Travelling with toddlers and young children can be exhausting. Travelling with kids on a plane? That’s an even more significant challenge. Waiting in long queues with heavy luggage items in tow while looking after your little ones and their safety can be a headache. To avoid ruining your holiday before reaching your destination, we created a survival guide to make travelling with kids a breeze. Find our top tips below and prepare for the smoothest travel experience possible.
Arrive at the Airport Early
Running around the airport with your kids trying to catch a flight can be a true nightmare. Our recommendation? Arrive early! Airport travel is time-consuming; you’ll most likely need to check in multiple bags and strollers, wait in long passport and security check lines, take multiple bathroom breaks and walk around to find your gate. Start your journey early and get to the airport with plenty of time for all the necessary airport checks and boarding. Rushing around will only cause stress – both to you and your little ones, so avoid that at all costs.
Avoid Long Queues
Airports are known for their long queues – especially in the summer and during the Holiday Season. Waiting at Passport Control, Security Check or the taxi line upon reaching your destination can be exhausting for the entire family. Luckily, there are ways to avoid this. Take advantage of fast-track services such as TSA Pre-check, and if you want to avoid waiting at a taxi rank with numerous other travellers, pre-book and pre-pay for your airport transfer with Welcome Pickups to get picked up at the arrival gate without any hassle.
Bring Along Distractions
Ensure you pack your kids’ favourite toys, board games or even a tablet and headphones so they can watch their favourite shows and play games before, during and after the flight. This way, you will keep your kids occupied and engaged – it will work like a charm, especially for longer trips.
Let’s Go Play’s “Flying with Kids”
Ever heard of Let’s Go Play’s “Flying with kids”? Their Youtube channel offers many fun videos to entertain kids during a trip and educate them about the experience of flying. There is video content that shows kids what they can expect to help them ease into the process.
Don’t Forget their Medication
Remember to pack prescription medications and put together a first-aid kit for emergencies. When you are abroad, it may be hard to find the exact medications you use at home, and sometimes, meds can be more expensive. As for your emergency kit, ensure you include plasters, painkillers, a rash cream, allergy tablets and insect-bite ointments. Those are a must whether you are travelling with children or not – you can never be too prepared!
Pack Smart
We know packing for a trip can be generally stressful – especially with the applicable luggage weight restrictions and even more so when you’re travelling with children and their clothes and gear. Try your best to pack just enough clothes and shoes to avoid super heavy luggage items. Plan by day and use packing cubes or reusable zip-lock bags for organising your little ones’ daily outfits in advance. If possible, we advise you to bring along carry-on luggage with “must-have” items for you and your kids – such as extra underwear, a pair of socks, a shirt and pants. Lastly, you can never go wrong with a couple of small towels and baby wipes; that way, you’ll be able to combat spilt food and drinks like a pro.
Travelling with a Car Seat – A Nightmare
Baby seats and child boosters are bulky and heavy and carrying them around from one city to the next can be exhausting, especially since you’ll have to focus on keeping your other personal belongings and your loved ones safe and close by. That’s why we recommend always pre-booking your transfer and sightseeing rides with a reliable company where you will be able to secure the appropriate car seats for your babies and tots!
Pre-book your Airport Transfers
The last thing you’ll want when you finally reach your destination after a tiresome flight is to have to navigate the local public transportation networks or queue up for a cab outside the airport. With Welcome Pickups, you won’t have to worry about any of that; your English-speaking local driver will meet you as soon as you collect your baggage and reach the Arrivals Hall. They’ll be waiting with a name sign in hand to whisk you off to your pre-selected vehicle and transport you to your hotel or apartment with ease and comfort.
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We hope this survival guide helps you and your family during your travels. Minimise stress, plan in advance and don’t miss out on making the best of your journey for a memorable holiday.
