6 General Family Travel Tips

1 Go with the flow

I cannot stress this one enough, this is the absolute golden rule in my book. It is
impossible to predict anything in advance as to how your children are going to
behave. At first I always tried to follow my child's sleep schedule through, after the
first flight I realised this was impossible. Just breathe and go with the flow, don’t
stress and just let it happen. Blowout right before take off? Fine, we’ll deal with it
once we’re up in the air. Fall asleep right before security? Just let it happen, you can
transfer them to your baby carrier straight after.

2 Be prepared for anything 

Although you should just let things happen, it is still of the utmost importance to be
prepared for anything. No matter how long your flight is, always pack more than two
sets of spare clothing. Bring along things like towels, baby wipes, clean diapers and
scented nappy bags. Scented nappy bags are absolutely essential, you just do not
want to end up having to shove some dirty poopy clothes into your travel bag

3 A good carrier will save your sanity

A trustworthy baby carrier is the base of any travel adventure. With a good carrier it’ll
be easier to carry around luggage, take care of any other children and just generally
move around the airport if taking along a buggy isn’t an option. Also when you have
to unboard the plane it’ll be much easier to move around, as at some airports the
distance to baggage reclaim can be extremely long or you have to wait for ages at
passport control, in these cases it is no longer a question whether you should have
one.

4 Blow off as much steam as you want at the gate

We have found the best area at an airport to blow off some steam to be at the gate.
As I said before, you should be prepared for anything. When you’re at the gate you
at least remove the possibility of missing your plane due to being late. At least that is
one worry taken care of :) At the gate there’s usually plenty of space to let your
children move around, and at most airports we’ve been to we found it to be a great
place for plane spotting.

5 Don’t expect anything from anyone, especially not from your child

5 Don’t expect anything from anyone, especially not from your child
Yes, you will get some dirty looks from people here and there. But please don’t let
them get into your head in any way. Even if your child behaves like an absolute
angel there will always be those people that think (or say, just loud enough for you to
hear) to themselves ‘Children shouldn’t be allowed on planes.’ There is just no
pleasing these people, and you know what, don’t bother, you will never see them
again anyways.

So don’t expect anything from other people. But especially don’t expect anything
from your child. Don’t expect them to sleep on the plane or the ability to sit down still
for the entire flight. It is completely fine to let them walk down the aisle for a bit, just
make sure they don't get in the way of the cabin staff, they are just doing their job,
other passengers are free to roam around the cabin as much as they like as well, so
why shouldn’t your child have this option as well?

6 Bring along enough snacks and toys