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

Lots of activities to keep them occupied (colouring, games, etc) and snacks :)

Plenty of snacks, colouring books and pens and just try and keep them amused. We had our first flight last year and with 3 under 5 we had our work cut out

plenty of drinks, snackd and activity books

A special backpack of Snacks, games and colouring in items. I buy bits each time I go shopping a few weeks leading up to our travel date. Don't stress, if they are a bit fidgety and tired, apologies to those near you. However truth be told these folks have been in your position, or will be in the future. It can not be helped.

take plenty of activities to keep then entertained. My youngest daughter usually takes colouring books and if its an especially long journey we download a film to a tablet for her to watch too

Personalised backpacks of stuff to do and lots of snacks. And let the children sit by the window so they can gaze at the passing landscape (and have a surface to lean their heads against should they feel sleepy!).

plenty of puzzle books and general entertainment

Lots of little snacks and drinks and plenty of games like cards, looking out for different objects and singing

snacks, audio books, sticker books and a regular stop at the services!

Preparation is the key.

Make sure to have a few healthy snacks so you don't feel guilty buying junk.
Have a checklist of the things you will need so you don't forget anything & take something that will entertain your child. Books, puzzles, colouring etc.

For longer journeys we make age appropriate quizzes and games to keep them occupied.
Each has a clipboard and they have to spot eg
Somebody wearing a yellow jumper.
Three seagulls in a row.
A Pink car
Snacks that are not sugar filled, lots of drinks, a mountain of wipes and lots of chats to keep them entertained. It is a great bonding family time when on a journey.

I've recently made my toddler an activity bag, a drawstring bag full of toys, puzzles, books, etc, to keep him quiet and occupied. I got the idea after taking him to the dentist with me to have a checkup and he played up quite bad. I also always bring snacks for him, food usually staves off any tantrum haha. I also use my phone which has kids activity apps and kids Youtube on, but that's if he gets fed up of everything else.

get a family railcard to keep costs down,try and book well in advance for cheaper fares too. Play games looking out for objects out of the window

Packed lunches and snacks to save money - and getting them excited about old school games like I Spy and Spot Bingo is cheaper than magazines etc!

We have 3 childrens aged 3, 7 and 9. Their favourite game is playing spot the red/black/white car first. We play I spy, who is the first to spot a horse or a cow or tractor. Hours of fun!

Need to have plenty of food and snacks. And something (Music, Audio Books, books, Tablets) that will keep them quietly involved for a couple of hours.

most kids get bored travelling, and thats why if possible i would pick somewhere that was nearer rather than half way across the country! My tips would be to make a picnic (dont call it packed lunch call it a special picnic kids love that) get some treats you wouldnt usually have in it, flask of tea or coffee to keep you sane! in the rucksack would also be toilet roll, selection of water based paints & brushes (for pebble painting), two very small hand towels (one to be wetted down for cleaning and the other for drying) small colouring book and pencils and new novelty cheap toy (i think the last one i bought for our son and nephew was these pens that had arms on them and levers so they could box each other - its just a calmer way of them competing with each other) and only for at the venue you are going at which as lots and lots of space a pop up tent and a good bouncy ball. As they got older I changed the toys to things like puzzle books, calligraphy, etc you want things that keep them occupied for long periods of time. Now they are older its mobile phone/tablet with loaded up films to watch. I find it a little sad now that children dont seem to play as much as they did.

Maybe a couple of small snacks will come with us but we wouldn't usually travel until after they have had breakfast and we'd plan on lunch/dinner when we get where we are going. Rare that we'd be on a train for longer than a couple of hours.

If possible when travelling a long distance by car, I prefer to leave early hours of the morning, that way the kids can go back to sleep, plus no traffic and sweating in the car if it is summer

This used to be traumatic when they were little, honestly i used to dread it, and the answer to it for me, was planning, making a lovely packed lunch each, then appropriate games for travelling, maybe googling some car games, i-spy etc, its just occupying them really isnt it.....

travel offpeak and allow lots of extra time so you are not rushed

Mt tips are to plan ahead, make sure that you have all you need, a little packed lunch and rink, a book, there tablets if they use them, and a small blanket if they want to snooze all in there back pack that's what i would do.

plenty of snacks and drinks. We play travelling games like I spy or count the coloured cars. If all else fails watching a movie on the ipad x

For long car trips, we plan regular stops so everyone can get out of the car and have a stretch. babies can roll around on a rug on the ground.
Also always pack far more food and drinks than you think you need.
Pack snacks and food you know they will eat even if they are going to get food on the plane/train/ferry. If your children are anything like mine and prefer plain food you wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to buy.

Take plenty of snacks and drinks and something to occupy them, and be prepared that anything can happen with children! Try not to stress and just accept that when something doesn’t go quite right (hopefully) you’ve planned ahead and you can deal with any situation