Useful Tips for Easy & Rewarding Family Travel

Exploring the world with your children is an incredibly rewarding way to teach them about other cultures, cuisines and ways of life. We know that travelling with your little lovelies can feel slightly scary, but with the right preparation, it really doesn’t need to be. If your children are having an incredible holiday you’re sure to be having one too, so we’ve put together some tips to help make your family adventure that little bit easier.

Because life with kids is forever changing as they grow, we’ve broken down our advice into four categories: babies, pre-schoolers, school kids and teenagers.

Tips for travelling with babies & toddlers (0-3)

Before you leave home

It will be tempting to take everything but the kitchen sink, but in reality, you’re going to need to be a bit crafty to avoid smashing your baggage limit. For example, you don’t need to pack 100s of nappies in many destinations, some online research (or a question to one of us here at Rickshaw if it’s one of our locations!) will help you find out if they can be bought easily and cheaply. This also goes for things like baby wipes, milk and certain foods if they are weaning. 

At the airport / on the plane

When you were a worry-free youngster, you would probably rock up at the airport with the bare minimum of time before your flight, with babies it pays to arrive early and take your time. Keeping the whole family calm is easier when nobody needs to run to a departing plane (Home Alone 2, anyone?). Some departure airports have special security lanes for children, ask at check-in to find out if you can skip the main queues. You can take bottles of milk through security at the airport. However you won’t be allowed a bottle of liquid painkiller; you’ve got two options, either buy a bottle post-security or take travel sachets that are small enough for hand luggage. You don’t want to be on the plane with no pain relief for a teething baby. Remember to take lots of nappy bags & wipes, babies feel even messier when you’re in such a small space! If you’ve ordered special food, ask for those to be delivered before yours, this way you can have them out of the way before you get your meal (and you can tidy up any mess too). 

During your trip

Full-sized pushchairs aren’t going to be suitable for lots of the more adventurous situations you’ll encounter; bring a sling or wrap so that you can carry your baby and have both arms free. Don’t leave it until your holiday to use it for the first time, it is better to spend time practising for hours at home. However, if you’re planning on spending a lot of time travelling with your baby, you might like to invest in a light-weight portable buggy. In hot countries, it is important for all of us to drink more, bear in mind that the same will be true for your baby (don’t forget to drink more yourself if you’re breastfeeding). Bring more milk than you’d usually take!

Note: Although we recommend our style of travel for kids a little older (6+), if you’re brave and adventurous, there’s no reason why you can’t travel with us with your baby. With a little extra help from our team to plan the perfect adventure, we’ll make it as easy as possible.  

Tips for travelling with Pre-schoolers (3-5)

Before you leave home

It can be disorientating for young children to be somewhere completely different from home. You can compensate for this by taking your child’s favourite toy or game, a stash of their favourite snacks and something that comforts them like a soft toy or blanket. They have their own luggage allowance, so you don’t need to worry about them filling up your case! To get your little rambler used to the idea of going away grab a good kids book that introduces the idea of flying on a plane and staying somewhere new. Depending on the size of the plane (and the size of your family), try to book a row to yourselves so you’re not bothering other travellers too much, and you’ll have your own zone which will help keep things calmer too. 

At the airport / on the plane

Bring your little one’s sippy cup or no spill bottle to keep them hydrated in the flight and to avoid spilt drinks at 30,000 feet. Even if you are a parent that limits your child’s screen time, a long journey may well be a sensible time to relax the rules. Bring a pair of child-sized headphones so that they can watch the in-flight cartoons or enjoy their favourite shows saved onto an iPad (I wish they were available when I was a youngster on a plane). Don’t expect them to sit in their seats for the whole flight, every hour or so get them unbuckled and walk down the plane with them. Even short walks from front to back will help them burn some energy and stop them from going bonkers in their seat. One of my friends has done many trips to Australia with her family and wrapping up some small presents to reward good behaviour on the flight can help to keep the mood up (things like colouring crayons/books/sweets). 

During your trip

Younger children can be sticklers for their routine so remember to think of nap times and bedtimes when you plan your day’s activities. Encourage your little ones to try the local cuisine and remember that if the local children eat something, it won’t do yours any harm, even if their initial reaction is to avoid anything they’ve never had at home. Take lots of photos and video of them enjoying the trip, their friends at nursery school will love seeing them, and they’ll help them remember things that would otherwise fade away at such a young age. Kids love looking back at old photos of themselves too! 

Tips for travelling with School Kids (5-12)

Before you leave home

By this age, you can really get your children involved in getting ready for the trip. They’ll have their own bag, and with your help, you can make sure it is filled with everything they need while travelling. A book that introduces the destination will help them learn about where you’re going, it will also get them excited for all of the new food they might get to try, the history of the country, or animals they’ll see in the wild. On the theme of books, it would be great to purchase them a travel journal so they can keep a diary and stick photos in to remind them of their holiday forever.

At the airport / on the plane

If the thought of your children running riot in a massive departure hall fills you with (understandable) dread, you might want to consider booking the family into an airport lounge. They aren’t as expensive as you might think and they give your family a more manageable space to unwind. Your ravenous children will enjoy raiding the buffet snacks and hiding in the TV room while you sip a well-earned glass of vino and avoid the hustle and bustle – sounds too good to be true, right?! If you’re travelling to a different season pack a change of clothes for the plane, your children can leave the UK in a hoody and jeans but arrive in tropical heat sensibly dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.

During your trip

Encourage your kids to be at their most inquisitive and adventurous; it is easy to retreat into your shell when surrounded by new things, but your children will get more out of the trip by being brave. Talking to local children could create friendships; they could find a pen pal (or whatever the digital equivalent is) to write to on the other side of the globe. During these formative years, the broadening of minds cannot be underestimated. Memories from holidays will be some of the fondest they keep as they grow up and help develop into an open-minded adult in the long run.  

Tips for travelling with Teenagers (13-18)

Before you leave home

They are going to want to get themselves ready for the holiday, but you can still subtly help to make sure they are prepared. While away you’re unlikely to find the level of internet coverage that they enjoy in the UK, but in many destinations, there will still be opportunities to get online to Snapchat their mates back home. Make sure they pack their chargers, power adapters and plenty of memory cards for their camera or GoPro. It could be fun to set them the task of being the official family paparazzo; hopefully, they’ll enjoy the challenge and create some quality family memories while they’re at it.

At the airport / on the plane

It won’t take going on holiday to realise that your want-to-be adults probably don’t want their style cramped by their parents. Rather than dragging them around the departure hall it is probably best to just leave them to it. If your teenager is vegetarian or vegan, be sure you’ve booked them the right in-flight meal (or if you don’t, you’ll be sorry!).

During your trip

If your youngsters can speak some of the local lingo encourage them to practice with the locals, you could even set them up with an app or course before you go so that they can get prepared. There is nothing quite like being thrown in the deep-end with native speakers to improve your skills and make some new friends. If your budding Steven Spielberg has accepted the earlier challenge of filming your trip make sure they ask permission from any locals they point their camera at; it’s best to make sure offence or upset isn’t caused. Teenagers can be a little particular… If you foresee arguments about who’s staying in what bed (because the other one wanted it), ask them to write down which one they want first and then you can decide, or ask them to play a game for the popular bed! 

Have your own tips?

Leave a comment below with your top tips for travelling with the kids!