Traveling with kids is never easy and takes lots of preparation, planning, and patience. Today, I’m excited to bring you a wonderful post all about the lessons parents learn while traveling with kids. Andrew Song is a photographer and father of three from Toronto. He’s here sharing packing tips and travel advice, plus some relatable travel mistakes they’ve made along the way while traveling with 3 kids. If you’re planning a trip with kids anytime soon, you’re going to want to read this post about learning to roll with the punches, because traveling with kids is not for the faint-hearted!
Traveling with kids
Let’s be honest, when you’re a parent and traveling with kids, the thrill of a vacation rarely comes without the anxiety of preparation. You’re exhausted and sleep deprived. The kids just went to bed after an hour of telling you no. Only then do you realize you need to start packing! Cue the panic.
If no one has told you this yet, no matter how much time and thought you put into preparing, you’ll never be prepared for every single scenario. Over the course of a year, my wife and I traveled with our three kids (twin daughters and their big brother) to France, Germany, Netherlands, Mexico, and most recently, California. Not once did we find ourselves being prepared for everything! The good news is…there was nothing we could not solve. And we learned from each mistake we made. Today, I want to share with you some of our learnings that will hopefully help you be better prepared for traveling with your kids and for taking photos of them along the way!
Car seat and stroller decisions
If you have small kids that require car seats and a stroller, undoubtedly, you’ll have research to do on what to pack, what to rent or what to buy. The options are fairly universal: you can bring your own, rent, or buy new ones locally when you reach your destination. Your decision will be based on price, convenience, availability and how much other stuff you need to pack. Sometimes the choices seem overwhelming or they all seem costly and inconvenient. That’s just part of traveling. Make sure to budget for these expenses ahead of time and plan in advance for different scenarios.
Rent or buy
When we traveled to California, after much discussion and unneeded debates, we decided not to bring our own car seats or strollers. For those of you who have backpacked a car seat on a trip, you can imagine the challenge it would have been to carry two of them through the airport, along with all our other luggage and the kids! Since we were renting a car for the trip, we chose to rent car seats from our car rental company. We were able to rent car seats for $100 each for 10-days. Yes, it’s a little pricey, but the convenience of having the car seats at the airport car rental ready for us far outweighed the cost of us lugging around the heavy car seats through multiple airports. (Did I mention we also had a layover?)
As for the strollers, we decided to leave our beloved larger, more expensive and comfortable stroller at home and purchase new strollers at a local Target once we arrived in California. That way we didn’t have to lug a giant double-stroller around or risk damaging or devaluing it. While it probably sounds cheaper to rent a stroller, we needed a double stroller for 10-days. It ended up being the same price as buying two separate umbrella strollers from Target. We bought them when we got there and then got to keep them afterward for future travel!
Learn from unexpected mistakes (we all make them)
Picture this…it’s go time. Our cab arrives on time. We throw our luggage and carry-on bags into the cab, remind the kids to go potty, and we’re out the door. On the freeway there’s no traffic, so we get to the airport in record time and well ahead of schedule. The kids are fascinated by the airport so they are on their best behavior. We use the self-check-in kiosk and there’s an error. Typical (insert eye roll). Technology never works at the most inconvenient times. We try again…error. OK, maybe there’s something wrong with how we checked in online?
And that’s when they told us, “You cannot have 5 people sitting in a row of three seats.” To which we replied, “Yes, we understand, however, our twins do not have their own seats, they will be sitting on our laps and want to sit together.” To which they replied, “It is against FAA regulations to have 5 persons sitting in a 3-seated row because there are only 4 air masks available in the event of an emergency. We’ll have to separate your family.” No!
Pack multiple bags
The problem was that we only packed ONE bag for our kids’ entertainment. OK, don’t worry, don’t panic, we thought. We’ll just split up the toys…no big deal. Turns out, it was a big deal. Our twins were not cooperating on the flight, constantly wanting the other parent or what the other twin was playing with. They started to scream, cry and kick the seats. As much as you read online to ignore the naysayers and head shakers in the rows around you, you can’t help but feel bad that your kids are the reason why people around you cannot relax. No parent wants to be in this situation. But when the going gets tough (and it will at some point), concentrate on taking care of your kids and ignore those around you.
Next time, book seats across the aisle so you stay somewhat close together. Or pack multiple bags of entertainment and snacks. Lesson learned.
Pace yourself
Our California trip itinerary was packed full of sightseeing which included Hollywood Blvd, Griffith Observatory, Disney Concert Hall, San Diego Zoo, Santa Monica beach, Laguna Beach, Venice Beach, Melrose Ave, Urban Light sculpture, and most importantly, Disneyland!
Disneyland was by far one of the best experiences in California, but the most challenging as well. We all know why it’s the best; the attractions, the rides, the Disney characters and the feeling of being in a fantasy world you never want to escape! But on the same token, it takes a toll on both the parents and the kids. We purchased a three-day pass because we wanted to experience everything it had to offer. In hindsight, that was our mistake. We underestimated the sheer exhaustion of walking for 10+ hours under the hot California sun, the lines and the crowded atmosphere.
Go slow
Not knowing any better, we went out hard and did way too much on the first day, instead of pacing ourselves. We learned our lesson quickly when we weren’t even sure we wanted to go back on Day 2. So, if you have three days, use them wisely and spread out the activities as much as you can. If you only have one day there, prioritize the attractions for your kids but still take it slow and enjoy the moment without feeling rushed or trying to cram so much in that the rest of your trip suffers.
Choose activities wisely
Coming from Toronto Canada, we don’t have easy access to gorgeous beaches. While in California, we wanted to spend as much time by the ocean as possible. The waves, sand and fresh breeze are something we do not get to experience a lot of so we definitely wanted to take advantage of it. Our son must have been a fish in another life because he loves the water. He even has dreams to compete in the Olympics! Needless to say, he loved the beach and our time there.
Our girls, on the other hand, not so much. They were apprehensive at first and unfortunately for us, they fell into a wave as they tried to escape it from touching their feet, resulting in sand and salt water everywhere. Needless to say, that was game over for them. The only way they’d get close to the waves after that was in our arms. Takeaway lesson: exercise caution when trying new things and ease kids into new situations.
Packing tips for the photographer
Let’s switch gears and talk photography, shall we? In my opinion, there are three main tips that are vital when traveling as a photographer. (You with the camera, yes you…you’re the photographer!)
Tip #1 – minimize your gear
And then minimize some more. When I first started to travel with photography gear, I wanted to bring everything. I had major FOMO (fear of missing out) of an opportunity because I didn’t have the “proper” lens. I packed a backpack full of lenses, tripod, gimbal, microphone, filters, etc. The list goes on. As I traveled, the burden of carrying so much gear started to weigh on me physically. I began to reduce my load each trip until I was down to one camera body and one standard zoom lens.
And guess what happened? I never had FOMO. I realized it’s much more important to focus on the subject (my family) than stressing the importance of having the right gear. In fact, worrying about proper gear is a crutch and distracts me from my family. That’s the exact opposite of what a vacation is about. Pick your favorite lens and you’ll learn to use it in ways you never thought possible.
Tip #2 – location scout with Instagram
When you choose the location(s) you will visit, use Instagram to scout out what’s there to see, do and explore. Instagram can show you beautiful photos based on a location search. This allows you to plan your family trip to incorporate the highlights. Instagram is an amazing resource for inspiration. I do this ALL the time even when I’m not traveling. Not because I want to recreate the same images, but it gives me a visual sense of the environment and gets me started thinking of compositions that appeal to me.
Tip #3 – bring a backup drive!
If you’re using a camera with only 1 memory card, it is vital you bring an external hard drive to back up your photos. This may seem excessive, but imagine something WERE to happen to your memory card, those memories you would have cherished for years to come can suddenly vanish in an instant. Not worth the risk. Back up your images on your external hard drive every night when you’re back at the hotel/house.
Relax, enjoy, repeat
When your day is done, take time to unwind and relax! As much as we parents may think it’s only exhausting for us, constantly being on the move is also exhausting for the kids. Now that we’re a little more experienced in traveling with our kids, we plan our days better. We always try to sight-see in the morning and then dedicate a large portion of the afternoon and early evening to one or two areas. And mainly, we just try to relax. Consider staying at places (hotel, vacation home or Airbnb) that have kid-friendly amenities. Pools, board games, puzzles, movies or other activities kids can enjoy in their down time.
The one piece of advice I want you to remember from this article is to enjoy the moments you share with family. Find time to enjoy the little things, just as much as the grand and extravagant events you’ve planned. Look around and take it all in. Just noticing a garden on someone’s front lawn can be a moment to share and cherish. When I think back to when I was a child, the most memorable moments weren’t about the places we visited. I remember the random moments with my family. The karaoke contests between my siblings in the car going to the restaurant. The races downhill to see who can still stand after being dizzy from spinning. Let your vacation be defined by the moments you share with your family and loved ones, not the physical places you visit.
About Andrew Song
I am a Family & Lifestyle photographer from Toronto, Canada. Together with my wife, we are raising a trio of misfits who always seems to get us to smile. Watching them grow up is definitely our favorite past time. Living in a country where half the calendar year is spent in the cold, we try to travel and spend as much time outdoors as possible. The camera comes along everywhere we go. Life happens so quickly and pictures help preserve those moments.
Personal Instagram @andrewsong_
Family & Lifestyle Photography @storiesbysong
Website www.storiesbysong.com