to think that you can travel with young children?!

[FlappyBaps]

Right I am am rapidly losing patience with my DH and the dreaded subject of The Holiday. Please tell me that my desire to get somewhere almost guaranteed to be sunny is not overriding common sense!

Our DD is 14 months old - a very wriggly, active 14 months old and to be honest travelling anywhere with more than a 2 hour journey is going to be painful. But I reckon for our only 2 week holiday it's worth the pain. I'm thinking: flight from local airport, 2 hour flight, 2 hour car journey at the other end. That has got to be better than 3 hour drive to ferry port, ferry crossing (long one) and 2 hour drive at the other end (at least).

I'm sure some of you have done plan journeys with young children: how hideous is it? Really??

Course you can, we did longish overseas journeys when ours were only a few months old and have done longhaul on my own with baby and 4yr old. The journey can be a little stressful sometimes but if you like your holidays and have 2 weeks to relax then it's doable.

It's fine!

We did Mallorca when ds was slightly younger than yours, but he was walking so very mobile! It was one of those sorts of hlidays that was full of young families going to a young family friendly resort, so the plane journey was like a day out in itself with all the other babies for ds to meet.

Everyone understands that babies don't want to sit still at that age, and in the airports they are so over awed with everything around them they tend to be easy to amuse.

Unless you are going to a destination that is unlikely to have other small children around, I really wouldn't think twice about doing the flight.

YANBU - I started taking my DS on holidays from the age of 10 months...it was never a problem as now at 8 he travels really well. We never had a single hideous journey and always arrived at our destination totally sane!

However, I love my holidays, need at least one a year.............I would be too depressed not to have one!

we did 4 hour plane journey with 3 ds youngest 13 months, was hell but worth it and we only stayed away a week do it, and get an early morning flight and she will prob sleep

Thank you ladies - glad to hear I'm not toally off my rocker for lack of Vitamin D. I think I'm worried that if we don't bit the bullett we'll end up being one of those familes who has stopped doing everything we used to do "because we've got kids" (shudder).

First point, two hour flight usually means two hour wait at the airport and a car journey to it. I always preferred to drive when I can, but then we are all different.

I am totally pro-travelling from an early age and have met a lot of other couples with very young children travelling around (one British couple with a 4 month old in Yosemite Park - fresh air, calm, bliss...).

You can make it as hideous or as pleasant as your planning and attitude of people around you. I fly (when I cannot drive) a decent airline (no Ryanair) and I feel this eliminates 50% of horror from my travel alone.

Enjoy

I am taking dd away in July to Turkey, so a 4 hours flight at 20 months... I'm not too worried as we are going with my parents, my step sis and her 2 kids (nephew 15 and niece 7) so she will have all of us to play with her while on the flight and keep her amused. Especially my niece as the 2 of them keep each other busy. I am quite lucky though, because if dd is tired, she will sleep anywhere, and we have a morning flight there and late flight back.

I definitely think it's worth it in the long run, a few hours for a nice week or 2 abroad.

I personally started travelling at the age of 4mo, so my mum told me. I learned to swim when I was 5mo in the warm southern sea waters.

Of course its doable.

Flights prob will be ok. get yourself an arsenal of snacks and tat to fiddle with. May sleep if timing is right. Obviously there's quite a bit of waiting around too, and ime the car hire shenanigans is the worst bit. If you can avoid that, so much the better.

Bemybebe - you've hit the nail on the nead - it's all in the planning. And as Tuppence says it's got to be worth it for what waits at the other end.

ds was 9 months when we flew to la, that is nearly 12 hours he was fine and yes he was and still is wriggly. he is 3.5 now and has been skiing, turkey and italy. i personally find it easier smaller hotels with a beach that is all they need. apart from skiing the other ties i have travelled on my own and its been fine having a baby or child shoudl not stop you doing anything just you have to do things differently

we are going to australia later this year, having to break up the flight but its one of my closest friends is getting married i can not miss this so we have to go

We do a 12hr drive to Europe every year, usually set off at about 2am and get the 6am ferry so 'on holiday' by mid afternoon.

We also do 6-8hr trips to scotland, usually leaving at 7pm so they sleep all the way.

We also did a flight to the US (9hrs) with a 2.4 yr old and a 7 month old. During this trip we drove long distances (5+hrs) on 3 days. Again no problems

Personally i like being in my car as you are not at the mercy of others (traffic notwithstanding) and airports make me stressed

just make sure you are super organised for the airport that is the hardest part

My dh is from NZ and we flew there when dd was 12 months so she could meet all her relatives. Two flights, back to back, of 12-14 hours each, plus 3 hours sitting in Kuala Lumpa airport, plus another 2 hours at Aukland airport waiting for the internal flight to get us to his home town (only 40 minute flight though!).
We survived! The airport is an easy place to entertain little ones - lots going on and plenty of places to sit down if they nod off. The worst bits of the flight are take off and landing because you have to restrain them on your lap. Otherwise, we just did circuit after circuit of the plane. We mostly sat near other people with kids (because of the sky cot things they give you, which only go at the front of each cabin, anyone with young kids is in the same place so you've all got access to cots) and the children spent a long time stealing each other's toys, prodding each other and babbling at each other. It was fine. Not the most enjoyable time ever, because she was reluctant to sleep with so much new stuff to look at, but certainly doable.

We also drove down to the South of France when she was 6 months, and then again when she was 18 months. Easier when she was 6 months, certainly, because she wasn't mobile anyway and didn't mind being in the car seat so much, but we managed to do 2 days of driving even at 18 months without too much fuss. We just broke it down into stages. Set off really really early while she was still dozing, then stopped mid-morning and visited something (a zoo or similar) for a couple of hours where she could run round, and get rid of some energy, and we could have some lunch, then we'd set off again and she'd sleep again.

So a few hours on a plane - no problem!

I'm taking 3 month, 5 and 3 year old away in a months time to Ibiza. I have taken mine away every year - flight about 3 hours. Is it 2 of you going away with one child? You'll be fine, lots of treats for the plane but to be honest mine loved playing with the magazines and paper cups, bring a couple of plastic toys that don't make noise. Enjoy yourselves, am so glad we made the effort when our two were younger, makes going with the baby seem so much easier. Cannot recommend going away with children enough, best times I've ever had.

We drive everywhere and have done since DCs were pre-walking. I fly a lot for work so prefer driving for holidays. We preferred the car when DCs were small as it meant we could take everything. Now that DCs are much bigger we prefer the car as it is more economical (3 DCs)

Do go on holiday when your DC is small. If all else you can comfort yourself with the thought 'next year it will be better'

i agree.

we went to a wedding in italy last year, we stayed in a little hotel opposite the beach, no frills, no children's clubs and it was wonderful, of course the food was great (not many tourists there), so was the weather its was jsut beautiful going back next year. i prefer this sort of holiday to all inclusive was far more relaxing

We took dd to Dominican Republic when she was 2 and that was 8.5hr flight. We did at the airport the night before as it was an early morning flight, but we're 1.5-2 (depending on traffic) hours away from airport.

I have a friend from NZ living over here and she takes 3 under 5 there!! Sometimes on her own......

As everybody else has said it's easily doable. DD flew at 9mos, 15mos, 27mos never a problem. In fact when DH goes and a business trip on a plane she throws a strop because she can't go on plane.

In between this we have done 2 holidays with overnight ferry trips North Sea Ferries. Don't rule these out they are great fun for kids softplay area, craft activities during the holidays and loads of space.

We have a four hour drive to see our parents, and we do that every 4-5 months, and have since DS was born. Definitely do-able!

I took my oldest to Tunisia when he was about 8 months and then to NZ (for 6 week sightseeing trip) when he was 16 months (I was also pg with #2 at the time!)

He coped with the travelling a lot better than I did :) lots of snacks, little toys to play with, the TV in the seat back, crawling around the floor in the space in front of us (we were at one of the bulkhead rows with bassinets, so more space) - organisation and pre-emptive planning works well. DH and I took it in turns to be on "baby duty" during the long flights so that one of us could rest / watch a movie in peace while the other one devoted their entire attention to the baby. He adored it (and I was very lucky, he slept a lot on my watches!)

We flew with ds when he was 18 months and then again when he was 2 and a half (4 hr flight) It was so hellish we both stepped off the plane and swore we'd holiday in GB from then on

We are planning a big trip to USA next year - ds will be 9, THAT'S how bad it was!!!!

Only one 14-month-old? Piece of piss, IMO. Try three young children on a trans-Atlantic flight including an extremely active 2-year-old boy prone to tantrums. Now that is truly hideous, but either way you're describing I'd do on my own with said 14-month-old.

YANBU, it's perfectly possible. I've always been mobile with DS (who is also another very active wriggler who hates being confined in a car seat) - round the UK, flights to Ireland then 30hrs to NZ at 18mo, again when he'll be 2.5.

At 14mo, the airport and the plane will be a big novelty so a couple of hours on a plane should be fine - just time the flights so you don't get her at her grumpiest (eg flights an hour after bedtime - earlier or later is better). Also, take loads of snacks and small new toys. Try and pack one new thing for each hour - even if it's just an ink stamp or a packet of raisins. Plus some chocolate in reserve just in case she hits meltdown (useful for take off and landing too).