Travelling with kids can be very challenging for some of us, especially if the kids are young. My husband and I love travelling, so we were determined to keep our travelling habits even after we had kids. You might say, but this is so stressful to travel with little kids – their whole routine is all of a sudden upside down, you need to take so many things, etc! That all might be true, but the experience that we have made so far is that kids love travelling and exploring new things!

Our kids are four and two, and we started travelling when they were three months old (after I was done breastfeeding). Very soon we came to the realization that every time after we had travelled somewhere, both of our kids had made a growth spur mentally. So far we have made all the trips that we wanted, and our kids were always with us……and the best part is that they love it. They love sleeping in hotels, making new friends, eating in restaurants, packing for the trips, and the actual travel (whether with car, train or plane). As for taking too many things – if it was up to my husband we will be taking even less stuff for the kids (and he is probably right!), but the truth is that we can buy whatever is needed anywhere we go.

It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I learned just how important such a family vacations are for the development for the children. That’s when a friend of mine send me a link to a very interesting article by Dr. Margot Sunderland (a British child psychologist and psychotherapist). The article talks about the positive effects holidays has on children – it makes them not only happier, but also smarter. You can read the whole article here www.telegraph.co.uk. So next time you are wondering whether you should take that vacation with the kids – just share the upcoming trip with your kids and start packing together:)

There are so many different destinations and hotels for family vacation, but I wanted to share a few that we or friends of ours have experienced and can only recommend.

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, Austria – www.serfaus-fiss-ladis.at

These are three villages in the mountains of Austria, and are extremely family oriented and children friendly. We have been there a few times – during the summer, as well as during the winter and we loved it. So far we have stayed always in Serfaus, which is the main village of the three. In the summer there are so many different playgrounds for children, a lot of hike trails that are also accessible with strollers, number of different hotels with children entertainment. In winter, number of different ski courses are being offered for kids all age groups.

Kinderhotel Oberjoch, Germany – www.kinderhoteloberjoch.de

Here is what my friend had to say about her family’s experience at Kinderhotel Oberjoch:

“Such a friendly staff, with so many different activities for children. We were there in the summer time, and we loved it. It was great to see our kids being so excited and happy about all the different activities available to them”

Parco San Marco, Italy – www.parco-san-marco.com

“We have been there so many times already – we love it and our kids love it! It is in Italy, but still so close to Lugano. They have so many kids activities – depending on the age group, they have different kids clubs with age appropriate activities, yoga, as well as the fun pool for kids. At the same time they have the relax pool for adults, spa, gym where we could always take a bit of time out while the kids were kept busy at the kids clubs”

Share some of your favorite destination when traveling with your kids.

Stay healthy and enjoy your next family vacation

Anna

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