Travelling with Baby? Here Are Our Go-To Tips…

Golden tip: Be prepared for every eventuality. Have enough snacks and games/ stickers/colouring books to last the whole journey. If they’ve recently potty trained, put a PullUp on them so if they are desperate for the toilet and you can’t stop, they don’t wet themselves. 

Golden tip: Have food, drinks, entertainment and a lot of patience where possible. To help with the air pressure pack soft sweets children can chew and I like to put cotton wool in their ears too which helps minimise noise. 

Golden tip: Be flexible! Before kids, I used to spend hours planning our days out, what we’d like to see and where we’d want to go. Now we have learnt to go with the flow. There is nothing worse than trying to drag a grumpy child around a tourist hotspot.

If they are having a bad day, then do something simple like play in a park, stay at your villa by the pool or find a beautiful spot to have ice cream. There is always another day to go exploring. 

Golden tip: Start early; we have travelled with the children since they were small babies, this has allowed them to get used to journeys, without any of the ‘are we nearly there yet’ comments. It is also important to look at where you’ll be going and where you’ll be staying.  Looking to see what features, accessories and essentials they already have in place for baby/toddler.

Golden tip: That you can pretty much always buy anything you forget, but its still right to make a list of the essentials before travelling with your little ones. Also at the end of the trip, remember to make a photo album to treasure those precious memories. 

Golden tip: Relax! Try not to get stressed out, and make your baby see the trip as a big adventure, as that’s what it is! My little one loved being on the plane and ‘flirting’ with the other passengers and air hostesses!  

Golden tip: My golden rules are to pack snacks, double what you think you need. And nothing melty or too crumbly. Leave the rule book at home, holidays often mean that any routine you have for meal or sleep go out of the window and over the years I’ve discovered that it’s far more stressful for me to try and make over-excited children sleep.

It’s often best to relax, go with the flow and let them eat at odd times and sleep when they fall! Take things like Calpol, Nurofen etc. as it might be tricky to find them if you need them in a hurry or late at night. And finally, do it! It can be stressful, and miserable, the number of times I’ve sobbed during trips away, but ultimately, the more you do it, the easier it gets, and you’ll all soon be pros at it! (Although you will probably still find me at some point every holiday hiding from everyone and wishing I’d stayed home! 

Golden tip: Be organised. So far I have only travelled with my eldest daughter, we have driven to France with her, flown to Tenerife and been on several UK holidays with her too but the key to keeping stress to a minimum was organisation. Having entertainment for her prepared (Colonel Hathi this March from Jungle Book was played on repeat for hours when we drove to Bordeaux. She was eight months old, and it was her favourite!!) and snacks too. Make sure you have enough nappies, wipes, drinks and snacks to get you through the journey, you can stock up on more when you arrive.

Remember Have fun! That’s why we travel, isn’t it? To explore, spend time with our loved ones and have fun. 

Golden tip: Relax – by all means make plans but also be prepared to go with the flow on your travels. Just try to laugh when things do go wrong! With three little ones, I would say food and sleep are key! 

Golden tip: Never plan anything on the first night if you are arriving in the afternoon. Travelling takes a lot out of children and getting into a little holiday routine never hurts. You can make up for it the next day. Get settled into your villa/hotel as it gives you time to scope out local shops nearby for essentials and possibly give time for anything extra you may need. The hard work is done, now enjoy your holiday.  

Golden tip: Prepare and create a list, forgetting something an adult needs isn’t the end of the world, but if you fail to remember your child’s favourite bedtime teddy or night light, that could start your holiday on a disastrous meltdown. So make your holiday an adventure and have plenty of things to hand to keep your baby amused. 

Golden tip: Have patience. Travelling with babies and toddlers is indeed stressful, but its a new experience for them as well. I would say stay calm, expect the unexpected, and try to have a wonderful time with your family.

Golden tip: My number one golden rule is to make sure we have a bag of snacks with us at all times when travelling. There’s nothing worse than hangry toddlers. A well fed toddler is most definitely a more content and happy toddler, which in turn makes travelling much easier for parents.