Top Resources for Family Travel
The travel industry is notoriously ridden with a lot of "guides" that are actually just advertorials. But family bloggers and parent writers are stepping up to give parents traveling with kids real information based on their personal experiences. We've gathered together the top genuine resources for family travel from blogs to books.
DeliciousBaby
An excellent site I have found is DeliciousBaby. Debbie blogs about traveling with her two small children in the US, Canada and Europe, sharing their favorite destinations, kid-friendly restaurants, plus her site has lots of great family travel tips to make traveling with kids a little easier.
You'll also find DeliciousBaby's excellent post of Favorite Family Travel Blogs, which just about makes this post unnecessary because she really covers almost everything I would have and more.
WeJustGotBack
WeJustGotBack.com is a combination of the honest advice you get from other families with a little help from a professional editor. The site tends to focus more on destinations, resorts, cruises, etc rather than just individual travel, which is different than many non-commercialized family travel sites and so is a great resource for families looking for honest reviews of the bigger destinations.
Their current post is a comprehensive list and comparison of the top travel tools for families to help you find cheaper flights, hotels and family travel planning tools.
Family Travel Blog
Sheila Scarborough is a professional travel writer who keeps a family travel blog with lots of great info for travel around the US and abroad.
Kids Europe
If you are traveling to Europe with kids, Kids Europe is one of the best resources I have found. It has many articles about things to do in different destinations and you can subscribe to an email newsletter on family travel. In addition, they sell Kids Europe Discovery Journals for different European destinations that teach kids about the local culture and keep them occupied with customized games and activities to help make that endless stream of churches a little more palatable.
Moms Mini Van
Moms Mini Van is an excellent site with lots of ideas of how to make traveling in the car with kids easier for those long family road trips. Car game ideas, free printables, tips for car sickness and more.
Family Fun Magazine
Family Fun Magazine is a Disney publication with surprisingly good ideas for family travel all over the US which you can read about on their website.
RookieMoms
My blog friends over at RookieMoms have a fun string of A Week in... posts. Each one is written by local mom and gives you an itinerary of stuff to do with a baby for every day of the week. If you're not planning on traveling, check out the Mommy Poppins entry, A Week in New York.
I really wish there were more great family travel books out there to recommend. The three that we really like are:
Trouble-Free Travel with Children: Over 700 Helpful Hints for Parents on the GoThis book features lots of general tips to make traveling with kids a little easier.
Take Your Kids to Europe, 7th: How to Travel Safely (and Sanely) in Europe with Your ChildrenTake Your Kids to Europe has lots of good advice for getting the most out of a European vacation with kids. It lists some really cool destinations too, but it's not really a guide for any one destination. You'll still need a local guide for wherever you are going.
Zagatsurvey U.S. Family Travel GuideThis Zagat Guide is not your typical guide book. It doesn't list destinations in detail, rather it is jam packed with attractions, restaurants, hotels, etc with Zagat-style ratings for families traveling in the United States.
Here are some of our other top family travel posts:
Taking a Baby Sitter on Vacation with You
How to Bring Your Own Water on a Plane
Top Resources for Traveling with Kids
Our New Family Travel Guide
