Share your top tips for travelling abroad with young children with Brittany Ferries - chance to win a £300 voucher NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

Travelling with young children isn’t always plain sailing from the start, but, if you get it right, showing your children a new part of the world can be a fantastic experience. So, to avoid those horror stories about packing all the wrong things; choosing a destination that’s not quite as child-friendly as it promised; and temper tantrums along the way, Brittany Ferries want to hear your top tips for travelling abroad with the little ones.

Brittany Ferries say “if having young children has put you off taking that holiday abroad, then think again, think family-friendly France. Sailing from Portsmouth, Poole or Plymouth we offer more choice of sailings than anyone else and our onboard service is designed with little ones in mind. What’s more, we can also arrange your holiday accommodation. Our choice of sail & stay holidays are perfect for young families with a chalet camping holiday offering fun for all with lots to see and do both on and off site. And, as all our holidays include return sailings with your car, so you can pack all you need for your time away.” You can find out more here.

What’s your go-to for keeping the kids entertained throughout the journey and avoiding the dreaded ‘are we there yet’? Do you have any tips for encouraging fussy eaters to enjoy some local cuisine? Is there a particular part of France you’ve come to love as a family holiday destination? Whether it’s useful packing advice or just a recommendation for a great family activity, don’t keep it to yourself. Share yours on this thread to help other parents enjoy their holidays with young kids to the fullest and you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

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Thanks, and good luck!

MNHQ

Plenty of snacks and toys

When going on holiday I've always ensured the children are packed up with lots of activity books. I find usbourne ones are great for this. As well as colouring books. I also take the iPad as that seems to be extremely useful. However both my kiddies are extremely fussy so i often take lots of snacks for them. However to encourage them to try the new local cuisine, lots of positivity and encouragement is used. Plus the opportunity to have a hairdo sweet afterwards as a reward for trying something new x

1.Take iPad For kids to watch films and play games
2.Pack Everyone's Favourite Foods
3.Have 15 Minute breaks as often as you can
4.Let the kids sleep as long as they want makes the journey go quicker for them and you and gives you some peace and quiet.

For me, the easiest and most hassle-free way of travelling with young children is to bring enough items to keep them entertained. Their favourite toy or game, or even the ipad. If there's plenty of choice then even when they get bored with one thing I can offer up another.

Go overnight if possible. Take your own carseat as standards abroad are not as good. Take lots of food, drinks and new activity books and things to do. Create your own I spy list of things that you child will see on the journey.

Make it a game - who can see the first sign for the airport, who can see the first plane, who can lay out their 5 favourite toys and books first ready to pack

Always ensure they have plentiful snacks and drink and that they have their favourite toy with them to provide comfort. Sleep is important so encourage it and clothing in layers is a great way to make sure they stay just the right temperature too.

Let them help packing and including some of their favourite toys for the trip

I find that for long journeys you need to be prepared, plenty of drinks, snacks, ipads and other activities to keep them occupied. Be prepared for needing numerous toilet breaks.

We always pack my daughters backpack with a new magazine, her favourite cuddly toy, ds, travel games and books. She always finds it exciting getting a new colouring book packed in there too.

For long journeys we wrap one small toy/puzzle for each hour the journey takes then the kids pick one out each every house on the hour. They love it!

We have travelled twice with my DS, the first time was I will admit - a bit of a task! we took a night flight, which DS screamed all the way through, to the horror of our neighbours. We learned a valuable lesson from that! We also had a nightmare with him eating, he would not try anything. However, I think we panicked and trekked to familiar shops to buy familiar food for him because we didn't want him to go hungry!
Second time was MUCH better. DS was older too so he definitely understood more. He was picky about food initially, but we explained to him we had come on holiday for different experiences and that included trying new food. We didn't cave in and run to the local Tesco! and it worked. My tip would be to engage with your child and explain why they are at a different place with different things. I think this helped DS adapt a lot better, then he would have done so if he was left confused.

We took my daughter to Greece when she was 5. She loved the aeroplane as there was lots to see and do but wasn't so keen on the long coach transfer from the airport to the hotel once we got there. We had to keep singing songs and feeding her snacks to keep her occupied! Next time, I would take more to do on the coach!

If flying, be sure to choose seats together in advance and also make sure to pack lots of activities for the flight.

Plenty of drinks and snacks but also money and be willing to buy some as we are travelling - when the kids get bored is often a good time to have a meal and a drink and break up the boredom. I encourage my children to try new foods and they see the food and travel as part of our holiday.

With regards to the actual travel I make sure devices are fully charged, loaded with games/films etc and a buy them a new bumper puzzle book and felt tips each which keep them entertained for hours.

I was lucky enough to have healthy kids, so we could move around easily because they inherited our adventurous spirit.
And a very important issue was they slept like logs almost throughout a storm, if not they were always thrilled to see lightening or even rain. But mostly they slept...Useful !

Preparation is key.... make sure you have everything you need plus lots of distractions to keep them occupied.

The best tip that we found when driving in France was a good supply of audiobooks. It's tricky to find half-decent radio stations or music selections which suit the whole family, but audiobooks certainly helped reduce DCs boredom on the longer journeys.

Engage them in their new surroundings, pointing out new things they can see, feel and hear, making memories for the future.

Pack snacks, colouring, games and a tablet if all else fails!!

I always pack a load of snacks and drinks, I pack arts and crafts to keep them entertained and also the trusty tablets to keep them occupied. We recently did a massive 8 hr journey and they loved drinking the little pots of milk from the coffee shop and then decorating the empty pots and coffee stirrers with some stickers I had in my bag!

Foodwise I recommend buffets for dinner as they can try everything, they won't starve as there is bound to be one thing that they like!

plan lists in advance. Pack extras.. always! especially spare clothing!! Pack plenty of snacks and drinks in case of delays and take refillable drinks cups (to save money!). Do research beforehand and ensure there's plenty at the holiday resort to keep the little ones happy.

Get them their own little suitcase for the plane hand luggage, fill it with sticker books, crayons, colouring books and their favourite toy. Make a game of the travelling, play Ispy or look at sticker books related to your destination or method of travelling.

Has to be preparation! Prepare an activities bag for them to do with lots of different things like colouring and other toys. Prepare for them to need their regular naps during the day so don't try and keep them going all day. Also bring home comforts such as their favourite cuddly toy or blanket - that really helps smooth the way into a new environment!

A night crossing is really exciting for the children, I love it when it's early boarding, as it feels the holiday has started as soon as we board! Both DC (age 5 and 6) try speaking French to the Staff on board who are always really helpful and freindly. The children love having bunk beds to sleep in, and have fun trying to find the cabin. We normally do a day crossing coming home, and we've been lucky enough to see Dolphins (very exciting for the children ... And the adults!)
Main tip if travelling on a daytime crossing is to ensure warm clothing, as it can be chilly even on warmer days, and sunscreen if sunny. We play 'what can you spot' when we're out on to pass the journey time. And the children love the soft play area...great for when the weather is to bad to be out on deck.