We’ve been traveling internationally with our kids since they were a month old. Now that they are in elementary school, they’ve been to numerous countries and continents that span the globe, including Central America, Asia, Australia, Europe, and Africa. We love seeing how they grow from experiencing other cultures, languages, cuisines, and landscapes. Many families shy away from traveling internationally while their kids are young because it certainly comes with its fair share of challenges. However, the good far outweighs the bad.

We 100% encourage families to travel with children internationally to open their minds, teach them to appreciate differences, and learn more than they ever could at home. We’ve embraced the difficulties and joys of traveling with kids and have learned a few things over the years. People ask us all the time for tips for traveling internationally with kids. So here are 13 tips for international travel with kids that will make your family vacation smoother, safer, and more enjoyable for everyone.

Tips for International Travel with Kids

1) Pick a destination that has something for everyone

One of the keys to a successful family vacation is visiting a destination that will be enjoyable for everyone. For our family trips, we choose locations and itineraries that have a mix of attractions the kids will love and things we will love. It’s a win-win when you can find somewhere that has activities and sights that the whole family will adore together. One of those places for our family is Costa Rica. Whether we’re hiking through the rainforest, swimming in thermal pools, visiting animal sanctuaries, or playing on the beach, we are all having fun together.

So give careful consideration to what each family member enjoys and then find a location that will have something for everyone. We know that our kids are happiest when they have a pool, beach, or anything involving animals. We love to do cultural activities, visit museums, and find the most beautiful spots to relax and take photos. So when we plan a family trip, we look for a place that has a mix of kid favorites and parent favorites. That way everyone gets to do what they love, at least part of the time.

We also recommend letting the kids have a say in what activities you’ll do on vacation. You can offer them options of things to do (that are within your budget and parent-approved) and see what would interest them most. If you’re deciding between going horseback riding and river rafting, let the kids weigh in. They are more likely to enjoy and less likely to complain about something that they chose.

2) Check U.S. Dept of State Travel Advisories to make sure travel is safe

Safety is important when traveling, especially when taking children along. Before you plan travel to a specific country, check the U.S. Department of State’s travel advisories. Travel advisories may encourage you to use extra caution, reconsider travel, or avoid travel to certain regions based on current or recent events such as terrorism and other dangerous situations.

Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive alerts and make it easier to locate you should an emergency occur. You can also set up alerts to be notified if the travel advisory changes for the destination you’re monitoring.

3) Visit a travel clinic 3 months before traveling

It is extremely important when traveling internationally that you make sure you have taken all the health precautions that are advised by the CDC for the region you are visiting. Check the CDC’s website here to see what is recommended for your travel destination.

Your family may need vaccines and medication, such as anti-malaria pills. If so, visit a travel clinic since most primary care doctors will not administer travel vaccinations. Unfortunately travel vaccinations are not covered by most insurance plans, so be prepared to spend several hundred dollars or more per trip. You’ll need to get vaccines at least a month before you travel to be full protected. Some vaccinations require a series of shots, spaced apart by months, so plan well ahead.

It’s also important to get guidance on what to avoid in your travel destination to stay healthy. Travel clinics will advise you to avoid certain kinds of food that may be more at risk for carrying diseases, such as salads and street foods. You can also purchase kits with sunscreen and bug repellent at some travel clinics when mosquito-borne diseases are a health risk. 

Some primary care physicians and health departments provide travel vaccines and medication. Passport Health is a travel clinic that has offices throughout the country. We always schedule an appointment with a doctor who specializes in travel medicine before our international trips that require several vaccinations, like each time we visit Cameroon to see family. Make sure to bring your immunization records for each family member to document your vaccinations.

4) Get travel insurance

Kids get sick a lot and doctor appointments abroad can be appallingly expensive. We learned the hard way after a $600 visit in Japan to an international medical clinic when our kids both got ear infections during our vacation. Make sure to purchase travel insurance before your vacation to cover any medical emergencies or doctor visits. The last thing you want to have to worry about when traveling is how you’ll be able to pay your medical bills, which often have to be paid upfront in foreign countries.

A friend of ours got insured while vacationing in Jamaica and was told she needed to pay $10,000 up front at the hospital before they would treat her. Thankfully she had insurance that covered her to fly home early and get treated in the United States. If you travel frequently, you can purchase annual travel insurance plans, which saves money in the long run. We’ve purchased travel insurance from Allianz but there are many travel insurance companies.  Get quotes and decide which is best for your family.

5) Check passports to make sure they are valid for at least 6 months

A common travel mishap is trying to travel with a passport that expires within 6 months of your return date. We’ve heard of people getting turned away from international flights because their passport expiration was within 6 months of their travel.

Children’s passports are only valid for 5 years, while adult passports are valid for 10 years. Make sure that you check everyone’s expiration dates so you have plenty of time to renew passports if needed. It is possible to expedite the passport renewal process, but it is more expensive. You also need both parents present at a passport office to obtain or renew a child’s passport, so give yourself enough time to complete the process and wait for the new passport to arrive in the mail.

Make 2 copies of your passport ID pages before traveling. Leave one copy at home with a friend or relative and take one copy with you in case your original is stolen or lost. Just make sure to keep the copies separate from the originals. Having a copy will make it easier to get a replacement.

6) If traveling without both parents, take a notarized letter from other parent giving permission to take child abroad

If you happen to be traveling with your children but their other parent is not traveling, you will need a notarized letter from the absent parent giving permission to take the child abroad. There have been too many tragic cases of parents kidnapping their child and fleeing the country. So make sure to arrive prepared if you’re traveling solo with your kids.

7) Come prepared for long-haul flights

Long-haul flights are perhaps the aspect of traveling internationally with kids that scare off so many families. While long flights with babies, toddlers and kids of any age can be daunting, it is much easier if you come prepared.

We recommend bringing a travel stroller for ease getting through the airport when your kids are very young. You can fold up the stroller and leave it at the gate when boarding your plane. It will be there waiting for you when you get off the plane. Having a travel stroller saved us from carrying cranky (or sleeping) babies and toddlers through airports while simultaneously pulling along luggage. Or if you prefer to wear your baby, make sure to bring your favorite baby carrier.

Have everything you will need handy in a bag that you can fit under your seat so that you’re not waiting for the seat belt sign to go off before you can grab whatever it is that will prevent a major meltdown. We always travel with snacks the kids love and a drink for takeoff to help their ears neutralize. I used to bring powdered milk so I could mix some up for our kids at a moment’s notice, since flight attendants won’t usually serve drinks prior to takeoff (unless you’re flying premium cabin).

We also bring toys that will keep their attention but won’t make a ton of noise, like small plastic animals, matchtbox cars, and sticker books. Bring a few favorite books and a kid-friendly tablet (Like this popular one) to play games, watch movies, or use educational sites like ABC Mouse. Don’t forget to bring headphones for their tablets since they will not be allowed to use them if they are making noise.

Make sure to have plenty of diapers and wipes handy for the duration of the flight if your kids are still in that phase. We also bring a change of clothes in case of any accidents and pajamas for overnight flights. You want the kids to be as comfortable as possible. Dressing everyone in layers is also helpful since the planes can go from hot and stuffy to freezing cold very quickly. Consider bringing small travel pillows too if it’s a really long flight.

If you’re able to afford (or use points for) a business class or first class flight, when recommend splurging for long-haul overnight flights. Our 14-hour first class flight from NYC to Tokyo on Japan Airlines was incredibly comfortable and smooth. Our kids were able to sleep soundly in the huge seats that converted to lay flat beds. While awake they had lots of space to play in their seats and watch movies. The flight crew took such great care of them, helping cut up their food and even helped our son change into his pajamas.

We were amazed by the outstanding level of service and comfort in the first class cabin. So consider flying in a premium cabin for a more pleasant experience for the whole family if you can swing it.

8) Consider buying a seat on the flight for a child under 2

Children under 2 years old can fly as lap infants to save on flight costs. However, lap infants are still required to pay the taxes and fees for the flight. In some cases, they are also required to pay a percentage of the flight cost, which can range from 10-25% of the cost. So depending on how much the flight costs, it may be worth buying your lap child his or her own seat so that everyone is more comfortable during the flight.

If you purchase a seat for your child, you can bring an FAA-approved car seat onto the flight. If you’re taking a long-haul flight, this might make the difference between a very uncomfortable flight and a peaceful flight with a sleeping child in his car seat. You can get up to use the bathroom without fear of waking the child who is sleeping in your lap.

I can recall many flights with a child asleep in my lap, having my legs fall asleep and then go through that awful tingling sensation when I moved because I didn’t want to wake them up.  If the baby is sleeping in his own car seat, you are free to move as you please. Request a seat with a baby bassinet if you don’t purchase them their own seat, which many long international flights offer. If it isn’t going to cost that much extra, consider buying your child under 2 their own seat.

9) Bring a comfort item from home

Don’t leave home without something special to remind your child of home and comfort them when they’re scared or upset. For our kids, that was their blankies that they had been snuggling since they were babies. They were tattered and torn, but they were also soft and smelled like home. Those blankies soothed them in the midst of meltdowns and helped them sleep peacefully when they weren’t in their own beds. For some kids this might be a favorite stuffed animal or pacifier. Those beloved items can do wonders to calm an upset kid, so don’t travel across the world without them.

However, make sure not to lose them either! We know some families who have 2 identical copies of their child’s favorite stuffed animal or blankie so that if one goes missing, they have a backup. But you’d have to swap them out regularly so that one doesn’t look new and unloved. Kids are smarter than that.

10) Have everything you need for a few days in your carry-on

Traveling with young kids means packing so much that carry-on only isn’t an option. At least we haven’t mastered that yet in our family. So if you’re checking luggage, make sure to have a carry-on suitcase or backpack that has all the essentials you’d need if your luggage gets lost. Our luggage was lost on our way to Cameroon when our son was still in diapers. I thankfully had packed enough extra diapers in my carry-on that tided us over until our luggage was delivered days later.

We recommend packing at least one change of clothes for everyone, essential toiletries, diapers, snacks, and any necessary medications in your carry-on. Hopefully your luggage will arrive with you, but it’s always better to be prepared.

11) Splurge on transportation

When traveling internationally with kids, we recommend splurging on transportation. While public transportation is almost always going to be cheaper, it is harder to get from A to B with strollers, diaper bags, and tired cranky kids. We usually get a rental car, unless it’s a destination that is not ideal for having a car, like big cities with horrible traffic. It is much easier on everyone to have a rental car and not drag kids around on public transportation, which usually requires a lot of walking.

We also bring our own car seats and then can just leave them in the rental car for the duration of the trip. While taxis do not require car seats, Uber drivers technically are supposed to have car seats. We’ve had several situations where we’ve called an Uber and the driver was unable to transport our family because they didn’t have car seats. If you have your own car, you don’t have to worry about that and can feel assured that your kids are being transported safely.

12) Don’t over plan itinerary

Another key tip for traveling with kids internationally (and even domestically) is not to over plan your itinerary. Especially when visiting a new country or city, it is tempting to pack your agenda as full as possible so you don’t miss anything. However, having too much planned is a surefire way to trigger meltdowns from your kids. Remember, everyone is most likely jet-lagged and tired from getting there, so take it easy.

You will all have a better time if you leave margin in your itinerary. Leave space for resting, naps, stops at a playground, petting dogs at a park, or letting the kids play in the bathtub while you relax. While it is certainly tempting to plan every day (or hour if you’re type A personality) of your family vacation, we encourage you to leave some room for spontaneity and a slower pace.

Some of our best vacation memories are from those moments when we really slowed down and just enjoyed each other’s company instead of trying to squeeze in one more tourist attraction. We always leave time for our kids to play in the hotel pool. No matter where we go, that’s always one of their favorite things we did on vacation. So think quality, not quantity. Less is more when it comes to planning a travel itinerary with kids. Be flexible and go with the flow so everyone has a better time.

13) Stay up until 7 or 8pm local time to manage jet lag

Jet lag is another one of the reasons some families shy away from international travel with kids. Jet lag is hard enough for adults, and can be even harder on kids who don’t understand what’s happening. Help everyone adjust to the new time zone by staying up until 7 or 8pm local time when you arrive to your destination. Try to avoid daytime naps that will make it harder for you to adjust to the new time zone. If your kids still require naps, don’t let them nap for more than a few hours or they will have trouble staying asleep through the night.

When you wake up for the day in your new time zone, try to spend as much time outside in direct sunlight as possible. The sun helps your body clock know that it’s time to be awake and adjust to the new time zone faster.

We use our light therapy glasses to manage jet lag, but unfortunately they are not approved for children whose eyes are still developing. We’ve given our kids melatonin chewables to help them adjust to new time zones and fall asleep easier when traveling internationally. You can purchase children’s melatonin over the counter or online (Buy some here).

Now go plan your international family vacation!

That’s it for our tips for traveling with kids internationally. We hope our family travel tips help you have a safer, smoother, and more enjoyable trip. Do you want to combine travel with work? Consider the latest remote part-time jobs on Jooble. Please let us know in the comments if you have any favorite travel hacks or tips for traveling with kids internationally.

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