Planning a trip with kids is a little different from planning a trip as a couple.
You can find the perfect hotel, save all the best restaurants, build a beautiful itinerary and still discover at 11:30 in the morning that nobody wants to see the museum you planned because everyone is hungry and your three-year-old has decided they are done walking for the day.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't plan. Quite the opposite.
It just means a good family itinerary needs to leave room for the parts of travelling that don't show up in a list of attractions.
Here are 10 things worth thinking about before you fill every day.
1. Getting somewhere always takes longer than Google Maps says
Google Maps says 18 minutes.
That's the driving time.
It doesn't include getting everyone out of the hotel, finding the stroller, loading the car, parking, walking from the parking lot and making an unexpected bathroom stop before you've even reached the entrance.
If you are travelling with young kids, don't build your day around exact transfer times. Leave gaps between places.
That extra 20 minutes you didn't fill with another attraction will probably get used.
2. Don't leave lunch as just "lunch"
This one can completely change the mood of a day.
It's easy to plan an attraction in the morning, another in the afternoon and assume you'll find somewhere to eat in between.
Sometimes you will. Sometimes every decent restaurant nearby is full, opens later than expected or has nothing your kids want to eat.
When planning the day, I would save two or three places around the area where you expect to be at lunchtime.
You don't need to decide exactly where you'll eat. You just don't want to start searching when everyone is already hungry.
Also check local opening hours. In some destinations, eating at the time your kids are used to can be surprisingly difficult.
3. Think about bathrooms before you actually need one
Not the most exciting part of vacation planning, but an important one.
This matters particularly before long drives, hikes, boat trips, beaches and places where you might have to queue for a while.
If you're spending a few hours in an old town or walking around a city, knowing that there's a café, shopping centre or public bathroom somewhere along the route can be useful too.
Parents will understand why this belongs on the list.
4. Plan some time where nothing happens
One of the easiest traps is looking at an empty afternoon and thinking you should add something.
You don't always need to.
An hour at the hotel pool can be part of the itinerary. So can a playground, a nap or simply going back to the room for a while.
And don't be surprised if those completely unplanned parts become some of the best moments of the trip.
If you have young kids, I would especially avoid filling both the morning and afternoon with major activities every single day.
5. Look at the total walking, not just the distance between stops
This is something that is easy to miss when you're planning on a map.
Three places may all be "10 minutes apart", but by the end of the day you may have walked several kilometres between the hotel, attractions, restaurants, parking and wandering around.
And walking 7 km yourself is very different from walking 7 km with a tired four-year-old.
Historic centres can make this harder too. Cobblestones, stairs, hills and crowds can turn a short walk into a much bigger effort, especially with a stroller.
Before finalising a day, look at the whole route.
6. Have another idea nearby
Not a full backup itinerary. Just another option.
Maybe you planned the beach but it rains. Maybe the kids are exhausted and the two-hour museum suddenly feels like a terrible idea. Maybe you arrive somewhere and simply don't like it.
It's useful to know what else is around.
A playground. An indoor attraction. Another beach. A small town. A café with a nice outdoor area.
You may never use your backup, but it's much easier than starting a new search in the middle of the day.
7. "Family-friendly" doesn't tell you enough
Almost every attraction describes itself as family-friendly.
The more useful question is whether it works for your family.
A place that is great with an eight-year-old may be a nightmare with a toddler.
Look at how long people typically spend there. Check if there are height or age restrictions. See whether kids can move around or whether they'll be expected to sit quietly for an hour.
And think about your own children.
One family can spend half a day happily inside a museum. Another might get much more out of a beach, a train ride or chasing pigeons around a square.
There isn't one correct way to travel with kids.
8. Don't overplan arrival day
Arrival days always look much easier when you're sitting at home building the itinerary.
Your flight lands at 14:00, so it feels reasonable to plan something for 16:00.
Then the flight is late.
You wait for the luggage.
The rental car desk takes longer than expected.
Someone needs food.
You get to the hotel and nobody wants to leave again.
For arrival days, checking in, exploring the area around the hotel and having a nice dinner is often enough.
The same goes for days when you're changing hotels. Even a relatively short transfer can take up more of the day than expected.
9. Let the kids choose something too
It doesn't need to be the main attraction of the trip.
Give them a few options and let them choose something they want to do.
Maybe it's a boat ride. Maybe it's a playground. Maybe it's a specific beach or an ice cream shop.
Kids don't necessarily care about the places we think they're supposed to care about.
You might remember the beautiful old town.
They might remember the tiny playground next to the parking lot.
Both count.
10. Plan something for yourself
This is the one that's easiest to forget.
It's a family vacation, but that doesn't mean every hour has to revolve around entertaining the kids.
If there's a restaurant you've really wanted to try, add it.
If you want to see a particular village, viewpoint or museum, make room for it.
Maybe the kids get an hour at the pool afterwards. Everyone wins.
Family travel works better when the itinerary isn't only designed around what the children might enjoy. The adults are on vacation too.
A good family itinerary should be easy to change
You can plan everything carefully and the trip will still change once you're there.
Someone will be tired. The weather will change. You'll discover somewhere you want to stay longer. You'll skip something you thought would be amazing.
That's normal.
The goal isn't to create a schedule you have to follow. It's to have enough of a plan that you always know what your options are.
That is also how we think about planning trips with Tabiyo.
You can organize your trip day by day, keep the places you want to visit together, see everything on a map, save restaurants, track your budget and move things around when the plan changes.
Because especially when you're travelling with kids, it probably will.