Lots of people told us that travelling with kids was impossible. Being fairly young parents, we were determined to prove people wrong and travelling with the kids became a key part of our lives. After all, one of our favourite things to do is to travel and pre-children, my husband and I would regularly make the most of any opportunity to explore the world, near and far! Whilst at first, travelling with kids was a little tougher, we always promised ourselves that we would continue to travel once we had a family of our own. As a family, we’ve travelled extensively and even lived abroad and it continues to be a huge part of our life as a family. So, read on for my top tips for travelling with children.
Whether you’re staying in the UK, driving to Europe or jetting off somewhere further afield, travelling with children is a great way to spend time as a family. We’ve seen first-hand the benefits of travelling with kids, both for them and for us!
Carry on reading for some of my top tips for getting away with a young family, and if you’re planning a road trip, check out my must-have advice for road trips with kids here.
My 5 top tips for travelling with kids:
1. Enrol family or friends to come along with you!
We have been very lucky that for a lot of our holidays, we can travel with friends and family as well as the kids. Not only does this make for some excellent quality time for us all but it also shares the load of worrying about the kids! Having extra hands around makes it easier from the get-go. Once in Portugal, my parents were able to help us with our 10 (yes 10!) pieces of luggage through the airport. More people also mean that there are more hands to take turns entertaining the girls on the flight. Whilst you’re on holiday, they make even offer to babysit so that you can have a date night! Sometimes its nice to go away just as a family of four, but I have the most incredible memories of big family holidays from when I was little and so I can only hope that our girls will feel the same!
2. Rent a baby-friendly villa/property.
We have now stayed in a range of hotels, apartments, villas and cottages with the girls and all have their pluses/minuses. Having said that, when the girls were younger, we found a baby-friendly villa was definitely our favourite option! Finding somewhere with high-chairs, cots, stairgates etc all available at your disposal when you get there saves an awful lot of packing at home, and an awful lot of stress when you arrive. There are some fab providers which have a huge selection of baby-friendly accommodation so be sure to shop around! Check out Blue Chip Holidays for UK based travel or TotsToTravel for any trips further afield.
3. Learn some key words and phrases in the language that you might need!
Now this one might not be for everyone but for me it is a real top tip when travelling with kids! As a languages teacher, I really enjoy finding new vocabulary in different languages. But this is also a fairly practical suggestion too! Asking for a high-chair at a restaurant, or where the baby-change is can make a real difference to your experience! And on a more serious note, it can be a real help should you need any medical advice too! We’ve been abroad twice now and needed advice from a pharmacist! Thankfully my French was enough to get a tick removed from my daughter’s leg and I was just about able to ask for some child paracetamol on a trip to Portugal!
4. Make sure you pack snacks, toys and more snacks.
No matter how you’re travelling or where you’re travelling to, you can never take too many snacks with you!! If your children are anything like mine, a snack can give you a good minute’s respite in even the most terrible temper tantrums! Similarly, make sure you take some familiar toys that you know will be a hit! We used to take our play tea-set wherever we went! If you’re flying somewhere, or equally going anywhere on a longer journey you could even try wrapping up some little toys! The wrapping paper is half the fun when you’re two years old!
5. Don’t be afraid!
Having children puts a lot of people off travelling, but in our experience it has always been worth the journey time once we have arrived at our destination! When our eldest was 2 we flew to California and whilst it was a long flight, and I was also fairly heavily pregnant at the time, the trip was absolutely incredible and we made some wonderful family memories. She may not remember it in years to come, but my husband and I will. Arguably our travel bug then led us to live abroad with kids for a little while, but now we’re back in the UK, we are more than ready to travel with the kids again! We’re not sure where is next on our list but I’m sure it will be an adventure wherever we end up!
What are your top tips for travelling with children? Have you got any favourite places that you go?
Let me know – I’d love to hear from you!
x
