to not want to go on holiday if it involves a 2hr drive to airport+ 2 hr wait+2hr flight+4hrs in airport+10hr flight with a baby, 2 yr old and 4 yr old?

[angstybaby]

this is what it would take it get to san francisco (not the final destination). the next day's trip would be a 5hr flight...

Yanbu! I would loathe all of that too and so would the children.

Is it really just a holiday, or partly a duty visit to family?

If you didn't have to do it I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

It's your call.

It wouldn't bother me, but we have always done long hauls/transfers etc with ours since they were tiny.

I know people that baulk at the idea of flying with young children, but it's never been a problem for us.

I think it depends on how placid the children are!

Completely nutty plan.
Who ever proposed that needs their head read!!

Have the tickets been bought yet? Where are you flying from? That seems like a horrendous journey to get to San Francisco!

Yanbu.

The first up, up to and including the 2hr flight is nothing, kids are all buoyed up for that.

The 4 hour wait and further 10 hour flight would put me off, let alone taking children into consideration.

We've managed an 8 hr flight with a child but slightly older, and less waiting than you would be doing.

Go somewhere else?

I do think that would be unfair if it's just for a holiday, actually. We took our three year old halfway around the world for six weeks recently and the travelling was fine, but stressful enough. We weren't on holiday though. There's no way I would consider it worth it for a holiday that's supposed to help you recharge!

Unfair to the children, I mean.

Sounds like my idea of hell.

Bugger that. Are there not any more direct options? Even if it's more expensive it might be worth checking for a nearer airport or nonstop flight.

Depends on age of children. We recently went to New Zealand with a 2yo and a 4yo. Forty nine hours in total.
It was absolutely fine. An hour of grizzle in the whole 49 hours. Less than at home by a country mile

hello the flying is the easy bit- they're tied up in front of screens and fed. The 4 hour wait is another matter...

I would rather go camping. And that is saying a lot.

Unless there's a specific reason to "need" to get there, I wouldn't do it even for just DH and I. A holiday's a holiday. Who you're with has far more bearing on how good it will be than where you actually go and there are so many wonderful places within a much shorter journey time.

I am a big traveller, long and short haul, with and without kids but where on earth are you going that is going to be worth all of this... Went to Vietnam recently and that was definitely worth it but this trip seems to be one from hell and with kids in tow......

thanks for all your comments

it would just be for a holiday (to hawaii). DH would be in SF for work and the holiday would be tagged on. he could just go to SF on his own but he doesn't like us being separated (written down, that sounds creepy and controlling but it's just cos he's a big softie). we went to puerto rico over xmas which involved flying via new york, then miami, then san juan (cheap flights!). the kids were really good but i wanted to sit down in the airport and cry, mainly due to being pregnant, sick and anaemic.

and yes, there is an alternative - easy jet to the south of france! but i wonder if i'm a bit nuts to turn down hawaii in favour of a caravan in france?

Easyjet wins!

Fuck that, I would not even consider flying to SF with 3 under-4s. Bonkers.

Your husband's idea is lovely, apart from the transport. From which he'd be blessedly spared.

As a compromise, why not have a holiday in the Bay Area? Lovely, and spares the long flight the following day.

By the way, as someone who at one stage flew monthly to San Francisco from the provinces, there are endless ways to do it via London, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich, Frankfurt...the four hour wait for the connection seems excessive.

I've done the journey to Hawaii and it is looooong and that was without the kids.

Went to denver with three year old twins via Iceland and it was horrendous on the way there - day flight. Night flight on the way home and it was fine - I think you need to take the timing into consideration as well as the length of the flight. I actually have mine Benadryl on the way home too which may have helped substantially...

No, I think you have fulfilled your duty in even considering this, OP! You can now dismiss this mad idea with a clear conscience - I feel exhausted even reading about it!

We've flown Scotland to Hawaii a few times before, including a couple of trips via San Francisco. I would not do it with dc of those ages, it was tiring enough pre-dc, but at least we were able to relax when we got there. With dc not sleeping well due to jet lag I should think it would be exhausting.

that said, Hawaii is amazing and probably my favourite place in the entire world!

Sounds vile

It depends on the length of the holiday. I'd have to go for at least a month to make that journey seem worthwhile.