Posted: 12/26/2014 | December 26th, 2014
Every month, Cameron wears from traveling Canucks will share suggestions and recommendations on how to travel better with your kids. This is an often-requested topic, so I’m ecstatic to have him on the team!
As a newbie parent, the thought of traveling with your infant or toddler can feel like an overwhelming proposition. You don’t want to put your life on hold while you raise your little one, but, at the same time, you don’t want to take a trip that will be a lot more of a headache than an pleasurable experience.
Introducing our two little kids to the world has been an very gratifying experience. We cherish our time together and take pleasure in sharing our passion for travel and adventure with them. but it’s not always easy. In fact, often traveling with our kids can be quite challenging. I think that’s part of what makes it so satisfying. like a mountain trekker reaching the summit after hours of uncomfortable climbing, the reward is not just about the view at the top or the ability to say “I did it.” The reward is the preparation and the journey, the unexpected moments in between.
That’s what we love a lot of about road trips. They make the journey the adventure, the destination secondary. road trips were a big part of my childhood and some of my fondest memories. They are a terrific way to spend time together as a family, travel on a budget, and see a lot of the countryside.
Here are the reasons why you must consider a road trip for your next family holiday and ways to make it possible.
Choose your own adventure
Whether you drive 100 miles or 2,000 miles, you’re in complete control over where you go and how you get there. Being in a automobile allows you to see the countryside and check out places you would not normally visit. adventure lies in the most unexpected places.
While on a road trip through the Canadian Rockies this summer, we had the freedom to check out whatever attraction we desired. As we drove down the Icefields Parkway from Jasper to Banff (arguably the most stunning drive in the world), we regularly found ourselves pulling off the highway to view waterfalls, canyons, glacial lakes and Rocky mountain viewpoints. We would never have been able to stay at this extraordinary mountain lodge in Banff national Park if we were traveling by bus or train.
The terrific thing about road trips is that every day is different. Tomorrow brings new landscapes, new towns, new attractions, and new hotel rooms. This is exciting for little ones and parents, because every day becomes a new adventure. It also indicates that you can change your travel plan at a moment’s notice if you find something better to do.
Schedules are not important
One of the most stressful parts of family travel is making your departure time. No matter how well you plan, you always feel rushed on travel days. Packing, feeding, cleaning, dressing — there’s never a shortage of things to do (and that’s before you start getting yourself ready). Planes and trains don’t wait for unpunctual families, so we typically start “the process” several hours before departure time.
Road trips allow you to go at your own pace, removing the unnecessary anxiety that comes with strict departure times. On our summer road trip through the Canadian Rockies, we had a set travel plan with planned activities for each day. But, as the trip evolved, our travel plan changed. We added stops, we removed stops. We made a decision to swim in the pool after breakfast instead of hitting the road.
What I love about road trips is that if your children (or you) are moving a little slower, you can push back your departure time and let things happen naturally. If you want to spend a lot more time at a vacationer attraction, no problem, take your time. This is your trip, so you get to call the shots.
Save money on flights
Now that we travel with two little boys, our flight expenses have literally doubled. Although our youngest is still under two years old, he’s a curious little person that can’t sit still for a lot more than a few minutes. because of this, we now need to purchase four seats when we fly so that he can have some space (and to give us a break from holding him for hours).
Purchasing flights for a family of four is not cheap. In fact, finding the money to pay for flights is typically the greatest constraint that prevents young families from traveling. domestic flights cost at least $500 each, so a basic trip within north america can run us over $2,000. By removing this expense, we are able to stretch our travel budget further, allowing us to travel longer and deeper. a lot of road trips we take total less than $2,000, which indicates we can travel a lot more often.
Starting a road trip from home allows us to use our personal vehicle, so we eliminate the costs of renting a automobile and adding automobile insurance. Renting a automobile can cost $100 per day, so taking advantage of using our personal automobile saves us a lot of money.
Having a automobile also allows us the freedom to stay at hotels or apartment or condo rentals that are located outside of the city center, which tends to save us considerable money on the price of accommodations and overnight vehicle parking (don’t ignore the cost of vehicle parking in the downtown core of a major city — it can be as high as $40 per night!).
Travel a lot more often
Building on the above point, by saving money on expensive airfare, we are able to have a lot more travel experiences. road trips don’t always have to be epic cross-country adventures that take weeks to complete; often a weekend trip a few hours from home is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Big trips to exotic destinations or remote tropical islands can often feel unattainable when you’re caught up in the daily routine of raising your children, but that doesn’t indicate travel has to stop. I’m sure you think of a few destinations within a 3-5–hour drive from your home that “you’ve always wanted to visit” but have never found the time. Why not make that city/beach/national park your next adventure?
The road trip mindset allows us (and you) the ability to travel more, because it can be a last-minute decision that isn’t very expensive, especially if you plan to camp or stay with pals and family. and with new sharing economy platforms like RVshare, it’s never been much easier (or cheaper) to rent an RV and embark on a family adventure!
Pack what you want, not what you need
I love the amount of space we have when we take road trips. traveling with young kids indicates we no longer travel lightly, so packing can be quite a stressful ordeal. Do we bring the playpen and/or portable high chair?
Packing for a flight forces us to make hard decisions on what is vital and what needs to be left behind. young children are unpredictable, so having a lot more clothes and “comfort toys” is ideal. having a automobile allows us to bring the questionable items “just in case.”
One of the questions we get asked a lot of typically is whether or not we travel with baby automobile seats. They are big, heavy, and awkward, so lots of parents struggle with the decision to rent a automobile seat at the destination or bring their own (to answer the question, we always bring automobile seats with us). A road trip with our personal automobile eliminates this headache because the automobile seats are already set up.
Take breaks on your terms
Do you remember your first long flight? Did you have a “get me off this freaking plane” moment? Urobil som. I felt suffocated and trapped. All I wanted to do was walk around and get some fresh air (not a good idea at 35,000 feet).
Kids are no different. They need a break from the chair, they need to stretch their legs, and take a deep breath of fresh air. The problem is that young kids have a hard time understanding why they can’t get up and walk around or get off the plane (not an easy thing to describe to a two-year-old). road trips allow you the ability to slow down and take as lots of breaks as you need, making the trip much a lot more pleasurable for everyone.
Routine is important, so we try our best to drive long stretches during normal napping hours. When they fall asleep, we step on the gas and try to cover as much ground as we can. Our kids don’t like to be in the automobile for long stretches (who does?), so we try to plan breaks around the day’s activity or attraction.
Bring your own food — and save money!
Our infant has a severe food allergy, so it can be tough finding restaurants that deal with his diet. It’s a challenge even in our hometown where we’re very familiar with the available options. traveling with a automobile allows us to stop at a grocery store and purchase food items that have ingredient labels. This is very crucial to us.
We bring a small cooler with us and load it up with food so we don’t have to rely on restaurants. eating at a restaurant as a family of four usually costs us $30-50 in north america (without alcohol). If you eat out 2-3 times a day, that number adds up quickly. By purchasing groceries in bulk we save time and money, and it allows us to pull over and have picnics at random parks, which is always fun.
Spend quality time together
This is my favorite part of road trips. Life is busy. We’re always plugged in and focused on what’s “out there” or we’re too busy working through our daily routines. spending long periods of time together gives us the opportunity to unplug and connect with each other on a completely different level. We blast songs on the radio, play games like “I Spy,” and actually talk to each other. We love listening to their stories and learning how they process the world. kids have a way of simplifying even the most complex situations.
I’ve typically heard parents say that travel is too tough and expensive with young children. While they may have perfectly vAlid dôvody pre túto líniu myslenia, ak je cestovanie rozhodujúce, potom je vynikajúcou možnosťou načítať automobil a podniknúť výlet. Ak ste si nedávno povedali: „Potrebujem dovolenku, ale načasovanie nie je správne,“ urobte si láskavosť a vydajte sa na cestu. Otvorte mapu, vyberte cieľ, ktorý ste vždy chceli navštíviť, a choďte.
Potrebujete inšpiráciu výletov? Tu je niekoľko článkov, ktoré pomôžu vysadiť niektoré semená:
Skvelé nápady na cestné výlety v Kanade: 9 trás, aby ste sa dostali do leta
National Geographic: Najväčšie cestné výlety
Top 10 amerických výletov
Cameron Wears je polovica dua za oceneným kanadským cestovným blogom TravelingCanucks.com. Po cestovaní do viac ako 65 krajín a území na šiestich kontinentoch za posledných osem rokov teraz žije v ohromujúcom kanadskom Vancouveri so svojím partnerom Nicole a ich dvoma mladými chlapcami. Môžete sledovať ich rodinné cestovné dobrodružstvá na Google+, Twitteri a Facebooku.
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