Practical tips for travelling with young children

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Are you looking for some practical tips for travelling with young children? Or maybe you want some simple tips to assist in your travel planning? Then this is the post for you!

Travelling with young children for the first time is very exciting, but can also be overwhelming.  You might be bombarded with everyone telling you a zillion things you need to take and another bzillion things to consider taking.

People will tell you about all the Apps you need, or social media accounts you should follow. Quickly followed by horror stories based on what they saw on the news last night or heard from their sisters-friends-cousin!

Trust me, I have been there!

This post contains simple, practical tips to consider when travelling with children is based on my experience of travelling with a child between 3.5-8 years old.

Note, this post is mostly focused on international travel via plane and is not a comprehensive travel planning list.

Before you go

Consider the climate

Depending on where you live, you might be going from a cold climate to a hot climate or vice-versa. The change in climate may be a struggle for young children.

Things you could consider in warmer climates are:

• Getting the child used to wearing hats, sunglasses and sunscreen before you travel.
• Packing light, long length clothing and comfortable hats that pack easily.
• Staying somewhere with a pool to cool down

For cooler climates consider:

• Buying good quality clothes that are less bulky so you don’t have to layer as much.  
• Having some indoor activity ideas ready.
• Ensure your accommodation has space to play.

TIPS | Read the simple tips in this post to help keep your passport safe.

Will you need a car seat?

This is definitely something to think about before you go if you plan on travelling in cars. If you are renting a car you can usually hire car seats (prebooking advisable) that will be fitted for you.

Consider the size of the car seat too. Do you really want to lug around a bulky car seat? It might be worth purchasing a lighter weight car seat.

Airlines have different policies on car seats so check before you go.

What about a stroller?

Research where you are going to determine whether a stroller will be practical.  Parenthood Adventures has great stroller reviews.

I used the cheap strollers that were only $20 or so from Kmart.  They are suitable for children that can sit unassisted (around 6 months). However, they don’t adjust so are useless for naptime and they are not that comfortable for extended periods of time. But, they are easy to carry around and work well for children that want to walk for a bit, then have a rest.

Oh, and they are very handy for getting around in airports. Generally the airlines will let you take the stroller all the way to the plane – but check first.

Book breakfast and get snacks

We love having breakfast included in the room cost – provided the price isn’t ridiculous.  Starting the day with hungry children (and adults) doesn’t end well.

Adding breakfast when you book accommodation can often be cheaper.  But you can easily organise this when you arrive.

Alternatively, you can find a decent supermarket and stock up on breakfast items. Whilst you are stocking up on breakfast supplies also buy snacks.  Grab some small zip-lock style bags and make snack bags to carry with you.

Accommodation type and prebooking

Think about your accommodation type and what will work best for you travelling with children. Prebooking is also advised to avoid any stress in the event you can’t find somewhere suitable to stay.

In places such as Bali you can find great hotel rooms and villas which are very family friendly. Whereas places like Singapore and Japan are known for having really small hotel rooms. In these cases you might want to look at holiday rentals or even hostels with good common areas.

Spend extra on accommodation if needed to get something that works for you. The holiday won’t be much fun if you all feel trapped in a small space!

TIP | Don’t underestimate the benefits of having a couch and a dining table!

Electronic devices

Taking electronic devices? Make sure you:

• pack the right charging cables and have the right power converters
• check if your airline includes entertainment screens or whether you need to bring your own. For smaller children the in-seat entertainment units are a pain as they are too high for the child to see.
• check airline restrictions if you are taking extra power packs.
• have a neat way to store everything (packing cubes are useful for this).

Practical clothing

My best advice is to be practical. Don’t dress your children ready for Instagram worthy photos and then spend time stressing that they are getting dirty.

Pack comfortable clothes to suit the climate and activities. If you plan on getting washing done make sure the clothes are suitable for going through a clothes drier.

Taking multiple suitcases? Put a set of clothes for everyone in each case, that way if one case gets lost you all still have a set of clothes. Yes, you could buy new clothes at your destination, but depending on where you are travelling the sizes can be quite different so might not find something that fits.

TIP | Have you heard of packing cubes? They are seriously awesome and have their own dedicated post here.

Travel diary or journal

Depending on the age of the children you could purchase a travel diary or journal. Some of the travel diaries have a Before You Go section where you can write about where you are going, what you expect to see, what you are going to pack etc.

Some children want lots of details before a trip, others go with the flow, or are too young to understand. Do what works for you.

TIP | Surprise the young ones with an activity book that they didn’t know you packed. When they say “I’m bored” you can whip it out and save the day!

Grab yourself a diary or journal too! I use journals that I find visually beautiful, with or without lines and write (scribble) all over the place.

Airport pick-up

A pre-organised airport pickup to take you directly from the airport to the comfort of your hotel is a worthy investment after a long flight.

Yes, you can save money by getting public transport but weigh up whether the cost and effort is worth it.

Make sure you have the address for the hotel handy in case the airport pick-up doesn’t arrive. I generally get a pick-up when we arrive, but then take public transport or organise a car for when we leave.

TIP | Compare the cost of the hotel arranged pick-up with sites such as Get Your Guide to see if the costs are comparable. Sometimes the hotel arranged pick-ups are a great price, other times they suck.

When you get there

Slow it doowwnnn

Depending on the age of the children, and how well they travel, it might be worth getting into the mindset of taking it slower.

This can be hard if you enjoyed full and eventful holidays pre-children and still want to get the most out of your holiday! Trust me, it took us multiple trips before we slowed down a bit.

So what does “taking it slower” really mean for us? Our first trips with a 3 year old were pretty fast paced with 3-4 nights per place, multiple flights and lots of activities all crammed into 3 weeks.

As much as I tried to make this work, it just didn’t.  I was desperate not to let having a child change my travel life. But I had to adapt.

Now we try and stay in one place a bit longer. For example, 8 nights in the first location, then have a few nights in 1 or 2 other places. Accepting that we won’t see and do everything has been part of the journey to slow down.

We rarely do full day trips as we know the afternoon is full of whinging and becomes unenjoyable.  Half-day trips with ice-cream after lunch is the sweet spot!

Allow some “chill” days to give everyone time to relax. In saying that, a “chill” day just means we don’t have planned activities. We will still go for walks, head out for food, swim, play cards etc but we just take it slower.

Family time

Don’t forget to simply enjoy the family time. You don’t need to cram every day with activities.  When we have limited time for holidays (eg being restricted to annual leave) there is a feeling that you have to make the make the most of it by seeing/doing everything.

Quality family time is more important than dragging your children to every historical monument or tourist attraction.

Breathe In, Breathe Out, try and relax!

Find time to do activities that the children want to do – even if it doesn’t really interest you. Whilst we didn’t want to be at a games arcade for 3 hours in Siem Reap Cambodia, our son didn’t want to look at temples all morning either – but that was our balance.

Clothes washing

Phew, what’s that funky smell? Time to wash some clothes!

If the cost is not prohibitive then I suggest getting your clothes washed a few days before heading home. This avoids having a mountain of washing to do when you get back. Trust me, you will thank your future self when you get home for doing this!

Although, if you have to wash the clothes yourself then maybe just wait until you get home. No point spending vacation time doing the washing!

When you get home

Don’t rush to unpack.

This is something I need to remind myself to do!

You get home, you are tired, the children are tired and your brain automatically starts filling with everything you need to do….get ready for school and work, open the mail, pay the bills that came while you were away, where has the cat gone, what is that funky smell coming from the fridge etc etc.

Just leave the unpacking or take out only the essentials that you need.

I try and have a few days at home before going back to work so we can unpack without rushing and get groceries sorted. This also gives our son some time to rest before returning to school.

PLAN | Head to the Travel Advice page for more travel planning advice.

Do what works for you

You can literally spend hours researching online for travel planning tips. Tips on what to pack and what not to pack.  Tips on travel apps, credit cards, points hacking.

This no doubt will lead down the rabbit hole of backpack vs suitcase, whether you need an RFID blocking wallet and whether cat hair on your clothes needs to be declared at customs.  

But do what works for you and keep it simple! None of the above tips are complicated, they are practical and tested.

Enjoy your holiday!

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