Traveling with family is not the same as stuffing your backpack with a few things and just driving off to anywhere. Gone are your bachelorhood days when unplanned travel with like-minded friends used to give you adrenaline boost. Try that stunt with family travel and you will end up getting hard stares from your spouse and a cold shoulder from your kids.

You have to plan meticulously for a hassle free travel trip with family. Listed below are few tips that will help you plan a dream vacation.

• Firstly include the opinion of all the family members while planning for family travel. Once the kids are also involved they will have a sense of responsibility. Make a list of what everyone would like to do during vacation and draw a plan of action that gets everyone’s smiling consent. Once you have a proper plan, stick to it. Distribute responsibilities.

• Get all the travel and hotel bookings done well in advance. You would not want to be stranded halfway with baggage and family, would you?

• Travel light. Pack only important and necessary things. Make kids pack their bags themselves. Buy them light strollers to pack their stuff so that they can be made responsible for their own things. Once they have to carry their own luggage they would not be tempted to pack each and every toy they own.

• Consult your doctors and stock up on all the necessary medicines. Carry medical reports if any family member is on medication during travel. The first aid kit must essentially have bandages, antiseptics, insect repellents, and pain killers. Carry enough of each to last the entire trip.

• Stock up on games, books, toys and other stuffs for amusement for the kids. Carry a walkman, CDs, a DVD player or a games station for the kids. Also, buy location guides for the children. Ask them to read about the place you are visiting. This will make the trip interesting for them. Be sure to buy enough spare batteries for the camera. Take lot of family pictures so that you can capture every fun filled moment of happiness during your travel.

• Keep all your documents at hand that are essential for making a safe and hassle free trip, like a driving license etc. Carry phone numbers of the people you might need to contact in the event of an emergency.

Planning a perfect holiday might not be possible. But you can definitely plan safe travel for your family. Remember that you are going on the vacation to enjoy with your family. Therefore do meticulous planning beforehand. Else you will return from your vacation even more harassed and stressed that you were before the trip.