The start of the holiday season will soon be upon us! The time around Easter and the May Bank Holidays is a prime getaway period for many, as well as being a good time for those looking to book a trip abroad in the summer months.
However, whilst those who don’t have kids can just get up and go wherever they want, whenever they please, unfortunately, those of us who do have to put in a bit more preparation than this!
In fact, many consider the prospect of going away far too daunting. Figures have shown that those with children between the ages of one and four are the most likely to skip their annual holiday than anyone else.
Yet all it takes is a bit of careful planning and organisation. If you have a young child and are torn as to whether to go abroad this year, here are some great tips you can follow to still get the holiday this year that you deserve.
Image from telegraph.co.uk
Make sure you get them a passport
It used to be the case that children could travel on their parent’s passport. Not anymore! Now, ALL passengers – including newborn babies – need to have their own passport if they are to travel into a different country. Fortunately, doing this these days is a breeze and you can download and submit all of the documentation you need online. Of course, it’s best not to travel out of the country with a baby until they have had all of their vital immunisations after 12 weeks.
Booking the flights
Flying can be stressful at the best of times, so it’s important to try and make the experience go as smoothly as possible when you are travelling with children. It’s difficult to keep a young child sitting still for hours on end, so if possible, try to book a flight that would be at your child’s usual napping time so you don’t need to worry too much about keeping them amused. You can use a flight comparison tool such as amadeus.net to do this.
On-board the plane
If they aren’t able to nap for the whole time you’re in the air, make sure they have plenty to keep them occupied – you could load up a tablet computer with their favourite TV shows, or buy them plenty of snacks to stop them from wanting to run around disturbing the other passengers. Also, make sure you have a blanket or extra jumper to help them cope with the colder temperatures in a pressurised aircraft. Finally, children can get upset when their ears pop during take-off and landing, so make sure you have plenty of chewy sweets or even just a bottle of water on hand to help them cope with this.
When you get there
Whilst a family holiday can be fantastic, it’s likely that you’ll want a bit of time to yourself in order to unwind and relax. It’s highly recommended that you keep a lookout for family-friendly hotels that offer kids clubs and activities for young ones. This way, your children will be able to play with other kids, make new friends and be entertained by a professional supervisor, whilst you can go and spend a few hours on the beach by yourself.
Do you have any other tips? I’d love to hear your thoughts and own experiences!
2 Comments
This is such a wonderful post. It would be great if you could write about what to take on holiday for young children. 🙂
What an informative and helpful post. We are taking out 2 and a half year old on holiday in June and this has really helped. Thank you so so much!! I agree with Jacky on the what to take post. xx