10 tips for planning city vacations with kids
A typical family holiday on the beach requires few logistics; subsequently, little planning is necessary to engage in fun activities.
City trips, by contrast, have more variables, and deciding where to go and what to see takes research. Decision factors include the age of your kids, the time of year and the number of days you have to spend at a destination. There’s great reward for all this additional work: city vacations are memorable, exciting, educational and inspirational.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Location matters
The location of where you stay matters in cities. In general, it’s best to be within walking distance of shops, casual restaurants and at least some of the main tourist attractions in order to minimize transportation logistics.
Figuring out the best location is not as easy as it sounds, because what you want to see and experience with your kids is highly personal; every family has their own priorities, likes and dislikes. Make a list of the top attractions you want to explore in a destination and confirm you have a way to get there easily before making final accommodation decisions.
2. Expect city hotels to be kid-friendly, not kid-centric
A kid-friendly city hotel will have room configurations that support families and warmly welcome children. Most city hotels won’t have kid-centric amenities like kids clubs or kids pools. Kids menus in onsite restaurants and staff who are happy to recommend family-friendly things to do in the city are both good signs that the hotel will work well as a home base for your vacation.
3. Combine sightseeing time with playtime
Structure your days into bite-sized chunks of time that combine sightseeing, playtime and stops for treats. This keeps activities fresh and balanced.
4. A swimming pool in a city hotel is a tremendous perk
Swimming is an ideal break from sightseeing. If the pool is located in the spa, ask if there are kids’ swimming hours.
5. Create a dinner strategy
Some cities eat dinner late, particularly in Europe. Room service is a solution if you don’t want to keep kids up at night. That said, if you don’t want to spend every night in your room, create a schedule that allows you to enjoy a night or two on the town by booking a babysitter, or decide that vacation is the time when normal routines won’t be followed and keep local hours.
6. Confirm babysitters prior to arrival
Top-quality hotels maintain lists of reliable babysitters or agencies. We’ve used babysitters in many cities with great luck. If you plan ahead, you can check references; note, this extra step may not be necessary if the available sitter is someone the hotel uses frequently with other guests. The concierge can provide feedback either way.
7. Create a list of all the things you want to see
… and then cut it in half
The key to stress-free city exploration with kids is to have a realistic list of things to see. Admittedly, I’m bad at this and we end up paying the price with cranky family moments. Weather plays an important role. In hot or horrible weather, the list needs to be even shorter. Don’t get caught in the lose/lose “I don’t know when we’ll be back” frame of mind.
8. Go on a kid-friendly, guided walking tour
I’m a big fan of wandering and aimless loitering in cities. Mix these unstructured walks with a guided walking tour. Everyone will learn more, and kids who are school-age or older are much more likely to process what they are seeing. Guides who are kid-friendly are patient, customize information for children and know how to engage all ages.
9. Take a hop-on/hop-off bus
I never would have considered a hop-on/hop-off bus (the ultimate tourist activity) before kids. These buses, however, are a wonderful way to get an overview of a city without tiring everyone out. After a tour of a city like this, it’s much easier to narrow down your list of priority attractions.
10. Use a dedicated family travel resource for insight
Tips and advice written by parents for parents is the best source of information for family travel. There are many incredible websites today with suggestions based on first-hand family experiences in cities. This doesn’t mean you should only do what is tried and tested, but uncertainty can be stressful with kids. Opinions are a great asset; use a variety of resources to get a broad perspective and then drill down on the voices that speak to your needs.