Tips on How To Travel With Children

[ 0 ] 06/02/2018 | liza

If your family holiday is looming, you’ll be feeling a mixture of excitement and stress. Travelling with children can pose a few difficulties, from organizing them to ensuring they don’t run amok at the airport, but the good memories will last a lifetime.

If you’re stressed about the upcoming event, be sure to follow these tips to help make the holiday (and getting there) run smoothly, so the whole family has a fantastic time.

Plan, plan, plan

The key to a stress-free holiday with children is to plan ahead. There is a lot to think about with children in general, so the more of your checklist you can tick off before you set off on holiday, the less likely you are to forget anything.

You should plan down to the smallest details – from your kids’ schedules for the week ahead of your trip, to what you’re going to eat before you set off. This way you’ll have a clear mindset and will be less likely to run into any problems.

Packing tips

Getting your packing right is the key to a successful holiday with the family. It may feel like children need to travel with twice as much stuff as adults (which is often proven to be true), so ensuring that you’re prepping their suitcases and clothes way in advance will take a lot of hassle out of the days leading up to the trip.

Keep their holiday-wear separate to their day-to-day-wear a week or two before you travel, so you know exactly how many tops/bottoms they have, and what needs to be washed/purchased prior to packing.

Also, be mindful of the climate you’re travelling to. Keep an eye on the weather forecast for your destination in the days leading up to your trip, and pack accordingly. Your children will become irritable or unwell if they are not dressed appropriately, so head-wear and lots of sunblock for sunny climates is a must, and thick jumpers, coats, gloves and hats are crucial for colder conditions.

Be sure to pack a first-aid kit as you never know what might happen, and how far you’ll be from the nearest pharmacy or hospital. Also pack a pair of chewing gums to ease the ear pain that your eldest ones might experience during the flight, and a dummy or breastfeeding on demand especially during take off and landing for the youngest ones.

Long-haul flight tips

If you’re flying far afield, it’s wise to book an overnight flight so your children are most likely to sleep through the most of it. Also, be sure to tire your children out in the day with activities and sports, to increase their chances of sleeping through the journey. You’ll probably be exhausted too and sleep most of the way!

It’s not a bad idea to pack your children blankets, cushions, snacks, a change of clothes and toothbrushes, to keep them as comfortable as possible.

Do you have a particularly hyper child who needs constant stimulation? Make sure they have plenty to do, from toys to coloring books and crayons. Be sure to pack your iPad or smartphone too, so they can watch their favorite films and TV shows or play their favorite games on the plane. What we normally do with our eldest, is to hide the iPad for a while prior to a trip, and present it on the airplane with the promise of unlimited access during travelling. Before this trip to Thailand for instance, our iPad hadn’t been used for about 3 months, so he was over the moon and stayed glued to his seat for quite a while.

A good tip is to pack each child their own carry-on bag full of their favorite things – this will teach them to take responsibility for their own possessions, as well as lightening your load.

Baby carrier

I cannot stress enough how handy a good baby carrier will be at the airport, the plane and at your destination. It will free up your arms, it will keep the youngest member of the family contained, save you lots of time especially at the airport -where you’re likely to be in a rush-, cries and unnecessary stress. At your destination, it will be your best companion for all places a pushchair cannot go to. As you already know, I am a BIG FAN of Ergobaby and Tula, the best carriers around, and which I sell through my e-shop here. I swear by them and have been using them with my children since 2013.

Double buggy

Finding the right buggy for your family holiday is crucial. If you have two small children, you could benefit from taking a double buggy with you on your trip. This means you can keep your children close to you while travelling and saves you from chasing them or carrying them all the time. Double buggies also allow you to store your own luggage or day bag, and most can be folded up to fit on a plane/in a car.

By following these travelling tips, you and your little ones can enjoy a stress-free holiday, with tantrums and tiredness at a minimum. The most important thing is to not shy away from big holidays that require a lot of travelling – they teach your children patience and strengthen your bond as a family.

Our travelling with kids background

We have taken our kids in many places, starting with a holiday in Gozo when Erik was just 1 1/2 months old. Since then, and two kids later, we have travelled with them to Greece (mainland and islands), Norway (even in a camper-van down south and with a big ship and plane all the way up north to the Lofoten islands and see the midnight sun!), to Port Blair, Kalkuta and Havelock island in India, Macao, and have been spending 3 European winters in a summery Thailand. Erik also insists he has been to Spain with his grandparents, he’s a Spanish doctor, and he simply hopped from Norway and got himself to Spain, but that’s a whole different story 🙂

Travelling with young children can be tricky, but it is doable, and rewarding.

Happy holidaying!

//Liza