Have Sippy Will Travel

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Madrid is a spectacular city that children of all ages can enjoy exploring alongside their parents. However, a perfect vacation there isn’t only a matter of choosing the best places to see. When traveling to Madrid with kids, you have to plan, prepare, and stock up on the essentials that will help keep your children safe, happy, and well-fed during your adventures.

3 Tips to Prepare for Traveling to Madrid with Kids

Consider Dietary Requirements

If your children have food allergies, are picky eaters, or have some other dietary requirements, you’ll need to plan the trip well. The delicious Spanish cuisine is one of the main reasons travelers enjoy this country so much. However, it’s not really dietary-friendly. You also aren’t likely to take kids on a tapas bar crawl.

The most important thing to do if your children have special dietary requirements is to prepare a list of foods they can/cannot eat. It must be in Spanish and preferably laminated as you’ll be showing it around quite a bit. It’ll also be wise to learn how to make specific food-related requests. You can use online translation services or traveler forums in case you don’t know anyone who can translate them for you.

You also need to research cafes and restaurants in the neighborhoods you’ll be visiting. Pick which are safe to try beforehand so you don’t waste your time on this during the trip. If dietary requirements or other health issues are a major concern, plan your entire journey around them. For example, check out which places are safe for your kids when picking a walking tour in Madrid. Pick the one that will take you to the area where those places are located. If it’s a matter of timing, choose a tour that doesn’t take too long so your children can eat before and after it. Find out about the possibility of bathroom breaks for any activities of this kind.

If you are traveling with a baby, you’ll be able to buy milk in grocery stores and baby formula in farmacias (Spanish pharmacies). Make sure that the place you stay at has the conditions needed for preparing formula.

Build Up the Excitement

The splendid Madrid architecture might be a wonder to you, but kids need a bit more than pretty buildings to keep their attention. To make sure your trip doesn’t fall flat, you need to prepare your children for what they are going to see. The best ways to do this are watching videos featuring the sights and reading books about them.

Short clips that show glimpses of the main Madrid’s attractions and offer snippets of historical facts will be best. You can find plenty of videos like this on YouTube and use them to pick which places you want to see together. It’s very important to get the kids involved. This way you can get them to look forward to seeing these places in real life.

Get Safe

Children and parents can get separated and lost. These things happen and the best you can do to ensure the tragedy doesn’t strike your family is to use a variety of precautions. The most important one is to set up a procedure your children will follow in case you do get separated.

The best thing to do is to equip your kids with means of contacting you, like a mobile phone. If it’s not possible, make sure they have a card with your contact information, name, and the hotel address on it. Instruct children on whom to show this card and if they are old enough, teach them how to contact the local emergency service for assistance.

When traveling by public transport, make sure everyone knows the name of your final stop. You should also set up a procedure of where and how to meet up in case you get separated.

Never forget, you can’t be too careful when traveling to Madrid with kids. Use every precaution you can think of and stay safe!