Travelling with Tweens & Teens: How to get them involved and interested

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Let's face it, travel with kids is not easy. And you know what's tougher than that? Travelling with teens! Say what??? Yes, it's true.

Of course there’s less poop to deal with, less crying to manage and definitely less stuff to lug along. But replace all those with the rolling eyes, shrugging shoulder, shuffling feet and monosyllabic answers, and I assure you that travelling with them can be more challenging indeed.

What? Another photo? Oh. My. Gawd. Stop. It. Pa. No. Seriously. Stop. It. Enough.

That's usually the soundtrack playing during our travels. 😅

Or this.

Huh? This place? So. Boring. No. Fun. Are. We. Done. Yet. Got WiFi?

But despite all that, I have learnt that traveling with my teens can be fun and fruitful. Because teens are smart. They know things, despite us parents assuming otherwise. There are a lot of times when we were overseas, both Ash and Ayd started sharing some stuff about the attractions that they found out online - stuff that both the wifey and I do not even know. And when they share those things, I find that not only do I learn, but it's a form of communication as well.

So how do you enjoy travelling with teens?

The most important thing to do is to
INVOLVE THEM IN THE TRAVEL PLANNING.

While parents usually choose the holiday destination, they must take the personalities and preferences of their children into acount. And once the destination has been decided, seek input from the kids on things they might like to do and see while there.

For our year-end holiday, I asked the monkies where they would like to head to and they unisonly proclaimed somewhere where there's snow!

I shorlisted a few countries and the monkies eventually picked Sweden or more specifically, Stockholm, because it's the land of Minecraft, Spotify and meatballs. See what I mean about different perspectives between adults and children? If the wifey picked Sweden, it will have to be for H&M or IKEA while for me, it will have to be the ABBA museum. 😂😂😂

Anyway, our destination was set and it was time to plan for the activities. Since the monkies were super enthusiastic about our upcoming trip, I gleefully delegated the task of planning for 3 days' worth of activities to them.

And they certainly rose up to the challenge.

Well, all thanks to Klook.

We have been booking our activities through Klook since our trip to Macau last August and it continued with our trip to Kaohsiung and Kenting at the end of last year. We also had a blast with Klook in Osaka in September this year so when we began planning for our Stockholm trip, we naturally zoomed to Klook's website first.

The thing about booking through Klook is not only does it offer travellers a seamless way to discover and book attractions, tours, local transportation, best foods and must-eats, and unique experiences around the world, the booking process is seamless and safe... and comes with a best price guarantee.

Best of all - and this is my fave - we have skipped the queue EVERY SINGLE TIME at every attraction that we have booked through Klook because the e-tickets are stored in my smartphone and I just have to scan it at the entrance. Hassle-free!

So with that, the monkies started putting together an itinerary.

Stockholm has a perfect mix of indoor and outdoor activities which is great for families and especially if you are visiting during Winter. And it is popular among families for good reason - with its vast open spaces for kids to run around and a casual stroll right by the royal palace to a wealth of museums as well as Skansen (an open-air museum that features a zoo and an aquarium).

And Klook certainly have no short of activities to choose from.

After a few days of mulling and discussing, the monkies settled on a few attractions to visit:

Skansen Open Air Museum
Skansen Aquarium
Vasa Museum
Nobel Prize Museum
Royal Palace (at the request of the wifey 🤣)
Tom Tits Experiment (yes, the name caught the attention of the monkies for sure! And it's a science museum for kids in case you are wondering.)

And in between all the planning, we learnt more about our destination together. Because like I mentioned before, kids are brilliant and their brains are sponges, ready to soak up information and experiences. And being informed about our travel destination will make our trip much more enjoyable.

Designate a day or time that’s all theirs

But even after all that, I have deliberately kept one day completely free. There will be one day in Stockholm where there are no plans and no attractions to visit. We might still end up visiting an attraction or two but the idea is to let the monkies - the boys specifically - decide what to do on that day, to take ownership over the outcome of our trip for that one day.

I admit, I am a little apprehensive of that but let's just see how that turns out. You can always follow us on my Instagram to see what happens! 😆

At the end of the day, in order for everyone to have the best family trip possible, it’s important for everyone to be involved in the entire process. Planning is such a fundamental aspect to travel and involving kids in that process will make your trip more enjoyable and memorable for the whole family.

Which is precisely what Klook is encouraging for this year-end travel holiday period.

With Klook's many activities spread across different countries, it is easy to build your own perfect holiday and as the monkies have shown, it is easy even for the kids!

And there's a bonus too if you are currently planning for that year-end trip.

Save up to $100 with the discount codes above when you book through Klook. Even better if you have a DBS Woman's Card, because you get to enjoy an additional $18 off Klook activities with a minimum $180 spend! More details HERE.


So to all parents out there who worry about travelling with their kids, just do it. And keep doing it! One day, they will turn into awesome sidekicks who pack and lug their own luggage, plan the itinerary, take the lead in navigating, snap splendid selfies... and the one special memory.

Cheers to more exploring and travelling with your kids, tweens and teens!