Ahh travelling with kids. You know what, it’s not easy. It’s actually pretty freakin’ hard, BUT it’s worth it.
I have always had a love and desire for travel since I was young. I loved history in school and wanted to see it with my own eyes. When I fell pregnant with Finn younger than when I thought I would have children, I thought my travel dreams would be put on hold forever. But I changed my mindset. Travelling with kids can be done. It definitely can. It won’t be the same as if you were on your own but with some thorough planning and organisation you can really make it easier on yourself. We are constantly learning new tricks every-time we travel with them and I am sure we will only continue to learn every-time we go somewhere new, however I have put my top tips so far together for you to make it easier on your journey. These tips are based on travelling with two children because it is quadruple the difficulty of travelling with one but these tips will work with one or multiple children.
We started travelling when Finn was around 6 months to New Zealand and have been there multiple times with both kids but for the longer hauls we have been to Singapore when Finn was two and now Japan with both kiddies, Finn at age 5 and Leo at 18 months. I am going to share more blog posts on Japan and what to see and do because it is an awesome place for kids but this is more so around travelling anywhere with little tots.
Good luck! You’ll have moments when you think why the hell did we do this but you will have more AMAZING moments where you think WOW, how lucky are we that we get to share this experience with our kids and watch it through their eyes.
TOP TIPS FOR TRAVELLING WITH KIDS
SNACKS ARE ALWAYS NECESSARY
Oh snacks. How they saved us from tantrums on multiple occasions. I can’t stress the importance of taking snacks EVERYWHERE with you, ESPECIALLY on the plane. The flight to Japan is 11 hours long, so we knew we had to pack A LOT of snacks to get us through, especially as it was during the day and we knew they probably wouldn’t sleep which meant EXTRA tantrums. Preparing snacks also means you can ensure the kids are eating mostly healthy rather than wasting a tonne of money on plane food that isn’t often nutritious.
Some of our snack ideas are:
- Banana chips, sultanas, dried apricots (any dried fruit)
- Rice crackers (we use seaweed) and also Baby Mum Mums for Leo or plain rice cakes.
- Popcorn
- Sandwhiches
- Fresh fruit (where possible), not the best on the plane
- We had some biscuits and muffins as treats as well
- Sushi-in Japan are great snacks to keep on your travels during the way (from every 7-Eleven and Lawson’s)
Pack snacks for every where you go even if you don’t think you will be long. We had them on the short train rides, long train rides, park visits, of course Disneyland, Legoland and every single sight we went too. If you’re in a foreign place and find a supermarket or like in Japan a 7 eleven, stock up on plenty of snacky foods for the kids to last you over coming days as you may not find one for some time.
AVOID DOING LONG-HAUL DURING THE DAY (MORE WITH LITTLE KIDS)
On our way to Japan we flew during the day and it was a horrendous flight especially for Leo. He was woken up early at like 5am for the flight but we thought he would nap on the plane. However, because it was during the day he didn’t and in 11 hours he probably catnapped for about 1 1/2 hours. He was a mess. On the way back we fly overnight and it was a much better flight. I think because during the day they have obviously woken up and are far more alert than at night when their body clock naturally knows it is time for them to sleep that they will sleep more. They will still wake up but less frequent and they can catch up when they get to the destination but it will make your flight a lot less stressful if they sleep! Finn was fine either way as he had his entertainment but he slept more on the way back and it was a better flight for him also.
TAKE A SOURCE OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR EACH CHILD
I am definitely one of the helicopter mums who limits screen time with my kids and that’s just my way. I have definitely used it when I have needed too, especially when I need a half hour break or if Finn has had a big day out and is exhausted I will let him watch his favourite shows. The reason I do limit it as much as possible is Finn is a child that gets affected by too much television, becomes over-stimulated and then really acts up afterwards, especially when it is turned off. However, iPad’s (or something similar) on any plane ride are a MUST for kids unless you are an absolute amazing entertainer yourself but I am absolutely horrific on planes (motion sickness) so I can barely stand up let alone sit there and play games with my kids for 11 hours. We have an iPad mini for Finn that we bust out anytime we travel. It is loaded up with educational games and his favourite TV shows. I kid you not, we literally do not hear from him the entire flight until we have to land and he yells “I FEEL SICK!!” haha. The iPad does wonders for us on the plane with him and he’s happy as Larry meaning we only have to worry about Leo. However, one thing we did learn is that we need an iPad for each of them because Leo did want to play with Finn’s and tried to frequently snatch it. I ended up paying for in-flight entertainment to try and keep Leo entertained but we would have been much better off with a second iPad with more age friendly shows and games for him on there. I am not expecting everyone to have two iPad’s either (neither do we!) but even a laptop for Leo with shows on it would have helped or if I had loaded some on my mobile phone. Make sure everything is fully charged before you fly and take a power bank for back up!
Other entertainment sources:
Colouring books/activity books and pencils
Toy cars/dolls to play with
iPads/laptops/game stations
ALWAYS ALLOW TIME FOR NAPS (FOR THE YOUNG ONES)
We learnt this the hard way by trying to go about our daily activities in Japan and hoping Leo would sleep and sometimes he did in his pram but other days he wouldn’t and would be super cranky and extremely overtired at night resulting in massive screaming sessions. We timed as much as possible around his naps, so we would go out and do something in the morning and come home for an hour or two and then do something in the second half of the day. I know it’s hard, especially for someone like me, not being able to do as much as you could do in a day but having kids with you really means not overfilling your days with too many activities. We alternated between having an easy, rest day and then a full on activity day like Disneyland and we made sure to keep it to one or two things every day so not to overdo it and exhaust the kids.
TAKE A TRAVEL COT IF YOU HAVE A BABY
We almost considered not taking one and just having him sleep with us but I don’t know how we would have survived without it, especially in Japan where cots do not come easy in Airbnbs or hotels. We would have literally all had no sleep if Leo was in the bed with us because having the cot and being able to hide him away in the corner so he couldn’t see us was literally the only way he got to sleep at night and for naps. Yes, it was bulky and annoying but we managed and we would take it every single time! Unless you have something else organised at your destination, we would definitely suggest taking a travel cot.
That’s all I have compiled so far but I am sure I will always add new ideas to the list the more we travel and the more we learn! Most importantly, try and enjoy every moment because it will be gone in a flash and these are some of my best memories with my kids. Getting to experience new places and cultures with them and see the wonder in their eyes was truly worth more than anything. Yes it will be stressful and hardly relaxing, but it will all be worth it and your children will treasure those moments for a lifetime. Travelling with kids CAN be done, it SHOULD be done and we will definitely do it again!
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