Family Travel Archives - Page 4 of 19

10 Practical Travel Tips From A Mom Of 5 Kids

Traveling with kids is fun but it’s a not a walk in the park. What more, traveling with 5 kids and one is an infant. Imagine the extra baggage of diapers and baby essentials. Thank goodness I’m exclusively breastfeeding, that’s a big minus on my bag.

Also must read: Fun Time with Kinder Joy

We love traveling during the summer months (March to May) but we also travel during the rainy season. In fact, our longest drive happened in September. Months before it was declared as one of the New Seven Wonder Cities of the world, we had the chance to see Vigan.

One of the keys to traveling with keys is preparation. This includes packing ahead of time and taking out all the OCness in you. From our travels (accompanied by my OCness), I am sharing with you some practical tips that I guarantee will make traveling less stress and more memorable.

10 Practical Travel Tips From A Mom Of 5 Kids

Practical Travel Tip #1 Create a soundtrack. The idea of creating a soundtrack for a certain is really nice. Make a list of some of your favorite songs (it would be fun to include children’s song!) and make your own travel soundtrack at Spotify. Label it with your destination and year. Listen to your soundtrack every time your family is inside the car.

Practical Travel Tip #2 Make an itinerary. There is beauty in being spontaneous but you can explore more beautiful places if you plan ahead. And let the kids know your plan. Print your itinerary and give each a copy. I know it sounds like organizing a tour, well it actually feels like one and it’s how you can make the most out of your trip. You can also play your soundtrack while making this and even while packing!

Practical Travel Tip #3 Always ask for a corner room when booking. Most hotels listed in Traveloka are already discounted and though it is tempting to get plus more rooms for your kids, ask for a corner room instead. Corner room in hotels are usually bigger. Rooms with 2 queen size beds are great options for family with kids too.If you really need to book a hotel with two rooms, try asking for connecting rooms.

Practical Travel Tip #4 Plan your outfit. It’s not for OOTD post on your instagram. Planning your outfit and the kids outfit makes packing a lot easier. This will test your organizing skills but if you ace this one, you’re set for life. For bigger kids, let them pack their clothes. Give them a list of the clothes they need to bring and give them a bag each.

Practical Travel Tip #5 Pack in small bags. So how do you pack in smalls bags when you have more kids? As mentioned in #4, let them pack their own bag. Collect their bags and put it together in one big bag. Most of the times, my stuff and husband’s goes in one big bag and my kids’ on another 1 big bag.

Practical Travel Tip #6 Include small toiletries. Buy travel sized shampoo, soap etc and bring a set or two for your family. It should depend on the number of rooms you’re planning to book. Hotels provides toiletries but with kids, it will never be enough.

Practical Travel Tip #7 Bring a snack bag. Long travel + hungry kids is a disaster. Prevent it from happening by bringing a snack bag. Put 2 to 3 snacks for each kid. It should be light like crackers or snack bars.

Practical Travel Tip #8 Always bring small bills for tipping. In Philippine hotels, how much to tip the bellman? Most US travel sites I have read suggest bringing a lot of $1 bill. Basing from that, I guess 50 PhP bill is acceptable as minimum for tipping. It doesn’t hurt to give more though, specially if the bellman is very helpful to your family.

Practical Travel Tip #9 Take photos everywhere. When I say everywhere, it literally means everywhere. From the landmarks on the way, historical places you pass by to hotel facade to hotel rooms to all the place you will visit. Take photos of those, take photos with your family on it (bring a selfie stick and tripod always), take photos with only your kids. Take photos of each of the kids too. It eats time but it was worth it.

Practical Travel Tip #10 Print your photos. The experience will be forever in your kids’ heart and the fun times can surely make them laugh for a while. Make that memories last longer by printing some of your travel photos. You can also make an album and a scrapbook of your trip!

Kids+ well planned trip= Happy Family!

Two Steps to a Better Family Vacation

Everyone has been on a family vacation that encompasses a long drive and a less than stellar vacation. As a whole the experience tends to stick out as how not to have a good time. However, there a few steps that can be taken to ensure that the annual family event is a great experience for everyone. Planning and researching are the two factors that separate the average family vacation from one that keeps everyone talking for years to come. In the end, doing a bit of homework and digging beneath the surface can be deciding factors that produce the kinds of activities that everyone in the house can enjoy.

Research
Online travel guides, like Hipmunk, can be great assets in the research process. From uncovering affordable hotels in Orlando to locating the perfect backpacking spot at the Grand Canyon, online guides are loaded with information that can inspire anyone looking to ramp up the enjoyment of the trip. After all, theme parks and other major attractions are just the surface of many destinations. Cities and towns have a number of activities that lurk just off the radar begging to be discovered, and without digging a little deeper families will never know these great times and businesses exist.

Planning
Perhaps the biggest factor facing family vacations is time. Time is a perishable commodity, which makes maximizing the fun factor extremely important. Taking a few hours before the trip to plan a short itinerary, along with a brief back up plan for inclement weather, can help keep the focus of the trip where it belongs—having a good time. The entire trip does not have to be scheduled down to the minute, but daily activities and meal schedules can help make sure that everyone gets to do what they desire and try the things that were uncovered during the research process.

In the end, research and planning are important steps to a better family vacation. Plus, everyone can get involved with both tasks, which spreads responsibility out a bit among the family members. Having an idea of what to expect once the destination is reached helps increase the anticipation factor and also aides in finalizing the budget for the trip. Daily checklists and goals keep the trip on track and make sure that everyone is talking about the vacation for years to come for all the right reasons.

How To Apply For A UK Child Passport

Posting this blog post for my sister who now lives in UK and someday, this article will be of big help to her: When Will My Child Need Their Own Passport?

Travelling on your own can be exciting and life changing. Travelling with children? Now that takes travel planning to another level. We take a look at the child passport requirements for your jet setter in training.

Image via Flicker

Until October of 1998 it was possible to have your child included in your own adult passport. However in 1998 the rules have changed. Nowadays you will have to apply for a child passport (regardless how young your child might be) if you plan to travel with your family. The good news is that the child passport is valid for 5 years.

To qualify for a UK child passport your child should be under 16 years of age and one of the following three: a British citizen, a British overseas territories citizen or a British overseas citizen. You will also have to have parental responsibility (which is automatic if you are the child’s mother, the child’s father and you are married to the child’s mother, were married to the child’s mother at the time of birth or have adopted the child).

It takes up to 4 weeks (or longer during certain periods of the year) to be issued a child passport so do plan ahead especially if you have a holiday booked.

To apply for a child passport you will have to either fill out the online passport form or request one online. The price of a child passport is Ł45 or Ł55.75 if you use Post Office’s Passport Check and Send Service. If you are pressed for time you can use the Fast Track Service. The cost of a child passport issued via the Fast Track Service is Ł87.

How to fill out the passport application form

The sections of the form that need to be filled out are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 9 (and section 6 if applicable). Countersignatory will have to fill out section 10 and certify and sign one of your child’s passport photos.

If you child is between the ages of 12 and 15, they will have to sign the passport application form themselves. If your child is not able to sign the form themselves, you will need to explain the reasons why in a cover letter.

Image via Flicker

Additional documents

Apart from the passport application form you will also have to submit additional documents most notably your child’s birth certificate and the British passport details belonging to the child’s mother and father. However in some circumstances (for example if the child is in foster care, has been adopted, has been born of a surrogacy, if there is a court order relating to the custody in case of a divorce, etc) some additional documents might have to be submitted or you will have to fill out some additional sections of the passport application form. Do bear in mind you can only submit original documents and no photocopies are accepted.

Child passport photos

You will also have to submit 2 photos with your child’s passport application form.

Photo requirements:

45x 35 mm in size.
White or light grey background.
Sharp and clear image.
Whole of your child’s face should be visible in the photo.
The child should be alone in the photo (if the baby’s head need to be supported, your hand should not be visible).
The child should not have any toys in the photo or dummies in their mouth.
If a child is younger than five it is not necessary for them to look directly into the camera or have a neutral expression.
Babies younger than one do not have to have their eyes open in the photo.

If your child is close to 16 years of age or has already turned 16, they will have to apply for an adult passport and they can do so without the parental consent. If your child held a child passport previously, they will have to follow the procedure for renewing an adult passport. If you never applied for a child passport and your child is 16 years of age or older, it is considered that they are applying for an adult passport for the first time.