Travelling with children; what are your tips? Share them with South Western Railway

[EllieMumsnet]

This activity is now closed

We all know that travelling on family days out with children are not always the cheapest of experiences. However they can provide great family bonding and memories that will last a lifetime and just as importantly don’t have to burn a hole in your pocket every time. With that being said South Western Railway want your top tips for travelling with children, especially your best money saving tips!

Here’s what South Western Railway have to say: “If you’re savvy at looking out for great family deals then sign up to receive our customer newsletters. You’ll receive exclusive offers and inspiration on where to visit on the network, helping you to plan a fun family day out.”

Do you ensure you bring pack lunches and snacks for the whole family so you don't have to spend anything on food? Perhaps you like to bring along extended family or friends? Do you bring lots of fun games to use as distractions if and when needed on the journey? How do you decide where to go if you have children of different ages?

Whatever your tips are for travelling with children and saving money on family days out, share them on the thread below and everyone who does will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Hate to say it but things like ipad, tablet, consoles etc are a life saver for things like this, obviously plenty of little snacks and drinks and try to use your surroundings to occupy them, i spy, counting animals etc

Do a packed lunch - make sure you bring plenty of snacks - mine start asking for food as soon as we step out of the door!!! Take colouring in and have an ipad / iPhone as back up just in case you need it! We also plays I spy, bingo on the way too

Snacks healthy ones though
Entertainment in the form of a teddy or two
A phone to listen to music and perhaps watch a film (plus headphones)
Bird watching/general animals and scenery pointing out things that interest them. Tunnels and wind mills currently score high for us!

Book seats!

Planning! Plan your route, any rest stops you might need to make, snacks, drinks, activities or games to play and discount vouchers for what you plan to do/places you intend to visit. Top tip? Wet wipes for cleaning hands, faces and any spills!

Always take plenty of snacks and wet wipes

we always pack a lunch, travel off peak, and our railway is free to travel for children

Packed lunch, iPads with headphones, I spy and ‘Lucy went on holiday and in her luggage she packed’ memory games are my go tos

I personally think people worry about travel with their children too much. You know your child best, and what works for them, all kids are different and what works for you, may not work on anyone else.

So just bring some food you know your child likes, bring something that they enjoy if they will need it, there are lots of games you can play whilst traveling (like I spy, finding items, learning new words) that you dont need to pack, don't weigh yourself down with loads of stuff because it's recommended, it will just make you miserable which the kid/s will sense and make them miserable too.

Snacks, colouring books, quiet games and a few cheap new toys .

I love the train, it's my favourite mode of transport with or without kids - but it's so much more expensive than driving that we don't do it often. My tips: take plenty of water and snacks; reserve a table if possible; and if your DC are going to be using their tablets or phones for God's sake get them headphones!

best purchase is the tablet, load it with games, songs, tv shows and disney movies. We don't normally allow long use of the tablet but for long journeys, especially when public travelling, it is a godsend! Also lots of snacks is a must!

Lots of drinks and enough food to cover a meal and between meal snacks for the length of your journey. Pack each meal/snack for the whole family in it's own bag so that the kids only see one meal at a time. Make sure the food is not too smelly and go for plain biscuits or crisps as treats rather than sweets, as a sugar rush is not what you need.
If you haven't managed or can't pre-book seats, don't be afraid to ask other people if they would swap seats. Most people would rather move to a quieter seat in order to let a family sit together, but they might not think to offer. Also when travelling alone don't be afraid to ask for help from those around you. Try to smile at people sitting nearby who look friendly. Speak to the guard and the station staff when you see them, for advice on the best place to board the train - they are more likely to keep an eye out for you if they know you might need help.
Take younger children for regular walks/toilet breaks. Take a small washbag with your own toilet tissue, wet wipes and hand gel to the toilet with you.
Card games, travel board games, pens and paper are great to keep kids busy. If you do use electronic devices to keep them entertained, make sure you bring child-friendly headphones to avoid disturbing other passengers. If you can, take some deep breaths, and use the time to engage with your kids - look at things out of the window together, play word games or catch up with older kids. This might be one of the few times you are both free to just enjoy each others company without the usual distractions, and that can be a great start to a family holiday or day out.
I've travelled all over the UK and into Europe with my kids by train. Sometimes alone with two young kids, sometimes with my husband. It can be challenging, it doesn't always go to plan, but often with some simple forward-planning it can be relaxing and enjoyable - far better than being stuck in a car together for hours on end. I always try to book the train on the quietest days and times that we can manage and that makes a huge difference.

Always keen an eye on them and have them wear distinctive clothing

Prepare, prepare, prepare. Always take plenty of snacks and a packed lunch as motorway cafes are so expensive, reading books, colouring books and a few family games like Guess that song, and Eye spy just in case,

Plan in advance! Snacks, iPad, sticker book, teddy.

Wouldn't it be lovely if train operators produced maps and places of interest to look out of the window for? Plus a bit of history about the line and some gorgeous paint by numbers (4 colours crayons) of steam trains that ran on that line and some information about the destinations.

Trains are part of our national history and psyche. Most children are exposed to train sets and train books from a very young age.

Make it a paper comic and sell it for 2d on board. Don't forget the letters page and the adverts for xray glasses.

What about a souvenir penny from the year they were born that's been run over by the Flying Scotsman?

Trains need reinventing and returning to the pride that keeps our heritage lines alive and the infrastructure is part of our heritage - not a means of profit.

Our country, as we know it, was made by trains. 'The wrong side of the track' illustrates perfectly the difference it made to our villages, towns and cities. It's generally too small a country to rely on air traffic. One often needs to use trains to get to airports anyway.

Many people made lots of money by building, destroying, running, building railways. Others made inroads to communication that is now usurped by cars, computers, telephones - and made fortunes. Look at the mobile phone revolution which paid sales executives huge bonuses.

This country was rustic before Stevenson, Telford, Brunell. Teach this to our children if we're going to be a country that has got to 'stand on its own two feet'.

Plenty of snacks to keep them quiet! Packed lunches from home. Fruit is great. Bananas, apples, tangerines.

Also, pack a spare set of clothes including footwear and a towel! We once went to Bolton Abbey and my 7 year old fell into the water when she went on the stepping stones. We sort of managed to get a few things together and sort her out but that was a huge lesson learned. Now we always keep a bag of spares in the car.

I always take what I call bribery, tablet loaded with favourite shows, colouring in books/activity books, a book, one or two favourite toys & snacks/fruit box.

We also play I spy, look out for animals in fields, talk about where we’re going & about the train.

My toddlers love train journeys, been on many to South Wales & London. I always take a relaxed approach & within reason let them choose what we do but make sure they’re not getting too loud or running around. They know to sit until we’re getting off.

Pack clothes for yourself too! I had to sit on a 12hr flight in cold vomit because of my kid! He had plenty of clothes but not me!

I've got three kids travelled on the train with them for years they are currently 18 10 and 6 so big age gap I've found downloading netflix/CBeebies onto tablets and using headphones is great I also take loads of food and drink we try and sit somewhere with a table so the youngest can play cars or dinosaurs one memorable trip from Blackpool (we live in the Midlands and I didn't drive at the time) the train was delayed I had my middle child playing pokemon with the child across the way and the youngest watching abney and teal with the child behind poking her head through the seats so she could see too

My only thing is you can't book a seat for an under five as they are not paying however a four year old clearly needs a seat me and my youngest have spent many an hour wedged into corners or sitting on the floor despite booking seats because there just isn't room!

Take a mini rucksack per child, filled with mini games, puzzles and small toys and books. Only to be used on journeys so that they don't become stale. Replenish occasionally.

Definitely lots of snacks and lunch and always more drinks than I think we will need. I also take activity books and felt pens to keep them entertained. On the rare occasion we travelled by train - rare because it is so expensive - my children tend to enjoy looking out of the window and/or playing I spy. I wish rail fares were a bit more reasonably priced as travelling by train is far more relaxing and less stressful than driving.

Take food and snacks. Books are useful and we never travel without a pack of playing cards. Its small easy to carry and have lots of different games to play. Also keep your kids involved i the journey, finding the platforms etc.

Take lots of small toys like etchasketch, small books, toy phone