Packing for kids

Here are my top 5 ideas for packing for kids:

1. Limit toys
Unless you want your car to look like a bomb hit it or to spend the last hour of your flight on your hands and knees looking for bits of Lego- Limit the number of toys you take. I work on one stuffed toy for each kid (small), one colouring book with crayons(not khokis unless you enjoy a colourful car), one electronic toy(could be a tablet for older kids) and one educational toy. This fits nicely in a kid size backpack for easy packing. My kids are very into books so they usually have a book or two in the backpack.

2. Ziplock bags or packing cubes
Packing cubes are starting to arrive in this country and they are lifesavers for packing. If you can't find a set try using Ziplock bags to experiment with this great system of packing. The idea is to organize your clothes and it really uses less space. If your kids are sharing a case like mine often do, this will make your life much easier. I use one bag for t-shirts, one for shorts and one for underwear. Z had extra bags for nappies and dresses. We tried this on a recent trip and it made getting dressed in the morning so easy. I used the same system for myself and I am buying packing cubes for all of us this week.

3. Limit shoes
Kids do not require a large number of shoes. At best you will end up lugging a heavy suitcase for your little darling and at worst they will lose those expensive shoes from Cotton On. We pack one pair of slops in general and that's it. If we are going to the Berg or Bush I will take a pair of sturdy walking shoes. Let's be honest SA children love to be barefoot so embrace it.

4. Take extra clothes
Kids are messy. Take the number of days that you will be travelling for and times that by 1.5. That works perfectly for shorts and t-shirts. So if you are travelling for 6 days, take 9 sets of clothing and you should be fine. Take at least two jackets, even on trips to warmer areas the evenings can be chilly. I have been caught on the North Coast in November. I expected warmth and it was rainy and freezing cold all weekend.

5. Always take a swimming costume
Kids will find a pool at any holiday resort and even if its cold they will be in the pool. On a beach holiday pack two suits so you can get one dry while they are swimming in the other suit.

As a bonus, check out this packing video from one of my favourite parenting channels.

Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

I'm BACK!!!!

Okay, now I have two kids and travel is even more fun. My eldest E is 6 and the youngest Z is 2. I wanted to start this blog up again as I really believe that we as South Africans need more information on travelling with kids in this country. I will post about overseas trips as we can all dream right.

Here is list of posts for this month:

15/04 Packing for kids

20/04 Packing for babies

22/04 Camping in Kruger

27/04 Ballito - my hometown and why it is an awesome place for a holiday with kids

29/04 Kid friendly restaurants in Ballito


I will post a list of upcoming articles at the start of every month. Please feel free to send my ideas for places that I should visit or articles that you would like to see. If you would like to do a guest post on the site please let me know. Let's share ideas and make travelling with kids more fun.

The YouTube Channel for this site will be launching soon and I would love to hear your ideas for that.

Kruger National Park Places to Stay

This will be a stop for most overseas visitors and all South Africans really should see Kruger. It is a place that our country can really be proud of. When planning a trip to Kruger your first issue will be where should we stay followed very closely by how much will this cost? The truth is a Kruger holiday can be very cheap. Please use the following link when booking places to stay in Kruger http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/tourism/availability.php The SanParks website has by far the best rates and you get to stay right in the park. If you are going as a family then self drive and staying in the park is the best option by far in terms of cost and entertaining the kids. The most child friendly camps in the park are; 1. Letaba 2. Satara 3. Lower Sabie 4. Berg-en-Dal 5. Pretoriuskop So where should you stay in these camps? Well if you have a massive budget then try the guest houses. Personally I have never stayed in them but I have heard wonderful things.

They run at about R2800 for people and then add R500 per adult and R190 per child. Prices will go up in 2013. They sleep between 8 and 12 people. The middle of the range would be staying in Bungalows. There are a number of these in Kruger that sleep 3 people. The prices are around R750 for two adults and the child will add R150. Prices are higher for perimeter views. This is just a basic look at Kruger. I will do a more indepth look at each camp. Let me know what you think.

Lets get this started.

This morning I was trying to find information about travelling with a child to the Midlands in Central KZN. I just wanted to know which places to stay were really small child friendly. Mr Google was not helpful. On travels overseas I have found wonderful blogs that have helped me to plot and plan my trip but this seems to be sorely lacking in South Africa. So here today launches a site that will hopefully help people with children find wonderful places to stay, places to eat and places to play. I am only one person so please help me with guest posts if you find a place that you really love and want to tell others about. So lets pack the nappy bag, pram, car seat, twenty changes of clothes, don't forgot the child and lets hit the road.