TRAVEL TO

WE BELIEVE IN CREATING A SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE AND DISCOVERY, WHETHER RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER OR ACROSS THE GLOBE. LET'S GO!

CHELSEA & CAROLINE

12 Tips for City Travel with Kids

City travel with kids can be a daunting undertaking. Busy streets, hours of walking, navigating parking and public transportation and picking the right activities from a host of options make city travel with kids something that many parents might want to avoid.

If I left it up to my children to choose the location of their vacation, I imagine a major city would rank pretty low on the list. My kids love time outside, open spaces, throwing things (including themselves) into water and the ability to explore the woods, creeks and abandoned forts.

Mainly, I agree with them. Nature is my entire family’s favorite choice, but cities are often our gateways to these places. Also, we know that cities provide opportunities to learn and explore other cultures, as well as offer an incredible amount of activities that are often unique, memorable experiences.

In our family travel, I have learned to love spending time in cities with my kids, finding delicious food and visiting remarkable museums, learning about history and seeing incredible performances. Whether we’re simply stopping through for a day or planning an entire week, city travel with kids can be fun if we go in with some simple, but effective strategies.

Choose the right place to stay

Accommodations

Choose a place that allows you to stay connected to the city you’re visiting. If you’re spending afternoons there for nap time or evenings in after long days, you’ll be happy to still be able to feel a part of the city.

For our family, this has usually meant finding an apartment through Airbnb or a hotel that offers apartment-style suites. Hotel rooms are often challenging, especially when you’re all in the same room and there isn’t much space for hanging out. Honestly, we’ve seen little to none on the price difference between the two options.

For us, it’s a massive positive to have a living room for times when the kids are sleeping and we’re not, space for spending time together while resting, and to have a kitchen to allow us to eat some meals in. Look for a place with a balcony if you love to sit outside, with a nice view, with a garden that allows the kids to play, with unique styling, etc.

For more tips on booking the perfect vacation rental, you can read this post.

Walking vs. Using Public Transport

Regardless of where you stay, it’s important to understand how far you’ll need to walk to get to the things you want to see. If you’re within 20-30 minutes of major sites (or things that you want to do), that’s ideal for city travel with kids. Walking any further than that just to begin your day? You’ll want to consider your options.

If you’re staying in a suburb outside of the city or have that longer walk from your accommodation, get ahead on understanding public transport. Ask your host or concierge to provide you with the easiest route into the city. It will save a lot of stress to have a good handle on that aspect before you head out. Kids are not often the most patient while you try to understand metro maps or bus lines.

Many cities offer public transport passes you can purchase in advance. Even better, many offer tap in/tap out payments these days – with a contactless card you can pay as you go with no previous planning. Super convenient. Research before you go so you can easily take to public transport if kids are tired and you need an easy escape.

Explain your plan for the day to your kids

One of the hardest parts (and biggest blessings!) of travel for kids is the disruption to their normal schedule and the unknown of what the day ahead of them will hold. Sometimes their lack of proper expectations will lead to chaos.

Take the time to explain your general plan for the day before you head out. Answer any questions they have and set an expectation that yes, there will be a fair amount of walking or no, we won’t be coming back to the hotel until this evening. Tell them if you’re planning to take a picnic lunch or stop somewhere at a restaurant. If you don’t know all of the details, it’s totally ok to say you don’t know. Just share what you do know and what you expect of them during the day so that their little minds can be more prepared.

Take advantage of green spaces

One of the most challenging parts of city travel with kids is the amount of walking that you have to take on. Even when kids are capable of walking the distance you need to go, they get bored with the straight ahead, getting-from-place-to-place-pace that we adults want to set.

Because of this, parks and green spaces in cities will be your best friend. Scout a map before your day out, taking note of any parks or playgrounds that are close to activities you want to do. If you notice more in person, even better. Even if you stop for 15 minutes, the break from structured walking will make a huge difference. You’ll quickly find that their energy returns when they’re free to spend it how they want to.

Once it’s time to move on, you can encourage your kids that you’ll be happy to stop at another park after your next stop.

On a trip to NYC when my 3 children were all under 5 years old, park breaks saved us from meltdowns multiple times. We had such a great time grabbing a coffee and letting them explore that it became a favorite part of the day for all of us, something that we all looked forward to. Honestly, taking advantage of local public spaces is one the best ways to experience real life in a city. These experiences imprint on your kids and allow them to begin enjoying and associating memories with the new city that they’re in.

Seek out special local snacks

Much like the occasional park break, a special local treat is an incredible encouragement for kids and a great way to experience local culture. After you visit a museum or do a lot of sight-seeing, plan a break to grab a special local snack.

Maybe the city you’re in is famous for its pastries (like Copenhagen) or gelato (like Rome) or soft pretzels (like Munich). Build these breaks into your day (or jump on opportunities when they present themselves). Tell the kids about the things the city is famous for so they can also get excited about trying them out.

Bonus points if you can pair a special treat with a place where the kids can run free. Head to the water front, a public square or back to the park and enjoy.

Sneak in museums that are interactive

Many cities offer a wide variety of museums, spanning topics and genres. Check museum websites for offerings for children and read blog reviews looking for words like “interactive” to determine if the museums you want to visit are going to be enjoyable for the whole family. I promise you, if you’re traveling with kids, they will not hang quietly while you read lengthy amounts of text about historical events. Just ask any of the other patrons of the Winston Churchill War Rooms in London the day that we visited with my 2-year-old daughter. Fantastic museum, not much to offer 2-year-olds.

On the flip side, museums like the German Spy Museum in Berlin provide plenty of engagement for younger visitors while also allowing older visitors to learn about the presented subject matter.

Pack the right shoes and outerwear

This is just good advice for travelers of any age. Just like you need the right shoes to hike in the mountains, the right shoes are essential for a day out sight-seeing in a city. Comfortable walking shoes, clothes and appropriate layers are so important for keeping your kids happy. If you’re in a city like London or Seattle, make sure to have rain gear accessible.

Pack snacks, water, sunscreen, jackets, as needed. It helps a lot to keep morale high if you can quickly meet needs like thirst or cold on the go.

Make an early start and counter busy days with chill nights

One silver lining when it comes to being a parent is that we’re often up earlier than most, thanks in large part to the little ones who live with us. When traveling and not in their own space, kids may wake up even earlier. Take advantage and get out into the city when it’s quieter – you’ll all feel less stressed seeing famous sights with a few less people around. Less traffic on the roads, just a chiller vibe.

After going hard, counter your busy day out in the city with a chill night. Come back to your place and enjoy some games or family movie night. Maybe you can even find a movie set in the city you’re visiting. My kids love those kind of connections – Ratatouille always hits harder when you just saw Paris for yourself.

If there is something you’re wanting to do in the evening, build in a longer break in the daytime, either back at your place or plan a longer park break.

Eat lunches out and pick up local fare for dinner in

Kind of piggy-backing off of the last tip, I think it’s easiest to enjoy eating out during lunch (restaurants are less crowded, kids are generally in a better mood, restaurant atmospheres are more casual) and then eating dinner in. If you have a kitchen, pick up some local fare to make an easy dinner. Hitting an outdoor market and preparing a charcuterie board of local products is one of our favorite travel traditions. If you’re not into cooking, grab take out.

Whatever you choose, just remember that your kids will be tired after a long day out in the city, so maybe plan for an earlier dinner time.

Mix in a day trip out of the city

If possible, it’s really nice to mix in a break from the city. If you have a car, I think it’s a no-brainer to determine something you’d like to see outside of the heart of the city. Even if you don’t have a car, it’s exciting for kids to simply take a train trip. Whether it’s a water park, a castle, a beautiful nature area or a smaller town or village, it will benefit your kids to mix up the routine. Too many days of city sight-seeing always wears my kids out, so this is always something we look for.

Pick the right stroller or kid carrier for your location

If you’re traveling with young children, you’ll be taking along a stroller or some sort of kid carrier. Think critically about the city you’re visiting. Is it most important to have the ease of a fold-up, light-weight umbrella stroller that you can leave wherever without too much worry? Are you visiting a city in Europe that has a lot of cobblestones where an umbrella stroller would be a nightmare? Do you want to be able to carry your stuff in a larger jogging stroller? Do you want the ease of being stroller-free?

**This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These links allow us to earn at no additional cost to you so that we can keep providing free travel resources.**

The answer to all of these questions depends heavily on where you’re going. This kid carrier and this jogging stroller were our go-tos when our kids were small and they traveled with us to many places. The jogging stroller may be more cumbersome, but I think you make up for its size with space for storage, ease of navigating any street or off-road situation and comfort if your child is napping or needs a break from the sun or the rain or whatever.

Travel with friends

This isn’t a must, but I think it’s worth mentioning that your kids will have way less trouble with walking and staying together if they’re with friends. Group think and peer pressure are real! It just makes a difference.

If you have the chance, travel to a new city with family or friends that you love and watch how your kids’ love for that place multiplies because of the shared experience with friends or cousins or whatever.

Buddy up & phone number bracelet

It’s good to go into city travel with some safety measures in place. Say out loud which adults are responsible for which kids (if you have multiple and they are on foot). Each adult makes sure their assigned child crosses the street properly or keeps up with the group or knows where they are if you’re in a museum or other attraction. If you switch, as you probably will throughout the day, say that out loud, too, so there’s no confusion keeping the group together.

If your kids are too young to have your phone number memorized, print your phone number on a paper bracelet that they can wear around their wrist. Speak to them about what they should do in case they get separated from you in a museum or elsewhere. We always tell our kids to look for another mom with a child and ask them to help. All of this is unlikely to happen, but it’s good to help them know what to do just in case.