Family Travel Blogger |Montoya and the art of the Family trip

I fell in love with Travel Mama Montoya, following her family’s epic Springbreak travel destinations. Learn how to plan a family trip with a blended family during school holidays, from an expert travel blogger and have your kid’s vacations be the stuff of legend.

How often did you take trips before starting a family? Where had you been? I traveled quite a bit before kids – even more so when I got a job that required travel. My trips were entirely domestic before I started a family though. San Francisco, Albuquerque, Louisville, St. Louis, New York — pretty much any and everywhere.

When did you get your first passport? – I actually got my first passport shortly before finding out I was pregnant with my daughter. I didn’t plan our first family trip until well after I had her.

Did you plan a family trip while pregnant? Any tips for flying while pregnant? – I did! I still had a job requiring travel when I was pregnant with my daughter so we flew all over. Top tip: Pee before boarding and pee right when you get on the plane. If it is a long flight, set a timer and pee (and walk around) every hour. Learned my lesson the hard way when baby girl kicked me right in the bladder after they turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. (Side note: the flight attendants can’t give you permission to get up to use the bathroom during that time but they won’t stop you either).

How old was your baby the first time you went on a family trip? She was a few months old when we took a family trip to San Diego and Los Angeles. Once she had her first round of shots we were off and running. Traveling when they are that small is actually pretty easy because all they do is sleep and eat.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned about your kids on a family trip? I learn more and more every time we travel. The most interesting thing I’ve learned about them is how resilient they are. We’ve had everything from horribly late/early flight times to being forced to try new (and kind of nasty) foods but they’ve taken it all in stride every single time. Like most moms, I spend a huge chunk of my life worrying about them and every time we take a family trip I’m reassured that they got this.

How has traveling as a mother changed you? I’m more patient. I’m more aware. I’m more impressed by the little things. Seeing the world through their eyes, on each trip with the small things they notice is so fun.

What advice would you give a mother planning their first family trip, who was anxious about traveling with kids? Deep breaths, Momma. Every time won’t be perfect but it will get better the more you do it. Try to maintain some flexibility, don’t plan out every minute of your family trip (kids love to ruin plans), and just go with the flow.

Out of all the benefits of travel, what is one thing you hope your children take out your family trips? There is so much that I want for them to get out of this travel thing but if I had to narrow it down to just one, I hope they gain an appreciation for everything the world has to offer. The different languages, the different cultures, and even the roots of their own — I want them to absorb it and take it as their own.

Travel stuff, What are 3 things you never plan a family trip without for yourself? For your kids? 1. SNACKS! All the snacks. (Seriously, we usually have an entire carry on just filled with snacks) 2. A travel blanket (for sleeping, when the planes are cold when they need something to sit on, etc.) 3. Phones and tablets.

When planning a family trip do you choose long layovers or direct flights? Why? Definitely, direct flights if the flight is less than 13 hours. The longer you’re on a plane, the more you get into “plane mode”. Once we deboard, they have to get back in that zone and it’s hard. It’s also tiring getting everyone together, moving through the airport, boarding again, etc.

Why is it important to you to take family trips, Travel Mama? It’s fun to see new places and do new things but our family trips are a rare opportunity for us to bond outside of distractions. There are no e-mails that need answering, chores that need to be done, classwork that needs to be turned in — just us, talking, living and traveling together as a family.

What is something you do without at home, to travel more? Our approach to handling our finances for travel is a little different. Instead of cutting specific things like cable (although we don’t have cable) we siphon off a percentage of every paycheck to a travel fund. We pay that account before we pay ourselves. We also postpone filing for reimbursements from our childcare FSA until it is time for our big trip. So our “sacrifice” is having fewer funds in our daily financial rotation so that we always have something available for vacation.

Airport uniform? We have pretty basic rules for our airport attire: 1. Elastic waistbands 2. Sneakers with socks (b/c bare feet on an airport floor should be avoided if possible and sometimes we have to run) 3. No tight hair accessories (yes, we are that family that will totally fly overnight in our sleep caps)4. Layers (in case we get warm, then cold, then warm again) 5. For me only: long enough shirt to lift my arms above my head without flashing everyone on the plane.

Family trip travel mama hack? Have your partner take lots of pictures or even invest in a professional to take the pictures for you. Sometimes as parents, we are so busy watching out for the kids that we don’t get to really chronicle it. Or you look at all your pictures post trip and you are in absolutely none of them. I’m always pleasantly surprised to find pictures of candid moments with me and the kids on my husband’s phone.

Do you /How do you practice responsible tourism as a family? We try to invest in local businesses as much as possible when we travel. We also avoid Airbnbs in cities where the locals have openly said it is causing a housing problem (like Venice). The most sticky experience you’ve had traveling with kids We haven’t had any sticky experiences during our travels. So far so good (knock on wood).

Where were some of your past family trips? Domestically, we’ve been to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago, and Denver. Internationally, we’ve been to Paris, London, Venice, Milan, and Rome.

Secretly there are 9 million benefits to traveling with kids what’s the best perk you’ve experienced by going with a tiny traveler in tow? Skipping the line!! Airlines let you board early so you can get nice and settled in. Also, some airports (like Milan) will even go as far as to have a security line dedicated to families. It kicks off your family trip absolutely gloriouslyj.

Where can we follow along with your family travel, mama? We are all over the Internet documenting our family trips. Our website is www.thespringbreakfamily.com, we are on IG at www.instagram.com/thespringbreakfamily and Facebook at www.facebook.com/thespringbreakfamily

How many children are in your travel tribe? What are their ages? We are a blended family so our kiddo travel crew can vary from trip to trip with our visitation schedule but our three girls are 11, 9, and 6.

What is the destination of your next family trip? Spring break is almost here (YAY!!) so we have plans to take a trip to Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid as a family this year!