There's a version of family travel that looks like chaos: a tower of luggage, a car seat you're not sure will fit, a stroller the size of a small spacecraft, and a toddler who has decided this is the exact moment

to have opinions.

And then there's the version where everyone actually relaxes, where the kids have space to roam, grandparents are making s'mores with the kids while you and your partner sneak out for dinner, and the whole trip costs less than you expected.

That second version is entirely achievable. Here's how our family learned to travel smarter and how choosing the right vacation home makes all the difference.

✦GEAR & PACKING

Leave the Big Stroller at Home

This was one of the best decisions we ever made: swapping our full- size stroller for a lightweight travel stroller. The difference is night and day. A compact, umbrella-style stroller folds in seconds, fits in an overhead bin or tight taxi trunk, and doesn't require a workout just to navigate a cobblestone street or a crowded airport terminal.

Full-size strollers are wonderful at home. On vacation, they become a liability — hard to maneuver, a pain to gate-check, and unwieldy in pretty much every scenario you'll actually encounter. A lightweight travel stroller weighing under 15 pounds gives you all the practicality with a fraction of the bulk. Your future self, trying to catch a connecting flight, will thank you.

PRO TIP

Look for a travel stroller that reclines fully for naps, has a decent sunshade, and can handle a cup holder. You don't need much else. Many families swear by options like the Babyzen YOYO or UPPAbaby Minu for this reason.

✦ACCOMMODATIONS

Book a Home, Not Just a Room

Staying in a vacation home instead of a hotel is the single biggest upgrade you can make when traveling with young children. Hotels are designed for adults. Vacation homes are designed for living and that changes everything.

Our properties are set up specifically with families in mind. We provide cribs, pack 'n plays, high chairs, and toys, so you don't need to pack half your nursery or pay to rent gear at your destination. Having the right equipment waiting for you when you arrive removes a massive layer of travel stress, especially on those first-day-of- vacation scrambles.

What's Waiting for Your Family

→  Cribs and pack 'n plays already set up and ready

→  High chairs for mealtimes without the restaurant juggle

→  Pre-stocked diapers, wipes, and groceries available in the home with our trusted partner, BellHopt.

→  Toys and activities to keep little ones entertained

→  Game rooms for older kids who need their own space to decompress

→  Pools, outdoor areas, and room to actually spread out

→  Full kitchens that make meal times easier and way more

affordable.

And if you need something beyond what we provide — car seats, strollers, or extra supplies, we partner with BabyQuip, a trusted baby gear rental service. You can arrange delivery of exactly what you need, right to our door, without hauling it on a plane.

✦THE SECRET WEAPON

Bring the Grandparents, Seriously

We'll be honest: multigenerational travel changed family vacations for us. When grandparents come along, everyone wins. The kids get quality time with grandma and grandpa. Grandparents get the kind of memory-making that's hard to replicate. And the parents? They get a date night.

When you're staying at a hotel, a date night means arranging a sitter, paying for it, and hoping it works out. When you're all staying together in a spacious vacation home, grandparents can put the kids to bed while you and your partner head out for a real dinner, a sunset walk, or just two hours of quiet and it costs nothing extra.

This is one of the reasons a vacation home makes so much more financial sense than multiple hotel rooms. Rather than booking three or four separate rooms (and still not having shared common space), your whole family stays under one roof, shares meals together, and has the built-in support system that makes the trip genuinely relaxing for everyone.

DATE NIGHT STRATEGY

Before your trip, coordinate one or two evenings where grandparents are "on duty." Build it into the plan so everyone knows what to expect and parents can actually look forward to a date without guilt.

✦MONEY & SANITY

The Kitchen Changes Everything

Anyone who has tried to take a toddler to a sit-down restaurant three times a day on vacation knows: it's not relaxing. It's expensive, it's unpredictable, and it often ends with someone crying (not always the toddler).

Having a full kitchen in your vacation home is a genuine game- changer. You can even stock the fridge prior to arrival arrival thanks to our partner, Bellhopt. No need for grocery trips, arrive to a kitchen with familiar snacks, the exact brand of yogurt your kid will actually eat, ingredients for a simple breakfast and suddenly mornings are calm instead of chaotic. Lunch becomes easy (Disney Saver tip: bring your own food!). Dinners can be a mix: cook together some nights, go out on others when everyone has more energy and patience.

The savings add up fast. Eating out every meal in Southern California can easily cost $150 per person per day on food alone. With a kitchen, you're in control. You can splurge on the dinners that matter and keep everything else affordable without anyone feeling like they're missing out.

✦GETTING THERE

Check Your Bags. Trust Me!

Here's a piece of advice that goes against the grain of a lot of travel content: check your luggage. Especially with kids. The idea that carry-on-only travel is superior travel hack evaporates the moment you're wrangling a car seat, a diaper bag, a toddler who refuses to walk, and a carry-on through a security line.

Checking your bags removes friction at every step. Security is faster. Boarding is calmer. You have two hands free for what actually matters — your kids. Yes, you wait a few minutes at baggage claim on the other end. Worth it every single time.

And here's how to make checked bags free: use an airline-branded credit card. Most major carriers offer co-branded cards that include free checked bags as a standard benefit — often for the whole party on the reservation. The annual fee on these cards is almost always less than what you'd pay to check bags on two or three flights, and they often come with bonus miles and other perks on top of it. It's one of the simplest travel hacks there is, and it makes the airport experience measurably less stressful.

CHECKED BAG MATH

On a round-trip flight, two checked bags per person can easily cost $60–$120. An airline credit card typically waives this for everyone on your reservation. For a family of four, that's $240+ saved on a single trip — often more than the card's annual fee.

✦THE BIG PICTURE

Family Travel Is Worth It

None of this requires being a "travel person" or having it all figured out. It just requires a few intentional choices: a lighter stroller, the right home, the right travel party, and a checked bag. The details that feel big in the planning stage tend to shrink once you're there, watching your kid splash in the pool or a grandparent reading a bedtime story in a room they've claimed as their own.

The memories you make traveling with young children, even the chaotic ones, are the ones your family will talk about forever. Plan ahead the best you can and the rest takes care of itself.