Traveling on your own can be quite a daunting experience. Traveling with kids? Even worse, sometimes. You’re dragging your luggage on one hand and the other is carrying your youngest child while you’re dividing your time between screaming out for your child to come back and ask your teenager to help a little. It gets crazy a lot of times. There are times when people straight out crash after their holidays because of the pressures that come with traveling with their children. We have some handy tips for traveling with your children you can use for a relative hassle-free holiday.

Plan ahead: This goes without a saying. Make sure to plan your trip ahead. Check your passports and that of your kids to be sure they are still valid. It doesn’t hurt to still have about months before its expiry date. Book your tickets and hotels (We have amazing deals and packages at Silver Cloud travels to take the stress of you). Do your research on what is acceptable and what isn’t in the country you’re going to. Find out about the weather there to know what to pack. Just be sure to have the basics and pack only what you need.

Take your time: Take your time; with everything. Whether you’re shopping at your destination or you’re at the airport or sightseeing, take your time. Kids love to explore and see new things. Don’t just hurry them on from place to place.

Plan activities for them: What better way to keep them in line than to keep them busy? Have fun activities lined up for your children every step of the way. It could be a small game of remembering bus stops as you commute, colouring books, puzzles; anything to while away time. The activities should also involve other members of the family and not just the children. Have family games handy. You can even ask them to keep a travel journal and draw or write about things they experience during the journey or hand them their own camera to take pictures. But be sure not to have too many activities planned for them.

Avoid the sugar: I’m talking about sweets, ice cream, chocolates, etc. Some children have the tendency to get really hyper when they take a lot of sugar, making them even harder to control. Instead of sweets, pack fruits, vegetables, nuts, and savory snacks for them.

Brand them: Kids tend to wander. Whether it is at the airport or when you’re sightseeing, there is a very high tendency you kid would find something that catches his or her fancy and follow that thing when you’re busy with something else. Be sure to write your kid’s name, your name, and your phone number and attach it to a part that can be very visible on your child. You can have it on their armor attached to their clothes.

Loosen up: Don’t be so uptight about things. You would end up not enjoying your vacation. Breathe and live a little. It is a vacation after all. It is easy to forget you’re supposed t be pampering yourself to in all of this. Be flexible and loosen up. Even with the rules you set. Setting rules are a great way to keep your kids in check but don’t be too strict on them. You’d be surprised at how well they’d behave.

This blog post is originally from Top Tips For Traveling With Kids and written by silvercloudtravels

Hello friend. Traveling soon and wondering what exactly to pack? Don’t worry. We got you covered. These tips will have you ready and packed in as little time as possible, no matter where you’re going or why you’re going there. So let’s dive right into it!

1. Let your suitcase reflect on how long you will stay.

Many people make the mistake of packing everything when they’re traveling. That’s a waste of time and effort since you will likely return with more luggage. So pick only your essentials, and leave space for extra luggage. Easy peasy.

2. Get your essentials in place

If you want to pack ASAP, you should have a few convenience items ready to pick and go at all times, such as a plastic toiletries bag, hair, face and body care products, jewelry and accessories, etc. Have them clearly stored in separate containers to avoid mixing them up. If you can’t have these prepacked, list them somewhere (maybe on your phone) to serve as a reminder to you against when you actually want to pack.

3. Coordinate your wardrobe

The easiest way to do this is to plan an outfit for each day you’re spending and stick strictly with that.
You can limit the amount of stuff you’re taking by mixing matching outfits e.g. plan one pair of pants for different tops. You don’t need more than two pairs of shoes. One comfy pair, e.g. for walks and visits to beaches, and another for professional outings if you’re going on a business trip. Pack clothes with neutral or dull colors. They tend to attract dirt less quickly.

4. Take stock of everything you need before you start packing

Put everything you’re taking with you in a place where you can see at a glance, maybe on a table or on the clean floor, before you start tucking them into your suitcase. That way, you can see if you’re missing anything.

Put the stuff you can’t fold first. Then put the stuff that is fragile in the middle. Then fold the foldable and put them in according to their sizes, starting from the smallest.

Let stuff such as your pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste, and underwear be placed towards the top end of the suitcase so that you can easily reach them on arrival. Make sure you don’t forget anything, especially chargers and device accessories.

5. Finish with a large top layer

Let the last item you pack be something which when folded is big enough to cover the surface of the suitcase, such as a towel. Then tuck the material in at the sides, to help you keep your suitcase prim and with everything in place no matter how jostled the suitcase is during the journey. Tucking in the sides also makes zipping your suitcase a lot easier.

That’s it, you’re ready to go!

Do you have other smartass tips you know that we didn’t cover? Let’s talk about them in the comments down below!

This blog post is originally from How To Pack A Suitcase In 30 Minutes Or Less and written by silvercloudtravels