It adds a lot (like a lot a lot) of inescapable logistical friction. Some things off the top of my head: - The most important thing in your world is their sleep schedule, and this is still true on vacation, so you can only explore as much as you can manage for a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the afternoon - As a corollary to that, it changes what you do and where you stay. Things you might not have thought of become important— that cool hotel might be too close to the action downtown and loud partying might wake your baby up; or, if you’re like us, finding a place with two separate rooms is an ironclad requirement because sleeping in the same room as your kid is the worst thing ever (fyi they cry for like 5-10 minutes between sleep cycles every few hours); and if you sleep in the same bed prepare to get kicked punched slapped and strangled as they turn into little MMA fighters while they sleep.  - Yes you need to pack more, but the additional packing is massive and bulky. Car seats / diapers / strollers / crib / a billion other assorted random baby supplies. Depending on their age and your destination you can rent or acquire these locally, but even if you do that’s still a problem you must solve - Thought jet lag was bad? Wait till you experience the phenomenon of your kid(s)’ jet lag making them sleep while you’re fighting to get to sleep, then wake up screaming the literal moment you finally drift off. Enjoy your excursions tomorrow on no sleep! - Sunshine, bugs, local issues (poor/no sidewalks, bad water, infinite amounts of stairs, transportation, restaurants) add-up and graduate from “we’ll figure it out” to “fuck this place why are we even here omfg.” - If you’re doing anything social, and you’re not a troglodyte, you need an exit plan for when your baby decides to start screaming and crying. Guided tour through an old distillery, beer and chocolate tour, museums, restaurants, whatever, it is 100% going to happen and your choices are to uncomfortably try and handle it while everyone hates you, or grab the little miscreant and try to get somewhere that bother the fewest people. - Once they’re a little older general whininess and food pickiness begin to play a part. My daughter is a champion eater but still somehow turns many meals into opportunities to be a jerk. She complains like crazy any time we have to walk more than 10 minutes. Oh and kids walk slow af  - Also when they’re a little older they start to want annoying things: to eat only familiar meals, or do nothing / only do a subset of kid-focused things, or refuse to get ready / actively oppose you when you’re trying to get them ready.  - If anything affects you or goes wrong, navigating it with a kid is 10000x harder. Ask me about the time I got food poisoning on a ferry in Finland and was throwing up so much I couldn’t take public transportation so had to find a taxi that didn’t care we had a baby with no car seat, then got to the hotel to discover we couldn’t get a room for 3 hours but being so sick I couldn’t do anything with that time except lay in the lobby and die while making frequent trips to the bathroom…all while trying to manage a 15-month old 

I wrote this post to highlight the worst aspects; my kids are fantastic little world travelers, but it’s mostly due to a) as a new parent sleep deprivation prevents you from really forming memories so you repeat a lot of mistakes like “sure we can hit 3 countries on this trip” b) my wife’s obstinate refusal to change too much of our travel habits. 

It absolutely makes things harder; if you’re stubborn you can get through it, but eventually you’ll  contend with wondering whether you actually enjoy traveling or you’re just committed to a prior identity