Best Family-Friendly Travel Destinations for Kids at Every Age

After having a baby, I seriously doubted whether we would ever travel again. Parenting at home was already hard, and the idea of hauling baby gear while working around naps and meltdowns on vacation felt overwhelming and just not worth it. But I wasn’t able to ignore the wanderlust for long so we started small with a few family road trips. What we learned is that traveling with kids isn’t impossible. It’s not always easy, but choosing the right destinations makes a huge difference. As our kiddo got older, the way we traveled evolved too. Even revisiting the same places was fun because we experienced them in new ways through his eyes. If you’re thinking about traveling with kids, here’s what I’ve learned about making travel easier and more enjoyable (for both parents and kids) and our recommendations for the best travel destinations for kids at every age.

Baby (6-12 months)

Traveling with a baby can be both easier and harder. Babies are easy because they don’t have opinions. So you can still do wherever you want on vacation. But it can also be harder because of all the extra gear you’re lugging along and the nap schedule. Since babies are still napping multiple times a day, you’re not really going to be able to do much sightseeing. Because of this, I would pick easy places that you have already been to. Then you won’t get FOMO from traveling so far to a new place, only to miss out on seeing the things you wanted to see. Traveling with a baby isn’t really about discovering new places. It’s more about practicing how to travel as a family, refining packing lists, and figuring out how well your child adapts on the go.

When you’re traveling with a baby, manage your expectations. I would recommend doing shorter road trips because at this age your baby will probably still sleep through the car ride. These are places where you can park yourself in one place near a pool or beach so you can still have some relaxing time during the day without traveling too far in between naps.

Toddler (1-2 Years Old)

At 1 year old you have a little mobile munchkin, who is intent on exploring and touching everything. This means that you will have to be much more vigilant when traveling, because most hotels and home rentals probably will not be baby-proofed. However, traveling with a 1 year old gets a little more fun because this is when you get to see them start to interact and discover the world. Seeing the joy of discovering the beach for the first time is worth the flight!

T is for two years old, and T is also for tantrums and tears, which we had a lot of at this age. Two year olds have a lot of opinions and they are not afraid to voice them. This can make traveling a struggle. Two year olds have a lot of energy, are very wriggly, and don’t like to be strapped down for long in cars or planes. And unfortunately, their attention span is not quite long enough to be distracted with screens on long plane or car rides. Picking places where our kiddo could run and burn his toddler energy worked well for us at this age. As did picking places that fed into his growing interest in vehicles to keep him entertained!

At this age, destinations with more outdoor activities or interactive kid-friendly activities are perfect for family travel. While you could still fill the itinerary with only things you want to do when traveling with a baby, by the toddler stage it helps to include more kid-centric activities in the itinerary to keep your kiddo entertained and active.

Preschooler (3-5 Years Old)

By 3 years old, your kiddo has probably developed the attention span to be glued to a screen. Regardless of what your stance on screen time is normally, being able to watch a screen for an extended period of time is great for traveling! Because it opens up new worlds of possibilities since longer flights can be more tolerable and easier. 3 year olds also have more stamina to stay out during the day, so you can do a little more with your time while abroad.

By 4-5 years old, travel really opens up as your kiddo has more emotional stability and physical stamina. They have more energy, can stay out longer during the day, and are more interested in actually doing activities. They also have a bit more patience for longer transportation days because they can better keep themselves entertained. This is when going abroad becomes much more feasible and actually enjoyable as parents, making the long plane rides much more worth it.

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Bonus Booking tip: sign your kiddo up for frequent flyer accounts with airlines to start earning airline miles for them! Most airline miles do not expire for minors so your kiddo will thank you later.

Kids 6 and Up

In full transparency, we have not reached this age yet as parents so I can’t offer any firsthand knowledge. However, friends of ours have said that these are the golden years for traveling with kids! At this age, kids are more independent and can actually be traveling buddies rather than burdens (in the sense that they can walk on their own two feet). And they actually still want to hang out with you! (Apparently, until the teenage years). These are the years for visiting new places together as a family, where you can do more nature or city exploration and regular sightseeing, without having to incorporate as many kids museums or activities into the itinerary.

Here are some places I am looking forward to visiting when our kiddo gets to this age (and reasons why I’m waiting until he’s older to visit)!

Portugal

I’ve read a lot of recommendations about how kid-friendly Portugal is. And while it Portugal is culturally very welcoming to kids (families often get to skip lines here) and there are kid-friendly activities, I would not recommend it for younger kids. The main reason? Getting around day to day. There are some seriously hilly streets in Portugal and the roads are all paved with slippery cobblestones. I had enough trouble walking up those slippery slopes on my own – never mind with a stroller! So I would save Portugal for when kids are old enough to walk on their own and don’t need strollers at all.

Italy (Dolomites)

The Dolomites in Northern Italy are perfect if you’re looking for an outdoorsy nature family vacation that is still kid-friendly. It’s got lakes, easy kid-friendly hikes, mountain playgrounds, and cable cars – just what active kids need to burn off all that energy! Because one of the main activities here is hiking, I would wait until kids are old enough to actually hike on their own to save your back.

Costa Rica

We went to Costa Rica before kids and absolutely loved it. We can already tell our kid would have the best time there when he’s a bit older. Between the animal encounters, ziplining through rainforest canopies, and volcano hikes, there would be plenty to keep kids entertained. That said, a lot of those activities require more energy and stamina, and they lean a little more on the adventurous side. So for mom’s peace of mind, it may be better to wait until kids are older and more coordinated before attempting them.

Itching to start planning your next family vacation? Check out all of our kid-friendly itineraries that you can copy to make planning a breeze!