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We love to travel as a family, and have been doing so since our first child was just a few months old. Sometimes, travel planning can be a stressful and overwhelming process especially when you factor in kids, but it doesn’t have to be! I thought I would share a step-by-step guide and checklist on how we start to think about and plan our travels. Whether you decide to travel the world or stay local, I use the same thought process and work flow.

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Step 1: Choose a travel destination

This might be an unpopular opinion, but when we start planning for a family vacation, I think about where I want to go first. I rarely plan around the kids. There will usually always be something to do for the kids and I always make sure there are local playgrounds or open nature spaces nearby. Sometimes, we will go to an amusement park (like Disneyland), but it’s because we already planned to go to Southern California and it was close by.

We typically choose a destination based on our travel bucket list, the time of year and if there are any accommodation or flight deals. When the kids were little, I didn’t mind pulling them out of school to travel during low season for better prices. We also try to use credit card points to cover costs.

Another recommendation is to pick only 1-2 destinations per trip. It can be tempting when travel planning to a new place to want to see as much as possible and squeezing in as many cities as possible. We tried that in the beginning and it was exhausting! Now, we definitely prefer traveling a bit slower with our boys. By stay in one place for a longer period of time, we don’t feel like we have to rush to see everything which allows us to appreciate being in the moment with our kids.

Step 2: Research

Then the fun part begins and we start researching and making a list of things we want to do and places to eat. We love unique cultural experiences and adventures suitable for our whole family. Food is also a huge part of our travels and we go out of our way to make sure we try local dishes. Travel blogs, youtube, Google map, and Instagram etc. are all great resources!

Step 3: Find accommodations

Once we figure out where most of the things we want to do and eat are located, we start figuring out accommodations. Every family has a different preference when it comes to where they want to stay. Some families like to book a place that has more space (i.e. separate rooms, full kitchen etc.), which can feel more like home and you can cook your meals. Some prefer hotels. Depending on where we go, we will spend part of a trip in a home and another part of our trip at a hotel.

We love to stay in hotels for shorter trips because it feels more like a vacation (i.e. housekeeping). Our kids also love hotels because… elevators, pool (sometimes) and sleepovers with their parents! Some hotels have family rooms (bigger spaces with a separate room), which we will often try to book. We also try to use credit card points when we can.

Step 4: Start planning

Once we figure out our accommodations and generally the top things that we want to do, we start planning out the itinerary based on how many days we will be there. We use our trusty Google sheet for planning and to track costs (I usually make a travel doc every year, e.g. “Travel 2023” with multiple tabs of each trip’s itinerary – “Hawaii April”, “Italy September” etc.).

We typically start by breaking up each day into: morning, afternoon and evening. Then I start slotting activities or attractions into each of the days and move them around to what works best depending on location, opening hours, etc. Try to put nearby attractions, activities and restaurants together on the same day, so you’re not always running across town. I also try

When we travel with the kids, we aim to only do one attraction or activity a day for flexibility. Because the kids can be a bit unpredictable, I make sure to leave room for the rest of the day. If we have more time or the energy, then I have a “maybe” list of things to do and places to see and eat that are nearby (I usually create a “maybe” list by neighborhood, district or location). Typically, for things to do, I make sure to include playgrounds, parks, pretty streets or areas to walk around and other attractions that we could go to last minute. For restaurants, I add local eats, groceries with prepared foods and also include places that have foods my children like to eat as a “just in case” (e.g. pizza, pastas / noodles, etc.).

Step 5: Arrange transportation

If needed, we then figure out transportation, such as car rentals, trains etc. If we can, we try to take public transportation to get around because it’s more economical and oftentimes easier.

Step 6: Iron out the details

Now we figure out the details and it depends on how deep you want to go in the planning. Generally, we recommend booking certain activities and tours ahead of time. For certain cities, like Rome for example, if you want to see the big attractions, you have to book early as you can no longer “pay at the door” anymore and tickets go pretty quickly. We also make sure to make reservations (if possible) for restaurants we want to try or plan around the food. You’ll probably find yourself fine tuning and playing around with the details as you discover new things to do or places to eat.

And that’s it! Hope this step-by-step guide helps you create your next trip itinerary! Happy planning!