Almost 15.76 million children are living with their single mothers in the US. Every day is a new challenge for these ladies, and traveling can be a hectic one. Therefore, tips for traveling to Europe on a budget are just what you need.
Traveling to Europe with your children can be a difficult task. The majority of people won’t recommend you traveling alone with children. But it is not difficult. You can make this trip fun and adventurous for you and the kids. So stick around and find life must-have travel essentials for women (single mothers or not), and you can also visit this blog for the best places to visit in Europe.
Although it is challenging, it is not an impossible mission; women can do anything. Let’s discuss some of the tips and tactics for traveling to Europe with your kids.
Travel Tips For Single Mother – How She Can Enjoy The Trip To Europe With Kids:
1. Choose the Right Transportation:
The adequate mode of transportation will be your first test during traveling. Your main mode of transportation will be air travel. Try to take a direct flight from your home to your tourist country. Do not take connecting flights as it can get messy with kids at the airport.
A road trip is not an option for you. It is challenging to control sibling rivalry in the car. The options of entertainment are also curtailed, which arouses several issues. The best way to explore Europe is by train.
The train provides a larger space to maintain distance among children. Along with this, it is; secure, fast, and cheap. Plus, the natural scenes visible from the train can grab your kid’s attention and indulge them for a while.
2. Kid-Friendly Accommodation is Essential:
The first thing you have to do is to pre-book a hotel. Please do not go without pre-booking as it can be hectic to travel from hotel to hotel with children. Choose a hotel that welcomes families. Many people go on a vacation to maintain distance from their families. I believe you don’t want to interact with them and get embarrassed in front of your kids.
Choose hotels that have children’s camp facilities. This will involve children, and you’ll get some time to rest. You can also choose kids-friendly cruises which have multiple entertainment and babysitting facilities.
3. Rent a Travel Gear:
It isn’t easy to move with a bunch of luggage and children. It is essential to pack limited and have lesser baggage weight. One suitcase, carry-on, and stroller are more than enough for a single mother while traveling.
Provide one stroller or backpack to every child if you are traveling with more than one child. Don’t hesitate to utilize the porter service. There are porter services available at every stop. These people can help you with transporting your luggage.
However, the most recommended option is to hire travel gear. You can utilize the service all over Europe. These people will load and unload your luggage from the hotel, airport to your home.
The Evenflo Pivot Modular Travel System can make your travel experience much better. Check out our article to find out more.
4. Pack First Aid:
Children are sensitive and can be affected by several health problems during traveling. They can get a fever, bug bite, or aches. Being a single mother, you must provide the medication and also comfort them.
Therefore, it is recommended to pack a first aid box from home. Include all the general medicines like Band-Aids and burning creams in the first aid.
Along with this, especially pack extra medicines if your children are allergic or have a serious illness that needs frequent medication.
5. Take Photo of Your Child Every Morning:
Dress up your children properly and take their photos before leaving the accommodation. There will be two benefits to doing so.
The first is that; you’ll have lots of holiday snaps of your child in different outfits. The second one is that; you don’t have to stress mind remembering what they were wearing if your children get lost somewhere.
Authorities can be facilitated in finding your children with the help of recent pictures. Checkout our article on how to select the right camera?
6. Rehearse an Emergency Plan:
Getting separated from your children at an unknown destination is a nightmare for single mothers. We all have an emergency plan at home, and we kept on revising it with time.
But, what about an emergency plan during traveling? It is also necessary to make an emergency plan and practice it with your children while traveling.
If your children are young and do not own a cellphone, this plan is obligatory. While planning, assure the following points:
- Do your children remember your cell phone number or address of your accommodation?
- Do your children know your and their full name and home address?
- Are they aware of the police uniform or emergency number of the destination you are visiting?
- Do they know whom they can call if they can’t reach you?
- Are they aware of the emergency kit that you have prepared?
Make sure that you practice the plan twice or thrice at home. Recall highlights of the plan every morning while getting dressed.
7. Splurge a little:
Splurging a little on vacations is not a bad thing. Try to use luxuries and extra services if you have a budget. You can order room service for the food. It will be comfortable to eat in the room after a long day.
You can also have a deep tissue massage while your children are busy playing at the hotel kid camp. After all, you are also on vacation and deserve to relax.
8. Choose Destination Wisely:
Destination matters a lot when you are planning to travel with your family. Take time and research your destination. If you plan to visit a faraway remote destination, then find your route to reach that destination.
It is ideal to be aware of the transportations and route you have to adopt. Do not go to a destination that is too far from the airport or main city. This is because you have kids and that much longer travel to reach the location can make them tired.
Traveling to the airport, waiting in the lobbies, and longer queues at destinations can be enough for them. Therefore, it is best to visit a metropolitan city and nearby places with children.
9. Make Sure to Carry Necessary Documents:
Before traveling, make sure that you have completed all the legalities. If you are the sole custodian of your child, then take a photocopy of custody with you. If you have shared custody, then ask permission from another custodian to travel across the border.
Along with this, make sure you have passports; even the infant one will need them. Assure that your children have completed their vaccination and are immune enough to travel.
Purchasing travel and health insurance is also an ideal option. If you already have one, then verifies its applicability at your destination.
10. Understand Your Child’s Limit:
Children don’t have the stamina contrary to an adult. They are different from you and can get tired or bored during vacation. What is fun and entertainment for you and your adult child; it may be a boring lecture for the young one.
The majority of European cities have a trend of walking. All the tourists prefer to walk through the streets and explore different locations. But, this exploration can be a nightmare with your children. They may get tired and feel discomfort during the trip. You must engage them during the trip and do not force them to walk too much.
Every parent knows what happens when their child refuses to walk. Try using special transportation facilities like; Chinese Rickshaw in Central London or the Dutch Cargo bike in Amsterdam.
11. Spare some Money:
Pay attention to money transfers on the location. Contact your bank and inquire about the international transaction facility of your account. Make sure that your debit and credit card function at your destination.
Take two debit cards, and have some spare amount of money in both the accounts. Teach your children about using the debit card in case of an emergency, like students use cheap dissertation writing services in the UK, in case of emergency.
Please do not use the additional money until and unless it is an emergency. Even if you are at the airport returning to your home, do not use that money.
12. Some Additional Information:
Here are some essential tips for you when traveling solo with children:
- Do not hesitate in asking for help from adults.
- Pay additional tips to the bellman and porter to drop your luggage at the doorstep of your transport. It can be 20% of your accommodation charges.
- Pre-plan all your vacation with your children and pre-booked all the accommodations.
- Do not go for extra adventure and long tips.
- Do not trust strangers with your kids.
- Ask people to take a family photo.
Wrapping it up:
It isn’t easy to travel with children, but it is worth trying. Traveling serves as a pain reliever for you and your children. It will also strengthen the family bond.
I believe the tips and tactics that I have mentioned above will help you travel to Europe with your children.
Author Bio
Stella Lincoln is currently working as an Assistant Editor at Crowd Writer and Student Essay, the organization famous for its cheap assignment writing service. She is an expert traveler and a dedicated single mother. Her expertise and dedication are visible in her blogs
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