“Sell your crap. Pay off your debt. Do what you love.”  

I knew selling up and hitting the road full time was the dream but I had yet to make any steps to make it a reality. Mentally I was on board but physically we had a lot of work to do to reach the point. We had a house that wouldn’t sell, a bunch of shit we didn’t need and it all seemed a bit insurmountable.

Our house (a huge debt but also a major asset) just won’t sell no matter how hard we try. Over the past three years we’ve tried to sell it on four different occasions. We’ve given up and now we’re going to rent it out fully furnished.

Packing Chaos!

Downsizing from a five bedroom house to three suitcases hasn’t been easy. I’ve spent the last three weeks working solidly on decluttering the house, deciding what to keep, what to throw away and what we can sell. We’ve used a couple different methods for selling our stuff – we had a huge garage sale, we’ve been selling stuff online (like computers, Ninendos etc) and asking on Facebook if friends want particular items (which has worked really well).

We’ve waited until the last minute to sell our car so we’re dropping it at a car auction just before we leave and will have them sell it on our behalf. Going down to one car between us was a huge money saver for us. We did this back in 2011 before a big trip to the US. I highly recommend it if you’re a two-car family. It’s easier than you think to make it work, it’s less stress and a good way to kickstart your savings.

This is all the stuff we’re storing… I still feel like we have too much. If I’d had more time I would have sold more of it but, with only four weeks from decision to departure, we simply ran out of time. The thing you realise when you go to sell your stuff is how worthless most of it has become. As soon as you walk out the door with that special something you just had to have, the value of it drops to almost nothing. This realisation has just made it all the more easy for me to get rid of it all.

We’re now three days out from our dream life. In a few days we head to Sydney, Australia to begin our permanent, slow travel, RTW trip… Living the dream!

Sell your crap. Check.

Pay off your debt. Check (almost).

Do what you love. Check… and I can’t wait! 

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I’m reluctant to divulge much information about it to people in my “real world” because I just don’t think they’d get it. You know the people – your hairdresser, your mum’s second cousin, your real estate agent. My line, as of late, has been “Oh, we’re moving to Australia.” That’s something people can understand but “Oh, we’re going to Australia for a few months and then after that we’re just going to kind of go where the wind takes us, you know?” That is way to foreign a concept for people who don’t know you to understand.

When I have tried, in the past, to explain the kind of life we’re choosing to live to people the most common response is:

 “You’re going to do what?? Is travelling with young children worth it? You son is two, he’s not going to remember any of it. What’s the point? You’d be better off just staying home. Young children need routine and structure, not travel.”

Is travelling with young children worth it?

Emphatically, yes. Travelling with young children isn’t about them remembering the things that you’ve seen and done on your travels. It’s about creating shared experiences as a family – learning and growing together. It’s about understanding other cultures and seeing the world from a first-hand perspective. It’s about showing your children that they can do things that are a bit scary and outside their comfort zone and come out the other side in one piece. I can give you an endless number of examples of why travelling with young children is definitely worth it but perhaps the best is to see the evidence. Young children grow up to be older children who grow up to be adults. The people I’ve met who have travelled as young children turn into remarkable teens and adults. Case in point – the Miller family from The Edventure Project, a family of six who have been on the road for five years and have produced four wonderful, wordly children.

Is Reuben going to remember any of it?

At two-years old, Reuben is already well travelled having been to six countries, four states in the US and three states in Australia. Whether he remembers any of it isn’t the point. The point is we did it as a family and we remember it through the experiences we had together. As a family unit we have a closeness that you get from spending every waking minute of the day together. I especially see the difference in the father-son relationship that Lee and Reuben have. That extra time together on a regular basis is priceless.

You’d be better off just staying at home.

I can see how outsiders looking in might think that our family has the perfect life at home in Christchurch. As a whole, it doesn’t work for us though. We’re over it. It’s almost impossible to explain, so I won’t. All I can say is I know that – mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, on every single level… our family is not better off staying at home.

Young children need routine and structure, not travel.

I know that extended travel with small children is not easy. I’ve been there, done that and bought the ice-cream splattered t-shirt. From our experience melting down mentally as a family in Thailand last year, I know that our family has a limit on how much quick travel we can do… about two weeks.

We will travel but it will be slowly. We’ve found that the actual travel itself isn’t hard. What’s hard is the requirement to always be out and doing things, trying to behave well enough to eat in a restaurant three times a day and overstimulation in general. How can we get around this? That’s where slow travel comes in. Having a home base really takes the pressure off all the little things that are hard about travelling with children. We’ll rent apartments, housesit for someone, visit relatives and friends. We’ll base ourselves somewhere for a few months at a time, join a preschool and make friends.

Routine and structure don’t have to be based around home, school and playgroups. We’ll focus on keeping the same morning and evening routine that we do at home. The same bedtime stories can be read, the same songs can be sung, the same blankies can be cuddled. We’ll sandwich all the sightseeing, exploring and adventuring with routine and structure everyday.

What do you think? Is travelling with young children worth it?

Of course all this is merely my opinion. Different strokes for different folks. What is a priority for my family might not necessarily be the same for yours.

I’m not the only parent out there who thinks that travel isn’t wasted on children. Here are several more posts on the topic from my travelling family friends:

• Mary from Bohemian Travelers
• Nancy from Family on Bikes
• Catherine from Catherine et Les Fées 
• Alisa from Living Outside of the Box
• Melissa from Break Out of Bushwick
• Jenn from The Edventure Project 
• Kris Herwig from Simon Says
• Heather Costaras from Living Differently
• Kalli from Portable Professionals 
• Kirsty from Barts go Adventuring
• Anne from The Journey is the Reward 
• Sharon from Where’s Sharon?
• Annie from Practical Adventurology
• Lainie from Raising Miro on the Road of Life (and Aimee from Suitcases and Strollers)
• Nichola from We Travel Countries
• CoreyAnn from Adventure Bee

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Sydney, Australia!

Using my super travel ninja skills, I found cheap flights from Christchurch to Sydney on Emirates that I just couldn’t resist. Sydney wasn’t exactly on the cards for us this year but nevertheless that’s where we’re headed. We’re leaving New Zealand to housesit for Lee’s parents in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. We’ve been a few times before and Mooloolaba is a lovely beach town to spend a few months.

Doing the Travel Math

When we’ve travelled to the Sunshine Coast before, we’ve always flown into Brisbane as it’s the closet airport with flights from Christchurch. This time around, flights from Christchurch to Brisbane were going to cost us NZ$270 plus and additional A$53 for the one and a half hour shuttle journey to the Sunshine Coast.

I found a cheap flight on Emirates from Christchurch to Sydney for only NZ$174. We could have flown Jetstar at a cheaper base fare but by the time you add in baggage fees it worked out the same price to take Emirates… plus we’ll get drinks, meals and movies. Score. From Sydney, we can fly direct into Sunshine Coast airport for only A$55 on Jetstar bypassing the need for the shuttle.

All up, we’re saving close to NZ$300 by flying via Sydney and it’s a nice bonus to visit Australia’s biggest city on the way up to a small town.

What’s the plan for Australia?

Actually, there isn’t much of a plan. I’m working on being less neurotic when it comes to travel planning. (Previous trips have involved many a colour-coded spreadsheet planned down to the day.) Now that travel equals a lifestyle I’m attempting to be more flexible, open and opportunistic. I want to be able to take advantage of cheap flights, amazing opportunities and invitations from friends.

What we do know is that we’ll go to Sydney for a week or two before heading up to the Sunshine Coast. Heck, we’re not even sure if we will fly to the Sunshine Coast… there are other options in the works.

We’re going to base ourselves in Mooloolaba for a few months and take advantage of a ridiculously awesome house sit (complete with canal views and kayaks). We’ll take trips around Australia as and when they present themselves. We’ll go to the Gold Coast in September for the Problogger conference. Hopefully, we’ll make it to Melbourne to visit Lee’s brother and some good friends.

When will we leave? Who knows. We have to be out of Australia within six months (or else we’d have to pay tax there as well as in New Zealand) but beyond those six months we only have a rough plan.

What do you think of our plans? I’d love to hear any tips, must see places or must do activities you have for Australia. 

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Here are some ideas I had for quickly increasing the amount of countries you’ve visited:

Sun Princess Cruise Ship by busyPrinting, on Flickr 

Take a Cruise

Cruising is the ultimate way of visiting a series of countries in quick succession. Caribbean cruises in particular give you access to countries that are much harder to visit independently unless you’re just flying in and flying out for a resort vacation. A typical 10-night Caribbean cruise will take you through five to seven countries. On top of that, cruises are actually a really affordable way to travel. Have a look at Cruise1st for good deals on Caribbean cruises. The general rule for cruises is that anything under $50 per person per night is a bargain.

Dubai International Airport 2 by Hexagon Images, on Flickr

Look for Interesting Stop Overs

Uncheck the box in flight search engines that looks for direct flights only and you might be able to find yourself an interesting stop over in a country you’d never otherwise have visited. If you’re travelling between Europe and Asia, the Middle Eastern airlines often have the best prices anyway. When else are you going to get the chance to visit Kuwait, Qatar or Saudi Arabia? If you’re travelling between America and Europe, it’s often much cheaper to book a flight with a stopover in a European city than it is to fly direct. Iceland and Ireland are interesting options.

The best train journey in the world by jcb2u, on Flickr

Travel Overland

Travelling overland, while slower, is the ultimate way of seeing more countries than you would by flying. For short journeys in Europe, travelling by car or train instead of plane will allow you to trek through a few new countries. Instead of whizzing through, take the time to stop in each country you’ll pass through. If you’re not scared of long journeys, instead of flying from Europe to Asia, you could tackle it by train. The Man in Seat 61 has plenty of info on how to reach Asia by train from Europe.

Map of Europe, Wiki Image

Travel in Europe

There are 50 countries in Europe but the whole continent is only just bigger than the United States. That means there are lots of countries in close proximity to one another. All the little principalities and city states mean Europe offers more bang for your buck. San Marino and Vatican City both sit inside Italy, Monaco hovers on the edge of France and tiny Andorra is squished between Spain and France. This makes it easy to tack on visits to smaller countries.

All photos used under creative commons and attributed accordingly.

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But, if like me, you’re a location independent professional, you won’t be working for a big mothership who’ll take care of all the hard work. You’ll need to know how to do it all yourself.

Here are four things you’ll need to consider if you’re contemplating working and living abroad.

Visas

What visa will you need? Many location independent folk simply work on a tourist visa, spending the maximum amount of time possible in a country as a tourist and making border runs to renew visas when necessary. For countries in South East Asia this is an easy option but if you want to live abroad in Europe, America or Australasia things start to get infinitely complicated. Nomadic Matt has a great post about how to legally stay in Europe for more than 90 days.

Insurance and Healthcare

If you’re a digital nomad, living abroad, hopping from country to country on various tourist visas you’ll need to have travel insurance to cover you for travel, accidents and any injuries sustained while abroad. If you’re an expat working legally in a foreign country you’ll have different requirements for health insurance. Some countries, like the UK and France, will have national schemes that you’ll be eligible for depending on your visa. Other countries will require you to have some form of health insurance or expat insurance in order to obtain a working visa. Do your homework and don’t ever travel abroad without some form of global health insurance. If independent working is the main motive then specific health insurance for individuals (http://www.aetnainternational.com/ai/sea/en/individuals is tailored to Asia-bound nomads).

Work

If you’re working online in some capacity you can probably get away with using a tourist visa (although not 100% ideal, it’s what most of us do.) If you’re not already set up as a digital nomad but want to live and work abroad there are a few jobs that foreigners are best suited for. Depending on your skill set you could teach English as a foreign language (most popular in Asia – see here), work as a dive instructor, work in a hostel, work in a ski resort or work as a nanny. These formal jobs will require an appropriate working visa. If you’re under 30, look into working holiday visa programs.

Tax

If you are working abroad legally, you’ll need to pay tax. This can be a complicated enough event in itself. Most countries will require you to register for an IRD/IRS number in order to pay tax. If you’re only working part of the year, look into your entitlement for tax refunds once you’ve finished your employment. You will have been taxed based on the assumption that you’re working for a full tax year so if you haven’t it’s likely that you’ll receive a tax refund of some sort. If you’re working as a digital nomad, you’ll still be paying tax in your home country. Make sure that, by staying in another country for any length of time, you’re not required to pay tax there too. For example, New Zealanders and Australians can work in each others countries without a visa but, as a Kiwi living in Oz, you are required to pay tax if you’re in the country more than six months.

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1. Avoid public holidays. As you can imagine, Las Vegas get busy at holiday weekends. Room rates skyrocket as visitor numbers surge. Steer clear of any large conference weekends too as hotels will be packed and you’ll struggle to get a good rate on even the crustiest room.

2. Book flights early. The sooner you book your flights for Vegas the better. Airlines like Southwest have cheap flights to Vegas from all over the country. You can get to Las Vegas from Los Angeles for as little as $36 if you’re willing to fly on Spirit (but beware of their baggage charges.)

3. Stay midweek. Sunday to Thursday are the cheapest days for hotel rooms. Rates increase drastically over the weekend with most hotels tripling their prices for Friday and Saturday nights.

4. Stay Downtown. If you’re really squeezing pennies, consider staying in Downtown Las Vegas instead of directly on The Strip. Everything’s cheaper Downtown and the atmosphere along Fremont Street is still buzzing. The Golden Nugget (4 stars) is one of the nicest hotels in the Downtown Vegas and rooms start at only $55 a night. You can get a room at the Fitzgerald’s (2.5 stars) for as little as $27 a night.

5. Know how to gamble before you go. Learn the rules for casino games before your trip. Blackjack is a good game to start with as the rules are relatively simple. Read through the rules of Blackjack and then practice playing online at Ladbrokes.com. You’ll enjoy the gaming much more if you know what you’re doing before you start… and you won’t waste as much money. Start at the cheaper casinos like Circus Circus as they have tables with lower limits. Set yourself a spending limit and don’t be tempted to gamble with more than you’re prepared to lose. It’s a good idea to take some cash out and leave your credit card in your room to avoid temptation.

Volcano Erupting at The Mirage, Las Vegas

6. Take advantage of freebies. Many of the best attractions in Las Vegas are completely free of charge. The volcano at The Mirage, the fountains at the Bellagio, the pirate show at Treasure Island and the circus performances at the Midway in Circus Circus are all free. Check out my list of the top ten free things to do in Las Vegas for more ideas.

7. Book your show tickets at the last minute. Unless you have your heart set on seeing a specific performance, don’t book your shows in advance. Use the last minute ticket booths, TKTS, instead. They’ll have tickets for many of the popular shows at 50% off. There are TKTS booths all along The Strip including at Circus Circus and Fashion Show Mall.

Petit Dessert at Wicked Spoon Buffet, Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas

8. Get a 24-hour buffet pass. For $50 you can purchase a buffet pass that will allow you access to seven hotel buffets for a 24 hour period. If you plan it right, you can have a late dinner on night one followed by breakfast, lunch and an early dinner on day two. That’s just $12.50 a meal… all you can eat, baby!

9. Ride the Deuce. Unless it’s really sweltering outside, skip the taxis and ride the Deuce – the double decker bus that runs up and down the length of The Strip. You can get tickets for two hours ($6), 24 hours ($8) or three days ($20).

10. Avoid the malls and casino shops. Las Vegas is a great place for discount shopping. Don’t pay full price by shopping at the Miracle Mile, Forum Shops or Fashion Show Mall. Instead, hit up the Premium Outlet malls in either North or South Las Vegas. You can get to both on the bus although getting back with all your shopping bags can get a little tricky if the bus is crowded. If you’ve got the time to paw through rack after rack of discounted gear, there are two “Ross Dress for Less” stores on The Strip – one near the Riviera and one near MGM.

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That was a year ago. 

Some of you may have wondered why we’ve been still for so long.

Isn’t this a travel blog? Should we be like, err, travelling?

Well, the truth of the matter is we’ve been somewhat stuck in New Zealand for the past ten months. Stuck isn’t a great feeling when you’re a traveller at heart. But needs must. We’ve spent the past year sorting out our finances, attempting to sell our house, getting rid of all our shit and gearing up to become permanent nomads.

We’ve been dreaming about a life of permanent, slow travel for some time now. It’s just taken us longer than we expected to get our ducks in a row. But now that’s done.

We’re almost set and ready to go. Just got to get through the last few sets of hurdles and within the next four weeks we’ll be winging our way to a new destination.

My hopes for our life as nomads going forward are something like this…

Learn to live with less stuff. For too long we’ve been rattling around a big house and driving a fancy car. We both know that deep down this isn’t what we want. Sure, we might take the occasional splurge and rent ourselves a fancy property for a few weeks, but in general we’re really looking forward to living on a smaller scale. From our experience as part-time nomads, we’ve really enjoyed living in a smaller space with fewer things. Stuff only gets in the way of life. Be gone stuff!

Simplifying and destressing our life. We’re both sick to death of feeling like we’re drowning in bills. Once you strip away all life’s “basics” like cars and houses you strip away all the stress of mortgage payments, insurance, household bills, car repairs. Can you imagine a life with virtually zero bills? Once we hit the road those stress activators will be a thing of the past.

Push ourselves outside our comfort zone. Both Lee and I know that we benefit from pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone. For him that means travelling to less developed countries. For me that means getting off my butt and trying new things, being brave and taking risks. I’m naturally quite the scaredy cat but always feel a lot braver when I’m travelling.

I’m really excited about what the next few months and years will bring. I can’t wait to get started and want to hit the road hard. Lee keeps reminding me that this is our lifestyle now and we need to resist the temptation to try to do everything in the first year. If I had my way we’d be through another ten countries by the end of the year but slow travel is the name of the game. Even though I’m busting out of my skin with excitement we’re going to take it one country at a time and not plan too far ahead.

Where are we going first? Stay tuned to find out….

Are you a long-term traveller or nomad? Do you have any advice for the newly nomadic? I’d love to hear it.

The post The Birth of a Nomad appeared first on Family Travel Blog - Flashpacker Family™ Travel with Kids Around the World.

A little slice of paradise called Bali.

Why is Bali so popular?

Part of the reason Bali is so popular, particularly with holidaying Aussies, is it’s proximity to Australia. You can find a range of cheap flights to Bali from all the major centres in Australia. From Perth, you can be in Denpasar in under four hours or under 6 hours 30 from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Bali has some wonderful beaches. Surfing is king here and there are many great reef breaks that provide optimum surfing conditions. It’s position in the tropics means that the weather is good in Bali almost year round – it’s particularly good for escaping the Southern Hemisphere Winter. While more expensive than the rest of Indonesia, Bali is still cheap by Western standards. You can stay in a great guesthouse with a pool for $30 a night in Ubud.

Bali makes for a great short getaway but is also an excellent for longer stays. There are many digital nomads that set up temporary homes and work spaces in Bali, particularly in Ubud. It’s cheaper than living in the West and life can be a lot more pleasant on a daily basis. Fellow family bloggers A King’s Life are currently living and working in Bali.

What makes Bali special?

Indonesia is a vast and diverse island nation and Bali is but one of it’s 17, 000 islands. While the main island of Java is predominately Muslim, the Balinese are mostly Hindu. The Hindu belief system is interwoven with the culture of Bali making it some what unique.

A great deal of emphasis is placed about making the little parts of life beautiful. You’ll see hotel staff dilligently working away at stuffing any cracks in walls or sidewalks with flowers. Little woven baskets containing offerings of incense, petals or a few grains of rice will make their way to your doorstep each day. You’ll see them scattered literally everywhere across the island.

After beauty, physical health and spiritual wellbeing run a close second. Centres like Ubud have thriving holistic practices, yoga studios and artists retreats. If you need some time to work on yourself, get centred or get healthy, Bali is a great place to come.

Is Bali good for families?

Families love Bali because the Balinese love children. It’s a very child-friendly and child-focused place. Your little princes and princesses will be treated like royalty by any hotel and restaurant staff you encounter. This really takes the pressure off as a travelling parent. Renting a villa is a great idea if you’ve got a little bit of time. Villas come with an arsenal of staff that will clean, take care of the garden and make your stay comfortable. Make it a real holiday by hiring a personal chef. Nannies and babysitters are also easy to find.

Because Bali is such a popular destination for families there are services that rent out anything you need for your baby during your holiday. Bali Baby Hire has strollers, cribs, playpens and much more. Travel light and rent all the equipment you need for your baby or toddler during your stay. If you’re renting a villa there is even a company that will come over and put up a temporary pool fence for you to keep your little ones safe.

Have you been to Bali? Is it on your travel wishlist? 

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If you’ve missed any of these travel tips over the last few weeks, I’ve combined them all to share in one easy place… right here in this post! So read on, fellow travellers, and let me help you make the most of your travels with my 40 best travel tips.

Wherever you go, for the love of god, eat the street food!

General Travel Tips

1. Want to meet up with fellow travellers on the road? Do a #hashtag search on Twitter and see who’s in your current destination.

2. Get a Skype number. Technophobic family and friends who don’t use Skype online can use to get in touch with you simply by calling a local number. You can pick up the call on a computer, tablet or mobile phone.

3. Commit your family’s passport numbers (and expiry dates) to memory. It makes filling out immigration arrival cards so much easier. No more fossicking through cabin bags right before the flight lands!

4. Fresh air and sunshine are the best cures for jet lag… not sleep! Avoid the temptation to nap after a long flight. Find a park, take a walk and try your best to stick to local time.

5. Street food is a delicious little window into a culture so don’t be scared to try it. Look for busy vendors with a high turnover so food isn’t sitting around. Choose stalls doing a single dish, generally they make one thing REALLY well. Observe how clean bowls/utensils are and where they are washed. Look at how clean the vendor her/himself is – clean fingers, clothes etc are a good sign of general hygiene.

6. Don’t listen to people who tell you not to go somewhere or not to do something. Sometimes personal perspective and expectations can play a big part in why people don’t like a certain city, country or activity. Collect information from other sources but decide for yourself.

Thousands of Burmese Kyats – Spending these feels like spending monopoly money

Money Saving Travel Tips

7. Sundays are usually the cheapest nights to stay in hotels. Weekenders usually check out on a Sunday morning and business travellers don’t check in until Monday. Staying a Sunday night can dramatically change the cost of a hotel booking.

8. When taking a road trip, try booking your rental car from an overseas website. Booking from within the US can work out more than twice as expensive as booking from outside the US. Check the .co.uk, the .com.au and the .co.nz versions of car rental sites. Doing this saved us $800 on a recent trip.

9. Spending a foreign currency can feel a bit like spending Monopoly money so tracking your daily expenses is a good idea. I use a pen and a little notebook but there are also apps like Trail Wallet.

10. When buying hotel deals through sites like Groupon, always check what additional charges get tacked on. Resort fees and parking can make these seemingly cheap stays more expensive than they appear.

Travel Planning Tips

11. If you want to know what a destination is like in a certain season, do an advanced search on Flickr for photos taken in that month. See comments for an example.

12. If you’re planning a trip to a country you’ve never been to before and you want to map out a sample route, take a look at the tour itineraries on sites like Intrepid Travel and G Adventures. I find they do a good job of hitting the highlights plus one or two more interesting places. Figure on independent trips taking about a third longer than an organised tour.

13. Use social media for personal recommendations. Poll your friends via Facebook or Twitter for the best restaurants in town, the cheapest hotel or the most interesting things to do. If you only have a friend or two in your destination city, ask them to post it on your behalf. First-hand knowledge is the best!

14. Find out when school holidays are in a country before planning your visit. Flights at the beginning and end of school holidays are way more expensive, accommodation is more heavily booked and attractions more crowded.

15. Planning your summer holiday? Think about going somewhere where summer is the off-season. Ski resorts like Whistler in BC and Vail in Colorado have a tonne of summer time activities for outdoorsy people – mountain biking, hiking, swimming. These winter resort towns are well set-up for visitors and there are plenty of vacation homes to use.

16. Consider travel by rail. By the time you schlep out to the airport, wait to check in, go through security etc a flight can actually end up taking longer than a train ride. Especially true in Europe.

Tips for Booking Flights

17. Want to know which airlines fly a specific route? Search “flights City A to City B” into Google and the first entry will give the detailed flight schedule between the two cities including the flight times, duration of the flight, the airline and what day of the week the flights run. Searching within a booking engine like Kayak or Skyscanner won’t necessarily show up every airline that flies each route.

18. Conventional RTW tickets (on an airline alliance) might seem like a good idea in theory but in reality it’s almost always cheaper to build your own custom RTW tickets with one way flights. Doing it yourself gives your greater flexibility, freedom to change your travel plans as you go and the ability to see the exact destination you want or try something out of the box.

19. Need some travel inspiration? Use the Everywhere search function on Skyscanner.com. From your home airport (or wherever) you can search for the cheapest flights to any country or city. Great if you’re not sure where you want to go, you just know you want travel.

20. Low cost (budget) airlines don’t always show up on flight booking websites. Luckily, Wikipedia has a list of low cost airlines broken down by continent then country. Make sure you check it for the countries you’re visiting before booking flights.

21. When booking budget airline flights with infants, check if the cost of booking them as an adult with a seat is cheaper than booking them as lap infants. This has been the case with sale fares on Air Asia.

22. Want to know what budget airlines fly long haul routes? Check out this great map for ideas. (Click on the green lines to see the airline flying that route.)

23. Before you select your seat on a flight, look up the aircraft seating chart on Seatguru.com. Seatguru will show you the best and worst seats on the plane plus tell you the pitch of the seats and whether there are powerpoints, personal TV screens at that seat. For families, they also show whether bassinets for infants and babychanging facilities are available.

24. Set up a fare alert for any flights you plan on taking. You can set up fare alerts on sites like Kayak and Expedia and they’ll send you an email when the fare you’re after drops below a certain dollar value.

Travel Tips for the Airport

25. Don’t change money at Travelex booths in airports before your trip. It may be tempting to change money before you depart but the exchange rates and fees aren’t good. Wait until you arrive at your destination and use an ATM or change a small amount of money at the airport and the rest at a bank in the city.

26. Did you know you can purchase passes to most business class lounges in airports? Just present your boarding pass and pay the fee, usually about $50, and you have access to food, drinks, wifi, TV, kids rooms… even showers and toiletries. If you’ve got a long layover or a late flight it can be worth the money.

27. Parents rooms in airports usually have a microwave for heating up bottles. Use it to your advantage on long layovers for heating food. Carry a few sachets of instant oatmeal for emergency airport meals. (You can borrow a paper cup from a cafe to make it.) Much better than Burger King at 5am!

Family Travel Tips

28. Snap a picture of your child on your phone/camera before a busy day out e.g. at a theme park. If they get lost you have a picture in the exact outfit they were wearing and can describe it accurately to people/security/police.

29. Instead of buying new toys, books or games to occupy your kids on the plane, hide a few favourite ones a week or two before the flight. They’ll be pleased to see them, you know they’ll enjoy them and you get to save a little money.

30. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want! If you’re travelling with small kids and need a little extra room on the plane to spread out, ask at check-in if the flight is full and ask the check-in agent to keep a few extra seats free around you. As soon as you board the plane, tell the flight attendants the same thing and they’ll do their best to help you out. They actually do want your kids to be comfortable and happy on the plane.

31. Choose a middle or window seat for your child when on a plane. In the event of severe turbulence, falling cabin baggage could seriously injure your child if they’re seated in an aisle seat.

BYO Lifejacket – Taxi Boat Between the Perhentian Islands

Travel Health & Safety Tips

32. Put a baby picture in your wallet… even if you don’t have a baby! Lost/stolen wallets with baby pictures in them are much more likely to be returned to their owners than those without.

33. Always keep a few hundred dollars of emergency stashed in your luggage. We hide ours in the lining of our suitcase but a baby bag or dirty laundry bag also works.

34. Keep a card with your ICE (in case of emergency) contact’s details in your wallet at all times. If you get into an accident it’s important that authorities can contact someone at home.

35. Safety regulations in developing countries are not the same as they are at home so research/buy before you leave home any safety items to bring abroad… especially if you’re travelling with kids. You may not be able to buy or rent what you need once you’re there – car seats, child sized helmets or life jackets. For example, we knew we’d be taking a lot of small boat rides in Thailand and Malaysia so bought a toddler-sized life jacket along for Reuben. They weren’t available for rent or purchase any of the places we went but we were very glad we brought our own.

36. If you come down with a case of “Delhi Belly” on the road, don’t back yourself up with Imodium unless you absolutely have to. If you’ve got a 6 hour bus ride ahead of you go for the Imodium – otherwise, as unpleasant as diarrhea may be, it’s best to let the bugs out of your system.

Pack Like a Pro – Roll your clothes and use packing cells

Packing Tips

37. Rolling, instead of folding, your clothes makes them easier to pack. It saves space and the clothes crease less.

38. Packing cells or cubes are your best friend. It’s a lot easier to find items in your bag when everything isn’t jumbled together. If you’re travelling solo, use them to separate underwear and outerwear. If you’re travelling as a couple or family, each person gets their own space. Use another small one to bundle up all your electronics.

39. Tip your vitamins into small Ziploc bags. They’ll pack flat and no risk of smashing the glass bottle.

40. When packing, don’t throw things in for “just in case” situations. An extra jacket, umbrella or spare pair of flip flops will take up valuable space and can be easily purchased on the road. Having a jacket from Melbourne, an umbrella from London or a pair of flip flops from Thailand make for great souvenirs.

Want more travel tips? I will continue to share a “Daily Travel Tip” over on my Facebook page every day of the week. Click here to become a fan of my Facebook page to receive them every day.

The post 40 Tips to Help You Travel Smarter, Cheaper, Safer, Lighter and, errr… Awesomer! appeared first on Family Travel Blog - Flashpacker Family™ Travel with Kids Around the World.

Are budget airlines really cheaper than the full-service alternative?

Let’s investigate.

I’ve chosen five key routes from around the globe in order to compare the cost of using a budget airline with using a traditional, full service airline. All fares will be calculated for flights on the same date (Tuesday 1 October 2013) for a passenger with one bag (weighing 20kgs) who wants to select a normal economy seat (not one with extra legroom) and pay by credit card. If flights depart or arrive at alternate airports, I’ll add the cost of public transport into the equation.

London to Berlin

Budget option:

Flying on Easyjet from London Luton to Berlin Schoenefeld - Total journey cost $109.70

(Fare $55.50, credit card charge $2, baggage $21.50, seat selection $4.70, train to Luton $22. train from Schoenefeld $4)

Full-service option:

Flying Lufthansa from London Heathrow to Berlin Tegel – Total journey cost $ 92.55

(Fare $75, no charge for baggage, credit card charge $6.85, no charge for seat selection, Tube to Heathrow $7.60, train from Tegel $3.10)

Bangkok to Singapore

Budget option:

Flying Jetstar from Bangkok Suavarnabhumi to Singapore Changi – Total journey cost $92.85

(Fare $69.25, baggage $14.25, seat selection $5.20 and credit card charge $4.15)

Full-service option:

Flying Malaysia Airline from Bangkok Suavarnabhumi to Singapore Changi via Kuala Lumpur - Total journey cost $198

(Fare $194.50, seat selection $3.50, no credit card charge, no charge for baggage)

The budget option is far superior when it comes to these short hops around South East Asia. Airlines like Jetstar Asia and Air Asia make travelling in the region really quick and affordable. The service on Air Asia is very pleasant and the flights are short enough that you don’t miss the meals and in-flight entertainment. You can by snack on board or pre-order hot meals (which aren’t bad) for a reasonable price.

New York to Chicago

Budget option:

Flying Spirit from La Guardia to O’Hare – Total journey cost $149

(Fare $74, baggage $30 for checked and $35 for cabin, seat selection $10, no credit card charge)

Full-service option:

Flying Delta from JFK to O’Hare - Total journey cost $132

(Fare $107, baggage $25, no seat selection offered at booking, no credit card charge)

The post Are Budget Airlines Really Cheaper? appeared first on Family Travel Blog - Flashpacker Family™ Travel with Kids Around the World.