Travelling With Children | Abroad

Travelling abroad with children can be nerve-racking but there are ways to make your travels stress-free. When we got told we were going to Thailand the first thing that I thought about was the flight. I worry about a lot of things and I really did worry about the flight. Knowing that we had to travel by car first to the airport which took us around 1 hour 30 minutes. The flight took 12-13 hours with a 2 hour wait in Abu Dhabi airport, which had no seats and we were stood in the same place for an hour. We reached Bangkok airport and we had another 2 hour drive to get to the house. We had to repeat all of this on our way back home too. But there was a 2 hour delay on the flight from Abu Dhabi and the flight was about 2 or 3 hours extra on top of the delay.

Shockingly, my girls were very well behaved. Elliw only had one tantrum and that was because she didn't want to sit down. This was on the flight from Abu Dhabi to go back home. People were trying to sleep but Elliw kept them up for about 20 minutes with her screaming. That was the only stressfull time with her temper. Otherwise the other stress times was when we were over tired and I was miserable and just want to go to bed.

Bring Wheels!
Bringing a pram was a life savour! We also brought a trunki with us. One child was on the trunki and the other was in the pram. Luckily we didn't have to get the pram in abu Dhabi because they already had some in the airport, they were pretty nice too push too. I would have gone insane if I hadn't brought a pram.

Safety
Even though I had never been to airports before, I had a feeling they were going to be very busy. I was worried about how was I to make sure they were by my side at all times? Luckily there was 4 adults so atleast one of us had an eye on them at all times. A pram was a perfect for safety. We knew where they were! The trunki was another good idea for safety too. I did bring some wrist reigns but they wouldn't wear them. Another thing I would do next time is make them wear tag bracelets with their name and my phone number, just incase they get lost (but I hope that never happens *touch wood*).

Comfort
If you are on a long flight then your child is more than likely to fall asleep. If they have a comfort blanket or teddy then remember to bring it! It really helped Elliw that I brought her blankey with us on the plane. I'm not sure if she would of fallen asleep so quick if I forgot it.

Entertainment.
I had filled their hand luggage with books, teddies, toy figures, colouring books, crayons and iPad. Thinking they would get very bored. But we were very lucky with this. They took in turns with the iPad. They watched TV and films. They were given a childrens pack from the people on the planes which was full of game cards, crayons and colouring books so I didn't have to take anything from their luggage. But I am glad I had those extra things in the bag, just incase! It kept my mind at ease knowing I had more things in the bag if they got bored.

Be calm
I think if your calm then the whole situation will be calm. Try and be excited that you are nearly where you want to be. Getting too stressed in a situation will just make the whole situation much more stressful than it should be.

Food
When booking, make sure to check if there is food on the plane. The last thing you want is a child screaming and crying because they are hungry. You could even check this whilst you check in. If they don't provide food then you could buy some snacks and meals from the shops before boarding.

 

Do you have any travelling tips whilst travelling with children?