How to travel with family...and not drive each other crazy!

We get questions or comments about our mother and daughter travel dynamic all of the time! Some of the most common ones we have seen are:

• “How do you travel so much together?”

• “I wish I could travel with my mom."

• “You’re so lucky you get along so well!”

While it’s easy to say we are just lucky that our personalities balance each other out (which is part of the truth), there’s a lot more that goes into making sure a trip goes smoothly for us.

Ready for a trip!

In this post, we’re sharing some of the key things to keep in mind if you are traveling with family and what has worked for us! *Note: This doesn’t account for traveling with small children…We don’t have to worry about that yet, but maybe someday!

1. Planning and delegating:

Planning:

We always work together to figure out where it is we want to go, for how long we can go, and what type of trip we want it to be (tour, cruise, solo, etc.)

For example, in the beginning of our travels, we often did group tours since we were uncomfortable planning everything ourselves. We had some great experiences with Go Ahead Tours and found that they knew more about places off the beaten path that we likely would have missed.

It’s important that the destination and trip length appeal to both of us. Since Pam always had another child to consider, we have been restricted to summer trips when Zach can be dumped with his dad or grandparents (HA – just kidding, he isn’t interested in travel yet). Since he will be going to college next year, we’re about to have a lot more possibilities open up!

Delegating:

Once we know where we’re going and when, Pam often handles the logistical aspects of the trip like managing tickets, payments (we split most things), and other necessary preparations. Nikki loves to make the lists of must-see destinations, restaurants, and all of that fun stuff! By delegating these things, we save a lot of time.

The Notes app really comes in handy for planning!

2. Choosing activities

It’s important to choose activities that everyone will enjoy, and to have an open mind! We try to make sure we have a healthy mix of activities like museums, historical sights, and relaxation time. It’s easy to want to snap at each other when you’re walking around in the summer heat for hours on end, so plan your day to have some time for REST (that can include a nice lunch break or whatever works for you).

Sometimes we will plan a day tour that we know is going to make for a looong day (like when we drove from Rome to Pompeii and Positano in one day), but we try to make sure that the next day won’t be as crazy to make up for it.

Amalfi Coast views were well worth it!

3. Packing together

Okay—we are notorious over packers, but we have gotten better about this over the years! By packing together, we make sure that we aren’t duplicating items and can plan to share certain things to save room. We also are the same size in most clothes which can be a blessing. Make sure you aren’t pushing that 50 pound bag limit before you go…because souvenirs!

4. Compromise and personal time

Be willing to compromise on what you have planned and take time apart, if needed. Sometimes one of us hits a wall and has seen enough of those gardens or wants to pass on the next museum. It happens! We try not to be so strict with our schedule and to account for times like this. Sometimes this even means going to do something solo, which we have no issue with as long as we’re being safe and stay in contact.

5. Document your memories

These trips are once in a lifetime opportunities! Who knows if you will make it back to that one particular destination, so take plenty of photos! We have found that the good always outweighs the bad and that looking back on memories of our trips is always fun.

We love sharing said memories on our Instagram page, too!

That’s all, folks! Do you travel with family often? Have you found that any of these things work for you, too? Let us know in the comments!

-Nikki + Pam