We were fortunate/determined enough to do a lot of travel before we had our little plus one. But the ‘getting the travel out of our system’ thing really didn’t work for us. The more we travelled, the more we wanted to travel! Even once our baby arrived we were still plagued by wanderlust. Dreaming of adventures and exotic lands amidst the sleep deprivation and dirty nappies! Travelling with children is certainly not easy, in our opinion. It requires a different approach to your days abroad, more planning, and an acceptance that things might not always go to plan. Little people sometimes have big ideas of their own (our little miss certainly does!) and I have found the best way to travel is with a mix of lowered expectations, taking into consideration your tiny travel partner’s perspective, determination and a great sense of humour!

The first thing I would say is that every toddler, and every child, is unique and different and whilst some people will find they have ‘easy’ children, who sleep anywhere, are happy to sit still for long periods and don’t voice their opinions, others of us do not! You will learn what works for you and your child. Acceptance and a willingness to realise that you can’t control everything are really helpful. And I try to remember, if things go pear shaped, to brush it off, don’t blame myself and get on with the rest of the day (so much easier said than done, I know). That being said there are definitely some things you can do to make travelling with your little one a more rewarding and less stressful experience for everyone.

1. Acccommodation
I cannot recommend Air BnB highly enough. I am not sure how people with children travelled before this apartment sharing site came into being. Having stayed in a mix of both Air BnB and hotel rooms on our travels I can definitely recommend the former. Sure, there is not the glamour and luxury of a hotel room with high thread count sheets and fluffy pillows … and someone to make up your room every day. But the space, convenience, cooking facilities and ability to hire an apartment with more than one room (meaning you don’t have to tiptoe around the room after 7pm when bubs is hopefully asleep) makes this a great option for families. Plus I love the little peek this provides into how the locals live. If you are booking last minute like us and having trouble finding something that suits you I can also recommend the website Home Away which we used for our Hong Kong apartment and previously for a villa in Ubud. If you are wanting a little more glamour, someone to clean your room on a daily basis and the conveniences that come with a hotel a serviced apartment is a good option. They generally have more space than a hotel room and the convenience of cooking facilities.

2. Research your destination
I have heard a lot of people complaining about how hard they found travelling with their child in a place that is not pram friendly. And sure that makes life more difficult, but if you do your research and come prepared you can save yourself some headaches. For instance Hong Kong is definitely not pram friendly with heaps of stairs, elevators and steep hills. As much as we would have loved the convenience of the pram for transport and daytime naps we opted to carry Layla around in our Ergo Carrier. In big cities like Tokyo the pram can be a great option. It is a confined space for your toddler, a great way to carry your bags around and allows for naps on the move.

3. Plan for playground pit stops!
Happy toddler, happy parents! Sure, hanging out in the local playground is not my idea of an ideal travel day, but giving Layla a chance to have some fun of her own, run about, explore and run off some steam meant she was then happy to be carried about in the Ergo to see some of the sights we wanted to visit for a bit longer. And it was great to see her interacting with some local little buddies.

4. Travel slower
Even before we had Layla we were making an effort to travel slower. To immerse ourselves in a destination, to get a feel for what it was like to be a local, to learn the joys and struggles, to not rush through and tick off the tourist sights. This makes even more sense with a little one in tow. You have extra luggage to drag from location to location, travelling is exhausting, you cannot pack so much into your days and being flexible and willing to go with the flow make travelling with a toddler much more enjoyable.

5. Find things everyone can enjoy (where possible!)
When travelling in Japan we found that our daughter loved goldfish and ducks. Being dragged from temple to temple was probably not her idea of a fun day out … but point out the ducks and the goldfish in the temple ponds and add in the opportunity for her to stretch her little legs on the garden paths and we had one happy toddler.

6. Immerse them in the culture and prepare them for what is going to happen
Before we left for our trip to Japan we bought a little travel book for toddlers and read it to Layla, talking to her about where we were going, what was going to happen and what we were going to see. We even taught her to say konnichiwa (well her version of it anyway, ‘kookiwa’). We found this really helped to get her excited, and also to minimise any anxiety she might feel about being in a foreign place with strange customs and surroundings. If you can get your little ones used to some local food that can help too. We regularly eat sushi, noodles and edamame at home, so finding something Layla was happy to eat abroad was not such an issue.

7. Busy kits
Travel can involve lots of long, boring periods of sitting around. I make sure we always have a ‘busy kit’ in our bag for such times. Things like sticker books, crayons, board books, little puzzles, magnetic boards … and an ipad with their favourite television shows downloaded (with baby headphones) for those emergency situations! Snack foods that keep them busy are also great, things like rice crackers, sultanas, crackers etc.

8. Flying
See above. Busy kits are your flying friend! I also try to add in a few little surprises like a new book, and a little toy, wrapped up in wrapping paper, for those moments when things are getting a bit rough. You can even use toys or books your child has that they haven’t seen for a while. I like to encourage Layla to take a little walk around the plane every now and then rather than fighting her to stay in her seat the whole time. On overnight or late night flights we put Layla into her pyjamas before boarding and take a little blanket on board so that she gets the idea that it is nighttime and time to sleep. So far that has worked really well. Sleeping on daytime flights is a whole other matter!

9. Meeting the locals
One of the best things about travelling with little ones in tow is the great opportunities this provides for meeting and interacting with the locals. Children are revered in lots of cultures. I lost count of how many little presents Layla was given in Japan and how many people, from the very young to the very old came over to say hello to her, and hence us. She even learnt the word for ‘cute’ in Japanese!

10. Nap times and routine (it’s a matter of compromise!)
As I mentioned before every child is different and some kids will sleep anywhere. But if you have a stimulation junkie like us who finds it hard to switch off in busy, exciting environments then I recommend every few days at least making the time to head back to your accommodation during the day so your little one can have a proper long nap in their cot or bed. For us, this is a necessity, or we end up with an overtired, grumpy, ratty little lady. We have also found that we can skip the bedtime routine and opt for a later bed time sometimes so we can have dinner out, but then we also need to have nights where we are back at our accommodation early and stick to the usual dinner, bath, bed routine. As with everything in parenting work out what works best for you and remember that it is all about compromise!

Finally: Embrace the little miracles!
Like when it is lunchtime. And you are looking at the view from the 11th floor of a building in Tokyo that also houses a fabulous restaurant you would love to visit for lunch. And your daughter starts to look sleepy, so you decide to push her back and forward for a while in the pusher. And she falls asleep. And stays asleep for the entire duration of your lunch. Those kind of miracles, so rare you don’t even dream to wish for them, that absolutely stay etched in your mind for eternity when they do! Savour every moment and let it sustain you fall all the hard travelling with toddler moments.