7 Tips For Traveling With Kids

Traveling with your children is a wonderful opportunity to share an experience, explore and learn about new places, and just spend some time together. Now that school's out for the summer this is a great - but prime - time to travel and vacation. 

Before you book your flights, consider these tips for making your summer travel fun for you and your kids.

1. If you have older kids, let them help plan the trip. Talk about places they might want to go, activities they might want to try, and sights they want to see! You're much less likely to have a moody child if they've helped pick out the tours or activities on the itinerary.

2. Bring entertainment for the travel. This is the time to loosen any restrictions you have on screen time. Watching a movie on the plan with a tablet and headphones is a great way to make the time pass and reduce "when are we going to get there" conversations. Choose headphones made specifically for kids as they have volume controls that don't allow the volume to get dangerously high.

3. Consider all-inclusive resorts. Most all-inclusive packages include meals, drinks, snacks, and sports packages. This can be really helpful when you have kids in your group.

4. Look for hotels or resorts with specific kid packages. Many hotels and resorts will have a kid center or kid's activity zone that may include babysitting, games, and other recreational activities so you can take a snorkeling lesson while your child is safe and having fun.

5. Bring children's medicine. It's a good idea to bring your own children's Tylenol, cough medicine, and antacid. If they end up with a fever, cough, painful scrape, or upset stomach you don't want to risk trying to dose down on an adult medication. This also includes sunscreen and bug spray. 

6. If you're traveling internationally, plan ahead with passports, which can take up to three months. Remember that children's passports expire in five years. It can be stressful and expensive trying to expedite a forgotten passport.

7. Try some new things and keep some things familiar. It's exciting and fun to try new cuisines and new activities but sometimes a familiar meal and a low-key afternoon help to rejuvenate before the next adventure.

Whether you're looking for a beach vacation, a cruise, or a DisneyWorld  trip, I can help you plan a perfect kid-friendly get-away! 

10 Reasons Why a Local Travel Agent is Well Worth the Trip

Should You Work with a Local Travel Agent?

With so many online travel sites, daily coupon deals, and big-name agencies out there, is there really a benefit to working with a local travel agent? Absolutely!

It might be hard to resist that email advertising a weeklong escape for short money, but there are a lot of reasons why you should work with a local travel agent. Here are 10 of them.

10 Reasons Why a Local Travel Agent is Worth the Trip

1. If the "good deal" is what's catching your eye, keep in mind that seasonal price swings are a local agent’s year round specialty. Knowing when to go where at the best prices can make a huge difference in your travel plans and their costs.
2. Your travel agent gets to know you personally and takes the time to learn the things that make you a happy customer. From the best places to discover to the ones worth avoiding, your agent knows what will make you happy and will plan your trips to be the best they can be for you.
3. Your travel agent has the perspective of the whole trip: transportation, hotels, cars, sightseeing, shopping and all the details that go into making any trip go smoothly.
4. If you run into a problem while traveling you have someone to call who can guide you on how to fix it or make the fixes for you.
5. Want to plan a trip but not sure where to go? Your travel agent is a library of travel information to help you get a feel for where you want to go.
6. Your travel agent will guide you through the tough choices: charters versus scheduled carriers, car rentals options, special discounts, family travel packages, tour operators and more. And a travel agent will always work to get you the best deals because their reputation is on the line.
7. Time is money, and your local travel agent will save you time by preparing your itinerary and making all the telephone calls for your information and reservations.
8. You get the most up-to-date information.Your local travel agent knows travel and with so many choices, your local travel agent can guide you through the maze of information and help you make the best travel decision while saving you money.
9. When you use a local travel agent, you are supporting a local business, and that’s good for your local economy.
10. You receive the personal attention of a local travel agent who is dedicated to making your trips the BEST trips.

I love what I do because not only do I love travel, I love making it easy and accessible for my customers. Want to learn more about how I can help you plan an amazing trip within your budget? Contact me at marisa@sensationaltravel.com.