Are you excited to be able to travel again?
For many of us, the past couple of years have been marked by the lack of travelling we’ve been able to do with borders shutting during the pandemic. For a while there, it truly seemed like the end of your back garden was the most exotic place you could visit with the kids.
At last, exploring is firmly back on the menu, which leaves one question - does travelling with kids have to be a giant pain in the ass?
Small children are many different things, but tolerant of change or disruptions to schedule is generally not one of them. And whether you’re packing up the car for a staycation or braving a flight, travel has the potential to make all of us anxious, on edge and stressed - adults as much as children!
The good news is that there are a number of tips and tricks that work really well when you’re looking at where and how to travel with small children. And the calmer and more prepared you can be, the happier your baby, toddler or school age child is also likely to be.
So here are some of the best tips on travelling with kids I’ve come across - happy journeying!
Make A List - And Check It Twice
Just like a certain seasonal visitor, making a list (and checking it twice, or more!) cannot be emphasised enough. The stress of packing light ramps up a notch when you also have one or several small people to remember stuff for. As anyone who has ever left the house with a child will attest - you need a LOT of stuff. Using a travel packing list app can help to maintain sanity and avoid any chance of leaving behind something critical like a passport or that one cuddly toy they can’t sleep without.
Get Kids Involved In Packing
Kids can be a whole lot more co-operative when you involve them in a small, manageable bit of the planning - and my children, Theo and Romilly, love to help with packing their own bags. To make it easier, I narrow down the choices - so they’re picking from a set of pre-approved options (that way, we avoid them insisting on packing only superhero outfits or all Lego bricks and nothing else!).Change can be challenging for small children, so getting them in on the packing is a way to help them adjust.
Don’t Overschedule Activities
Every little thing takes twice as long when you involve small children. So it's a good idea to be conservative when planning your trip itinerary. There’s less stress all around if you accept upfront you may not be able to do everything you first wished. It's a much better idea to prioritise one or two ‘must do’ items and then treat anything else as a bonus - that way you don’t get hung up on missing out on things. The main point is to spend time together, after all. When we recently went to northern France, we wanted to take the kids into Paris. There are so many wonderful things to do there, but trying to dash around all the sights with a six and a four year old in tow was never going to be realistic. Instead, we focused on just two things to do - a walk along the banks of the Seine, and going to the Eiffel Tower. All the other wonders can be saved for a future trip.
Expect The Unexpected
Life with children is full of curveballs, and this only increases when you’re in a new environment. So try your best to stay relaxed and open minded - expect the unexpected to happen. Frustration when plans change will rub off on your kids, who are then likely to become more fussy themselves. Aim to welcome a bit of a break from your usual routine and who knows? It could turn into the most fun family adventure.
Choose Your Travel Times Carefully
Pre-kids, the main criteria I had for choosing a flight time was the price. In a world with tiny humans , the goal should be to avoid departures that are too early or late. Kids are much less able to deal with their primary needs - hunger, thirst and sleep - not being met. So you might be making life ten times harder if you don’t opt for travel times that work around their usual sleep/wake schedule. Aim to travel between 11am-4pm where possible, so kids can wake up and go to bed around about their usual times, and nap en route. The downside is you ‘lose a day’ to travel, but that travel will be so much easier without the meltdowns you’ll be likely to get otherwise. The upside? Travel outside of peak times tends to be a little cheaper, so you may be able to make a saving and also keep your sanity in the process.
Pack ‘Away Bags’
Are you above a little bribery for the sake of an easy life? I’m certainly not, so one of the things I always do is pack each child a little ‘away bag’, filled with some snacks, juice, travel games, colouring and small toys. This usually buys a lot of peace on a flight or in the back of a car, and ensures they have something to keep them busy when the initial excitement of flying wears off. Confession time: I also pack ‘emergency chocolate’, which I’m not afraid to deploy to avoid a meltdown. I’ve only actually had to use it once, but just knowing it's there makes me feel better.
Sack Off Hotels, Stay In An Apartment
As lovely as hotels are, they can be tricky with smaller children. After all, when they’ve gone to bed, what do you do? Sit awkwardly in the bathroom? Banish yourself outside to the balcony? Since having kids, I’ve found that hiring a local apartment solves a lot of problems. Not only do you have the extra living space and room to breathe, but you also get a kitchen which is great for prepping meals and snacks for a little fussy eater who doesn’t like the local cuisine. Many also come with a garden and either a private pool or access to a shared one.
Swap Eating Out At Dinner For Lunch
Eating out at dinner times can be difficult, mainly because a lot of the restaurants you might like to visit may not open until your kids are normally in bed, especially in hotter countries where the evening meal times tend to be later. It doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the local specialities though. We often ‘swap’ our meal times around, going for lunch at a restaurant and just having a quick sandwich or salad for dinner. This means we get to ‘eat out’ on holiday without worrying about a tired toddler tantrum spoiling the meal.
Download Some Entertainment
You never know quite what the situation will be with internet access when you’re travelling, so it's a good idea to download kid friendly movies, games and books to a tablet at home before you leave. Wi Fi service and quality can be patchy on the move or even once you’re at your destination, so having a back up library of content is a great idea. And make sure to bring a powerbank along to avoid running out of battery on the go.
Don’t Bring Too Many Bags
The logistics of travel with children can be awkward. If you have a baby, they may have a pram, a car seat and a changing bag for you to juggle, along with everyone’s cases and hand luggage. The golden rule is to prioritize learning how to pack light. Minimise the clothes and shoes you take, pack laundry soap so you can wash and re-wear items out there, and be selective about the items you really need. For slightly older children, I really recommend getting a roller backpack that they can wear but also wheel along themselves. There are also devices that let a small child ride on your suitcase, which can be a much better idea than carrying them or spending the whole trip trying to stop them running into everyone.
Get a portable booster seat
If you’re planning to hire a car at your destination, or even just get in a taxi from the airport, you will need to think about a booster seat. Usually you can hire these, but that can be expensive. One of the great travel hacks for moms is to get inflatable booster seats, like the Bubble Bum. Fully compliant with safety standards, these can be rolled up really small and slipped into a bag when you’re not using them. Once you've purchase one, you have several years of use from it. There are also travel high chair seats that slot onto a regular dining chair if you still have a baby or toddler, so you can avoid being stuck trying to eat with them in your lap.
Purchase attraction passes in advance - and pay to queue jump
A lot of major tourist destinations offer a special pass or combined ticket for several different attractions, so if you’re planning to hit the museum trail or do a few theme parks, it's definitely worth looking into. Pro tip: ‘fast passes’ or anything that lets you skip queues are definitely worth the extra money. Small children are notoriously intolerant of queues, and by the time you get to the actual attraction they may have had several meltdowns during the wait, leaving everyone stressed out and unhappy. Be selective, focus in on the things you really, really want to see and forget the others, and spend the money wisely on anything that will make things quicker and more convenient.
Opt for a sightseeing bus tour
If you’re heading somewhere that offers an open top tourist bus, that can be a great way to see more of the destination without having to do lots of walking with children (we all know toddlers have two speed settings only - snail’s pace or Usain Bolt. There is no inbetween.) Pack snacks, relax, sit back and let the sights come to you.
What top tips do you have for travelling with small children? Leave me a comment and share your hacks below!
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