Traveling smart and traveling light when traveling with kids

May 12, 3:51 PMFrugal Family ExaminerMelissa Newby

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As parents know, traveling with children often means not traveling light.  While you don't need to bring all the comforts of home, there are essentials that you have to have with you.  When planning your trip, dividing your gear into three categories -bring, buy, and improvise - will help you organize your packing and keep your trip on budget.   

Bring the necessities with you

What you bring with you depends on how you're traveling. If you're driving, you have a lot more space and leeway than if you're flying.  Driving guarantees that you'll bring car seats, since they are already installed in the car.  Items you bring should be ones that are necessities, ones that can't easily be replaced or substituted, and ones that are expensive to replace. 

Buy some gear at your destination

While it might seem as though it goes against the concept of being frugal to buy items that you may already have at home, sometimes doing so is actually cheaper,  especially if it's a bulky item and you have to pay for additional luggage.  Before you leave, check websites like Craigslist and Ebay to see if anybody in your vacation destination is selling an item you can use.  Also consider buying consumables like sunscreen. 

Once you arrive, check out a discount or dollar store to buy beach toys, books, coloring books, and pool shoes.  When we vacationed at the beach, $5 of beach toys from a dollar store was enough to keep our kids happy. Before we left, we gave the toys to another family at the hotel.  Consider keeping some of these new toys and books hidden away for the trip home.   I've found that never before seen toys can be a savior for a child who's done with being in the car or being less than quiet on a plane.    

Improvise for things you don't bring or buy

When I was young, my family took a lot of road trips.  When we got to the hotel, my brother and I fought over who got to sleep on the pile of blankets and pillows my parents set up in the corner of the hotel room.  It was only later that I learned that my parents did that not because we liked it so much, but because it made sleeping in a room with two beds easier for a family or four.  Think of similar ways you can substitute and improvise to keep from needing to bring gear with you. 

Once they are old enough, toddlers can sleep pretty much anywhere, which means you can leave the pack-n-play and sleeping bags behind.  While our five year old still rides in a 5 point harness at home, he uses a less bulky booster when we travel.  A clean blanket or towel can substitute for a infant play mat and exploring items you find on your trip can mean bringing less toys with you.