Are you one of those parents who refuses to let parenthood hinder your love for travel? Traveling with young children can be an awesome adventure, but it certainly comes with a unique set of challenges. From navigating airports to keeping your little ones entertained on long journeys, it's a a bit of a journey in itself!
Here's the good news: you're not alone, and you're about to discover some invaluable tips and tricks to make your family travels a breeze. I’ll also share some of the fantastic finds that have genuinely made life easier for us when travelling with the kids.
In this guide, we'll explore the art of stress-free family travel. We've got your back, from pre-travel prep to in-flight peace, and we’ll also look at some ways to help everyone stay chilled on the trip!
Our goal is to make your journey easier and this guide's top tips to travelling with kids will help! So, let's dive in and unlock the secrets to traveling with young children like a pro!
Planning Ahead
Before you think about packing, a bit of pre-travel preparation goes a long way. Start by making a checklist of the essentials you'll need for the trip. It sounds daft but trust me, writing a list down first is so helpful… You know you’ll get distracted by a child at some point in the packing process, so at least you’ll know where you’re up to. Don't judge me: I use The Little Book of Lists by Mrs Hinch 😂 Make sure you have all your travel documents together, from passports to boarding passes and please, please please make sure you have travel insurance. Now, let's talk packing. It's a balancing act, isn't it? You want to be prepared for any situation, but you also don't want to lug around half your home. Focus on packing the essentials for your children, plenty of nappies and wipes. We usually packed enough nappies for 24 hours (with a few spares) and then found a shop when we got to our hotel to stock up, which saved plenty of space in the cases! We always have plenty of wipes on hand as we do a subscribe and save on Amazon for Huggies Pure Water Wipes. We tried to save money by using Aldi’s wipes but my husband didn’t like the fact he kept putting his finger through them when cleaning Sh***y nappies, which didn’t go down well. With subscribe and save it only worked out about 10p more a pack, which was worth it for clean fingers and a happy husband!
Cabin Approved Strollers I’m not going to bang on about how good these are here as, I wouldn’t be renting them out to you lovely people if I didn’t think they were absolute game changers. They really do make travelling with young children so easy though. Having a pushchair for your holiday from the second you get off the plane and not after a mile walk to baggage reclaim will make you all a lot happier, especially if you land when the little ones want to be asleep. They’re not the cheapest things to buy so our cabin sized stroller rental service saves you forking out for something you might only use once or twice a year and it won’t take up storage space in your house for the rest of the year. Check out our shop page for booking information.
Keeping The Kids Entertained
We bought the girls these Busy Boards before our first trip away because they're practically flat and fit into their bags no problem. These are great for helping toddlers develop their hand eye coordination and fine motor skills and kept them quiet for ages. These activity boards come in a range of colours and are suitable sensory toys for ages 1-4. The holiday's we have done with the girls so far have been with Jet2.com and they've been really friendly with the girls. We were given activity passport and set of stickers from the crew, which meant the girls could stick pilot stickers all over themselves and colour in the book they were given. I'm not sure what other airlines do but it's certainly worth asking, especially if it gives you some quiet time! We take the girls juice bottles most places we go as we can always buy drinks to fill them up and know they're not going to spill them. I tried a few cheap ones that didn't really last very long, especially when they get thrown around by my little darlings. My husband told me to get Camelbak ones but I though they were far too expensive... Everything is when you have twins! Eventually he just bought them anyway and to be fair they're great quality. The girls have a unicorn version of the Camelbak Eddy Kids, which have survived numerous throws down the stairs on to a tiled floor and I'm sure I've seen the girls using one as a hammer! We could also just buy replacement nozzles and straws when they were getting grubby and keep the original bottle which saved us a few quid!
Make it Fun Embrace your inner game master and turn mundane tasks into exciting adventures. Challenge your kids to spot specific objects at the airport, play "I Spy," or have a mini treasure hunt. On the plane, create storytelling sessions or encourage them to draw things they can see on the plane. By adding an element of fun, you're not only making the journey enjoyable for your children but also reducing stress for yourself. If you've done the right prep, packed the right things and done a little bit of research on your trip through the airport, then everything else should follow nicely and you'll hopefully have a stress-free travelling experience with your children!
Enjoy your holiday ❤