I've taken my child to 20 countries. I always follow these 8 rules to make sure a trip goes smoothly.

When it comes to hotels and lodging, location is everything. We always try to choose a hotel with proximity to public transportation.

Not only is it important to be able to get to all the spots we want to see, but also my kids enjoy the novelty of trains, subways, ferries, and buses. They loved taking the tube in London, the bullet trains in Japan, and the ferries on the Greek islands.

For this reason, I always find lodging within walking distance of public transportation. In Amsterdam, we even stayed in the Red Light District because its proximity to the train station let us take easy day trips to Giethoorn and Zaanse Schans.

Although public transit is ideal, having a backup mode of transportation is crucial in case of emergency.

Uber is available in over 15,000 cities worldwide, but not everywhere. In some countries, tourists can use Uber, but local alternatives are more reliable and affordable.

Ahead of a trip, I make sure to research country-specific ride-hailing apps and download whichever ones are popular locally to have as backup.

To avoid massive crowds, I'll typically avoid global sites and popular spots from big franchises (like Disney parks) when I travel with my kids.

Instead, we try opting for local amusement parks and museums, which we've found to be a little less crowded.

On our various trips, we've visited Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, Brussels' Choco-Story museum, the Historium Brugge in Bruges, Puerto Plata's Monkeyland, and Seoul's many pet cafés.

In the weeks leading up to a trip, I'll download a language-specific learning app to learn (and teach my kids!) local phrases and questions we might find ourselves asking.

Recently, we discovered HelloChinese for Mandarin; previously, we've had luck just using YouTube videos to learn Korean. Duolingo works here, too.

My kids sometimes miss the familiar when we travel.

So, as much as I encouraged my son to try escargot in Paris, I was also first in line when we saw a "gringo" taco food truck in Oslo.

I always like to pick a single hotel as a "base camp" from which we take all our day trips.

This helps us avoid the hassle of re-packing and often has the added bonus of allowing for the most cost-efficient modes of transportation, like budget airlines that only allow a personal item.

For example, when we visited Athens, we planned a day trip to Santorini. It took under an hour to fly there via a budget airline, and even though we just spent a day on the island, the trip turned into one of my children's fondest memories.

Checking a suitcase can get expensive, and I also get nervous about losing my luggage. So, I never check anything, only travel with a roller carry-on and backpack, and wear any necessary outerwear while boarding the plane.

Not only does this trick save money and assuage my anxiety, but it also helps me put a limit on the number of souvenirs my kids can buy. After all, they can only fit so much in their carry-ons.

When my kids were young, I did all the planning. Since my older son became a teen, though, I've involved him in the itinerary.

I'll set the budget and scope of the trip, but ask him to do some research on where we should go.

After a childhood spent seeing castles in Europe, his last two picks included a weeklong Caribbean cruise and a string of trips across Asia — over the past year, we've visited Japan, Korea, and China, and next month, we'll be traveling to Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore.

Including him in the process has helped me ensure we'll both have a great time — and it's passed on to him the same passion I have for discovering the world, one trip at a time.