My kids and I travel together a lot, often without the company of another adult. We fly together, we drive long distances together, and we explore new places together. I love our adventures.
I traveled alone before kids and was comfortable exploring new cities and countries by myself. It is different, though, when you have one or more children to look after as well. But I have more flexibility in my schedule than my husband. Traveling alone with kids has really allowed me to show our children so much that we would not be able to see if we waited on my husband’s schedule. I encourage you to give it a try.
So whether you and your kids are tagging along on your spouse’s work trip and need to independently fill your days. Or you are staying overnight somewhere by yourself with the kids for the first time. Or you really want to travel somewhere but only you can take the time off. Here are my top tips if you want to explore new places with your kids by yourself.
1. Bring any paperwork or legal documents you may need
If you are traveling alone with children, it is important to consider all the documents you may need to present to authorities or that you may need in the case of an emergency.
I suggest you always travel with:
- Original birth certificate of each child
- Health insurance information
- Copies of all passports and important documents that you are traveling with (keep these separate from the originals)
- Have your emergency contact information handy. Especially if you don’t know phone numbers off the top of your head. You don’t want to be in a pickle if your phone battery dies and you need to reach someone.
I also recommend checking out government websites (of embassies, consulates, the State Department, etc.) ahead of your trip for information on what other documentation you may be required to present when traveling alone with kids.
You may be required to carry certain documentation, such as a notarized letter of permission from your child’s other parent, saying you are authorized to travel internationally with that child. I have carried such letters, even when not required, in case I ever get questioned by authorities.
2. Stay organized
Staying organized is really important if you plan to explore new places with your kids. Keeping track of children and responding to their needs and requests is already a big task that is further complicated when you are trying to navigate an unfamiliar place. To keep the stress low, prioritize organization.
At home I can get a little haphazard with some basic organizational skills (like always putting the car keys in the same place when I walk in the door, or storing my cell phone in one spot when I am not using it). This often results in me dashing around the house looking for my keys and phone while trying to get out the door.
When traveling, however, I do not let myself get even a tiny bit lazy about any of those basic organizational skills. The last thing I want is to be unpacking the stroller, diaper bag, and my purse on the side of an unfamiliar street trying to find my phone or hotel key card. That is how things get stressful very quick, and it makes you more vulnerable to pickpockets and thieves. I keep important items close to me, and everything has a very specific place when I travel. That way I can focus my attention on my kids and my surroundings without avoidable distractions.
3. Inform relatives and emergency contacts of your plans
You don’t have to write out an entire itinerary for your emergency contacts, but it is a good idea to keep them in the loop about your travels. Ways you can do this include:
- Turn on location sharing on your phone for your emergency contacts.
- Share a rough itinerary listing what hotel you will be staying at each night and any major excursions or outings.
- Frequent texts or phone calls providing updates on your whereabouts.
Also, if you are a US citizen or US national traveling abroad, consider registering your travel with the State Department through their Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so that, if there is an emergency, the US embassy and consulate can more easily contact you. You will also receive health, weather, safety, and security updates for your travel destination.
4. Create a List on Google Maps
Google Maps Lists is a wonderful tool that can help you navigate unfamiliar places. Through Google Maps Lists, you can save lists of all the places (restaurants, sites, hotels, train stations, etc.) you want to visit at your destination and you can view them in map format. I create lists on Google Maps for most destinations that I visit. These lists are shareable, which makes planning and traveling with other people easier. But I also like using them when I explore new places on my own because they allow me to visualize the city and visit sites more efficiently. You can use these lists offline, which is very helpful when abroad or in remote areas.
The places that you save are viewable in list format and in map format. I find the map format to be most helpful because I can see where all my saved places are relative to my GPS location. If I finish up with a site quicker than expected, I can look at the map and see what other sites on my list are nearby that I might be able to fit in. Or if I am hungry, I can look at my list and see which restaurants that I had hoped to try are nearby.
To save lists on Google Maps, you need to be logged into a google account to create these lists. Under the “you” tab on the Google Maps iPhone app, there is an option to “+ New list”.
So if I were to visit Prague, I would create a list called “Prague” and then as I am looking up sites, restaurants, and booking my hotels, I would look up their locations on Google Maps and save them to that Prague list. I am usually traveling with a stroller, so I will often filter restaurants and other sites by wheelchair accessibility.
If you are not a big itinerary person, this can be a great way to explore new places with some strategy while leaving room for spontaneity and not having to plan everything out.
5. Offer stroller naps to your kids
It is hard to get out of the house with kids. Where is her coat? Where did he leave his shoes? Is the baby’s diaper clean? Does everyone have a water bottle? Oh, I forgot about snacks! Then you finally get everyone buckled in the car and you realize one of them did not go to the bathroom. I don’t think it is just me. And that struggle to get out occurs no matter where I am.
Just leaving our accommodation is a lot to juggle by myself. So once I am out, I like to stay out as long as we can. For this reason, I almost exclusively offer stroller naps when traveling alone with a baby or toddler. By doing this I avoid unnecessary transitions.
When I am traveling alone with two toddlers or a baby and toddler, the Bumbleride Indie Twin is a game changer! This side-by-side all terrain double stroller fully reclines and has fantastic canopy coverage. My kids take excellent naps in this stroller. You can add a mini board attachment to give any non-nappers a break from walking as well. I definitely recommend you check it out. You can find it second hand for more affordable prices.
6. Visit a park or kid-designated space each day
I try to keep our days fun by visiting a space that is intended for kids each day. Usually this is a park. We have discovered some of our favorite parks abroad. But it could also be a children’s museum, a library, an amusement park – you get the idea. I want our adventures together to be enjoyable for all of us, and not feel to the kids as if I am just dragging them around the world to check off my bucket list. Visiting these kid-designated spaces gives me a much-welcomed break as well. We can all let loose a bit and have some fun.
7. Make mealtime simple
When you spend your days managing little ones by yourself, the idea of trying to get everyone to sit properly through a meal at a nice restaurant may sound like too much. Cafes with outdoor seating, park kiosks, beer gardens, food trucks, and other outdoor options are easy, low-key places to fill everyone’s tummies. Even better if they are located in or adjacent to a park or playground. Eating outdoors is most often way more entertaining for young kids. They get to view traffic, construction, dogs, and the general bustle of the area while they eat and you don’t have to be quite as strict about noise (not that I let my kids go wild when we eat outside).
8. Pack minimally
Packing minimally is the only way I can travel alone with kids! I am not an octopus. If your kids are all under age 5 and cannot reliably pull a suitcase for distances, consolidate your items into one suitcase and one diaper bag. One arm pulls the suitcase, one arm pushes the stroller, the diaper bag is on my back, and sometimes a baby or small toddler is in the front pack. Yes, I look like a pack mule sometimes, but we manage to get around!
Check out my Packing Tips for Trips with Young Kids to learn how to pack minimally and still have everything you need.
9. Expect that things won’t go according to plan, over prepare, and know that you CAN handle bumps in your journey!
Even with my kids being phenomenal little travelers, we still have had a few travel days really not go according to plan, so I try my best to prepare for things going wrong. It can be something like sudden sickness, delayed and canceled flights, or even a mistake with a reservation on our end.
I once got stuck in the middle of a miles long traffic jam on a freeway caused by a multi-hour closure of all lanes. We were 2.25 hours into what was supposed to be a 3 hour drive when suddenly we went from cruising to a complete stop. The freeway was a parking lot. With hungry kids turning hangry, a napping child woken early because the car was no longer in motion, and a potty training toddler really needing to pee, this was not a welcomed surprise. A few years ago, I think I would have started to panic a bit about how I was going to manage this unexpected situation. But this time I remained calm and collected, which helped my children do the same.
After a while it was clear to everyone that we were not going anywhere anytime soon. The people pulling a trailer of horses in front of us got out to feed and air their horses on the freeway and I ran my toddler to the bushes. Fortunately I had plenty of snacks and water in the car that we ate while we stretched our legs. Eventually the freeway reopened and we made it to our destination later that night after bedtime. Was it ideal, no. But we made it to our destination.
Ways you can prepare for the unexpected:
If you prepare yourself mentally for unexpected bumps in your journey, you will be able to manage unforeseen situations that arise and work through them with so much more confidence. But there are also some practical steps you can take to set yourself up better to handle the unexpected. Here are some things I do:
- Only fly with carryons
- If this is not doable, make sure you keep a change of clothes for you and each child, plus toiletries and plenty of diapers and pull ups in your carryon bag. Having the essentials on hand will help minimize the stress of a missed connection or canceled flight mid-journey.
- Bring water bottles and carry extra water in your car
- Have lots of snacks on hand
- In addition to the typical little kid snacks, I try to keep nuts and meat sticks on hand in case we need something more substantive.
If you are planning to explore new places by car, I recommend you consider what emergency preparedness items you should have with you for your weather conditions and location. It is so much easier to work through bad situations when you feel even a little bit prepared.
You can do it!
It has taken me many many trips to get to the comfort level that I have now. I started by flying short distances with my kids to visit relatives. Then the kids and I tagged along on my husband’s work trips abroad. We would sit in a different cabin on the plane and would spend our days exploring new cities on our own. Eventually I was doing 8 hr flights, long travel days, and overnight trips by myself with our growing family. With each trip I gained more confidence and built up more courage to push it farther. I hope that with these tips you feel encouraged that you can explore new places alone with your kids!
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