Getting away with the family should be an exciting time for you to spend quality time with your children. However, it can often be a nerve-wracking experience for parents, thanks to long waiting times, cramped seating conditions, and restless toddlers.
Fortunately, you can have a stress-free holiday with proper planning and preparation. Whether you’re jetting off to sunny Spain or Disneyland Paris, check out our tips for travelling with a young family.
Travel late morning or early afternoon
If you’re able to, try to choose flights that allow you to travel either late morning or early afternoon. That way, you’re not forced to wake up cranky children at two in the morning or get stuck during rush hour. You could even time the flight to coincide with their usual sleeping schedule.
You’ll also be pleased to hear that this window of time is usually the best for finding cheaper tickets and the quietest in the airport. Also, a word to the wise, avoid flights longer than 3 hours. Longer than this in one journey is a lot for children and can result in meltdowns.
Select your seats in advance
While seats are often allocated together when booking your flights, this isn’t guaranteed. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) states that children should not be separated by more than one aisle or more than one seat row and most airlines will seat children under 12 with a parent, but it’s best not to take the risk.
By choosing and paying for a specific seat for each family member, you ensure your clan isn’t split up during the flight. This can make the whole thing much easier, especially if your children are known to not cope well during flights.
Asking that other passengers move to accommodate your family when they have paid for their own seat shouldn’t occur. Make sure everyone’s holiday starts off right and hassle-free!
Organising your transportation
It’s not just your flights that you need to organise when going on holiday. How are you getting to your accommodation? Do you have transport booked to and from the airport? Failure to answer these questions can lead to unnecessary stress.
First of all, you must consider how you’ll get to the airport. You could use public transport or ring for a taxi but make sure you sort this early and leave enough time to check in yourbags and get through security.
You may decide to drive to the airport instead, which can be less hassle when travelling with a young family. Whether you opt for meet and greet parking at Manchester Airport or park & ride at Gatwick Airport, enquire ahead of time to scout the best deals.
Additionally, consider looking for an airport transfer for when you land at your destination of choice. Getting the kids out of the airport after a long flight as soon as possible is definitely recommended.