I have this down to a science!

Jason and I have traveled without our kiddos many times and while we know that it is SO important to take these parenting breaks, we also put so much value on traveling with our kids! Our Spring travel list is growing by the minute and we can't wait to show our kiddos dozens of different cultures, foods and experiences! After all, memories are the only thing that we can take with us when we go! Our Top 10 Tips for Staying in Hotels with Kids:

1.) Bring your pack and play or portable crib. I know that it's a burden to lug along but it's worth knowing that your sweet tiny human is sleeping in a clean bed! Tiny humans are happier in something familiar! I also slip the pack n' play sheet under my own bed covers the night before we leave... weird, I know!

2.) Book a suite or a room with a separate living area. If you want to take it from a hotel stay to a getaway, book a suite! For the extra $40 it certainly won't break the bank but it will make it a real getaway for you and your husband if you don't have to go to sleep or maintain quiet hours after the kids go to sleep at sundown!

3.) Request a room away from the elevator. When that elevator "ding" wakes up your baby love, you will know why this takes the #3 spot!

4.) Bring your own disinfectant, essential oils, Clorox or Lysol wipes. I enter the hotel room before anyone else and I disinfect! I wipe down the bathtub, phone, toilet and doorknobs. I have worked in hospitality in the past and these are the dirtiest spots! Peace of mind is KEY!

5.) Pack extras! Extra everything! PJ's, chargers, and snacks!

6.) Go with the flow! Don't stress when things are going 100% perfectly. Vacation is supposed to be out of the normal routine!

7.) Bring Painters Tape to efficiently baby proof the hotel! Tape down your electrical plus, drawers and cabinets. I promise, this is SO worth it!

8.) Go for the pool. If you're checking out two hotels that are alike, always pick the hotel with an indoor pool! Those last minute, late night giggles are the reason that indoor hotel pools were invented!

9.) Look for hotels with things you can borrow like a humidifier, blender, board game or laundry basket. We have been in the worst situations with travel soccer tournaments when our kiddos come down with the flu, sinus issues and allergies. It makes a world of a difference to stay where we can snag a humidifier! Board games and laundry facilities are also clutch in a time of need!

10.) Request Extra Flat Sheets. This one is baby-hotel specific! If you can cover up the carpet with flat sheets so that baby can crawl... you will be GOLDEN! Hotel floors are one of the dirtiest places on Earth!

Y'all I know that this sounds like a lot of work but it is SO worth it to travel with your tiny humans! It's amazing to just watch them experience a brand new environment and it is so important to give them new people and cultures to see! Go see the big world! <3 You will never regret going, you might regret staying home every weekend for 18 years though!