The Biggest Mistake Moms Make When Planning Family Travel (and What to Do Instead)

As a busy, working mom, I’m VERY guilty of trying to do it all (and I have a hunch I’m not alone!). And I’m definitely guilty of this when we planning our family travel, too. 

My natural instinct is to book the latest flight possible home to maximize vacation time, plan as many fun activities as we can while we’re away (because my 3-year old is finally old enough to enjoy them!), and return immediately to work the day after we get home, even if we don’t get home until midnight (because, you know, PTO). 

This method worked pretty darn well when my husband and I were childless and in our 20s (and maybe even then it wasn’t the best idea…). Now that we’re older, we have a child (and a lot more responsibilities overall!) I have to talk myself out of overbooking our schedule and travel itinerary every single time. 

But you know what? I never regret getting home a little early. Or having a buffer day with no plans on a trip. Or building in intentional downtime so we can relax at the hotel for an hour or two between activities. I think I will, but I don’t. You know what I DO regret? Every time I don’t do those things. 

Our trip to Siena, Italy

Here are my three best tips for making sure to balance time appropriately when traveling with young children, whether on travel days or on the trip itself. 

Build in downtime

A couple ways I suggest you do this. First, when you’re planning your itinerary, fight the natural inclination to pack your agenda completely full. If you want activities every day, at least build in an hour or two of downtime. This will help if you encounter any scheduling issues and ensure you don’t have to rush between activities (especially if you’re in an unfamiliar city!). 

Second, on travel days and for travel planning, don’t be like me. Book an early flight home so you can unpack, get some laundry done and get things in order before returning to your normal routine. 

Enjoying the beach in Grand Cayman

Plan a buffer day or two

I know the urge to fill your agenda to the brim and get the most you can out of visiting a new city. But with little kids, that just doesn’t always work out. Having a buffer day or two is great for a few reasons. 

When you get to your destination, you’re inevitably going to hear about activities or places that you want to visit that you didn’t discover in your research. Having a buffer day allows you to set time aside to do those things. 

And if you’re anything like my family, vacations are always a bit more exhausting than we remember. We get so excited to go on them that we forget that routine changes are hard, travel days are exhausting and little kids are still little kids, even on vacation. Having a buffer day or two lets you build in a relaxation day so you can recharge, reset and make the rest of your trip amazing. 

Visiting the redwoods

Possibly the best family travel planning tip: Set realistic expectations

This is probably the hardest one for me, and somewhat encompasses everything I talked about above. In my family, I’m the one who enjoys travel more, so I get really excited about big trips or visiting destinations that have been on my bucket list. When things don’t go perfectly or my 3-year-old is having a tantrum, my first reaction is to feel disappointed and angry. However, when I remind myself going into the trip that it’s NOT going to be perfect (nothing is!), it ends up feeling a little more perfect in reality. 

What did I forget? What other tips do you have for not overloading travel plans as a working mom with little kids?