Any positive stories travelling with kids?

[Leleophants]

Love travelling and always hoped we'd keep being adventurous and love life exploring new things. I'm pregnant and away now, but already feeling down at being so uncomfortable, not being able to drink and being so exhausted that we are achieving half as much.

Does the fun come back when you have a little person to take with you? We desperately wanted children and would choose them over travel if we had a to choose(why we made the choice to get pregnant!) Also having children is finite whereas we could technically still travel once kids are grown.

It would be just nice to hear stories of how our other passions can keep going!

My family have always been into travelling with kids. My parents took their 2yo on the train from Sweden to Greece, then on the boat to Rhodes & lived under fairly primitive circumstances in the 50s. We took 20mo dd on the train from London to Berlin. Also, took her to Rouen when she was 2. It was fun. Also took dc on holiday to their grandparents in Sweden every year, travelling at least one way on my own. They later had 4 children and took us travelling whenever budget would allow. Very fond memories of huddling together in some foreign market square with our sandwiches, the first time I tried speaking "foreign" (it was English, which I subsequently got rather good at),

You have to do things a bit more slowly, you have to be prepared to stop and look at things you hadn't planned, you have to be prepared to be on call as a general entertainer and explainer and story-teller throughout the day- but if you're the kind of person who quite enjoys that role, it can be very rewarding.

Holidaying with children probably works least well for people who need holidays to be complete relaxation by the pool/snoozing in a deck chair cocktail in hand.

Art galleries and cathedrals and trains are fine though.

It brings me so much joy to show the world to my children. They’re fascinated by everything.
We’ve always travelled with our children and have had a great time.
It takes a bit more organisation and effort though. You can’t relax with a book on a flight with a young child but it’s fine.

As long as you like holidays being nonstop then you will be fine. We have took our now 3 year old son abroad several times and we are out in the car every day seeing things to keep him entertained (ruins, nature reserves etc) We would not be able to have a relaxing holiday by the pool until he is older, but that isn't my thing anyway.

Plus they're free until 2 years old so make the most!

We took our kids for to Spain when 6 months and two. No problem (other than not finding a seat in the airport so I could nurse!). But our biggest adventure was a month to Australia when 20 months and three. Not ideal but that’s when the opportunity came up. The plane trip was exhausting and we arrived 4am local with the kids wired and us barely alive. But other than that we had a fabulous time! We stayed at 9 different places and internal flights and some long car rides but it was really such a wonderful trip. Of course we had to adjust - dinner seemed really early to us and we had to do room service on several occasions instead of going out. But we were together as a family for weeks which was rare (my husband had a high pressured job involving lots of travel). Wish the kids had been a bit older to remember better but no regrets.

Took 8 month old and 10 year old on Eurostar, to Switzerland, to the south of France. Honestly- no hassle. I like to pack carefully but if you’re more relaxed, you don’t even need to do that!

My kids have traveled a lot (now 7 and 2)- Asia, lots of city breaks in Europe. All over the UK. East and West Coast of the US. And lots of long haul flights. We keep to their overall schedule, keep our expectations minimal, and always have a sticker book or a couple of toys and lots of snacks and drinks to hand. Yes, maybe kids don’t remember it but we don’t not read to them or sing to them because they might not remember these when they are older, it’s about the experience and the exposure.

We’ve taken ours traveling from very young. Transatlantic at 4 months shorter trips from 4 weeks.
We back packed around Asia with an 11 year old, 9 year old twins and a 3 year old who has special needs.

It all depends on attitude and finances.

We’re the same - have been travelling with the kids since they were tiny and as long as you aren’t a ‘fly and flop’ person then it’s totally doable. It will change a bit of course but overall it has been brilliant.

I would say that the personality of your kids can affect things a little. My eldest is 7 and a born explorer and traveller. Loves city breaks, loves history, loves exploring new places (though won’t touch the food, sigh). An absolute dream in eg Switzerland at 3, Paris and Nimes at 4 and Australia every year, as well as all over the UK.

Youngest (now 3) is much more of a homebody and when tired/stressed when travelling just wants to go home to his own things. He still gets a lot of enjoyment out of travelling overall but the love of it does come more naturally to some kids.

I’m going on a weekend break with just the eldest in a few weeks - it will be brilliant.

Yep took our now 3 year old to Italy at 6 months.. did an emergency medical diversion to Paris and spent 6 hours on the plane so decided she could cope with long haul so she’s done USA and Canada too - we love national parks but have reined back on the long hikes until she’s older and she does the short ones marching in front of us with a map...

Also done quite a few city breaks but she’s asked to go back to “Vanhoover” a few times so that must have had an impact..

Think it depends on child and age. We took our then 17 month old abroad and it was hell. When they're babies or a bit older I'm sure it's great but in the toddler years...never again!

Oh op, I remember vividly being in India when I was 8-13 weeks pregnant. One of my last nights in Mumbai, when it was 44 degrees and I was miserable and couldn't have a cocktail, I watched this group of travellers drinking across from me and wondered whether my life would ever be the same.

If I am honest I actually considered a termination... not specifically because of that moment but because I was terrified I was far too selfish and disorganised to me a good parent. And I love to Travel. Live to travel, even.

Well we made the decision obviously to throw caution to the wind and it's been great. We very specifically decided to travel when DS was young (I took him to Canada to visit family alone at 4 months old and we had been on smaller city trips before then), and he's been to Scotland (thrice!), Dorset, LA, Prague, Canada (3-4 times?), Spain, Devon, and we are off to Chicago next week. He's only 2.5.

We couldn't have done a cocktail by the pool holiday but that isn't our bag anyway. DS loves the plane and the train and nosing around in the car as long as there is something to explore and a daily treat! Things are a bit slower and you have to be more planned around snacks and meals, and also hotels aren't ideal so we do more AirBnB type places, but really it's fun and we all love the time together that we rarely get in our day to day lives.

We’ve flown with both our children from a very early age. My youngest was 8 weeks when we flew with him the first time. We’ve been to Europe, Asia, Australia, and planning lots more. Holidays certainly aren’t as restful , but I love my kids trying new cultures, new food and having new experiences.

My two children are 14 & 11 and since they were born we have travelled to a variety of places; Canary Islands, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Spain, USA, Austria, Netherlands, France, Belgium, NYC, Canada, Germany, San Francisco!

It has not always been straightforward but we want to travel and I think the children have benefited from seeing other countries and cultures and realise their place in the world 🌎

Hey op. My dd has been to the following in her 21 months of life

Marrakesh - 8 weeks
Paris - 3 months
Barcelona - 6 months
Ibiza - 10 months
Paris - 1 year
Holland - 1 year
Turkey - 1 year
As well as UK Trips

We are going back to Holland in a few weeks and have booked Bali for next year.

Toddlers are a bit of a pain, but babies and post-toddlers are fine. Be relaxed about routines. A baby/child who will fall asleep in a restaurant is the DREAM - then you can have a nice long dinner! That's the one thing that toddlers are tetchy about.

Be chill about prams/strollers - use an Ergo carrier when you can & buy a used Maclaren umbrella stroller for travel so if it gets bashed about you can shrug your shoulders & replace it for £50. We've even bought strollers on 2nd hand websites on the move - picked up a used Maclaren on Craigslist in the US when we realised that just-turned-four DD couldn't keep up with New York & sold it for a profit when we got back here!

We went to Barcelona with three kids last year and despite it not being a "family" destination really we had a great time. We're pretty strict behaviour wise so our kids were a breeze to travel with.

Both my DC had been on three continents before their first birthdays. Obviously they don't remember much about that, but we have been a lot of places since then which they do remember: rail trips round Europe, Cuba, Australia, the Baltic.

It's very different from travelling just with adults or solo, but you just learn to do things a bit differently - slower pace, more planning, staying in places with laundry/cooking facilities rather than hotels etc. It can be hard work at times, but I would have gone crazy just doing 'child-friendly' beach/villa/holiday park type holidays for twenty years.

Now my DC are nearly grown-up, they have been on trips just the two of them, and I am starting to plan some solo trips again.

We've never been a lie by the pool sort of couple so we're doing exactly the same sort of holiday we used to - we haven't attempted any multiple stop ones yet but we will in time (ds is 15mo and not walking so he's an extra thing to carry constantly!). We just accept you can only do two things a day rather than the 4 or 5 we used to and your evenings aren't as exciting! We only get apartments now, and wouldn't stay in a hotel as we need the extra space and to be able to make some meals for DS.

We took an 18 month old to Australia for 3 week holiday. Flights were hellish. The holiday was basically fine, we went sightseeing and visited friends and stayed in apart-hotels to make it easier to cope with needing to wash clothes and eat in when they were exhausted. I have just remembered an outstanding tantrum thrown in South Yarra in Melbourne when she didn't want to go to bed. Basically walked the full length of all the lovely bars and restaurants with her screaming and DH and I having muttered arguments...

Then we took a 3yr old and a 7yr old to Canada in October. Flights were not as hellish (apart from lengthy delay resulting in overtiredness in the 3yr old). The two of them walked between 6 and 10 miles a day in Vancouver with us. No problem going out for meals.

So it depends if you mean holidays or going travelling for months at a time. Kong haul holidays are fine if you are prepared for the worst in terms of travel and how time difference can affect young children (no sleep.)

If it's .months long travelling then I can't help!

We've just come home this morning from Crete with our 20 month old, she had an absolute ball! It was different to other holidays in the past, the things you do will be different (didn't lounge on the beach quite as much this time, or stay out late) and it was none stop the whole time but seeing her little face at the beach, her joy at going swimming and just seeing her enjoy the sun was so lovely and so worth the effort. We also took her to near Boston to see family over Easter. Two flights there and two back, and a very early start, plus the 5 hour time difference, it was hard work but not as hard as I worried it would be. Again, she had a ball! I think just go for it, it will be a different holiday than what you're used to but still a holiday and still lots of fun. And, like you say, having kids is finite and you will travel again like you used to when they're older.

Mine are 3 and 4.

We have been all over long haul and short haul as well as trips in UK and Ireland.

They love it. It’s tiring and not the same type of trip but it’s magical seeing how interested they are in everything.

We also try and get 5 days away twice a year ourselves as am lucky enough parents have the boys. This is the sleep/drink relax balance for us.

Get as much travel as you can in Pre 2 when you don’t have to pay for a seat!!!

The only advice is never pick rubbish flight times! That makes is very hard work.

Lots of good times in store for you, don’t worry! We’ve done loads of travelling with our baby during my maternity leave and it has been fantastic. We waited until after she’d had her four-month immunisations to travel abroad and since then have been on the road non-stop.

My biggest tip would be not to pack too much. Get some good quality packing cubes from eBay (not the cheapest ones) and have two or three for each of you. Baby clothes are tiny - all of DD’s roll up nicely into a couple of packing cubes although we could have managed with one. We’ve got another little packing cube for her bits and bobs like vitamins and wash stuff. The cubes make it so easy to unpack whenever you arrive and pack up on leaving day.

We’ve done most of our travelling without a car but we’ve bought along DD’s car seat so we can take taxis safely and hire cars when we want to. We bought a big canvas car seat bag, designed to take on aircraft or be carried on the back. It’s big enough to chuck nappies, soft toys and other extras in there.

We’ve got a BabyZen YoYo pushchair, which is small enough to fold up and stow as overhead luggage on aircraft and most trains. It also fits in the car seat bag in its cover.

Most airlines let you check in two big baby items with an infant ticket - a buggy, car seat or travel cot for example. The infant ticket also allows an extra item of hand luggage, although we’ve never used it, as I just use the nappy bag as my hand luggage as well.

Not sure if you’re planning on breastfeeding but if so it makes travel even lighter. I brought a few bottles along but we never used them so I ended up sending them back with my mum when she came out to visit a while back. A good tip on aircraft is to feed baby at take off and landing as it helps their ears to pop and calms them. We’ve found our DD has slept through most flights and a lot of train journeys as the rocking motion is very soothing.

We’ve never bothered with carrying a cot with us. Most places we’ve stayed have provided a cot and a high chair. Where there hasn’t been a cot we’ve put DD in with us. I only did that after six months though, I personally wouldn’t have done it when she was smaller and not as mobile, and obviously follow all the Lullaby Trust safe sleeping advice.

Travelling with a little one is so much fun. You see everything through new eyes and everyone is so friendly. The warmth and interest shown to babies throughout much of southern Europe is quite remarkable. It’s made our DD blossom - she’s so used to being made a fuss of now that she’s always looking out for strangers to say hello to!

I should also add, my husband either works remotely online or travelling to his clients or HQ, so we’ve been able to become nomads during my mat leave.
Hope you don’t give up travelling - I’ve never done so much since becoming a mum!

Don't bother until they're at least 5 and semi reasonable. Same shit, different location.

I did have routine necessary twins, if you have a kid that sleeps anywhere it could be fun.