5 tips for flying long haul with a toddler or baby
Let’s be honest, a road trip with a toddler (17 months at the time) sounds stressful - I’ll agree with that. But there’s some part of it that also sounds magical, doesn’t it? Showing your baby some incredible sights and parts of the world?
Picture this: just you, your baby/babies and your partner on the adventure of a lifetime, making the most incredible memories. Why delay that?
The details: we took a three-week road trip in California, over to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
1,365 miles driven
3 states
8 hotels
3 cars
When we booked our adventure we were met with mixed responses. Confusion was the biggest. “Why would you waste your money when he won’t remember it?” was what we got. If we listened to this, we wouldn’t ever do anything. Yes, your toddler isn’t going to remember it. But they also won’t remember trips to the farm, bedtime stories, soft-play dates. All of the the things families do to spend time with their little ones. Regardless of whether they remember or not, adventures can play a fundamental part in a child’s development. When we were met with negative feedback on our choice to travel long-haul here’s what we said:
He won’t remember it, but we will
If not now, when?
So we took the plunge, we did the trip and learnt so much from the incredible journey. Below are five tips for flying with a toddler.
1. Stay at an airport hotel the night before the flight
Something we deliberated for a while was whether to stay at the airport the night before the flight. Stuck between convenience and wanting to save money. We ultimately agreed that the best thing to do was book a hotel at the airport with parking. It meant no long drive in the early hours, no disturbing the little one’s snooze earlier than needed, and a much more relaxing journey on travel day. We stayed at the Hilton London Terminal 5 and loved it here.
2. Book an airport lounge
Another thing we considered for a while was booking a lounge. We’ve done airport lounges in the past, but never with a toddler. We decided it would be a good choice to book one, mainly thanks to the food and drink options (we all know the importance of snacks with a toddler). We found a good spot at the lounge. It allowed us to let our toddler roam around a little without disturbing anyone. He just loved looking at the different vehicles and planes on the runway. If you don’t want to get a lounge, it’s worth noting that Heathrow terminal 3 does have a soft-play area.
3. Bring something new on the flight for them
We packed some new toys and books that he had never seen before. This meant he wasn’t already bored with them minutes after playing with it. We passed the time with toys, books and snacks, giving him something new each hour. A recommendation we received (but didn’t have time to do) was to wrap the new items up so the unwrapping is also a little activity. We loved this idea and would have done this if we had time.
4. Pack snacks, snacks and more snacks
Every parent will tell you same thing: snacks are key. I packed so many snacks they had their own case (and that’s not an exaggeration). One of the hand-luggage sized cases was used for all of our toddler’s snacks, for the flight and the holiday. But I put all of flight snacks into a Melii snackle box I picked up from TK Maxx. This was great as it gave him a big variety of different snacks, from crisps to melty buttons, there was a good mix of all his favourite treats.
5. Try and book a plane seat
Our toddler was able to be booked as a “lap” ticket. This meant he didn’t get his own seat and was required to stay on our lap - but it’s a fraction of the price than booking a seat of his own. However, we were luckily enough to get a very quiet flight out to the US. This meant he had his own seat in between us. On the way back, we didn’t have that spare seat and he spent the entire flight on my lap (he’d fallen asleep on take off and woke when we were landing). Having experienced both, if we were to do it again, I’d try and factor a child seat ticket in the budget. We were lucky that he slept all the way home. Trying to keep a toddler contained to a lap for 11 hours would not have been fun.
Travelling with a baby or toddler can be daunting, but you’ll never know what it’s like until you do it. The world is out there and there’s so much to explore and show your baby - go take a look.