Some travel lessons (never, ever, ever get on a plane with Cletus without Dramamine) you learn in one trip. Others take years of experimentation, trial and error. Rule #4 is one of those.
In any given seven days of travel, you should only sleep in two different locations. This is a much slower pace than most trips sans children, but as you may remember, you are trying to embrace the slow lane. In general, if you stay in more than two places in one week, you are trying to cram in too much.
There are some exceptions to this rule, of course, such as if you are traveling in an RV or visiting many small locations close together. But in general it’s much better to stay in one place and take day trips than to move around every few nights. The stability and continuity will help young kids to feel comfortable in their room, and the familiarity of the surroundings will help you when it comes to decisions about food and other necessities. It takes a couple of days to get your bearings in your temporary “neighborhood,” and knowing where the closest bakery/cafe/ ice cream cart is can be a day-saver.
(I’m realizing that readers of this blog may have formed the impression that I am obsessed with ice cream. These readers would not be wrong. But honestly, Fortuitously Timed Ice Cream is the greatest secret weapon in kindertravel history. Always know where the ice cream is.)
Corfu Town
If you think this will get too boring, and since you will likely be flying in and out of your first location, you can split the trip into 2-3-2. When we went to Greece, we were warned not to leave our trip to the “islands” till the end in case of flight delays getting back, so we spent two days in Athens, four days on Corfu, and two more days in Athens. It was more exciting for the kids, but since we stayed in the same hotel when we came back to Athens, we already knew how to find all the most kid-friendly restaurants. Also, crucially, where to buy the best snow globes (no trip with Lemmy is complete without one.)
But remember, since you’ll only be doing one major event per day, you’ll be surprised how long you can spend in one place without getting bored. If you choose to split 4-3, nobody will be complaining.
As long as you know where the ice cream is.
Shave ice will do in a pinch.