Many things on the following list only come to mind when you write them down, as I did. It’s quite a lot that comes together when you’re traveling with children -be it babies or toddlers – which for us means 9 and 28 months respectively. At almost one or two years old, the little ones have more luggage than we do and our Škoda Octavia station wagon is maxed out to the last cubic centimeter.

What we needed for vacations with longer car trips (currently our tour through England), I list below. In addition, there may be one or two tips on how to keep up with the sightseeing program while also doing justice to the kids. (This list is constantly being expanded)

Day trips

Our vacation is full of them, and the magic word in Carolina’s case is “playground.” We make a point of finding out where the nearest playground is before we leave or on the way. Remember: In our case, a playground is always characterized by a slide! (However, it must not be too long or too steep, nor must it go around a bend…)

Travel essentials for longer trips when traveling with children

• A small, sharp kitchen knife (apples, etc. like to be sliced and sometimes consumed without the peel),
• one or two dry towels (put underneath when eating croissants: crumbs adé),
• Disinfectant not only in these days and, what we also always like to forget,
• a bib (more for the 9 months than for the two years),
• if necessary, plastic spoons for the breastfeeding,
• a tupperware box for the powdered milk (it leaks out of the bags no matter what you do and you’ve powdered your entire luggage with the stuff afterwards),
• a thermos (so you have hot water on the go to provide the warm milk), related bottles of cold water,
• one or two Tupperware boxes for snacks (apples, cucumbers, strawberries, salami – whatever is en vogue at the moment) and,
• if we stay in a hotel, also a dishwashing brush and dishwashing liquid, especially to clean the bottles after use.