Are you looking forward to getting away with your kids this summer?  Many of us single parents can’t wait to take a much needed break and move about the country (or beyond).  To make your vacation as great as possible you’ll want to plan your trip ahead of time.

Not only is planning your trip necessary, it’s actually a fun part of your vacation experience as a whole.  The fun sense of anticipation and eager expectation is really where your vacation starts.

So let’s get started planning our single parent vacation with our kids!

Include Your Kids in the Vacation Planning Process

Give your kids a voice in the vacation planning.  From deciding where to go and what to do, involve your children in the choosing.  Planning your vacation can be a great educational endeavor for your kids as they research the geography, culture, and more about potential destinations.  Involving your kids in the planning process will get them even more excited about the vacation than if you just did all the planning yourself.

Plan for Downtime on Your Vacation

Many parents, not just single parents, make the mistake of filling every waking hour with planned things to do on vacation.  The reality is that kids can’t be ON all the time.  Over filling your days can have negative consequences in the form of melt-downs and unplanned sickness.  So plan something big one day, then hang out by the hotel pool the next.  Or go on an excursion in the morning and then chill in the evening.  Planning your vacation in this way makes it less of a marathon, and more of a vacation.

Plan for the Travel Portion of Your Trip

Bring plenty of distractions for the travel portion of your vacation.

Pretty much everyone has their very own electronic device these days, so distractions seem like they’re covered.  But you want to think beyond the electronic device.  Make sure you have extra power in case you’re no where near a charging station or outlet.  Have non-electronic standbys such as note pad and colored pencils.  A book of puzzles.  And don’t forget the snacks.

Travelling by car, plane or train can have its own built in distractions to keep your child entertained.  But those long haul trips just to get to your destination can get really boring really fast as well.  Be prepared.

Add Some Culture to Your Vacation

Even if you’re just going to visit with relatives out of state, plan to take in some of the local culture of your destination.  Visit a local museum.  Tour a historic part of the city.  Be sure to sample the most popular local cuisine!  Planning these things into your vacation will definitely add to the overall joy of your vacation.  And your kids will get to experience new cultural experiences.

Plan to Travel as Lightly as Possible

Learn how to pack efficiently, and teach your kids how to do the same.  I’ve heard it said that travel should be about the destination, not how much of your own stuff you can bring with you.

When you’re a single parent and you find yourself at a busy airport terminal, and you’re trying to wrangle all your luggage while wrangling your kids as well, you’ll realize the genius of travelling light as a single parent.

And that brings us to a very important part of planning when traveling with a children…

Gather Necessary Documents in Advance

When you’re travelling as a single  parent you need to make sure that you have a notarized letter of consent from the non-travelling parent.  It is essential if you’re crossing boarders.  But even if you’re just going out of state you should carry that document with you.

Also be sure that your children have necessary information on them at all times.  The younger your children are, the more important this is.  Think back to your days at summer camp when everything had to have your name on it so that it could go back to the rightful owner should it get lost.

Your older kids may be able to store vital information in their phones, but if your young child gets separated from you how will they be able to get reunited with you?  Make sure that your child has your name and phone number on them at all times when you’re travelling,  even if you have to write it on the inside of their clothes with a sharpie.

Chances are you will never get separated from your child while travelling, but if you do you’ll be glad you took this step.

Keep it Fun

So there you have it!  Follow these tips and your next vacation with your kids will be much less stressful.  But even if your best plans get tossed out due to unforeseen circumstances, just roll with it and have fun anyway.

Happy travels!