I am no expert on travelling with kids, but I have had my fair share of travelling with a baby and a toddler. We have done an international flight, a 16 hour drive (there and back!), multiple weekends away and an annual holiday to the Gold Coast for the past two years. We have travelled by car, plane, bus and train as a family. So here are my tips when travelling with kids.
1. Choose the right time to travel
What I mean by this, is to choose the right time to begin your journey. Whether it’s by plane, train, bus or car, timing when you kick off your journey there and back will make travelling with kids much more easier.
In my experience, if you are travelling with a baby, time your flight for when your baby is due for a nap and if you are travelling by plane, it would be especially helpful to time the take off for when they are due for a feed. It will help your babies ears if they are sucking on something upon take off and avoid them from screaming as their ears may hurt as you take off.
If you are travelling with a toddler, I would suggest booking any flights or starting your car/train/bus ride in the morning. I find toddlers are in a much better mood in the morning after they have had a long sleep at night. If you time your journey for the afternoon, you will more than likely be travelling with a very tired toddler who will be grumpy and prone to tantrums. And trust me, tantrums on a plane/train/bus or car is no fun at all!
2. Take medication for all possible scenarios
This is especially important if you are travelling overseas, but even if you are travelling domestically, it would be good to have all the medication you need in case your kids unexpectedly get sick while you are travelling.
If you are travelling overseas, go see your GP and ensure your whole family has the right vaccinations and they often prescribe medication to take in case of tummy bugs and other possible illnesses depending on what country you are visiting.
3. Pack essentials in your carry on
When you travel with kids, you will need access to all sorts of things and it’s much easier to have them on hand then to have to access the overhead storage on the plane, or having to stop the car to go to the boot to grab something.
I would also highly recommend that if you are travelling by plane, to pack enough clothes for you and your kids to last for 2-3 days. Why you ask? There is always the possibility of your luggage getting lost and not arriving. We learnt this the hard way, as our luggage got lost on our holiday to Fiji and everything I had packed for myself and for Mia (who was 2 at the time) was in that suitcase. Our suitcase ended up arriving 2 days later but in the meantime, we had to go shopping for essentials like nappies, undies, change of clothes and toiletries. So every time I travel, I make sure I have spare clothes and pack other essentials on my carry on.
Here is my checklist when packing my carry on for the kids and I:
- Spare clothes, nappies and undies
- Tissues, wipes and hand sanitiser
- Panadol
- Snacks – healthy snacks and some treats
- Favourite toy (let them choose who they want to travel with)
- Headphones
- Coloured markers/pencils/crayons and paper
- Phone, camera, iPads and chargers
4. Organise a light, compact stroller
Whether your kids are babies or older, if you intend to take them on holidays where they might end up walking a lot, then a stroller is a must. Carrying a toddler back to your hotel room is no fun and damn tiring!
You might have a beautiful pram at home that you use for bub and the kids, but it’s such a hassle to travel with if it’s not light and compact.
I suggest buying one of those cheap strollers for the older kids that you can grab at Kmart or Big W.
If you have a baby, consider taking a baby carrier with you on the trip and just using that. I wouldn’t suggest spending hundreds of dollars on another pram unless you plan on travelling a lot with baby.
5. Keep them busy while you are travelling
There is nothing worse than sitting in a car, train, bus or plane with your kids saying “are we there yet?” Or “Mummy, I’m boredddd” over and over again. That’s why we suggest taking a ZuperKit with you when you travel. We love that it’s packed with various activities to keep them busy. I also loved the educational angle in the packs. One of the books that came in the pack allowed Mia to practise writing over and over again with an erasable texta that accompanies the Peppa Pig writing book.
ZuperKit also has three different levels of packs you can choose from – Mini, Premium and Deluxe and they also make packs up for boys or girls based on different learning stages; ages, 3-5 years and 5-7 years old.
We are also running a giveaway to win yourself a ZuperKit pack! There will be two winners, one winner will win a Mini ZuperKit and another winner will win a Premium ZuperKit! You can enter to win here.