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Hey, it’s us: Amanda and Megan. We’re just two average moms who love their kids so dang much we decided to start a podcast! This is not another mommy podcast, with experts informing you how you can be a better mom/wife/daughter/coworker/best friend in twenty-six sugar-coated steps. What WILL you find in this podcast? Validation? Yes. Laughter? Hopefully. Inspiring advice? Probably not.
Truthfully, no matter how many parenting books we read or conferences we attend, we still find ourselves raising our eyebrows and stifling laughs at our offspring. So, at the end of the day, we just slap each other on the butts (like you did in high school volleyball) and say: “you really tried, and that’s all that matters…”
Hey, it's us. Amanda and Megan. Glad you're here. Grab your juice box. Let's dive right in.
Megan B.:We are back and we have a guest with us today we're super excited about. We are here with Megan Chung. She is a good friend of mine from Boston. So we met maybe ten years ago, maybe more. You are a travel professional.
Megan B.:Megan is the daughter of a travel agent and has been traveling internationally since childhood. She and her husband have three darling girls ages nine, seven and two and have traveled to nearly 10 countries as a family. Megan loves to share the products, tips, and strategies that make international travel with kids more manageable and hopes to empower other parents to do the same.
Amanda:So I have a quick question before we dive in. Is your dad still a travel agent?
Megan C.:Oh it's my mom.
Amanda:Your mom? Yeah. She is. And she still is. Yeah.
Amanda:So that still is a profession like we're still using travel agents. Yeah. That is amazing.
Megan C.:I know it's kind of crazy. She's actually in my house right now. Really? She usually travels like literally 75% of the year. No way.
Megan C.:Never keep track of Like her whereabouts. She's just always traveling.
Amanda:So do you think that's where your desire to travel came from?
Megan C.:I think so. I don't think I've realized that it was kind of unusual to be going international with my kids. Like that's just something that we've always done. Also I'm the daughter of Chinese immigrants and I think having parents that didn't live here or grow up here like I think they already had to travel to get here. I don't think it was as novel or as out of reach.
Megan C.:If that
Megan B.:makes sense.
Amanda:Very interesting. I only asked because I was talking to my husband recently about this because when we went to Costa Rica A Few Weeks ago we actually used ChatGPT to plan our trip.
Megan B.:Did
Amanda:you? Right. Was the very first time we've ever done it and I literally typed in ChatGPT plan a trip for eight days to Costa Rica with four kids with minimal driving and maximum sightseeing. And it put out this amazing itinerary. I went back to you and I double checked all of and made sure it made sense.
Amanda:Yes. It was amazing. It was the most amazing trip ever but my husband and I were like, Oh my goodness they just did what a travel agent used to do. Are travel agents still around? How did they even find the information of where to go?
Amanda:And AJ, my husband was like, Well I think they would just use like books and atlases. I would like to have a conversation with your mom because before the invention of the internet and social media traveling internationally was a whole other world. Yeah. Probably very intimidating and I would assume. The fact that you grew up kind of doing this and not thinking anything of it is very interesting to me.
Amanda:I think that muscle must be really strong. Your traveling muscle must be strong.
Megan B.:The force is strong with you.
Amanda:Of course. So, okay, off that tangent,
Megan C.:back on track, here we go.
Megan B.:So we're gonna talk to Megan about all the logistics of traveling internationally with kids because like we've said, it can be really daunting. It can be overwhelming. Just to travel internationally as adults Mhmm. Can be overwhelming. And then to add little bodies with schedules, it can complicate things.
Megan B.:What is the best age to start traveling with kids, Megan?
Megan C.:I personally think it's young. It's interesting because I kind of think there's just a lot of logistics in people and wrangling when you're having little kids. It's very physically hands on. We know that as moms. But it's interesting talking to my friends who have older kids who are teenagers that they say it's actually harder to travel at that age because you've got boyfriends and girlfriends and extracurriculars and school and all of these other things that are demanding on their time.
Megan C.:And also they're at a phase where they don't necessarily wanna go on a trip with their family. And so I actually think it's easier to start when they're young because you're used to being around each other. Yeah. You know what I And I feel like there's always a little bit of growing pains. Think about how hard it is on school breaks.
Megan C.:Yes. Your whole family who is usually everyone's doing their own thing. It's productive. You're throwing them all in this small place Yep. Together 20 fourseven.
Megan C.:Yeah. I do think there's a little bit of ease when they're younger.
Amanda:I agree. I have
Megan C.:to agree with you.
Amanda:Think that makes a lot of sense. And also just starts that habit. Your kids start to get in the mindset of like, oh this is what we're gonna do everyone buckle in. Think it just creates habits earlier. Yes.
Amanda:I like that. When you took your first international trip with your husband and a child or two, how old was your Did you Have you ever traveled like a newborn? I've never taken a newborn on an international trip. The first time we took our kids international, my youngest was 18. And I remember being like, this is doable.
Amanda:So have you taken younger than that? I think the youngest we've done international
Megan C.:would be 12.
Amanda:12 months.
Megan C.:Okay. I've done pregnant a couple times.
Amanda:Okay. Which is a whole other beast. It's a whole other beast, at least that one's contained. There's that.
Megan B.:I am serious. You can't misplace those. No air tag needed. Yeah,
Amanda:yeah. How far in advance do you usually plan international trips when you
Megan C.:go with your kids? I don't think I'm very intentional about it. Okay. I think it could be anywhere from four to ten months in advance. If I see a good deal and it's a good time of year or if the timing works, our youngest is two, I feel like we're still planning around pregnancy and Sure.
Megan C.:Do know I mean? And like babies. Sure. And so if something works and the timing is good then I just do it. Like love it.
Amanda:So And I like that you say you also just do it because I actually think the more we think about it the less likely it'll happen. Because I can definitely talk myself out of a trip by being like you know the timing's not great or that's very big or I don't know if my kids can handle you know going to a new beach in Greece. Don't know. But like I can talk myself out of it if I think too much. I think you're right when you say just go for it.
Amanda:Just go if all the ducks are in a row just go for it.
Megan C.:Yes. I had a trip like that where we ended up going to Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia. Okay. So it was crazy. I was telling Megan it was the longest commercial flight in the world.
Megan C.:So it's eighteen and a half hours. I had two kids. Woah. And I was like five months pregnant. And we ran into some tricky situations.
Megan C.:And I think in retrospect, was like, what was I doing? No one knows that we're coming. There was no one waiting for us. Everything was just like planned on my own. And I remember thinking like this could have been the stupidest thing that I've ever just done.
Megan C.:So I actually agree you just like do it. But also the point of this is to show people that you can do it. I actually think like a five hour flight is harder than a long haul.
Megan B.:Really? Why is that?
Megan C.:So I think in a five hour flight there's not enough time to get around and move around.
Megan B.:You're in
Megan C.:a smaller aircraft. There's like kind of some snacks and there's kind of some drinks but you're really just wrangling a child. And also the entertainment is not necessarily very substantial. And so if you can do that you can definitely do a long haul because you have meals, you have sleep, you have places to move around. There's just more flexibility I think.
Amanda:And maybe there's also the mental aspect too of like, we're gonna be on this
Megan C.:flight for ten hours.
Amanda:So everyone buckle in. I think my kids are the same way. Our hardest flights are usually like the two hour flights. And it's like okay that was weird.
Megan C.:I don't plan super well for those. Like oh that's just the blip. And then I'm like oh my gosh is taking forever. Wrangling my two year old is so But then you get on a big plane and also with the big planes, they have better entertainment. Yes.
Megan B.:How do you choose the locations of your trips? Is it just based on deals that pop up or are you more intentional about choosing locations?
Megan C.:That's a good question. I think the way that I choose my locations is based on experiences. We have tried to gravitate towards less things and more experiences. And so for example, I watched Crazy Rich Asians and I was obsessed. And I was like, I wanna go live my Crazy Rich Asian life.
Megan C.:So, you know, in the very last scene, there's that engagement party on top of that big iconic hotel. It looks kinda like there's like a plane on three pillars. Yeah. So that's the Marina Bay Sands. It's the world's tallest rooftop pool.
Megan C.:It's like 57 levels up. Anyway, was like, I wanna go swim in the pool. I'm gonna stay at that hotel. I wanna be bougie. Yeah.
Megan C.:So we did. So that's why I did that. What? And then like the most recent one we went to Australia. I did live there for eighteen months a long time ago and I've been wanting to go back.
Megan C.:Bluey's world is there right now.
Amanda:Oh, that's right.
Megan C.:And we're into Formula One. So there was a Melbourne Grand Prix. Cool. And my husband has this list of 40 things he wants to do before he's 40. And one of them was an international Grand Prix.
Megan C.:So it was one of those things where I think I let experiences that I wanna do, notice it's kind of selfish. I'm just, I'm gonna drag my kids along. But I just think about the experiences that I wanna have. And then I just bring my family.
Megan B.:Yeah. All those bluey duck cakes lined up in a row for you.
Megan C.:My gosh. Yes.
Amanda:That's so cool. That's
Megan B.:pretty cool. That's way cool. That is really cool. That makes sense. And I like that you're intentionally planning.
Megan B.:What of our goals as a family or individually can we hit through this trip? Not just like going to go. It's kind of neat when you make it intentional like that.
Amanda:Yeah. I agree. That's very cool. What are the most important things you bring on a flight with your kids?
Megan C.:Oh, there's so many things. I'm gonna try and make this succinct.
Megan B.:Keep going.
Megan C.:But I would say if you had to say like the most essential thing, I think is to bring any comfort items like loveys. Things that are gonna help your kids feel more at home. Okay. Because the reality is you're gonna be changing locations. You're gonna be in unfamiliar environments and anything that can help your kid feel a little bit more tethered I think and a little bit more settled emotionally.
Megan C.:Sure.
Amanda:I think is really helpful.
Megan C.:Okay. So I would say that's an essential because that's irreplaceable honestly. Before our Australia trip I was talking to my seven year old and she has these little burp cloths. And I was telling her before Australia, I was like, okay, we need to be careful. We can't bring too many of your Ny Ny's because you know what happened in Vietnam.
Megan C.:Yeah. We lost it. Yeah. And she starts she looks at me and she just goes, Mom, don't talk about Carol. She has made me stop.
Megan C.:They were saying Carol? Yes. And I forgot that they had like a little, they wrote down like rip Carol when we were in Vietnam because we lost her and they made like a little Oh
Amanda:my gosh.
Megan C.:So anyway, those things.
Megan B.:Poor Carol.
Megan C.:Poor Carol. Don't lose Carol.
Megan B.:Well, we do the same thing. When we travel internationally, we always have our kids choose one small stuffy to bring with them, all of them. And they they get it out on the airplanes. They sleep with it wherever we go. Do your kids bring anything with them?
Amanda:No. I'm sitting here going, I am a monster mother. Like, I'm like, no. Are not.
Megan B.:Keep your
Amanda:buffalo blanket at home. Okay. Yeah. I'm wearing something. Continue.
Amanda:Go ahead.
Megan C.:Well, it does mean it has more things that you have to keep track of. Yeah. If it's gonna help them feel more regulated and help them sleep better. Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Megan C.:Sleep is What
Megan B.:else is an essential for the flight?
Megan C.:The flight, I would say snacks. Well if you're talking long haul, they're gonna have meals on board. You can usually request them ahead of time. But if you have a picky eater bring snacks. Snacks are never a bad thing.
Megan C.:I do have hacks for packing them but maybe that'll come later.
Megan B.:Well what do do? What you do?
Amanda:Tell us now. Do Okay fine.
Megan B.:I'll give you the information. Twist her arm. Have
Megan C.:you heard of the snackle box trend?
Megan B.:Yes.
Amanda:No. No, what?
Megan C.:Okay, so think tackle box. Oh, that's what
Amanda:we're calling it. But full
Megan C.:of snacks.
Amanda:Oh guys, I did that back in 2014. Oh, really want see. With a with a little craft, a bead container. You know
Megan B.:those bead containers? Yes. That's literally what it is. Yeah.
Megan C.:Because I would have all
Amanda:the time from New York to Utah with my two little kids. And so I didn't know there was a name
Megan B.:for it. Snackle box.
Amanda:A snackle box? Yeah. Don't
Megan B.:say it like that. Snackle box. That's totally what
Amanda:I would do. Okay. Continue. Press on because some people might not know about it.
Megan C.:And actually, it's pretty it's pretty snazzy. So basically, it's what you said. It's like a picture of your bead organizer Yeah. With a lid. Mhmm.
Megan C.:And then fill all of the different compartments with snacks.
Amanda:Yep. That's really
Megan B.:what it is. But you've learned there are certain snacks that travel better than other snacks.
Amanda:Oh, yes.
Megan B.:Just tell us a couple of your hard lessons learned.
Megan C.:Oh, yeah. Lots of lessons learned. Don't put anything
Amanda:moist. I know.
Megan C.:Like fresh fruit. Yeah. Oh, definitely don't travel with any fresh stuff like that. Mean, you wanna bring like clementines clothes, like put them in a separate Sure. But anything wet, the organizers aren't Spill proof.
Amanda:Yeah. Spill proof.
Megan C.:That's the word. So nothing wet. My husband, he likes to have a separate snack box for like anything savory like beef jerky and stuff. And then keep separate from his sweets.
Megan B.:Yeah. So he has two snack boxes? He does. Love it.
Amanda:Love it.
Megan C.:That's awesome. Yeah. So I do notice that it doesn't hold up well in humid areas. We did bring him to Costa Rica and it was really helpful because I don't know how you did it but we had a huge drive afterward and it was helpful because we just brought our snackle boxes from the trip or from the flight and then brought them in the car and my husband was driving and like feeding himself it makes it really helpful for autonomy. If your kid wants a snack of Goldfish they get halfway through and they're like I don't want this anymore.
Megan C.:So now you have all these opened but unfinished bags of food. There's a lot of waste. You can just graze.
Amanda:Yeah and it just is more convenient. Here's this whole box. Take your pick. I'm not going to like sit here and babysit you. Exactly.
Amanda:I agree. I think that's really wise. I still have my snack a box if anyone wants it. I just found it in my like cover the other day because we haven't used it in years.
Megan C.:Well maybe you don't know.
Amanda:Yeah. Don't know. I will.
Megan B.:Time to bust
Megan C.:out Just use it for like Take my kids. Drop off.
Megan B.:Yeah. Told my kids, mom what
Amanda:did you bring? It is not for you.
Megan B.:This is the mommy snackle box That's right.
Megan C.:Very good. One more trend that is going around and that I really like. There's some really great trends. But one of them is, you know, those travel makeup toiletry bags that like fold out. Oh, And they're like vinyl and you have all these different zippered compartments and it's see through.
Megan B.:Mhmm.
Amanda:Yeah.
Megan C.:Okay. So using that for like toddler activities has been a game changer for me. I used to bring like a diaper bag, And you throw all the toys inside. And then when it's underneath your feet underneath the seat in front of you, it is kind of hard if you have a baby in your lap trying to reach in and get a new toy and then you're dropping it.
Megan B.:Yeah, I used it in England. When we went to England last summer, I had it for my kids and then we used it again for our most recent trip. And it is life changing. And everything is in one. If a kid wants something to play with, you just get out one thing and say, take what you want.
Megan B.:It's just all in one. Yeah. This is a game changer.
Amanda:What did you put in yours, Megan B? Because your kids are a little older.
Megan B.:Do know those scratchy things? They're black and can scratch art. I had a huge pack of that from the Dollar Tree. I had Dorables, you know Disney Dorables. My kids love those.
Megan B.:So I always put new ones in every time. And then there is a whole section of the click markers. Because then there's no lid. So they can't lose lids,
Megan C.:is great.
Megan B.:Those are the things that my kids always go back to. And then these fidget things, having it all in one container is really life changing. And it goes in one backpack. And so if someone wants it, we could pass it to the one kid. And I'm glad you mentioned that.
Megan C.:I also like something else you mentioned about Dollar Tree. I find that I always do a Dollar Tree run because novel things, things that are new to your kids will keep them entertained. Yeah. And then also you don't have to worry about losing them because they're cheap. We sometimes bring like the cheap Lego.
Megan C.:I actually bring Play Doh. It's actually a huge helpful And I bring disposable placemats that are adhesive so that it doesn't get all over the tray table because I just want to be respectful of the airplane. So Play Doh has been a good one too. Paint by sticker books. My kids like those.
Megan C.:My kids really like those. And then the other one I was gonna say window clings if you're gonna be on a window.
Amanda:But you can even put them on the back of the seat too. You can use window in a few different ways.
Megan C.:My biggest one is office supplies. Yeah. That sounds ridiculous. But it's like the stuff that you don't want them to play with at home tape. Post it, tabs.
Megan C.:That's just endless. Towing, washi tape, junk like that. Yeah. Super helpful.
Megan B.:Megan, what are the best airlines for traveling with kids?
Amanda:Throw them under the bus.
Megan C.:Oh, people hear this.
Megan B.:It's fine.
Megan C.:Domestically, I feel like in terms of baggage allowance with kids and getting seated next to each other, I feel like they're all kind of the same. Really? I have my preferences. But I'm not gonna say, oh my gosh, this is this is arguably the best one for families. I prefer flying Delta.
Megan B.:Amen. Amen. Amen.
Megan C.:Yeah. Just
Megan B.:because seat back TVs. Amen. Oh my gosh. Yes. Because we went to America changing.
Megan B.:Yes.
Megan C.:Because we went we took American Airlines to Costa Rica. And I was like the one that goes there. Yeah. And I was like, what is this garbage? Like, there is
Megan B.:oh my gosh. Was so rude. No. It's fair because Amanda said the exact same thing when they came back from their trip. She said it was the worst because there was no entertainment.
Megan B.:And you guys had planned on there being entertainment. Right?
Amanda:Well, because it's 2025, guys. Haven't we learned our lesson? Yes. And that was fresh. American thinks they're compensating you because it's like, I honestly What?
Megan B.:How are they compensating you? They give you a can of coke instead of a cup?
Amanda:No. I don't feel bad like saying this about them because I've flown many an airline. And I will now only fly Delta. Yeah. But American, they think that it's okay because they give you free WiFi.
Amanda:And so you open up your phone and it's like here's all of the videos you can choose from. But guess what? My kids don't have phones. Right. And I'm not gonna bring iPads.
Amanda:So we literally like, okay big kids you get this phone, you get this phone. Yeah. So that's how I think they think they can slide by. But there is benefits. And so like when you're on your phone too, the in the row in front of me didn't have headphones because he yells at him.
Amanda:So he listened to his movie Oh no. Like the whole time. Gosh. And the woman next to him was losing her mind. Even I was getting it was like a world war.
Amanda:It was like a really gruesome movie.
Megan C.:Oh my goodness.
Amanda:So but see that's like that's if you're if it's like Delta you're in your own little space. There are superior airlines.
Megan C.:Yeah. Well I personally find my favorites are Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific. I have on them a long time but I remember loving them. And also we just did Fiji Airways. And I really like them because I actually feel like they take care of your kids.
Megan C.:They'll bring you like a kid kit.
Megan B.:Mhmm.
Amanda:Yeah. Oh, that's cool. And like they'll do things for
Megan C.:your kids. It's not just like they tolerate you or they have a good aircraft.
Megan B.:The Scandinavian airline, we flew them quite a bit when we went to Denmark and Sweden. And they also gave our kids these little passports, these
Amanda:little like
Megan B.:activity kits, which was really they even offered my almost 13 year old, like, do you want one? And the first flight, he goes, no. But by the third flight Kudos to airlines who just go the extra mile. The satellite, the little pin wings are fine.
Megan C.:I hear you can get trading cards from the pilots. You can. We've gotten them. Oh,
Megan B.:you have? Yes.
Amanda:What do mean?
Megan B.:Each airplane has its own individual trading card. So if you ask the pilot, they will give you a trading card. Have something laying That's
Amanda:cool. Megan, we'll have the last say in this, Megan C. But depending on where you go, I've now learned my lesson. You should look ahead of time at what your airline is going to offer you because
Megan C.:A %.
Amanda:I was wrong to assume that American because it's like a bigger airline and because it was to Costa Rica. I was wrong to assume that they would have the amenities that I expected. Yes. That was my fault. That was my fault.
Amanda:So I would just tell anyone no matter where you are flying in the world, you should just look and see what your airline offers so that you are mentally prepared. Yes. Even if it's all the works. You just wanna know that it's all the works.
Megan B.:Do your homework.
Megan C.:Do your homework
Amanda:because once a flight's booked does not mean that it's gonna be smooth sailing.
Megan C.:I think going off of that is checking your checked luggage policy because I thought for that Costa Rica flight we would have checked bags for free because it's international. Yep. No.
Megan B.:But it is international.
Megan C.:Correct. But I bet it has to do with like territories or something in your area.
Amanda:So speaking of check bags, do you recommend that people check bags or do you like to carry on? How do you with luggage? I feel like there's two camps. There's team
Megan C.:carry on and there's team check bag. Yeah.
Megan B.:You're team carry on.
Amanda:I'm team carry on.
Megan B.:We're team carry on now. We didn't used to be, but we are now. So that's
Megan C.:right. Have had
Amanda:to be What do mean?
Megan C.:Oh, I am team checked bag all the way. What? Convince us. 1,000. Okay.
Megan C.:So my kids are young, and even though they're nine and seven, my two girls look like they're five. Okay. We're shrimps. We're short. And they're just not independent enough Okay.
Megan C.:To bring their own luggage.
Megan B.:Mhmm.
Megan C.:And so that's one factor. Second, if you're worried about baggage fees, get a credit card that pays for your baggage fees. Okay. Yeah. So you're not paying anything extra.
Amanda:Yeah, that's wise.
Megan C.:Okay. And also if you're going long haul, I like to buy things. I love to shop. And so I wanna have room for stuff when I come home.
Amanda:Okay.
Megan C.:And then also when you were walking around and going through the airport, you're kind of a circus, especially because our kids are young. Like right now, just recently traveling with that two year old, we have a lot of stuff as it is. Getting on an aircraft, I've got a baby strap to my front. I've got a bag in the front and it travels really on me. Have so many things to so to have to keep track of an additional bag feels like a little bit too much.
Megan C.:And my husband always looks like a pack meal anyway without us having our baggage.
Amanda:This is interesting because your kids are young. And so maybe the advice to listeners is if you have children that cannot handle their own luggage you should check your bag because you're right to have your hands free is a huge asset. But once you have a 13 year old who can carry his own luggage like your son can, maybe you reevaluate, okay, can we now start carrying on our bags?
Megan B.:We have officially reached that sweet spot where my three older kids can be responsible for a carry on suitcase, a rolling carry on suitcase. However, do they complain about it? Absolutely. With every step of the way
Amanda:they usually complain about, but they
Megan B.:can do it. So maybe it's just figuring out, yes, what's the tolerance level of that? Because so when we went to Denmark and Sweden, we were here at the Salt Lake City Airport and had already checked in for our flight. Presumably, if we had had checked bags, we would have checked them, but we didn't. And then as the flight got closer and closer to boarding, they kept pushing it back and pushing it back and pushing it back.
Megan B.:And it got to a point where we were going to miss our connecting flight. Long story short, we had to change our entire itinerary right there at the gate. We were flying through different countries. And if we had checked our bags, I don't know where they would have gone or when we would have gotten them. You have to weigh your risks, Right?
Megan B.:To decide. If you are just going to one place, one flight, then it probably makes sense also to check bags.
Amanda:I think it also maybe depends on your location too because Oh, that's if I'm going like when I was going to Costa Rica, I knew that I wasn't going to New York City. So I knew if my bag got lost, I probably wasn't going to be able to like set my family up for success quickly. So if I was going to London, if your bag's lost you'll probably be okay. So I think maybe also just take into consideration how many flights do you have? Is it just one direct?
Amanda:How long is it? What are the chances that you'll go through Denver and get rerouted? Or Dallas? Freaking Dallas.
Megan C.:Oh my gosh, yes. Did you get rerouted?
Megan B.:It's always
Amanda:Dallas. It's always Dallas.
Megan C.:It's you're flying. Airlines wasn't it?
Amanda:Yes it was.
Megan B.:And we
Megan C.:had so many problems.
Amanda:I hate it, but I'll press on. Anyways, how do you handle different time zones, routines? Once you are at your location, how do you hit the ground running? What do do to set your family up so you can just like hit the ground running, be ready to go? This is a
Megan C.:good question because on our most recent flight to Australia. Yes. It got canceled four times. What do you mean? Weather events in Dallas canceled our first time.
Megan B.:So you
Amanda:got from here to Dallas.
Megan C.:No. Thankfully, we were in the airport. We had checked our bags. We were waiting at the gate. There was a huge weather event in Dallas.
Megan C.:And that's their hub because we were flying American Airlines. So our flight got delayed and then it eventually got canceled. And so we just turned around and left picked up our bags and rebooked with the ticket agent. Okay. And we go home and they book us for two days later.
Megan C.:Okay, so I'm like, all right, okay we're gonna do this go to Australia in two days. We wake up that morning our flight has been canceled. No. Because of a cyclone which is what they call hurricane in Brisbane Australia which is where we were headed. We wake up that day it's been canceled and they reschedule us for I think at that point it was like three more days ago.
Megan C.:You are kidding me.
Amanda:It was. Like how is this working out with like school and jobs? It fun school enough to like or you at this point are you just like I don't even care we're going.
Megan C.:Oh my goodness. Well so we had purchased tickets to the Grand Prix.
Amanda:Yes.
Megan C.:So I was really worried that we would miss the Grand Prix. Yes. Those were probably not as hard as Taylor Swift tickets to get, but they were very challenging.
Amanda:And not cheap. So you're like
Megan C.:Well, I really wanted to go. Anyway, so I was nervous about that. So I knew we were gonna go. But I know you girls just ran a marathon, but imagine like you would have been prepping and planning. Yes.
Megan C.:And you get there and they're like, sorry, your race isn't happening today. You'd be ticked. Right? And then they're like, hey, we're gonna put it in two more days. And you're like, great.
Megan B.:Okay.
Megan C.:I have a little bit time. This is how I'm gonna fuel. This is how I'm gonna prepare.
Megan B.:Yeah.
Megan C.:And then that day comes and they're like, sorry, we're actually gonna change it again. That's wild. And so every day I'd wake up, I'm like, is today the day that I have to do a long haul fourteen hour flight with my toddler?
Amanda:Right. And are you you don't live super close to the airport.
Megan C.:I do not.
Amanda:Are you like driving to the airport to find
Megan C.:out your flight's cancelled? Like what? No. Just luckily I woke up and it's like it's cancelled. And so it was frustrating though because on the day that it came, it was five days later from our original departure Oh
Amanda:my goodness.
Megan C.:They cancelled them again.
Megan B.:How long was your trip supposed to be total? How many days total?
Megan C.:It would have been like thirteen. Okay. Yeah. I think well, and you kind of gain and you lose a day. So yeah.
Megan C.:Right. It have been thirteen. Yeah. So it ended up being like nine. I can't remember or maybe less.
Megan C.:I'm not doing the math right now. I think it was really like a day and week and You lost days. I lost a lot of days, yes.
Amanda:I don't know. So what I
Megan C.:learned from this experience though, because you're like, are you going crazy? Like I learned the importance of self care because my family we decided to just like treat it like a staycation. We did not tell anyone. Because I pulled my kids out of school. My husband had shaken off time work.
Megan C.:We just pretended like, we just didn't tell anyone that we were You
Amanda:pretended you were in Australia. Exactly. I just didn't post anything. We're still gone.
Megan C.:But we are gone. That was actually really hard because the days kept getting pushed out. I was not in a good head space. I wish I had gone to my yoga class. I wish I had literally done the things that helped me be less stressed and more regulated.
Megan C.:Also I was coordinating with our travel agent, psych, this is actually our new itinerary. And then it kept changing and I'm like having to reconcile all these things that we're missing. It was stressful, but it taught me the importance of taking care of yourself as a mom. Because whatever head space you're gonna go into, I think it's gonna dictate everybody else's headspace. I
Amanda:totally agree.
Megan B.:For sure.
Amanda:You just said something there that I found interesting. Do you use a travel agent to plan trips with your family?
Megan C.:Usually no. Usually no. And it's actually kind of maybe turned into a blessing because I did happen to get travel insurance. I'm currently in the process of getting my claims taken care of. It was nice having someone on the ground, coordinate all these things because there were so many It's just the time in my life where I didn't have the time to devote to doing an I basically planned what I wanted.
Megan C.:Like, I wanna do the Australia zoo. I wanna do Bluey's World. And can you book me some hotels?
Megan B.:And they took care of all the logistics for it.
Megan C.:They did. Like my transfers, I would say having someone pick you up from the airport and having if you're gonna do that as opposed to renting your own car. Sometimes there's a little bit of peace
Megan B.:of mind.
Amanda:Oh yeah, I think depending on where you go, you should consider having someone pick you up from the Depending on your season of life and your age with kids and your location, a travel agent might not be a horrible idea. I would really like to take my kids to Morocco but that is a place where I'd have someone pick us up at the airport. And that is some place where I would have someone intentionally pick out our hotels because I don't want to go in So maybe also consider if you're thinking about taking your kids international, you're baby stepping into it, you're still unsure. If you're not going to London where you know you can speak the language and get around easily maybe you should consider making easy on yourself. Yes.
Amanda:Spending a little more money to have a seamless trip.
Megan B.:Yes. Well, have a side question. How did you find your travel agent?
Megan C.:Yeah. I Googled things because I was running into issues of like knowing what to do with my kids.
Amanda:Sure.
Megan C.:I was like, I know I want to go to a resort, but like should I go to Surfers Paradise? Should I go to Gold Coast? Anyway, I just like reached out a lot of times my budget was too low. No one really would reach back out to me, this person did. Mean, you're usually paying like cost per head per day.
Megan C.:Depending on the itinerary, they may not take you. Obviously they want to make money.
Amanda:Sure they have to make money. That's their job.
Megan C.:So I just did a Google search. But some people work by referrals.
Amanda:So once you get to your location, what do
Megan C.:you do? Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.
Amanda:No, that was perfect.
Megan B.:I was just imagining. Lag.
Amanda:How do you Jet lag. Okay.
Megan B.:Or just adjusting to time zones. Yes. What do you do? How do you adjust? Because you flew to Australia with a massive time difference.
Megan C.:Australia wasn't that bad. It is fifteen hours ahead. I found it a lot harder to do twelve, thirteen when we went to Asia. Really?
Megan B.:Yes. Why do you think that is?
Megan C.:It's a full 180. Like you're doing everything opposite. Here's my number one tip is to eat your meals on the time zone of your destination. You do that first on the airlines. I mean, they will cue you.
Megan C.:They will dim the lights, they will feed you meals, eat them. It will feel so gross, but eat small, like just eat something. I think that's honestly the fastest way to get on the new time zone.
Megan B.:Interesting. The key is to eat. I like that advice. That's good advice.
Megan C.:So eat on the new time zone. I would say, yeah, I feel pretty gross. Yeah. Like doing that.
Amanda:I remember is science behind that. Is it? Yeah. It's dehydration, the altitude and like your body's not used to that type of food. So there is actual science behind feeling crummy after
Megan C.:you get on a Then going off of that staying hydrated. And then I found it easier to eat small meals, fruit. Something that was just like easier on my tummy. And even though I wanted the carbs and the croissants I was like, let me wait. Let me wait until I'm more on this time zone and I'll feel a little less gross.
Megan C.:So I'd say food really important follow the cues on the airline try and rest when they do but also let your arrival time dictate how much sleep you get. So if you know you're arriving in the morning and you have a whole day to get through that's gonna be a tough day so try and maybe get some sleep on the flight. If you're arriving at night like maybe not as much of a big deal. Yeah. And I think that helped my mentality because like I didn't sleep very much on our way back home from Australia because I was just trying to navigate my child the whole time.
Megan C.:But it ended up working out because I was the only one that didn't have jet lag when I came home. Really? I was so Yes I was exhausted and I went to bed like as soon as we got home from the airport. The other thing is don't take an afternoon nap.
Amanda:Try and power through.
Megan B.:Just keep going keep moving.
Megan C.:Keep doing it. I mean you can go to bed early do it after dinner. But don't try and like I'm just gonna take this little twenty minute nap. Like it's the worst. The other thing I would say is you can use a little melatonin.
Megan C.:Like I bring like one milligram gummies just have it on hand.
Megan B.:We don't always
Megan C.:use it but
Amanda:it's there. Totally. This is something I actually learned. I also now start bringing probiotics for all of my because TMI guys but like traveling tends to make our family a little Irregular. Irregular.
Amanda:Yeah. And that is also part of like your body is so dehydrated that often like takes what takes all the fluid away from that part of your body. So and I noticed that it made all of us cranky. Everyone's like, I don't feel good and now I can't use the restroom normally. So I now bring probiotics and I think melatonin magnesium, and probiotics are my like three things.
Amanda:I'm like, we will be taking these. And I start on the plane and just keep going the first few days because then when your tummy feels good, you behave better. And so that sets us up for success also.
Megan C.:That's a great tip.
Megan B.:Well, along those same lines, my kid's daily vitamin has probiotic in it. And so we just packed up the exact number of vitamins that we would need. So we just continued to give them their vitamins
Amanda:Yes.
Megan B.:While we were on the trip. And I yeah. There's no downside to that at all. No. Okay.
Megan B.:So once we're there, we're in the country, a new country, new location, we assume. How can we help our kids appreciate and understand other cultures?
Megan C.:So a couple of thoughts off the top of my head. I think I love to experience places by their food. And I feel like it helps kids to appreciate it too. Unfortunately, I feel like the food has ruined my experience in America. Like I want the Vietnamese food.
Megan C.:Pasta in Italy, so much better.
Amanda:It's not even pasta.
Megan C.:It's so light and like you can eat a whole plateful and not feel like Garbage? Exactly. So I think food has been one way that you can help really explore and understand the culture. Being respectful of the laws and the customs and the etiquette there. So like in Japan, how
Megan B.:do you do that? I think a lot of
Megan C.:this is probably accessible online if you wanted to look. Things that are posted. So for example in Japan, we would take public transportation but it's really it's not courteous to put your feet on the seats. And so being aware that or in Singapore like it's against a lot of chew gum and you can have heavy fines for littering. It is a beautiful country.
Amanda:The cleanest country in the world.
Megan C.:Yeah it's amazing. And so just things like that, just like learning to appreciate the customs and the manners. I did serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. And I remember we had this little handbook of rules. And one of the things would be to follow the locals in the way that they like eat their food.
Megan C.:And so I remember even in Australia they hold the fork in their left hand upside down and then the knife in their right hand. Is that how England does it?
Amanda:They do it both ways but that is yeah.
Megan C.:And in America we would saw our food right and then push back and put it in your dominant hand. Well there you keep it in the left hand upside down and then you just pile your food on the back of your fork and then you eat it. But I just remember I needed to learn to eat like that to show respect for the local customs. So things like that.
Amanda:I think maybe the way that translates to our kids is to say, be aware. Because I will say, we were when you were just in Costa Rica, this is a good example. We were hiking to a waterfall and I tell my kids be aware you are not the only person on this trail but here who comes behind us this really loud American woman. And she's like talking to her kid and she and I looked at my husband and said she is what everyone thinks America is. Because she's being loud and she's like, but everyone in the line, me, what is this line for?
Amanda:She was being so socially unaware that it embarrassed me. And so afterwards I was talking to my kids like, when we travel, you're not at home, this is not your bedroom. You don't get to behave like you own it because we are in someone else's territory literally. And you need to be respectful and kind and you need to be quiet and courteous. Yes.
Amanda:You don't get to march around like some loud American. So I think just being socially aware, how are they eating their food? What are they eating? Oh, you don't get to say yuck to that because they're eating that. Like being aware is very important to me and it sounds like I know to you and it sounds like to you too because no, if we're gonna go somewhere else we're gonna be respectful.
Megan C.:Yes. I actually love that. I think it also helps set expectations before a trip. It's your kid's first time going to the airport or being on an airplane I think setting expectations is really helpful just to say what is proper etiquette? How do you behave on an airplane?
Megan C.:What's it like to go through TSA? We used to do little role plays to help them understand what it's like to go through that process of security but all of those things I think help set expectations and then your kids actually behave better.
Megan B.:Yes. I remember before we went to England you were really good Amanda about taking your family out to eat because you knew you would be eating in a lot of restaurants and your kids hadn't had that practice. So yeah, any type of practice if you know you're going to be doing something a lot on a trip, just practicing that at home or in your own area first to make those expectations clear is helpful.
Megan C.:This is kind of unrelated but I remember a tip that my friend gave me a long time ago before I started traveling with kids is to when you travel make sure your kids look well groomed. Put them in like don't look like you, I don't know are feral right? Yeah. Like brush your hair, do your hair, dress them well and people treat you better. They do.
Amanda:They treat
Megan C.:you better and then also when your kid is having a hard time or a meltdown there's a lot more empathy because it looks like a family just having a tough time. Like a tough moment. There's a lot more grace given. I totally agree.
Amanda:Interesting. There's a lot. This respecting and getting to know other cultures is really important to me. That's probably we're gonna circle back to this exact topic but there's a lot of reasons to travel and for me it is just so my kids be aware that they're not the only ones in this world and they don't get to behave in certain ways. But setting expectations is also important.
Amanda:You and I talked about this especially when you went to Copenhagen and I went to Costa Rica. When your children behave well in other cultures and other environments it's important to show them. To tell them. You did a great job eating that. Don't even know what you did a great job eating that.
Amanda:That was new for you and you tried it. And that's really cool and that tells me that we can travel again. So I think when your kids you set those expectations and then they meet they happen to meet them make sure that you let them know because you had this experience, we were in a restaurant and my kids were just being, they know how to behave now. And someone came out to our table and said, you guys are behaving so well. You are being really respectful in this restaurant.
Amanda:And I know that's happened too.
Megan B.:Yeah we have the same North Of The Arctic Circle in an airport that was packed with people because flights have been delayed and our kids were doing great just being, don't know they were just hanging. Really well. And a woman came up and she just and she wasn't American. I don't know what nationality she was but in English she just said, your children are so well behaved. They are doing such a great job in this situation.
Megan B.:And it's cool to then turn around and tell your kids,
Megan C.:did you hear that?
Megan B.:Yeah. This is why we love to travel with you is because you guys are so fun to travel with. You do such a great job.
Amanda:And we will take you again. Yeah. So I think setting expectations is really important. Don't expect to go to a different country and be the loud Americans that everyone thinks we are. Go aware and go prepared to do whatever you are asked to do.
Megan B.:What are some of your favorite activities to do with kids abroad? When you go or when you are planning your itinerary or asking a travel agent to plan, what are you looking for to meet your kids needs when you travel to another country?
Megan C.:I feel like now that I'm thinking about it, I'm pretty selfish. I'm like these are the experiences I want to have.
Megan B.:I don't think that's selfish.
Megan C.:And I'm gonna bring my kids along. Yeah. That's not selfish. I guess one rule of thumb is I usually only try and do one activity per day. Just with young kids.
Amanda:Yeah. In the same boat. Yeah. Megan's the anomaly.
Megan C.:I know and I feel like but I think also that comes back to knowing your family's travel style. I remember my very first trip it was I was married we didn't have kids at that point but we went to France we went to Paris specifically in Italy And in Paris I was like, oh my gosh, I need to do all the things. I need to go to all the museums. Need to like it was just boom boom boom and honestly I didn't really enjoy it. And then I realized I'm like, I'm actually not a museum goer unless I have like a tour.
Megan C.:Know and I just learned all these things about myself and so then by the time we got to Italy it was like you know what we really like just meandering like wandering. Let's explore the city. Let's stop and get this charcuterie board. Let's grab a baguette. Do you know mean?
Megan C.:It was just so much more organic. So I like having a mix of both but I recognize that that's not everybody's style. Know your family style. But with us with kids I think sometimes it helps to not be so hurried. Right.
Megan C.:Because I think that makes us more stressful or like feel more stressed and then that feeds into the kids like behavior in there. They sense that. So I usually do one activity per day. Animals are fun. I usually like to figure out what's unique to that place.
Megan C.:So I'd be curious what you did in Costa Rica. The weather was terrible when we went. There was like mass flooding. We didn't do any But we went zip lining. We did sloths.
Megan C.:Yep. Which is very unique to the area. Like picking something that you know that the kids will enjoy. Also sometimes they have places specifically for kids like a museum, a science museum or something like that. Those are fun.
Megan C.:What do you guys do?
Amanda:Well and I would maybe add to like we've taken our kids to France and when we went to the Louvre we literally took them to see the top three paintings and that was it. Because I think you can't expect all ages to be not everyone even I don't want to sit in the Louvre all day long. Don't want And I have an art history major. I don't want to do that. You don't need to like exhaust yourself on every single activity you do.
Amanda:It is okay to pick little nuggets of gold everywhere you go and leave the rest behind because it will always be there. So you're a one activity day, I'll let you speak for yourself. I am a like one activity day like we'll go zip lining and then we spend the rest of the day at the beach. I am a definitely let's do an activity and then the rest day is going to be wandering the city or sitting at the beach or going to the park nearby. That I try to do something exciting and then something chill.
Amanda:You, what do you do?
Megan B.:I over plan. But I'm also flexible and I recognize that we probably won't get to everything, and that's okay. When our flight was delayed to Copenhagen, I knew we were going to miss a couple things, and I didn't have this frantic, Oh, well then maybe we should shorten what we're going to do in the afternoon. And like, it's okay. It's not a deal breaker, but at least we have options because one thing that I hate is just sitting around.
Megan B.:If we go somewhere unique, somewhere we've never been, the last thing I want to do is just sit somewhere. I want to go see something, do something, experience something unique. Even if that means going to a playground. Yeah. Then like, that's fine, then we'll go to a playground.
Megan B.:But I just am not the kind or our family is not great at just
Amanda:sitting. Well, let's be clear. It sounds like all three of us, like I'm not gonna make my kids sit in a hotel.
Megan B.:Right. We need to be out wherever we are. Yeah.
Amanda:But we're not just gonna sit.
Megan B.:So like But you're really good Amanda at finding last minute things of like, oh, I just Googled this playground or oh, I just Googled this place to eat or I just found this thing, let's go here, let's do this, or I just looked this up last night. Whereas I'm the person who's like, I looked at this three weeks ago, or a month and a half ago, let's go here. So I think it's just your style. I don't do well with the last minute planning, it stresses me out. But you thrive on it.
Megan B.:Like you do a great job with it.
Megan C.:I like it.
Megan B.:So I think it's just knowing your style.
Amanda:Yeah. Well, out of curiosity, when we were in London last year, and like we would like we would go to a playground Yeah. You know, in the afternoon. Was that like really annoying?
Megan B.:No. It was just stressful.
Amanda:It was stressful just when I was
Megan B.:sitting at the playground. Like, I'm gonna Google tonight where to go tomorrow. I'd like, okay. That sounds great. It a really good exercise in appreciating other people's styles for play.
Megan B.:But it but it was great. It worked out. It worked out. Well, except for my oldest. He didn't love it because he was like, another playground.
Megan B.:Yeah. Again, times and seasons.
Amanda:Yeah.
Megan B.:Yeah. And I learned from our trip to London, to England, that for Denmark and Sweden, I needed to plan more appealing activities for my 12 year old and for my 11 year old. Because they were a little too old for some of the things that we had done the previous summer, and it almost tainted the trip a little bit for them. And so for this international trip, was very mindful of what would be cool. And I asked them, I surveyed like, what do you want to do?
Megan B.:What are some things you're interested in? And they really wanted to be outside. They wanted to do nature things. They love national parks. So that's why we went North of the Arctic Circle and went dog sledding and did a wilderness survival class in the middle of the Arctic tundra.
Megan B.:That's not my first choice. I actually hate being cold, but my kids loved it. And so planning a little bit to appeal to your kids especially if you have older kids I think is helpful.
Amanda:Yeah. Well I think that you experienced something unique though because you did not go into London going, Oh what do I need to do for my teenager? I felt like it kind of snuck up on you.
Megan B.:It did. It really did.
Amanda:You're right. That was a lesson for me too. Maybe traveling you know you need to be mindful. Last year we did a lot of playgrounds and we did a lot of you know kids museums. Is that still a good fit for us this time?
Amanda:Are my kids in the same place? So I like your idea of asking your kids what do you guys want to do because I could see myself repeating the same thing dragging my 12 year old to the playground and being like
Megan C.:I thought this is what
Amanda:you love to do. She's like no mom I don't want to do this. So I think maybe really every year kind of reevaluating where your family is because before you know it, your youngest is not going to be two and you're not going be doing toddler things. So it's a good reminder to all of us that you should reevaluate often.
Megan B.:I don't have a lot of tips, but here's one tip that I will give is before you go on an international trip, check out all the library books about where you're I
Amanda:do the same thing.
Megan B.:That helped my kids prepare not only for England and for Scotland, but for Denmark and Sweden. We had all these different books in there was fiction and nonfiction and things about Vikings and things written, Pippi Longstocking, the author is from Sweden. And so they kind of knew things that they were interested in, in regards to culture and food. And when we planned, they could say, oh, this was really interesting to me in this book. Now, do I bribe them?
Megan B.:Yes. For every book they read, they're earning money towards souvenirs.
Megan C.:Oh, that's smart.
Megan B.:That's not my idea. It's actually simply on purpose. I think Ralphie came up with that idea or something with buy in, yeah, with the kids. But it has worked really well for at least my kids for them to say, Oh, I really want to see this in this country. I read about this, or I saw a picture book about this.
Megan B.:Even my six old will say, I want to see the Viking ships. Okay, we can do that.
Megan C.:That's so cool.
Megan B.:And then they have buy in.
Amanda:And your kids are old enough. My kids just mentioned this the other day. And I bring this up to you because my son's like, I want go to Japan. My daughter's like, why I want go to Spain. And so I said, why don't you guys put together a presentation and present it to us.
Amanda:And I said we would love to hear why you want to go there. We would love to hear your whole presentation. So they're working on it. But I have a girl in my neighborhood who has kids your age, Megan, see they're younger. Her oldest is like I don't know, six or seven.
Amanda:And she said she's really into Hello Kitty right now. So I know there's a lot of parents out here who are like, my daughter's into Hello Kitty and I didn't go to Japan. But this mom's like, she's really into Hello Kitty and she really want to go to Japan. And she had been talking about for months and months and months. So we decided we're going to go to Japan.
Amanda:And I thought I am so glad. I know that not everyone gets to do that. I realize. I realize you guys. Please don't write into me and be like, you are a mean elitist.
Amanda:No. I know. I know it's unique. But if you lean into that while they are interested, you're gonna get a lot more out of your trip. And so they went to Hello Kitty World but then they also did all these other like Japanese specific things and she's like we had the best time but because our daughter who's six really wanted to go to Japan, there it was like the easiest trip we've ever been on.
Amanda:Yeah. So I think if your kids are mentioning things and you can kind of say, well, why do you wanna go there? Read this book and tell me what you learned. I think everyone will have more fun all around. Well, you brought up cost.
Amanda:Yeah, let's go into that. Yeah.
Megan B.:How do we keep costs down when traveling internationally with family? This
Megan C.:first tip is kind of what I grew up doing. You travel in the off season. And I think there's benefits for that like flights, hotels, everything's a lot cheaper and you have less crowds. The downside is that you do miss school. Which can be hard.
Megan C.:I remember in seventh grade I chose not to go on an international trip with my family because I was too stressed about my junior high work. Turns out decades later, I'm like, why did I do that? Because it was one of the few trips all of my siblings went on, my entire family went on. And so I do get that it's really stressful in the moment you have to respect. Like my girls don't like it when they miss too much school.
Megan B.:Right.
Megan C.:I hear that there are independent study programs sometimes like that you can register for that and not worry about it. But I have always enjoyed traveling during school. I don't like traveling on the break when everyone else is.
Megan B.:Amen.
Megan C.:That's one way. But if that's not your thing, credit cards. Not going into debt, don't mean that. I am not a supporter of consumer debt. Taking advantage of all of the travel hacking that is available and paying with points and miles and becoming more educated in that.
Megan C.:Yeah. And making your money work for you and subscribing to flights from home. Doing things like that. Sometimes I actually if it's a cheaper deal like cash, I'll pay cash instead of doing points because I care about my redemption, I care about my points. So I mean there's just a lot of different things that you can do.
Megan C.:The other thing too is just because you're going on a trip doesn't mean everything that you do has to be like luxury. I feel like I read somewhere that like if you go to an all inclusive resort for example, there's a lot more satisfaction that you have because you paid for all of the food upfront versus if you're like going to a restaurant and you're worried about how much that meal is gonna cost. So if maybe a family is worried about international travel and they're wanting something that feels manageable. Maybe doing like a tropical destination and just doing all inclusive. You know upfront all of the costs right away.
Amanda:Some people do associate international with luxury. I was literally just having a conversation with someone the
Megan C.:other day and she's like, you guys just got back
Amanda:from Costa Rica, we're headed to France. And I was like, oh, that's so exciting. She's like, I know the promise is that we're running out of money. And was like, well, and I started going back and running. Was like, oh my gosh, but you guys only stay like the Four Seasons everywhere you guys go.
Amanda:And that's how they travel. That's great. But we are not like resort people. Me and my family, we are not resort people. We are like budget.
Amanda:We're only sleeping there. We don't hang out in the hotel. So I literally say to all my kids, it's not going to be fancy. It's not going
Megan B.:be fancy.
Amanda:We're just going to sleep there and then we're going to use all the money that we saved at the hotel to go have experiences. So I think sometimes people need to disassociate that like international travel is bougie. Because it doesn't have to be. You can travel very cheaply almost anywhere now. Like almost anywhere.
Amanda:So there's ways to hack the system. You just have to be thoughtful.
Megan C.:Yeah. And I think it's also about knowing what's important to you. Like maybe you don't care where you stay. Yes. So then maybe it's okay to spend less there.
Megan C.:You spend a little bit more on something else like food or the flights. But just like you don't have to spend and go like break your budget in every single one of
Amanda:those categories.
Megan B.:Pick your priority.
Amanda:And you know what I'll even say like when my husband and I were first married and we were in school and didn't have all the money in the world, we still want to travel but we literally ate Subway. Like everywhere we went through all three meals a day. We only spent $20 a day on food. That's impressive. But that was a way we could do it and still feel so that's I mean like you don't have to go all out every single time you go.
Amanda:Like yes, now we don't eat at Subway because we have a little more money, a little bit more.
Megan B.:You wanna pay to go internationally to eat at a Subway anyway?
Amanda:But like that's the
Megan B.:I can't wait to eat at this French Subway. I mean McDonald's Subway.
Amanda:Yeah. McDonald's in Prague is like
Megan C.:Do you hear?
Megan B.:Thought. See? I didn't say that. I'll say it. I'll say it.
Megan B.:No. You know, one thing I also learned from Amanda when we were in England is I grew up in a family that was always we just went to restaurants. Anytime we traveled, we were at a restaurant for lunch, we were at a restaurant for dinner and probably eating the hotel breakfast for for breakfast. And when we traveled with you guys, it was a grocery store every day. Let's just go to the grocery store.
Megan B.:Let's get something from the grocery store. And that's so cool because one, it saves money. Yeah. So much money. Yeah.
Megan B.:But two, you get to actually shop like the locals. And my kids love that. I love it too.
Megan C.:So we did that
Megan B.:again in Sweden and Denmark. We would just go to the grocery store and find whatever it was for breakfast or for lunches or for dinners. And we saved a ton of money just by eating grocery store everyday local food. You don't have to eat at restaurants. I mean, we did eat at some nice restaurants because priority is food.
Megan B.:But even local grocery food is such a great way to save money when you travel internationally. I
Amanda:will almost always eat dinner at a restaurant because dinner is gonna like you wanna get dinner.
Megan C.:For sure.
Amanda:But breakfast, like breakfast is kind of the same in a lot of places. Yogurt, croissants, it's kind of same. So pick and choose, where do you want to spend your money? Do want
Megan B.:to spend
Amanda:it on dinners? Do you want to spend on breakfast? Where do you want to spend it? But my kids also really enjoy ethnic grocery stores. So wherever we travel, we will often stop at a grocery store and pick out things.
Amanda:And maybe that dictates where you're gonna stay. Cause if you stay in a hotel that does not have a or you choose not to stay in an Airbnb you might not be able to go to a grocery store. So just be like consider where do you want to put your money? Yeah. Because no matter where you want to put it there is some place that will accommodate what you want.
Amanda:Yes. And if you want all inclusive, Mexico's full of them and it's super fun. So like time and seasons, pick what you want. Pick what you want.
Megan B.:Said. What are the best loyalty programs or travel hacks for families that you would recommend, Megan?
Megan C.:So I mentioned it a little bit earlier but I do really like using credit cards for travel hacking I guess is what some people call it. But basically you take advantage of credit card sign up bonus and they give you a lot of points. So using these types of things like I like Chase points because they can transfer and right now this is this is the way that I'm currently doing it is I use my Chase points but I don't book through their Chase portal. Right. Because usually it's actually more expensive than the chase portal.
Megan C.:I transfer them to my hotel partner World of Hyatt. Okay. I am really loving Hyatt right now. Because they're like the little guys.
Amanda:But they're still really good.
Megan C.:They're amazing. When we went to Australia, mentioned that we went to the Melbourne Grand Prix. And as you can guess, there's a lot of people flying in and hotels are crazy expensive.
Megan B.:Yeah, for sure.
Megan C.:We have become a hotel family. My husband is sick of like Airbnb, like cleaning fees and like all these things you have to do on checkout. And like just some gross things have happened in Airbnb. So we're like, okay, we're just gonna go stick with hotel. So it's crazy because these hotels were like $600 a night.
Megan C.:Yeah. And we needed two rooms. So it's like $1,200 a night. And I'm like, I don't really wanna pay that. But I like wanted to just stay in a nice place that was gonna be convenient to get to the race from.
Megan C.:And so all I did was just transfer my chase points to my Hyatt. It was like 20,000 points which is the equivalent of like $200 I had those points available. I transferred them there. We stayed in a wonderful hotel. Very, very nice.
Megan C.:And I didn't pay anything for it. Like I already had those points. Know what
Megan B.:mean? Was already
Megan C.:spending that money anyway. Like it wasn't like I had to buy those points. Right now that has been my favorite way of having a little bit of luxury but like actually not paying anything. It can be overwhelming, you're worried about your credit score and you're worried. If you're struggling with debt, I wouldn't necessarily recommend I definitely wouldn't recommend this.
Megan C.:Very only do this if this is something that you can achieve. Like I think you have to spend $5,000 within three months. Like we do that on groceries. Mean on eggs alone you guys. But doing that like just making my natural spending for my family work for me and then using those points strategically.
Amanda:Don't go out and just spend money to be able to travel. That makes no sense you guys. If you're just use your normal spending habits to work in your favor. So I could not agree more.
Megan B.:Yeah, making your card work for you.
Megan C.:Yes. That's cool. And it has taken me some finesse trying to figure it and I'm learning a ton. But I'm really liking where it's
Amanda:For those people who are thinking about traveling with their kids internationally, who are flirting with the idea of traveling internationally. How would you convince them to go? What would be your sell on like, this is why I travel with my family this is why you should travel with yours?
Megan C.:It makes memories. It really does. I know we always think save money so that you can retire and travel the world. As I watch people around me age and pass on a lot earlier than we think, I think that it's important to live today. Do it now, stop putting it off, waiting until you think you'll have the health or the means to do it.
Megan C.:Just do it now and make those memories with your kids because our time with them is really limited. Yeah. And create those like core memories because my kids will talk about
Megan B.:it. Yeah.
Megan C.:You know, and I'm sure your kids talk about it too. So just create core memories for your family. If you want to, you can do it. Like if I can do it, you could do it.
Megan B.:Yeah, absolutely. Beautifully said.
Amanda:What would you say Megan B?
Megan B.:I would say it is very easy for our kids to get stuck in their own world, in their own bubble, in their own heads, in their own problems and traveling anywhere in the world. It doesn't have to be a third world country, but anywhere for them to see how other people live and to experience life in a different way, to open their eyes to other cultures and other right ways of living is invaluable. Just can't teach that anywhere else.
Amanda:Mine is similar to yours. I take my kids traveling and we will travel more because I simply want them, I want to expose them to things in a controlled environment.
Megan C.:I don't know if I told you
Amanda:this but when we went to Costa Rica, we flew into San Jose and then drove to our destination. And San Jose is an urban area, it's very urban. And there were a lot of these corrugated metal shanties along the side of the And we have homeless people here. We've had homeless people everywhere we lived but my children have never seen a true like shantytown. And it wasn't even a true shantytown like this is not India.
Amanda:But it was shocking enough that at one point, I'm embarrassed to tell the story but also it's I'm going to because it's very real. My five year old was like, mom, look at those dumb little houses. And I said to my five year old, Buddy, like that's all they can do. Those aren't dumb little houses. That's the best they can do.
Amanda:And I said, look at how they propped up. And we were talking about the houses everywhere we went because they had never been exposed to that type of poverty before. Yeah. And it was such a good conversation with my kids everywhere we went. When you choose to expose yourself, your kids and your family to other cultures in that way, naturally conversations happen in your environment, in your own, on your own circumstances.
Amanda:And so I love being able to like purposefully expose my children to something that we'd innocently don't have here in Utah but then talk to them about it and be like, look at how blessed we are that you have like a warm bed at night. Look at how we live. What can we do to help the you know? I think it is a good way of helping them think outside of themselves. And that is my intention when I travel with my kids.
Megan B.:Yeah, there's so many life lessons. Totally, totally.
Amanda:So anyways, I just love all of it. Now, where can our listeners find Megan if they want some tips?
Megan B.:Yeah, so if you finished listening to this episode and you're thinking to yourself, I can totally travel internationally with my kids, which everyone should be thinking that. Let's go. Then you can find even more travel tips and motivation by following Megan on Instagram megtravelswithkids. All one word. Right?
Megan B.:Okay. And did I purchase compression packing cubes because of her Instagram account? Why, yes. Yes, I did. Have you heard of these?
Megan B.:Yes, I have. What? How come you never mentioned these?
Amanda:Because I already pack so minimally.
Megan B.:I'm like, I just She packs like one outfit for her entire family to We'll just pass her down. Like For the rest of us who pack normally, packing compression cube, compression packing cubes. Is that right? Yeah. Genius.
Amanda:Genius. So good.
Megan B.:Little pass. Thank you so much for letting us put you in the hot seat and sharing all these tips and tricks. Like we didn't even touch the tip of the iceberg. You know so much.
Megan C.:No, this was so fun. Thanks for having me.
Amanda:Yeah. Next episode in Spain. Adios. Well, is time to put this cultured baby to bed.
Megan B.:Please take a minute to rate, review, comment, leave us some feedback or love. We'll take whatever you have for us because we love you and appreciate you.
Amanda:Be a friend to everyone! Bye!