This month I have the pleasure of introducing you to the Thrifty Family Travel family. The Thrifty family are part time travellers with an adventurous spirit: 

1. What is your family travel? Full-time, part-time, digital nomads etc.

We are part time travelers, we travel as much as we can around work and school

2. How has your travel style changed since becoming a family?

   We travel a little slower since travelling as a family, we tend to stay in places longer than we would have without Myla. I also look into things a little more and make sure they are safe etc for Myla, whereas when I travelled as a solo backpacker I’d give anything a go without hesitation!

3. What was your baby(ie)’s first trip? Why did you chose to go there? What were the highlights/lowlights etc?
   

   Myla’s first trip was to Phuket, Thailand. One of the lowlights was when she vomited it all over my partner when the plane landed, it was disgusting! And we still had one more flight to catch after that. Whilst we had spare clothes for Myla we did not have any for my partner.
   The highlight was seeing how well she took to travel and see her happy to interact with the locals.

4. What is your favourite family travel gadget and why?
   

   This is a new one for me but I am now obsessed about packing cubes!! They help us to be so organized whilst on the road and it makes it easy to find clothes rather than they were all mixed together in one bag.

5. What is your favourite family travel destination and why?

Gosh I have so many all for different reasons. But I think one of my all time favorite family destinations is Thailand. It is so easy to travel around Thailand as a family as well as affordable and great variety of food for even the fussiest of eaters.  The locals are so friendly and love interacting with the kids.

6. What is the most family friendly accommodation you have ever visited?
   

   I also try and research a place to ensure its family friendly, but probably less so now that Myla is getting a bit bigger. We recently stayed at a homestay in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and it was fantastic for kids of her age. The entire place was like a playground with little rustic bungalows over the water ways, wooden bridges over creeks and even a swing bridge over the river. There were also pigs, cats and dogs which Myla loved playing with. The staff were also super great with the kids entertaining them for hours whilst we relaxed.

7. Family travel bloggers can be guilty of showing only the good stuff – what is your worst family ravel experience?
   

   Probably when we went to Hawaii, Myla was only 4 and going through this terrible temper tantrum phase. At that stage she hated the beach also and anytime we tried to get to the beach she would scream at the top of her lungs and really lash out. It was terrible – we were in Maui and the snorkeling right from the beach was amazing so we had to take it in turns staying with Myla in the room whilst the other got to enjoy the beach. It really sucked!

8. What are your top three tips for other families who wish to travel?
   

   Talk to your kids about the places you are going to and things they will see in advance. This way if they suffer from any anxiety like Myla does sometimes they can ask questions about what they will see and do and get use to it a bit more before you arrive at your destination. We watch lots of You Tube videos showing Myla what we will see and do. We also learn some of the key phrases in the local language.

   Be organized! Make a list, check it off as you pack. Get packing cubes to keep everyone’s belongings easy to access. And pack lightly – its was easy with kids to have less bags with you and that also means less things to make a mess with in your hotel room.

   Give yourself a little extra time at each place, kids gets tired and need a rest so its unlikely you will see as much in one day as you may have without kids. And not only do kids get tired and cranky but mums and dads also get more tired when travelling with kids. Before kids I’d be up early each day and jam pack as much as I possibly could in one day – these days we try and have one travel or sightseeing day followed by one easy / relaxing day – where possible.

9. What do you wish you had known or done before starting family travel?

   

   Perhaps just be a little more prepared when we first travelled with Myla – ie spare clothes for parents in case she vomits all over you!

10. What are your future family travel plans?

    This year we have a few interstate trips planned to North Queensland, Melbourne and the Australian Outback. For Christmas, we are hoping to go to Mexico and Belize.

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