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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask what the longest journey you have taken your DC on is?

32 replies

BeggingYourPardon · 23/09/2014 13:49

We are due to visit relatives abroad next year.

It will involve a 3 hour car journey, 3 hours in the airport, 5 hour flight, 3 hour car trip and then a ferry and hour trip to finish.

I think this is too much in one day for a 2.5 year old. She is a very good traveller in the car but the furthest we have been is 4 hours and that's with a stop in the middle for a dinner and a leg stretch.

My DH is very blasé about it and just says it will be fine. I think she is too young for such a trek and would like to wait a year or too before we go, or until the shrieking tantrum stage has passed. Does it ever?

Am I being unreasonable? What's the furthest you have travelled with your DC and any tips to make it an 'easier' (haha) experience?

OP posts:
TalkinPeace · 23/09/2014 13:56

DD age 15 months
2 hours car
3 hours airport
9 hour flight with her on my lap (8 hour time difference)
1 hour airport
2 hour drive
then sat up for dinner till 4am body clock time
No worries. She loved it.

kinkyfuckery · 23/09/2014 13:56

We drove from east coast Scotland to Disneyland Paris! 14 hour car journey, then 8 hours in a Travelodge overnight, then ferry, followed by 3 hour drive.
Mine were 8 and 5

Snoopy33 · 23/09/2014 13:57

We are taking our 7 year old to the US 11 hour flight, then driving 2500 miles as we are doing a road trip.

Depends how well you think they will travel and if there is enough to amuse them.

MrsCharlesBrandon · 23/09/2014 14:03

Birmingham to southern Italy. One 10h day, 2 7h days. This was with 3 dc aged between 9 and 3.

They coped fine.

BankWadger · 23/09/2014 14:04

Pfft by the time DS was 1 he'd flown across the world 3 times. That's a 36 or so hours of flying (with 4 hour airport break) each time. Yes he was tired for a couple of days, but it did him no harm

Original poster
BeggingYourPardon · 23/09/2014 14:04

At 15 months she would have sat still cos she was a fat pudding who ate and smiled and that was about it.

Now she is a shrieking tornado 2 year old.

At 4 or 5 I'm assuming they are slightly easier to reason with and entertain though I could be completely naive here!

I can entertain her with stories, the Ipad and colouring quite happily but for very limited times. She will have a nap in the cars on both sides and she will absolutely love the ferry.

Its the idea of being contained in a teeny seat for the 5 hour flight that scares me the most. She does get her own seat though.

OP posts:
Aherdofmims · 23/09/2014 14:04

We drove to Austria with dd when she was 2.5 from london. It was fine but we obviously stopped by a reasonable time each evening so she got a fair bit of leg stretching etc. one night stopped at hotel with a pool, another at a guest house with trampoline which helped.

MrsCharlesBrandon · 23/09/2014 14:05

Oh, advice? Plenty of snacks, music, audio books, and dvds. We did running races at every toilet stop to get a swift leg stretch in.

Mutley77 · 23/09/2014 14:06

Well we have done 27 hour trips with ours (oldest DC was 8 weeks the first time we did it but then varying ages) and it is a PITA but not unmanageable!

If there is only 1 DC and 2 parents I really don't think you have that much to worry about. Plus she is 2.5 so doesn't have any majorly special requirements, will have her own seat on a plane and is probably toilet trained....

Just make sure you have a few things to do (or if she will watch TV shows on an ipad just an ipad!), plenty of snacks and you will be fine.

Unfortunately my DD1 was at her worst with tantrums on a journey at age 5 - the jet lag seemed to send her totally loopy - she was easier when younger. But also fine when we did the next long trip at age 7!!

whiteblankpage · 23/09/2014 14:09

I took my then 5 year old and 11 month old to the Dominican, a four hour car journey, followed by a 9 hour flight.
The following year, I took them to a remote are of Brazil, four hour car journey, a 12 hour flight, 2 hour flight, 1 hour flight, 1 hour car journey. Took us over 24 hours and they were 2 and 6 by then. I was a single parent at the time so just me to keep them amused - yes we were tired, but they are good girls and we had a blast. Just take lots of entertainment, lots of snacks and don't expect much sleep until you get there.

Mutley77 · 23/09/2014 14:10

PS - we did a 5 hour flight with our DC recently (9, 5 and 15 months). Our 15 month old was absolutely horrific - she had no seat to herself and squirmed then got over tired and couldn't sleep so was hysterical (and very very loud!!) - it was absolutely awful. Give me a 2.5 year old any day of the week - but even if it is absolutely awful it's only 5 hours, certainly wouldn't and hasn't stop me going anywhere Grin

francisdrakehasleprosy · 23/09/2014 14:14

Does the shrieking age ever really end? I would wager it starts at around 1yrs old and lasts until about 6yrs. Don't stress. Good luck. (Or else go back in time and do it all when DC is 4m old. Much easier.)

Original poster
BeggingYourPardon · 23/09/2014 14:14

Running races, fab idea!

I'm pretty well travelled and used to love it, my mum dragged me all over the world when I was a child and young teenager.

I've only done a couple of short flights and honeymoon with DH and I feel really anxious about going now. Perhaps its more DH I'm worried about as he is a shit traveller rather then DD to be honest, now I think about it.

OP posts:
QueenofLouisiana · 23/09/2014 14:24

DS is 9, we took him to Melbourne 2 years ago- 27 hour flight, 3 hours to get there, 1 hour at the other end. The least pleasant part was the 3 day delay due to typhoons in Hong Kong.

However, at 3 we took him to Singapore- that was a much nicer journey.

KnackeredMuchly · 23/09/2014 14:26

In your shoes I would stay over night at the destination airport. I think a 3 hour drive then a plane journey is doable in a day when you have a big gap of waiting in the airport. Then stop overnight, and then drive/ferry/final stop

ElizabethMedora · 23/09/2014 14:29

I think the longest journey was London to Kathmandu, as far as I remember it was around 18hr with a stop over in Delhi, DC was around 2y3m.

I think the good thing about your journey is that there are lots of different stages which will break the journey up/create interest via change of transport!

TunipTheUnconquerable · 23/09/2014 14:31

Disneyland Paris from Yorkshire, ds2 was 2.6.

I think it's impossible to predict how it would go, tbh. I'd beware of thinking it will automatically be easier a year later, though! IIRC ds2 was no trouble at all, but perhaps I've blanked it out.

ThatBloodyWoman · 23/09/2014 14:32

1 hour drive.
2 1/2 hour flight
2 1/2 hour train
1/2 hour drive.

The above was simple as segmented.

The other long journey was a 7 hour drive ( inc rest break) which was hell....

littlemslazybones · 23/09/2014 14:33

20 mo, 6hr drive & flight to Christchurch, NZ with only 2hr stop over at Singapore and 1hr switch at Auckland. Hell on Earth.

HalleLouja · 23/09/2014 14:33

We drove / ferried to the west coast of Ireland which was a 10 hour trip each way (excluding breaks) so with out then 17 month old we stayed overnight before we got the ferry. It was better than we expected. The start of the journey was the worst bit as DH had let DS nap before we left.

littlemslazybones · 23/09/2014 14:36

I had a 4 yo as well. It was a family wedding, I wouldn't have done it for a holiday.

CrazyTypeOfIndifference · 23/09/2014 14:38

South Wales to Disneyland Paris by car with a 5 and 2 year old.

We broke it up though...drove from Wales to Dover (5 hours) and stayed in Dover. Then had the morning ferry to Calais and it was about 3.5 hours to DLP. We had a car DVD player, I pads, colouring and games and they did ok.

We've also driven Wales - Scotland in one go which was 9 hours. We left at 1am, carried them out to the car in PJs asleep, and they slept until about 7. Ten minute stop at the services to wash, dress, brush teeth, then back on the road until 10.30 arrival. We didn't even stop for wee breaks, the kids peed in a bottle. We'd have added another two hours on otherwise because the kids tend to need the toilet every half hour :/

BeeInYourBonnet · 23/09/2014 14:41

Most we have driven in one day is 750 miles which we did first with a 1.5yo and a 4 yo, and then once a year for the next 3 years. Not particularly relaxing with a toddler, but not a total disaster.

Slongette · 23/09/2014 14:45

Took 9 month old DS to meet DH's family in South Africa....

2hr drive to Heathrow
11hr flight to Jo'Burg
4hr wait in Jo'Burg airport
1hr flight to Durban
3hr drive to family's home

BA lost my bag - it broke me Sad

DialMforMummy · 23/09/2014 14:46

Update your iPad apps (mine love the Toca Boca apps: Hair dresser, Vet shop, house- disclaimer, I do not work for them!) and remove the iPad two weeks before travel so it gets the novelty factor again.
I have travelled many times on 7+ hours flights with my 2 (2 and 4) and every time I have been very impressed with their behaviour especially when they can seem to manage to behave a trip to the local supermarket.
My VERY active 2 year old gets cranky at times inflight but that's normally before he crashes to sleep.
It is long, but it might not be the hell you expect, honest!