Any advice about travelling with young children?

A question that we get asked a great deal in the run up to the school holidays is for advice on how to make travelling with young children as stress free as possible.....

Here are some tips that we have put together to help you - do you have any other pieces of advice??


DO think through the times of your flights, and whether you can take a direct flight or if you need to make connections. It might be tempting to book the cheapest tickets possible, but they can often involve long waits between connections, or involved extra flights between airports.

DO consider whether a day flight or night flight will work best for your children. Night flights can be very disruptive to routine, but equally day flights require a lot of tricks to keep youngsters occupied.

DO try and travel with minimal hand luggage - easier said than done, we know! But, travelling around an airpost with many heavy bags (especially when youngsters are tired and won't carry their own bags) can be very tiring and difficult. Take just the things necessary for the actual flight, and pack everything else into the hold.

DO make sure that you have enough snacks in your hand luggage. Flying is probably one time when you want to just have those snacks on hand that you know will get eaten and be a 'treat', and act as a distraction if tempers get frayed.

DO make sure that you have easy to carry games or activities to keep children entertained. Sticker books, colouring books and crayons, small reading books all help to pass the rime and distract weary minds. A special teddy or toy might also be found room for in the hand luggage, to help if the little one is scared or needing to sleep.

DO make sure that you have a change of clothes and underwear for each child - accidents do happen, and sitting for hours in wet of dirty clothing is not nice.

DO take advantage of any offers of help, from ground staff, cabin crew or fellow travellers. Being brave and doing everything yourself will make things even harder for you.

DON'T assume that everyone on the plane is disapproving if you have a crying child - most of them will have been exactly in your position, and will be feeling a huge amount of empathy for you.


Phew! A lot to think about and organise! Good luck with your journeys, and bon voyage!!

Some other advice:

- Check that passports are up to date, and comply with entry/exit requirements of the country that you are visiting, along with any visa requirements.

- Think about car seat requirements at the other end - do you need to take them with you, or will your hire car or transport have adequate car seats available?

- Do your research - find out if you can get hold of any essentials at your destination e.g. if you need a specific formula.