Anyone embarking on a trip with children needs to be aware of a few hints and tips to make the journey a lot easier.
Travelling nowadays is part and parcel of everyone's life. The boom of low-cost airlines or cheap package holidays means that the usual seaside or camping trip has been changed – and quite rightly so – for week breaks on Greek Islands or a fortnight on the Costa del Sol. Despite recent fuel hike-ups, long haul flights are also still relatively cheap, meaning more and more families are choosing these holiday destinations too. This often also means taking a gamble and travelling with small children. More often than not the gamble pays off, and many families enjoy fantastic holidays in locations that would never have dreamed of visiting. However, getting there and back is often a nightmare.
If are travelling with young children, it's worth taking on board a couple of pieces of advice. Everyone already knows that being prepared is the best advantage anyone can arm themselves with but there are a few things that may not seem to apparent at the time of booking that could later come back and haunt you. This applies especially with low cost airlines. Many low cost flights are at unsociable times, often very early in the morning, or very late at night. For 1 night/day, then this is often not a problem, but if you take into account that these airlines don't usually fly to the major airports, but the slightly smaller, out of town airports, then this often means that once arriving at your destination airport, you are then faced with the extra hassle of another journey to your hotel, chalet or apartment. Arriving in unsociable hours often means that public transport has finished, so a taxi is the only viable option – often bumping up the price of the original ticket, or sometimes even doubling this. If you have the choice of a few flight times when travelling with children this is always a consideration.
Young children are always on the go, and this is one of the pleasures in life, if tiring at the same time. All airlines have strict policies with regards take-off and landing, seat belts, and other safety measures. Some children will never have been in such a restrictive environment and will want to run up and down the aisles like any child would want to. Before travelling, it's a good idea to forewarn younger children about these conflicts, but in a friendly way – tell them that they'll be going on an exciting journey to a great location but they must be on their best behaviour and do exactly as their parents tell them. It's also not a good idea to lie about the duration of journeys – flights in particular. Young children have no real concept of time, and telling them that it will be a short journey will only provoke the unwanted "Are we there yet". It's a great idea to bring along the usual distractions – be it their favourite cuddly toy, crayons, books or anything that will make them feel familiarity with home comforts.
It's always wise to think about your destination – many people are blinded by the idea of sunny beaches and pools and neglect the practicalities of visiting hot climates. Check if the water is fit for consumption and make sure you have packed insect repellents, bite creams and other such possible necessities - but obviously not in your hand luggage!
David writes about Barcelona apartments for groups and Cheap Barcelona apartments.
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