Traveling with children
You don’t want to stop travelling overseas just because you now have children and what’s more, you still want quality accommodation, great facilities and a little time for yourselves to relax. Great kids’ entertainment and occasional supervision for your children can be important. Plus, top tips on how to avoid the having a stressful journey with the kids.
1. Pace yourself. Go with the flow and don’t pack in too much. Build in rest days and be realistic about what you might see and do.
2. Travel is great for broadening the mind, even if you’re a five-year-old. Start getting your little ones prepared for their holiday by treating it like a project. Read a guide book to them or watch a DVD or perhaps even try some of the local traditional dishes you may expect at your destination. Encourage them to keep a holiday journal, collect photos, ticket stubs and draw pictures of what they have seen and record new words they may have learned along the way, and give things a try.
3. Research and prepare a “things to do and places to go if the weather isn’t great” list. This is particularly good if travelling out of season in the February or October half terms.
4. If possible check in online as knowing you are sat together will give you piece of mind and you can often turn up a little later to airport if you have checked in, leaving less time to entertain your child before boarding.
5. Choose a hotel that caters for children. Kids clubs can give parents a welcome break but make sure you check what ages they take, what hours they operate and that they are running at the time of year you are visiting (many only run for the high season).
6. Taking a buggy or pram, even if your child is now walking, can be handy as they can double up as places to rest from the heat or if up a little later than usual to rest in a restaurant, for example.
7. Check the hand luggage restrictions before travelling, including the latest rules on carrying liquids, gels and creams, which will more than likely include milk and nappy cream for example. Chances are you will be able to carry them, but they may have to be stored in a specific way and not carried over a certain quantity, as the rules change so often it’s always worth checking close to travel.
8. Requesting a ground floor room if available is often a good idea many rooms lead onto gardens giving extra play areas
9. When flying it’s helpful to have something such as a boiled sweet to suck on to drink during take-off and landing. Make sure you have plenty of ways to entertain your little one such as crayons, books and their favourite toy.
10. Enjoy. If you book with Travel Counsellors we can do many of these things for you.