Planning Family Vacations with Toddlers

Planning family vacations can be difficult enough, but when you’re planning family vacations with toddlers, who need routine and familiarity, finding hotel rooms with amenities you need and knowing what to pack (and what not to pack) can be big challenges. These tips for planning family vacations with toddlers should help you choose hotel rooms where you will feel as at-home as possible and pack the equipment your toddler needs for a family vacation that’s fun, not frustrating.

Choose Family-Friendly Hotel Rooms

Chill with a refrigerator. While you certainly can survive without them, a refrigerator, microwave and extra sink in your hotel room can make family vacations with toddlers easier. Refrigerators keep milk (or juice or string cheese) chilled. Microwaves warm up toddler veggies or leftover slices of the pizza you ate in your room the night before because your toddler’s bedtime precluded dinner in a restaurant. And an extra sink outside the bathroom gives you a place without a toilet view to wash sippy cups. (Tip: Pack a travel-sized bottle of dishwashing detergent.)

Book a suite. When planning family vacations with toddlers, look for hotels with “Suites” in the name. While an actual suite with doors that separate two or more rooms is ideal, “mini-suites,” which is what I call hotel rooms that offer a little more space than standard rooms as well as some kind of divider, work too. The idea is to have a space where your toddler can sleep undisturbed so the whole family doesn’t have to make 8 p.m. their bedtime. When planning family vacations with toddlers in tow, you can often find mini-suites at rates not much higher than what you’d pay for regular rooms. (Tip: Pack a few electrical outlet covers and a cabinet lock or two for use in your room.)

What to Leave at Home