Gone are the days when you were able to book a vacation at a moment’s notice and simply throw a couple of items of clothing into your bag and set off to the airport.
When you have children, your life changes immeasurably. There are so many beautiful and truly emotional, life-changing advantages to bringing babies into the world; traveling with them on long journeys is not one of them.
With this in mind, here is how to make traveling with children easier and more fun!
Book a Minicab
Instead of cramming all your luggage, including toys and games for the children, into your own car, why not take the stress and worry out of getting ready in time by booking a taxi in advance? This will help you have a stress-free journey to the airport and means you don’t have to shell out for parking when you get there. Booking airport transfers from premier minicab services is a smart move.
This way, you will have a set time that everyone needs to be ready for. As long as you have everyone’s passports, anything you do forget, such as suncream and other toiletries, for example, can be purchased at the airport or when you get there.
Traveling with Babies & Infants
In some ways, traveling with newborn babies and infants up to around the age of two years old is actually significantly more manageable than when your children are older.
This is essentially due to the fact that as long as you create a relaxed, comfortable sleeping environment for your baby and stick to the same feeding routine, your baby will be happy wherever they are, as long as they are with you.
Make sure you pack several of your baby’s favorite toys as well as the bottles you usually use at home. For longer trips, make sure they have enough space to move around and stretch their legs.
Traveling with Toddlers
Traveling with toddlers, however, can be somewhat of a different ball game entirely, as they will naturally want to engage with everything they can get their hands on and discover and explore the world just like when they are at home.
Make sure you pack many different games to keep your toddlers entertained and, ideally, have someone sit in the back of the car with them to engage them on long car trips. You could also plan some games to play in the car, involving the whole family and making the time pass quickly for everyone.
Traveling with Children 5 Years & Older
Finally, perhaps the trickiest age group of children to travel with on vacation are children who are around the age of five and older, mainly as they will have their own ideas on what they want to do and how they want to do it.
The key here, both to a successful journey en route to your destination and throughout your highly anticipated vacation itself, is to involve them in the decision making and planning of the trip’s itinerary. This way, they will feel happier when they know a trip they are taking is something they will enjoy, and when they need to wake up early, they know they will love it when they get there.