Liz Harper of Footprint Travel Guides shares her tips and advice on the topic of family holidays. Liz writes for a number of national publications as well as blogging on all subjects at Travel Talk, and has travelled widely with her young daughter.
Travelling with children is fabulously rewarding. Experiencing the cultures, people, sights and sounds of new places with kids in tow is something which will stay with the whole family for a lifetime. Even when retracing old steps, seeing sights through your children’s eyes is like seeing them for the first time all over again. I was lucky enough to travel extensively with my parents during my early years, and it is the memories of long haul stopovers, camping by the shores of Italian lakes, and baguettes at the top of mountains which are the strongest, and happiest when I look back on my childhood.
Of course travelling with your kids is different to your pre-parenting days but a little forward planning and a slight adjustment in terms of expectations and you’ll wonder what you’ve been waiting for.
BEFORE YOU GO
It’s worth spending some time before you travel getting your child orientated with your destination, from identifying its location on a world map, to learning interesting facts and some key phrases in the relevant language. Start your holiday journal before you go with “things I hope to see and do on my trip”, look in books and magazines, cut pictures out of your tour operator’s brochure and print pictures from the internet.
Always make sure you’ve sought the advice of your tour operator when it comes to health and safety issues, and don’t leave it until the last minute. Ensure vaccinations are up to date and you’ve had all the recommended jabs for the country you are visiting.
As far as packing is concerned, it’s always worth taking a few medicinal essentials when travelling with kids – Calpol sachets, antiseptic cream, plasters: they take up very little space, aren’t always easily available and offer great peace of mind. A change of clothes in hand luggage is always a good idea too... just in case!
ARE WE NEARLY THERE YET?
In my experience, the prospect of a long haul flight with nippers is always far worse than the reality. Children adapt much better to their circumstances than we do in many respects. Try to avoid seats which require other passengers to move every time your child needs the toilet however, as the novelty of being forced out of your seat wears off much quicker than little ones' love of in-flight conveniences for some reason!
A couple of books or magazines, a Nintendo DS, a colouring/puzzle book, crayons, travel games and a mobile movie device (portable DVD player or ipad) go a long way to whiling away the in-flight hours. Night flights often work well with babies and older children, who manage to sleep much better on flights than we do. A meal, movie and a couple of games and all but the hardiest child is ready to curl up and slee
p. For long haul trips with connecting flights its worth having some goodies to hand out at the start of each fresh leg of the trip as a reward for good behaviour on the previous leg, and as a way of providing fresh entertainment on the next part of your journey. I also always take some of my daughter’s favourite snacks for during the flight, and sweets to chew during take-off and landings.
WHILE YOU’RE AWAY
Don’t try and cram too much into every day – allowing some down-time is critical. Experience has taught me that there are few things more traumatising to a child than having access to a swimming pool but no time to enjoy it! Set expectations for the day: “This morning we’ll go and see X and Y and then this afternoon we’ll hit the beach.”
Travelling with a tour operator with experience of family travel makes a massive difference to holidaying with kids – travelling with other like minded families even more so. The influence of other children when it comes to trying new things (whether its activities or food) can’t be overestimated... our fussy little eater has been cajoled by other children into trying all manner of local delicacies (things she’d never have even contemplated on our say so!). My advice? Don’t worry about food – the chances are your children will surprise you when you’re away from home, but even if they don’t, I’ve been to very few places in the world where you couldn’t get fruit, rice and a bowl of chips!
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So, what’s stopping you? The best times I’ve had with my daughter over the past few years are the times we’ve travelled together – from piranha fishing in the Amazon Rainforest to kayaking off the coast of Brazil’s Costa Verde. The only difficult thing is, of course, deciding where to go next...
For details of all the titles in Footprint’s award winning “with kids” travel guide series, visit the Footprint website.