Spring Break is almost here! A few weeks ago, I started to write this post when I was at a hotel in Chicago just returning from the Netherlands. It was right before I took the train back home to Iowa. This post might be useful if you’re considering traveling overseas, to and from the USA during spring break or any time in the year. With partner, kids, with a friend, your work or alone. I just traveled with colleagues and the last part of the trip was by myself. Here are some interesting travel tips for families that you might not have thought of.

 Before you travel

If you always wanted to travel overseas, here are some things to consider and to think of, especially if you are traveling with children.

 1. When and where would you like to go?

Do you have kids and are they going to school? Which vacation times do they have and how long would you like to go? Our school has been always very flexible with vacations outside of the regular school vacation times, but I know a lot of schools are very strict with taking time off. When we’re going to the Netherlands, we also have to take the vacation times of my nephews into consideration. In 2016 we went at the end of our vacation and at the beginning of their vacation. It usually is a 3 week trip.

Of course it’ll be cheaper if you can go outside of the high season.

People travel usually when there is an event they have to go to, like a wedding, but if you don’t, maybe also check the seasons of the country you’d like to travel to. If you know people you know who live(d) there, they can tell you more about when to go. For example winters in Iowa can be very cold, in the Netherlands it can feel even colder because of the humidity. The fall season is more like spring in Iowa with lots of rain.

2. Airline tickets

This travel tip is about check for affordable airline tickets, there are different ways to do it. We normally start searching about 6 months before our trip and keep checking and comparing for a few weeks. Traveling during the week is also cheaper than in the weekend (usually Tuesday’s and Thursday’s are the best).

Nowadays there are several budget airlines who can get you overseas for a cheaper price, but be careful: A lot of times these are the basic tickets. Which means no check-in bags (suitcases), no food, choice of seats or more leg room not included. For example, with my family, we traveled with airlines like Delta, AirLingus, British Airways etc. My last trip to Iceland and Amsterdam was with IcelandAir. The basic or Economy ticket was cheap, but I didn’t see in the beginning, it didn’t include check-in bags or food. Even after an upgrade (this made more sense than just buying a check-in bag on my old ticket) there was still no food. At least I was able to bring a suitcase.

Check also the weight and the amount of bags you’d like to bring. Especially overseas, airlines are picky about that. The food was not a problem, because I could eat a sandwich near the gates before boarding or even bring it along. There are snacks and sandwiches on board, but I thought $15 for a sandwich was a little too much.

3. Tips for a place to stay

When we’re traveling to the Netherlands, we’ve been fortunate to stay at my parent’s house, but if you don’t know anyone at your destination (check with friends and family first for ideas), then there are several options you can choose from:

• Airbnb : Check with the rules in that city or country first. In Amsterdam, for example they won’t allow more than 4 occupants in one apartment. Other cities have new rules as well, because hotels are noticing a decrease in numbers. Iceland, for example, noticed an increase in Airbnb apartments, and because of that, local residents have no place to stay anymore.
• Hotels: When we travel within the United States, we like to book hotels through Hotwire.  (Please click the banners on my blog to make reservations for your stay :0)

• Mobile Homes: I’ve noticed it is not cheap, but I’d love to rent one and explore the US or Europe this way. Renting a nice one costs about $150 a day on RVshare, then you have to add extra costs, fuel and camping costs with or without electricity and sewer.
• A cheaper way in the summer could be camping with a tent or going to youth hostels in Europe.
• Note: As of 2020 my parents have downsized and we probably have to find another place to stay close by my parents and brother with his family. We’re now looking into family vacation trailers or “glamping tents” at the many camping places the Netherlands has to offer.

4. Passport and VISA.

Traveling out of the country means you need a passport. Start applying for a passport and maybe a Visa as well if you need one for the country you’re traveling to, ON TIME. Our kids have dual citizenship, so at least one passport has to be valid:)

5. Phone

Call your phone provider and ask what the best plan is to use your phone outside the country. It can depend on where you’re going and for how long. Don’t forget to bring a travel adapter for your phone and other electronics. OR use USB cords for computers.

Travel Tip: Use the USB plug in the back of the TV to charge your phone or iPad.

6. Money

Call your bank to open up your bank card/credit card for the countries you’re going to or traveling through during your trip. It is also nice to have some cash with you during your travels, to buy snacks and drinks. Sometimes countries like Iceland are accepting US dollars, Euro’s and their own Kronur. Throughout Europe the currency is the Euro, so converting Dollars to Euro’s would be recommended for the trip and the first day, at least.

A few days before the trip

Check if you have all of your passports, bank cards, phone, iPad’s for the kids and cables with you. I traveled to Europe with one suitcase and a backpack. During our strolls in Amsterdam I had a small bag under my coat, so it was close to me and out of sight. Watch out for getting pick-pocketed!

Normally you’ll get an email a day before you leave from the airline saying you can check in online. I do that, but also go to the check-in desk at the airport. I’m not sure if you can drop off your suitcase and walk to security like that. Domestic flights without a suitcase work like this. I had my boarding card and I could walk to the gates when J and I traveled to New York.

And the kids….

I’ve always liked the idea that I could clean the house and pack when the kids are at school. Now that they’re older, I’ve made a Pack List for Kids, so they can still be part of the pre-travel activities. I only have to check what they picked. I’ve also noticed that rolling up clothes and putting underwear and socks in shoes, saves a lot of space.

The kids have their own backpack (or a bag on wheels) with an extra set of clothes, snacks and things they can play with, when we travel by car or airplane.

Travel Tip: Make simple snack bags and print these “Snack Bag Tags”. Scroll down for more information about this fun activity for kids.

The day of traveling.

Traveling by car

Two ideas to do with kids instead of watching movies on a trip.

If you’re going on a road trip with kids, here are 2 great ideas to do. I know all about the screams from the back seats:

“Mommy, when are we there?” ” I’m hungry!” “Mommy, I’m bored!!”

It seems like a lot of work, but believe me, it is worth it not hearing the little, annoying phrases above.

Snack Bags

Grab a few paper lunch bags, buy small toys or snacks, like juice boxes, gummies, Hotwheel car, coloring page, apple sauce pouch, etc. Download these “Snack Bag Tags” , cut them out and tape them on each bag with the “Surprise snack or toy” inside. They’ll be distracted for a while…

Travel Binder

I really like this. Even to make this ahead of time. You just buy a (or more) ring binder, a pen pouch, coloring pencils, pencil with eraser and stickers. Search for coloring pages, mazes, dot-to-dot, word scrabble, crossword for kids, tic-tac-toe, etc. online and print them out. Put the pencils in the pouch and add them with the print outs in the binder. Let the kids decorate their binders with the stickers and play all the games on your trip. Make it age appropriate. I have fun facts about the states we are visiting, jokes, Mad Lips for the older kids.

I don’t know about you, but I try to keep the kids away from electronics as much as I can. A balance is really good. It is great to see them having fun with computer games and it teaches them good skills, don’t get me wrong, but if it is up to them, they could play computer games the whole day! So, I was I happy to see the 3 of them playing other games besides computer games during our trip to Florida last year. They only watched 2 movies on our laptop both ways. It was a 3-day trip!!

If you can, get out every 2-2,5 hours. Not only to stretch your legs, but also to let the kids run. Have a picnic at one of the rest areas or pick out a restaurant. We love Panera! Sometimes we like to explore an area we haven’t been to. A great way to do this is Geocaching. or play Pokemon Go. For the little ones bring chalk or blow bubbles while parked at a rest stop.

Traveling by plane.

Be sure to be on time at the airport. For international flights, you usually need to be at the airport 2,5 or 3 hours before take off. You just don’t know how much time you need for the security. And with kids…you REALLY don’t know what is going to happen at the last minute!

We used to have people taking us to the airport, but the last time we parked our car near the airport at a long term parking lot. These are usually cheaper than the long term parking lots at the airport itself. A shuttle bus will take you and your luggage to the airport.

At the airport

After checking in your luggage you can go through security. This doesn’t always go smooth. So be prepared for extra delays. It is often difficult to keep kids focused and quiet for that amount of time. And what about the baby bottles filled with liquids? One time, we filled little Munchkin’s sippy cup with water DURING our flight to London in 2016 and forgot about it, when we got checked at the Heathrow security. The cup went several times through scans to see if it was just water. It took us another 20 minutes!

So, put small bottles with liquids, like shampoo and cream in a zip lock bag along with toothpaste. Put laptops, iPads and the zip lock bags in a bin. Take off shoes, jackets (even vests and scarves) and belts or anything with metal and put these also in a bin. Strollers usually need to be folded and if the child can walk, they need to walk through the metal detector by themselves. You can ask to hold the child and even having a pat down instead of the metal detector thing.

After the security we normally go and find the gate. From there we can go to the restrooms or find something to eat. When I traveled with a baby or toddler I always brought a blanket where we could sit on and it was a “clean” place for having snacks or a drink right before we could board. I explained a lot to my kids or imagined where all these people around us were traveling to.

During the flight

I know it is not always easy to keep, especially toddlers quiet and entertained during a flight. I was happy that snacks helped a lot and that we ( at least one way) had a night flight. When J and K were babies, I let them drink or I nursed them during take off and descending, because yound children can get pressure build up in their ears. When they were toddlers, we didn’t always have the screens in front of us in the plane. The kids fell asleep sooner than M in 2016, when she figured out, she could watch Peppa Pig unlimited. When the kids got older, I bought small dinosaur puzzles and small Lego sets for K and crafty things for J. I played with them until dinner and after that, they fell asleep. A lot of flights to Europe are night flights.

I’ve also noticed with all three of my kids, that they got sick when we arrived in the Netherlands. I don’t know why exactly, but until they were about 6 years old, they threw up the same or the next day.

Anyway, sorry to end this blog post with something not so nice. But if someone could tell me why this happened, why all three of them and why only from the USA to Europe, that would be helpful, also for other parents, in case they had this problem.

Thanks so much for reading! Safe travels and I’d love to hear about your tips, ideas and stories!

Danielle

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my Crafty Dutch Girl blog! Grab a cup of “koffie” and browse through fun blog posts about our Dutch family expat life in the USA, Dutch history, Dutch recipes, Dutch things to do in the USA and all kinds of crafts and activities. Don’t forget to connect with me for new ideas! “Groetjes en tot ziens”.