Build in rest days when designing your itinerary.

Planning a family trip can be a blast, but if you’re not careful, it can turn into a tiring marathon that leaves everyone burnt out and tired instead of a fun adventure full of beautiful memories. This is why I’ve learned to embrace the art of pacing. We build in rest days, especially on longer trips, to avoid burnout (and the resulting bad moods). On these days, we don’t plan anything and aim to make the whole day as low-effort as possible. This might mean lazy mornings, beach time, afternoon movies, naps, reading, or even a spontaneous adventure. 

Ensure that everyone is comfortable.

Book accommodations with enough and appropriately-sized beds so everyone can sleep comfortably. A comfortable sleeping environment will enhance your sleep, allowing you to feel more refreshed and energetic for travel adventures.

Justin and I know that we cannot sleep together comfortably for long periods of time in anything smaller than a queen, especially if we plan on sharing it with Skyler. And we know that if we do not get a good night’s sleep, our patience runs out faster and we become overstimulated much quicker. By prioritizing our comfort while sleeping, we can all feel rested for our exploring days!

We usually book accommodations with enough beds, which is one reason we prefer home exchange or AirBNB when traveling with Skyler. When he was a baby, he slept in a pack n play or crib in the same room as us. Now, we prefer for Skyler to have his own room or sleeping space that can be closed off from ours. When staying in hotels, this isn’t always possible and we all get way less sleep on those nights.

Pack what you need to create an ideal sleeping environment.

We take all of the things that each person needs to sleep well. For me, that means a noise machine, a sleep mask, and my bluetooth sleeping headband. When Skyler was a baby, this would mean a lot more than it does now: his travel crib, a sound machine, blackout curtains, diapers, and proper sleep garments. Now, he’s a lot easier to travel with since he can seemingly sleep on anything, anywhere, in full daylight or semi darkness, without a sheet, often naked. He is usually surrounded by a couple squishmallows, though, no matter where he goes.

Maintain a routine without adhering to a strict schedule.

We maintain the same loose bedtime routine wherever we go. We’ve never been dogmatic with our at-home sleep routine, simply because we didn’t want it to become a limitation down the line. A bedtime routine can be an effective tool for creating consistency and a psychological sense of safety. So even if we spend the day exploring Mayan ruins and bumbling our way through the Spanish language, we still have to eat dinner and brush our teeth and go to bed at a reasonable hour. Next time you go somewhere new, try sticking to a similar daily routine to feel more at home.

Travel mid-day, when possible.

Travel is hard enough, let’s not make it worse by throwing off our body’s schedule with super early departures, driving at night, and disrupted sleep. Whenever possible, we try to avoid extremely early morning or overnight travel. This is not always possible, of course, especially with long-haul flights overseas, but when it is possible, we aim to travel from mid-morning to late afternoon. With shorter distances between travel locations, you can maximize your time by traveling between the hours of hotel check-out (usually 11ish in the morning) and hotel check-in (usually after 3ish in the afternoon). This works great with kids who still nap, especially if your kids sleep well in a moving vehicle!

If someone’s sleeping, let them sleep.

Harry Potter taught me never to tickle a sleeping dragon, and I’ve learned how equally true it is that I never wake up a sleeping baby. My husband would agree that he knows never to wake a sleeping wife. Disturbing someone’s sleep can seriously impact the quality their sleep leading to a reduced ability to tolerate stress and memory problems, not to mention extra crankiness. This is one reason I advocate for lazy mornings; so everyone can wake up at their leisure, to mentally and physically prepare for that day’s adventures.

We have learned from direct experience that if our child has fallen asleep at an odd time or in an odd place, that we allow him to sleep as long as we can. This is one reason I advocate for loose, flexible travel schedules and paying attention to the pacing of a trip; so that someone can enjoy a nap without throwing off the entire day’s plans and no one gets burned out.

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Now you tell me!