We as a family have travelled often enough that I can pack in a moments notice, and have a ton of tricks up my sleeve. Looking back to our first voyages, it was a lot of trial and error when deciding what to pack for our trips – and most importantly, learning what was crucial to bring and what really isn’t needed.
What it really comes down to, is safety and comfort when travelling. The trip can really suffer if either of those points are lacking.
When we think of being ‘comfortable’ when travelling, I like to break it down into these main areas:
Medications
If it’s needed at home, bring it with you – and this includes pain reliever to antacid, after-bite to bandages. Sure, these things could be purchased while at your destination, but more often than not I’ve found them to be way more expensive than necessary – and just much easier to have on hand. Being physically comfortable each day can really make a trip!
Security Item
When travelling with kids, make sure to include one item which they deem their ‘security item’ whether it be a favourite snuffed animal to a small blanket. Travelling to unknown places can place straining on children, mentally and physically, and having that comfort from home is reassuring and soothing. Even for myself, I love bringing my favourite hoodie whenever I travel by plane – being comfortable makes for better travel!
Clothing
When packing clothing, make sure to keep function and comfort in mind. A trip to a hot destination might not be the best time to bring that big fluffy dress with many layers, for your daughter. In this case, opt for a lightweight and flowing sundress, since the wrong choice in clothing can just exacerbate the effects of high temperatures, humidity and activity. Too often I’ve overpacked on the fancy items we all just sometimes wear, and find they aren’t used at all on our travels. Everyone reaches for their versatile comfy favourites anyway – so focus on taking those items with you.
Footwear
This might be the most important family travel comfort tip for all, whether you are heading to an amusement park or going on an extended week-long trip – comfortable shoes is a must!
Before our Western Caribbean cruise earlier this month, I took my daughters shopping for some new footwear since they’ve all suddenly hit a growth spurt, plus we’re having one active summer this year, and shoes that won’t hinder our adventures was most certainly called for.
We shopped in The Shoe Company, our go-to for footwear for our entire family. Not only were the choices great {as in, so hard to decide!} yet we scored some very great sales, and was happily surprised that I could use some of my collected Shoe Lovers Rewards as well.
My daughters each got a new pair of super-comfortable slip-on walking shoes, since we were going to be doing a lot of walking both on the ship and at the ports {not to mention rounds of mini-golf and running through airports}. Not only did these pairs go the distance {pun intended}, but with no complaints at all. For kids, that’s a feat in itself.
These same pairs were their chosen footwear for all of our day outings since then, as well. Sturdy enough to provide safety on all kinds of terrain, yet lightweight and cool enough to take those summer days without fail – proper footwear for the occasion is a must when it comes to family travel.
Oh, and hats. This also extends to comfortable hats – especially in the summer months.
Where are your shoes taking you this August?
This is a sponsored post yet as always, all opinions are my own.
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Judy Cowan says
07/30/2016 at 7:36 amGreat tips! And yes comfy shoes are a must when you travel! August is going to find us doing lots of camping!
Marilyn says
07/30/2016 at 4:15 pmLooks like the girls are having a good time picking out their shoes. The girls are beautiful.
Marilyn
Julie F says
08/02/2016 at 9:23 amWe have travelled extensively over the years and one thing I have learned not to skimp on is medications, there are different products in other countries and it is hard sometimes being understood, the translator apps are not that reliable either!
Luciano DiBacco says
08/07/2016 at 11:35 amYes I agree that comfort shoes are needed when traveling with your family!
jamie hall says
08/02/2016 at 11:20 amGreat tips and it’s so important to have comfy shoes are so important
Treen Goodwin says
08/03/2016 at 8:00 amawesome tips , i always bring a pair of comfy shoes for our walks and hikes 🙂
Pam Wattenbarger says
08/03/2016 at 9:49 amHaving the right footwear is so important for travel. You don’t want to wind up with blisters on your feet from wearing the wrong shoes.
Catherine Sargent says
08/03/2016 at 10:17 amThank you for the great tips. I always seem to over pack especially when it comes to shoes. I will be going to Texas next week.
Jeanette says
08/03/2016 at 11:18 amSuch cute photos! I love the one where she is wearing a big hat. Glad you found some great shoes for your trip. Smart thinking to get ones that are functional yet easy to slip on and off!
Tara says
08/03/2016 at 11:37 amI always make sure to pack comfy shoes when I travel. With all the sightseeing that I’ll be doing I want to do it in comfort. I also like to bring my favorite sweater for when it cools down.
Robin says
08/03/2016 at 11:56 amActually we have our annual trip to Disney World coming up in 2 weeks, so we all just went out and bought new kicks for the trip.
Kelly says
08/03/2016 at 12:53 pmI wholeheartedly agree that comfort when traveling is a must. I took an uncomfortable pair of shoes on a trip once and it was torture!
Vera Sweeney says
08/03/2016 at 6:06 pmComfortable shoes just make life so much easier to manage!! It really is trial and error figuring out the packing that works best for your style.
Audrey says
08/03/2016 at 6:08 pmWith four kids packing is always an adventure when we go on a trip!! I know shoes is one thing everyone in the house loves to be comfortable in.
Kristi says
08/03/2016 at 6:29 pmGood fitting shoes are important. Just discovered one of our girls hit a major growth spurt too, so looks like we will be shoe shopping this week too.
Kathy says
08/03/2016 at 7:50 pmComfort certainly does matter, especially when traveling. I always make sure to have a couple good pairs of shoes for my whole family. I know my girls complain of walking sometimes, so having the right shoes is so important.
Reesa Lewandowski says
08/03/2016 at 9:03 pmI love that you mentioned a comfort item from home. A lot of times people don’t think that something like this isn’t needed on a trip. I know especially with my kids this is an essential. We don’t have many more plans for the summer unfortunately.
Pamela King says
08/03/2016 at 11:56 pmMy shoes are taking me to Florida.
Alicia says
08/04/2016 at 6:45 amComfortable shoes are always important but they are essential when you are planning on walking a lot. Looks like your girls found some great shoes at the store!
Ann Bacciaglia says
08/04/2016 at 9:51 amIt is so important to be comfortable when you are travelling. I love to buy new shoes. I just bought a new pair of sandals that will be going on a trip with me next week.
Liz Mays says
08/04/2016 at 11:10 amI’m going to take my shoes to Texas this month, and I had better start considering whether I need new ones too. Great tips for travel!
janis says
08/05/2016 at 11:01 amThis is certainly true, it’s important to be comfortable before going on a trip. And those hats are great.
Kelly says
08/05/2016 at 3:40 pmGreat tips… will refer back to this on our next family trip.
Elizabeth Lampman says
08/06/2016 at 8:43 amThe Shoe Company is a great place to shop for all of you family’s foot wear needs. I love the great prices on all the latest styles.
nicolthepickle says
08/06/2016 at 9:22 amThanks for the tips. And I love that hat, super cute!
Wanda Tracey says
08/06/2016 at 7:59 pmThank you for the great tips!! I think it’s important to have comfortable shoes on to
travel ,feel your best and enjoy yourself.We love hiking and biking trails in the summer
so we the importance of this .