To ask for advice travelling with 2 small children

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We had our first baby a few months pre pandemic and our second last year. They are 2.5 and 11 months. We are going on holiday to Spain next week and we are both getting stressed about travelling with little ones for the first time! We are flying BA and have good baggage allowance and are staying in a villa with friends. Getting a hire car with car seats. I think everything is covered, but I’m feeling weirdly stressed about the whole venture. AIBU to ask for all your best travelling with small kids advice? Thank you!!

Oh and forgot to add that the kids need to share a room for the first time!! They are good sleepers….separately… any tips on getting them to sleep in the same room! Or do we need to face up to the reality of having one of them in with us on our first holiday in 3 years 🤪

With two adults, take responsibility for one each.

Start playing "planes and airports" with toddler so they understand a bit... what to do at security (they will need to go through scanner by themselves for example), passport control, sitting in their seat, not kicking etc.

Pack spare clothes for all of you in hand luggage. Plus extra nappies.

Child headphones for toddler if likely to want to watch a film/TV show

Have low expectations. Holidays with children at that age can be the same as everyday life but in a different place which may disrupt them -as long as you are prepared for that then any above that is a bonus

lots of things to do on the plane in their own bag

• lots of snacks but no chocolate or anything messy


• the colour wonder books are good as they only mark the page


• Sticker books or those cling stickers that you can decorate trays and windows with but they peel off and can be reused


• favourite shows downloaded onto a tablet - not the time to be picky about screens


• lollipop to suck for ears during takeoff & landing

how confident are you in the car seats? We always used to take our own as never trusted the hire company ones.

with regard to the room - hopefully will be ok but if not could you put one to sleep in a separate room and then move them

We were given advice. 'don't do it' 😂
But I think with enough planning, you'll be fine! Maybe buy/borrow a cheap double buggy even if the older one can walk well because you can keep them in it and they can nod off in the evenings.
Maybe pack /rent a fan if no air conditioning.
You could take travel cot and put one in with you? I think they'll be fine. Our boys shared a room on holiday and were fine even tho I know they wouldn't share well at home!

Plastic bag for puky clothes

Just came on to say I had the same fear about my two sharing a room at first on holiday but they love it and sleep well- not sure it would translate day to day but it works perfectly on holiday.
Also agree a tablet with downloaded favourites and stickers for the flight. I have fond memories of my then 3 yo DS covering DH’s entire face with tiny coloured dot stickers

It'll be fine. I used to travel long haul and alone with my Dc around that age (we lived a long way from UK but had to come back a few times). Have lots of snacks and little toys for the toddler: load up the kindle/iPad and don't be shy about screen time on the plane; have a good sling for the baby so you can wander round the plane with him/her if they get restless. For the holiday itself - keep your expectations low, they may not sleep that well and you might end up with kid or kids in your bed. Most of all try and enjoy it - it's not the same as pre DC but it's still fun.

As you have enough luggage allowance, take a beach tent so you have some shade.

Also, if you're taking your own car seats then Amazon sell huge bags for them to travel in. You can pad them with towels and clothes to keep them from getting broken. Link: amzn.eu/d/2co0EfA

Non slip shoes they can wear indoors. hot country floors are usually tile or marble so this plus water stresses me out and the shoes will mean less slips. Also do your friends have a stair gate they can borrow?

Travel buggy or buggies is a must, and keep a sling for little one for the airports
take umbrella for buggies or snooze shade
keep them cool and hydrated, go out of midnight sun
definitely spare clothes, lots of nappies (there might be delays), and lots of snacks
some bigger airports have small soft plays, let them run about before the flight
use family security lane, usually less queues
try and book speedy boarding (depends on airline)
would also be careful about car seats, in Italy you get very old and rubbish ones

Lower your expectations, don’t be super strict on routines (they might nap more and stay up later) and have fun! I love holidays with my kids

Tie them to you with reins or something when you're going though security. You really don't want them running/crawling off in front and then you're targeted to be searched when going though the scanners and can't follow. Sling for 11 month old in case you don't get your buggy back until the baggage reclaim and 2.5 yo can go on someone's shoulders.

We flew quite a bit with DS when he was that age as family live at the other end of the country and 12 hours in a car isn't my idea of fun! We also flew long haul a few times.

The things we found helpful (and most have already been mentioned in some form)...

Explain about the airport so the older one isn't overcome or worried. We used to call the security pat downs 'tickles'. So dad would go through for a tickle so DS could see what happened and one of us would be at either side of security in case he did a runner! Then DS would go through, then me. We'd explain that the tickle didn't really tickle but you had to put your arms straight out, like a plane and stand very still until the man or lady said you were done.

DS's job was to tell us when our hand luggage came through from the xray machine too (he often missed it so don't rely on that!)

Take lots of stuff to keep them amused, from snacks to books, colouring books, buy a magazine at the airport too as they love the idea of buying something 'special' there. I always put things in a separate bag for DS but I'd control what was taken out and when - he had a habit of unpacking the lot and the 'surprise' element would be gone.

Take a soft toy so they can cuddle up if necessary but make sure it's packed away well before landing. DS used to help put his 'to bed' in the bag.

Make sure the oldest one understands about the noise on take off and the 'push back' you feel as you go along the runway - that always makes me a bit nervous even at my age.

Oh and don't forget wipes in the bag - plenty of them. We were on a flight once when a child in front was sick. They had a change of clothes but mum was caught and the child had it all down their leg. Luckily we had loads of wipes so could help out.

Plenty of suncream, a tshirt if they're in the pool and something for their feet as the ground may be hot.

Then relax, don't worry about sleep times if you can't keep to them. Just have a buggy so they can nap if they need to. And have fun!

I loved holidays with the DC.
For a start there were two adults for two DC at your stage.
We used to wean them onto foreign time so, exhaust in the morning, long afternoon sleep and then out in the evening when it was cooler.
We would take the buggy and a back carrier so they could nod off if necessary and do the same things as if we didn't have DC, eat out, sight see, swim etc.
My main dislike was having to watch them ( looking at you DC2) around the pool and I preferred a complex or villa without pool for that reason when they were small.

Oh my goodness thank you so much for all your replies, this is unbelievably helpful!!

For all those saying keep our expectations low, don’t worry, we’re already there!! 😂

non slip shoes is a great idea, we’re lucky it’s a family house so we know it well but the floors are super slippy. A stair gate is also a great idea, it’s all on one floor but there are stairs outside so a gate on the outside door is a great idea, we’ll try to get one out there that can stay there.

We have to go with car hire car seats because we already have too much stuff, but as it’s a family house if they’re not good we can buy better ones there and leave them for future. We’re the first in the family with little kids but there are lots of cousins who will probably have kids in the next few years so we can keep things there for them.

All the airport advice also so helpful. Thank you! I’m making a great list :)

When playing airports make sure you mention that you mustn't touch the metal detector when you walk through it.

Have spares of everything in hand baggage and enough nappies to survive a substantial delay.

Pack pyjamas and clothes they've already worn for a day, so they smell familiar the first night. Bring familiar snacks for the journey in case the toddler gets overwhelmed.

We always travelled with our children and had a fantastic time. (But poster who said bring sick bags is not wrong 😉)