How To Travel as a Couple Even After Having Kids

Couples traveling together is easy when you have no other obligations. But when you become parents and have bills you need to pay monthly, traveling becomes less of a priority a sometimes a luxury that you can’t afford.

Before getting married, me and my then-boyfriend were always planning on monthly trips and out-of-towns together. He was my constant travel partner and it pretty much made us get to know each other really well.

When we got engaged, it was another story. The monthly trips were no longer there as we were, of course, saving up and a bit wary of traveling together as the wedding day was coming closer.

After marriage, we had trips planned together including our Camiguin visit, our Hong Kong and Macau trip and our Coron getaway with friends and family.

Back then, we really hadn’t thought about having children. But when the baby arrived, it truly changed the way we see things.

Couples traveling together before marriage usually realises that when starting a family, traveling becomes less. It becomes almost impossible and needs to be thought out thoroughly and planned well for it to work.

It should be something that both of you wants, otherwise it becomes a ‘to-do’ list that may never be done.

Reasons Why Couples Can’t Travel After Having Children

We all have reasons why we can’t travel when we become parents. I really couldn’t blame them as we had the same reasons for a time too, after having the baby. These are mostly the following:

1. We’ve got bills to pay.
2. Our baby’s expenses comes first.
3. We are more focused on building a life around our baby.
4. We get anxious when we don’t see our baby/ children everyday.
5. We’re too tired to plan and rather stay at home when we don’t have work.

Reasons Why Couples Traveling Together Even After Being Parents is Desirable

I have previously listed my reasons why I needed to travel even without my daughter before. After all, having children doesn’t mean we don’t get to enjoy ourselves. Right?

I, for one, would love to travel as a family, too. But there is something about traveling as a couple that makes it good for any relationship.

Here’s some of the common reasons why we still have to travel as a couple even after having children:

1. Sometimes, we need a break from being parents.
2. Travel strengthens your relationship.
3. Travel allows you to spend quality time with each other.
4. Traveling together as a couple is more economical as expenses are shared. After all, you both understand your budget limitations.
5. Traveling gives you opportunities to work together especially when making decisions. It forces you to work as a team.

Tips on How to Travel as a Couple Even After Having Kids

If you are, like us, who strongly believe that having kids should not hinder you from traveling (alone, as a couple or with the kids), then you have come to the right place. We have listed some tips on how to still travel together as a couple even after having kids.

Commit to Traveling

First of all, you need to commit. Commit that you’ll include traveling to your lifestyle. Sometimes we need to really put it on our priority list so that we can travel.

If not, we will just forget about it and travel when necessary or feel like it (which sometimes doesn’t happen often).

Personally, we find it effective if we include it to our priorities as it becomes a part for monthly planning and budgeting.

Allocate Budget for your Travel Fund

I often hear people say that they can’t afford to travel because it’s too expensive. Well, the truth is travel becomes expensive when we think it is. Plus, sometimes our resources are misdirected.

We often buy things we don’t need and goes astray with our budget (I’m guilty!). Some can even afford to shop for unnecessary material things yet still don’t have the money to travel.

Once you’ve accepted traveling to become a part of your lifestyle, allocating budget for traveling is easier. If, however, the budget is really tight, I’ll point you to another tip that has been very useful for us…

Look for Another Source of Income to Fund your Travel

If budget is already too tight to squeeze in your travel funds, then look for another source of income.

So.. This may seem impossible for a lot of couples. And some may even say that it’s too idealistic, but let’s face it. With the variety of things that people engage in today to get money, getting another source of income is doable.

I’m not talking about bad or illegal stuff here, of course, rather common things like becoming a re-seller, opening your online shop or maybe do some freelancing work.

Honestly, I’ve had some freelancing gig to add some cash on our travel fund. Like they say: if there’s a will, there’s a way!

PS: Getting into debt just to travel is really not a great idea.

Cut Off Bills (and Excess Activities) You Don’t Need

More often than not, we are stuck with subscriptions that we don’t really need. Some that are, well, a waste of money. I know, we’ve had that too. As in, literally.

TRUE STORY: We had a subscription to a local cable provider but the TV was broken. We kept on promising ourselves to end the subscription but was too lazy to go to their office to get it disconnected.

It went on for a couple of months before we really made the time to visit their office. So yeah, it was a waste of money. LOL.

As you can see, reviewing what we needed and those that we don’t need plus acting on it very much saved us more for our travel funds.

This also applies to unnecessary luxuries at home. Of course, I’m not saying to completely cut-off splurging once in a while. That’s fine! But excessive?

Ummm.. Think again!

Do Short Trips Only

If you are on a budget and struggling with leaving your child for a week or more, then doing short trips and weekend trips are more for you.

Don’t do long term travel then and you will be spared the stress of budgeting and finding someone to take care of your child for a long time.

We love taking a 3-4 days trip together with friends, family or by ourselves. Since working remotely, we find weekdays the best day to travel to avoid the weekend crowd, just like our trip to Dumaguete.

But, if we travel with friends, most of our trips are done during weekends when everyone is free.

If you are leaving your child with family, then weekends are desirable too as they have no work that day and most likely be free to help out.

Watch out for Promos

My number one tip for budget travel is finding flight promos. Tickets can go down as much 50% off the usual flight price.

We usually book our flights months before the actual trip and booking our flights mostly during airline promos. Like their FB page or sign up for any of their email subscription to get notified when they do have a seat sale.

You can also check out airline comparison sites to compare the cheapest flights in your area and your desired destination.

Plan Your Itinerary Carefully

Once you’ve purchased a ticket, go and plan your itinerary. There’s nothing more fun and rewarding once you know where you are heading and how much it’ll cost you. After all, you’ll be spending your hard-earned money.

I find planning my itinerary carefully and thoroughly will indeed lessen the stress during travel. It also allows me to forecast the budget that I’ll need.

Details such as where to stay, how to get there, fare, routes and places to visit as well as possible activities are all included in my itinerary.

I often use hotel booking sites to check out the lowest price for available accommodations in the area.

Find Someone You Trust to Take Care of Your Child

As parents, our children are our priority. When we’re not around them, we become anxious.

One of the things that lessens the anxiety is when we know that we have left them with capable people who will care for them as if they were their own.

If you have a trusted family member who is more than willing to take care of them, the better. We, for one, are very lucky to have parents who love taking care of their grandchildren when we (their daughter / son) are not around.

We can also count on our siblings to look after our daughter when we are away.

If you don’t have family members to count on, maybe close and trusted friends who will love to have your child stay with them.

In truth, finding someone to take care of your child is hard, especially nowadays. But there are other options too, like hiring a nanny.

Ensure all Supplies for the Baby is Complete

Before leaving, make sure that your child has all the things he/ she will need during your absence. For example, make sure that diapers and formula milk (if no longer breastfeeding) are fully-stocked. This also includes his/her daily vitamins as well as well food and snacks.

Also, make sure that any doctor’s appointments and vaccinations are already done before your scheduled trip.

Completing all this ensures that the person taking care of your child won’t be hassled to buy the supplies in case of shortages. Of course, we want them not to be stressed out while you are away. In return, they’d be willing to do it again for you while you are traveling as a couple.

And not to mention, you’ll worry less if you know your baby is well-provided for during your absence.

List Down Important Phone/ Contact Numbers for Relevant People

As a precautionary measure, make sure that you have all the important contact numbers of professionals or family, listed down for your baby’s caretaker. This is regardless if you left them with family members or a nanny.

Place them somewhere visible or accessible. And of course, let them now it’s there.

Emergency contact numbers (e.g. police and fire department) as well as your baby’s doctor or another family member whom you trust should be included in your list.

Don’t forget to input their contact numbers on your mobile too, including your nanny!

Make Sure You Have Available Minutes and Load on Your Mobile Phone

Now that we are into the ‘worrying stage’, then I’m pretty sure all moms and dads out there knows how important getting updates from your baby’s caretaker is.

So, to get updates, make sure that you have load/ minutes on your mobile before you leave home. There’s nothing more stressful than looking for a store to buy minutes/ lots while you are in an unfamiliar place.

Conclusion

Starting family is life-changing especially if the baby is on its way. It certainly doesn’t mean that you can stop traveling as a couple though. Couples traveling together may sound impossible for some. But with the proper planning, you still can do it!

So… Are you up for it? Share it with us on the comments below! We’d love to hear from you!

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