How to Travel with Kids: 15 Sanity-Saving Tips

What actually changes when you travel with children?

The distance you can cover in a day roughly halves, and nearly everything else follows from that. Two adults sightseeing might walk eight or nine kilometres without thinking about it. With a four-year-old on their own feet, three or four is the honest figure, and some of that will be spent walking back for something left behind. Plan one anchor activity per day and treat the rest of the itinerary as optional.

Transitions cost more than distance does. Packing up a room, queuing for tickets, waiting on a platform and finding a usable toilet all consume time that adults barely register and children feel keenly. A two-base trip beats a five-base trip for that reason alone, and staying put with day trips out tends to work better than a rolling route until children are around eight.

Time zones set the tone of the first few days. Circadian adjustment averages about one day per hour of difference, and westward flights are the kinder direction because children can be kept up later, while eastward travel demands an earlier bedtime than their internal clock will accept. A five-hour eastward hop can therefore write off the first three mornings of a week away.

Money changes shape rather than size. Transport and museums are frequently free or reduced below a certain age, but flexibility gets expensive. Refundable fares, a second room and taxis instead of walking add up faster than the entry tickets you save, so budget for the changes of plan rather than for the attractions.

Flights, transfers and where to stay

Book around the child’s fare status before you look at the schedule. Under-twos normally travel as lap infants at roughly 10 per cent of the adult fare on international routes, plus taxes, and that ends on the second birthday when a paid seat becomes compulsory. On long-haul the bassinet at the bulkhead is what decides comfort, and the usual limits sit around 10 to 11 kg and roughly 66 to 74 centimetres, so it stops being available well before the child stops qualifying for an infant fare.

Ear pain is a descent problem rather than a climb problem. Something to suck or swallow during the last half hour of the flight handles most of it, and waking a sleeping baby for the descent is worth the argument.

Check the car seat rule before arrival rather than at the rental desk. Across most of Europe an approved restraint is required until about 135 centimetres, rising to 150 centimetres in Germany and Italy, and self-drive hire cars carry no exemption whatsoever. Taxi rules differ by country, so a pre-booked transfer with a fitted seat usually beats negotiating at a rank with luggage.

For accommodation, an apartment with a kitchen and a washing machine tends to overtake a hotel room from about the second night. A hotel earns its place when breakfast is included and the location removes a daily journey each way. Whichever you choose, ask what a cot costs and what kind of cot it actually is, since a hotel cot and a folding travel cot are not the same object.

Health, safety and the paperwork parents underestimate

Documents are where family trips fail before they begin. Child passports run five years rather than ten in both the United Kingdom and the United States, so one issued for a toddler can expire in the middle of primary school without anyone noticing, and many countries additionally require six months of validity remaining on arrival. Check the expiry date on the day you book, not the week you fly.

A parent travelling without the other should carry a signed consent letter from the absent parent. It is not a universal legal requirement, but border agencies in the United States and Canada both recommend one, notarised where possible, and it is asked for often enough at land borders and sea ports to be worth the trouble. Put the child’s full name, date of birth and passport number in it exactly as they appear in the passport, plus contact details for the parent staying behind. Carry a birth certificate as well if surnames differ.

On health, the item that earns its space is a packet of commercial oral rehydration salts rather than a homemade mix, because children tolerate wrong proportions badly. Small amounts offered frequently work better than a full glass at once.

What parents most often underestimate is heat. Sun exposure and dehydration reach small bodies faster than adults expect, and altitude does the same. Confirm before departure that your insurance names the children and covers repatriation, and keep a photograph of each passport somewhere separate from the passports.

Frequently Asked Questions