Traveling Thoughtfully with Kids, from an Expert
Including recommendations! (And some personal news.)
This time last week, I hadn’t known of this one particular home. As I’m writing this now, we’re officially under contract for said-home. It’s been a whirlwind (our first home!), and while there’s still a long way to go, we’re thrilled to (hopefully) be putting down some roots in Atlanta. (And if you missed my post on my favorite places around Hotlanta, here it is!)
Today’s issue is one I’ve teased for a while, because I’ve been so excited. When I asked what readers most wanted to see, there were repeat requests for traveling with kiddos. So I reached out to , a seasoned traveler who wrote the book on how to pack, a NYC-based multi-hyphenate with 80k+ subscribers/followers, and parent of two adorable boys.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
How to “Quiet Travel” with Kids (Yes, It’s Possible)
Hitha, I love that you describe yourself as a multi-hyphenate. You do it all and you're transparent about how you get it done (and when you don't!). Can you share more about what your life looks like as a multi-hyphenate?
My life as a multi-hyphenate is unpredictable and slightly chaotic, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. The roles I’m prioritizing right now are pharma CEO and mom/wife/daughter. Writer, speaker, and friend are three roles that are simmering right now, and I’ve closed my angel investor and content creator (as a career—I’m stepping away from sponsorships for now).
My days start and end with my rituals—meditation, journaling, and reading with coffee in the morning, and reading for 30 minutes before bed every night. When I’m with my family, I try to leave my phone in another room so I can be fully present. My workday involves a lot of meetings and 1:1s with my team, as well as offline work (updating decks, preparing investor updates and board materials, reviewing contracts). I write for my Substack and prepare for speaking engagements in the margins of the day (when I’m taking a break from a work task, sometimes after my morning routine, during the evening email check-in after the kids are in bed).
You were recently back home in India with your parents, and you've shared before how those experiences with your parents as a child instilled your love of travel. How do you bring that magic to your kids?
I want to go back in time and scold my 8-year-old self for complaining about the summers she spent in Hyderabad. Looking back, those summers were some of the most formative moments of my life. They made me more independent, deepened my relationships with my extended family, and taught me a new language and culture to own with pride.
Those trips also sparked a curiosity about the wider world, and I see that same curiosity in my boys. It’s important to me that they build their own relationship with Hyderabad (and all of India), and to value experiences and exploring over things and stuff they don’t need.
You have done an incredible job of balancing solo/couples trips with kid-friendly destinations. Can you hit us with a few of your domestic destinations that are kid-friendly and an international one you'd recommend?
Absolutely! For domestic trips, I recommend New York, DC, and Philadelphia (very family friendly, tons to do, great restaurants and green spaces).
We also love Westerly and Newport, Rhode Island in the summer—mostly beach and relaxing, but there’s also great things to do in both towns.
Charleston is another beach + exploring vacation, and I have come to enjoy a Disney World trip (but only if my friend Angie plans it).
Sonoma/Napa and Palm Springs are wonderful for families. For the former, we let the kids run around a winery for a while and ventured to Safari West and Train Town. The zoo and the tram were hits in Palm Springs, along with swimming in the home rental or hotel’s pool for hours.
We’ve also loved our regular Vancouver trips—you can enjoy the best of a city and also be in nature within 15 minutes.
When [my son] Rhaki was younger, we did more “stay at the resort the whole time” trips. Palmaia: The House of Aia, the Ritz-Carlton in Aruba, and Ambergris Cay in Turks and Caicos were some excellent properties of all you want to do is relax, with the option of some water sports and kids’ clubs (all are great if you're making it a multi-generational trip with your parents).
For overseas trips (speaking as an American), London is an excellent first trip—there are tons of parks and playgrounds, the museums are fantastic, lots of family-friendly shows in the West End, and most restaurants are incredibly accommodating to kids. London was the first big international trip for both of our boys, and gave us confidence that we could do a longer India trip with them.
We visited Dubai recently and I was blown away at how family-first the city is. Our hotel (Jumeirah al-Naseem) had a specific family room (1 large bed, 1 very comfortable fold out couch in a separate den), a great kids’ club included in the room rate, and the largest kids pool I’ve ever seen (as well as excellent food and little treats for the boys). The desert safari we went to (Sonara Camp) had an entire setup for the kids—outdoor movie night, their own buffet, and activities and crafts for them to do.
I will say that getting to India (long flights, visas, the immigration line upon arrival) can be tough, but it’s absolutely worth it once you get there. I’m biased towards Hyderabad because it’s home, but it is PERFECT for families (the Birla Museum complex has a hands-on science center for kids along with a dinosaur skeleton and a planetarium, the zoo is excellent, Charminar and Old City feels like you’re going back in time). We had a blissful few days in Kochi as well.
With your two boys, how did you make travel work in their earlier years and how has that changed today? What do you keep in mind when planning for traveling with high-energy kiddos?
At the beginning, we really stuck with resorts that had everything we could possibly need. Our Disney trips were both when the boys were almost four, which I very much recommend (we also got to the parks mid-morning, enjoyed them for a few hours, had an early dinner or went back to the hotel to swim, and would head back to the park for a fireworks show).
Right now, they’re 5 and 9 and their favorite part of any vacation is swimming, so we always look for hotels with a kid-friendly pool and break up our days with exploring in the morning and swimming in the afternoon (which also tires them out and has them sleeping at a normal hour).
We tend to stay at hotels, and opt for a 1-bedroom suite when possible (we’re also fine in a room with two double beds). My husband and I are both Marriott Bonvoy loyalists and take advantage of hotels with club access, so we can easily keep the boys fed at breakfast and for snacks.
I’m lucky that my boys are good travelers, but I still carry a giant Dagne Dover backpack filled with activity books (we love a paint-by-sticker book), snacks, and card games for us to enjoy together. My best hack is for folks with picky eaters—I order a large pizza before we leave our house and will wrap 2-3 slices in aluminum foil bundles, and store them in a gallon sized baggie (or two) in my backpack. It’s a lifesaver when it’s lunch or dinnertime when we’re traveling.
As I mentioned, you wrote the book on how to pack, which I've shared before in this Substack. What are a few of your "hidden gem" recommendations in there, particularly when it comes to packing for a family, that you might not see elsewhere?
It’s the most basic advice, but WRITE A LIST! I have a notebook in my Notes app of old packing lists that I reference all the time for an upcoming trip, and it helps keep me organized during the packing process. For a long family trip, I start packing a week in advance and plan out our laundry schedule and Target runs accordingly.
I assume my kids’ clothes will only be worn once before needing to be washed, so I always look up a local laundromat and pack enough outfits for that first leg of a trip (plus an extra two days worth of clothes). I like to roll an entire outfit together to conserve space in the suitcase, and to ensure they don’t assemble an outfit that clashes.
One of my sons gets motion sickness, so we never travel without emesis bags. The bags are also fantastic for packing a lot of small toys (LEGO bricks, small cars, loose crayons, puzzle pieces), wet swimsuits, and leak-prone toiletries (I use a rubber band to secure the bag closed).
I never, ever travel without kids’ eye masks and melatonin gummies (for them), especially for overseas trips. They make overnight flights + jet lag a lot more bearable.
For parents who might want a solo break, do you have any quick getaways in the US or Canada that you recommend?
Glenmere Mansion is my husband’s and my favorite getaway—it’s an hour from NYC and it’s just magic. The spa is incredible, there’s tons of little nooks to relax in on the property (I personally love the library in the winter or the gardens in the summer), and the food and service is impeccable.
River House in New Hope, PA is a newer destination, and you can walk to the charming town from the hotel to explore.
My husband and I have had wonderful getaways in Charleston and DC. We’ve also turned one of our work trips into a weekend getaway.
We’ve done quick trips to Austin (I love the Proper if you want to stay downtown or Miraval if you want to unplug), Santa Barbara, Chicago, and Miami—I recommend all of them.
What's on your radar for upcoming destinations in 2025? You've a well-seasoned traveler, so I'd love to know what's piquing your interest right now.
We’re planning to travel to Asheville this summer and to New Zealand at the end of 2025. Further out, we want to travel to Denmark, Nigeria, and Japan in the coming years, along with returning to India in 2027. Greece is another place I’d love to bring the kids, especially if Rhaki gets into mythology the way the rest of us are (if you go, I highly recommend visiting Spetses, Naxos, and Paros instead of some of the more popular islands). Some destinations on my personal bucket list are Jordan, Chile, Cambodia, Vietnam, Morocco, and Portugal.
🇮🇹 If you want to skip the Jubilee madness and visit Italy in the shoulder seasons, this roundup of the best coastal towns is perfect.
✈️ Point.me says you should always search for award fares one-way. I don’t normally do that because I try to book roundtrip, but I found their arguments compelling.
📘 For fans of Murder on the Orient Express and Clue, you’ll love Riley Sager’s forthcoming book, With a Vengeance, which I tore through 24 hours. Out June 10th! (And thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!)
🌴 The slow travel destination I’m adding to my list after both
and Katy Nastro of Going recommended it to me. (Hi, Kayti/Katy/Katie of Money with Katie...what luck.)👀 Anxiously awaiting the finale of Traitors tonight… I’m Team Anyone Besides Danielle.
Whether you have kids now or are expecting them later (or maybe never!), I hope Hitha’s recommendations were helpful; she truly is the GOAT of travel over the last decade. And if you have recs of your own, please share, as I am currently a childless cat (and dog) lady.
Finally, if there are ever any other topics you want to see, let me know and I’ll work to find the best expert to speak with!
—Henah xx
 | A guest post by
|
As a parent of two kids under 5 that have travelled a lot, this is so cringe. Travel to Disneyland? Take your own pizza? Don't let their outfits clash? Stay in a resort with everything you need? You might as well stay at home.