Traveling with kids can be a rewarding and memorable experience, but it can also come with its fair share of challenges. To help make your family trips more enjoyable and stress-free, we've put together a list of essential tips and recommended products from Tuli Kids and beyond. From efficient packing to engaging entertainment options, these tips will ensure a smoother travel experience for the whole family.

Essential Packing Tips for Traveling with Kids:

Create a Travel Checklist

Who doesn’t like checklists? I remember the time when I was rolling my eyes every time when heard my friends who had kids how they make lists wherever they go for a trip or so. How wrong I was. It’s interesting how your perspective changes the moment little people appear in your life. Now…we don’t start planning and packing with a list - it’s saving so much time. Of course, your list will depend on how long is the trip, the location and how many children are involved and what’s their age, as well as your own individual preferences. However, it’s good to have one generic list with essentials that are “must-haves” and keep adding any others that you may find handy in a meantime.

• Include essentials like clothing, toiletries, medications, and travel documents.
• Don't forget items specific to your child's needs, such as diapers, formula, or special comfort items. For older kids, things such as snacks, favourite toys, books, etc. are the key too.

Pack Efficiently

I remember the times that packing took so much time and space with our toddler. It was the kid of thinking “you never know which one of the items can come handy”! This meant that our weekend trip included a large suitcase with som many things that were not used or touched anyway. The older the kids, the packing gets easier, at least this is the case with us these days. This is also one of the reasons that we started enjoying our weekend trips either in the UK or abroad a lot more and don’t stress that much about things that we don’t have with us. However, it’s still important to have the most important things with us, and we can be surprised that they don’t really take that much space if we know how to pack them in the most efficient way.

• Use packing cubes or separate bags to keep items organized and easily accessible - that is actually a trick we started using quite recently when going for longer trips. It’s easier to organise certain groups of clothing, accessories, etc.
• Roll clothes instead of folding to save space and minimize wrinkles - it works! I was a folding type until last year…but I am rolling convert these days!
• Pack travel-sized toiletries and consider using spill-proof containers - this works too very well! I also go as far as taking as many cosmetics for either myself or Amelia that are almost empty. This way I can finish them during the trip/holiday and have more space later - usually for souvenirs :)

Comfort and Safety On-the-Go: Must-Have Travel Gear:

Travel-friendly Strollers and Carriers

The times when we carried our buggy with us is long gone! Hallelujah! But this doesn’t need to be an issue. These days, there is such a massive selection of buggies that don’t take too much space, are easy to fold and unfold that makes parent’s life so much easier.

I have to admit that we loved our Greentom Classic buggy. Yes, it wasn’t the smallest when folded but it was very light compared to other buggies that were smaller when folded. Plus, it was so smooth to ride that I still miss that time when we used it. And what is great about it, this buggy is entirely made of high-quality, non-toxic recycled plastic, the fabric is made from recycled drinking bottles. All materials can be reused or recycled. Fully green buggy.

• Lightweight Travel Stroller: A compact and easy-to-fold stroller for convenient transportation.
• Baby Carrier: Provides comfort and support for hands-free mobility - this is another way to travel with small children. Personally, we only used baby carrier when we travelled by plane with Amelia. It was easier to have our hands free when going around the airport and so on.

Travel Blankets and Pillows

We all love nice pillow and blanket when travelling. Kids are no different.

• Travel Blanket (or any blanket that you children love): Soft and cozy blanket that can be easily rolled up for on-the-go comfort.
• Travel Pillow: Offers neck support and a comfortable sleep during long journeys - we used the kids one for some time and found the Trunki Yondi (https://www.trunki.co.uk/collections/yondi) really handy. This is what worked with us and it’s all about your kid’s preference.

Entertainment Ideas for Engaging and Fun-filled Journeys:

This can be a never ending subject to discuss. It’s always about what works well for your family. Whether, it’s a couple hours drive, flight or a train journey, we know that kids’ attention span is very short-lived and there is not much we can do to change it. What we can do, is to make sure that they have enough to toys or accessories to keep them busy. This doesn’t need to mean that we need to take a separate luggage filled with their stuff. If we think this through and include the things, toys and games our children like we’re winners way before our trip starts.

Our favourite trick is a folder-style bag (A4 format) where we pack Amelia’s favourite colouring book, sticker book, a couple of crayons and pens, magnetic boardgames, UNO cards.

Portable Toys and Activities 

• Pack coloring books, stickers, and games to keep kids entertained. What works for us are Poppik Stickers, The Jam Tart colouring books and books.
• Magnetic Drawing Board: A mess-free drawing option that provides hours of creative fun.
• Magnetic Board Games and Books - Janod magnetic books are great for travel, Tic Tac Toe game or Bass Babs matching games

Snacks and Hydration: Keeping Kids Energized and Happy:

Healthy Snacks and Water Bottles

Some may say this is the most essential part. Yes, for us a family, apart from documents and medication, this is something that we can’t leave the house without! Amelia is always hungry :P

We can’t leave without our girl’s favourite snacks and I am sure you have yours ready too. It’s also quite important to have a handy and practical boxes to keep them which are easy to use by our little people.

• Snack and lunch boxes: Convenient and spill-proof containers for storing snacks on the move
• Water Bottles: Keeps beverages cool and refreshing throughout the journey.

By following these essential tips and utilizing the recommended products, you can make traveling with kids a stress-free and enjoyable experience. From efficient packing to providing entertainment and keeping them nourished, these strategies will help ensure smoother journeys for the entire family. Remember, being prepared and organized is the key to creating lasting memories and cherished adventures with your little ones.

For more inspiration have a look here.