Travelling with Children: Top tips and tricks for a relaxing family holiday

People are seeking to make certain. I mean, I know that if you're under a certain age, you have to be set up an adult, but it's nicer given to the family rather than spread out over the plane, which has happened to us before. Typically, I was the one stuck with the kids, and my husband was sipping at GNTs a few rays in front. One thing that we do before we go, depending on where we go, is that I get the children to learn a little about these and thank you and help for water and milk. This is Episode 20 of The Travel Podcast, and today, Jules and David join by a special guest, Rain, talking about their own experiences travelling as a family and share their tips from booking tips to packing them more. A reminder about our sponsor Not Just Travel, where holidays are made even better thanks to their award-winning travel consultant, and their new book and an axe guarantee to give you that peace of mind when booking your next travel plans. Make sure to check them out at NotJustTravel.com. On this episode of The Travel Podcast, where we will be delving into our tips and tricks when we are travelling with our children. So I have joining us, so I'm Jules, I'll be your travel podcast host today. I'm joined by Dave Pope from The Travel Podcast. Hi Dave. Hi everybody. And we also have Rain, who is a mother for and a travel expert herself. Good morning Rain. Hi, good morning. So just to give you a little bit of background, myself, I have a son of three and a daughter of six. Dave has two boys of six and ten and Rain, mother of four, very brave. She's got three boys, 15, 13, 11, and a beautiful eight year old girl. So thanks so much for joining us today. What we're going to be running through is our tips and tricks to begin with when we are booking our holidays. So Dave, do you want to start what tips and tricks have you got for when you are booking a holiday? Yeah, thanks Jules. One of the first things I always do with when you're booking for families and kids, try and get in early. I think because you get a better choice. So first of all, and I booked my holiday earlier this year, managed to get a free child place. So that's one of the first things at there. So if you're like, "Hens teeth," if you're looking in the school holidays, but if you're getting early, you can usually find them. So first thing for me, if you're trying to get a free child place. And the other thing I would look at is flight times. So look at the time of day. If you're going short haul, then I usually like to go sort of mid to late morning arriving early afternoon. If I'm going long haul, then I might leave late in the evening so the kids can sleep on the plane. Yeah, child places flight times. And then things like kids clubs, I know Rainer probably talked more about, but so that would be my first two. Yeah, good tips, third day. I guess as well as flight times, you might look at the transfer time. So making sure that you're not going to be getting off a plane and then sitting on a coach for another lengthy period of time. And I know that you mentioned before that private transfers are very cost effective and a great way to easy into that holiday and make you feel relaxed with your kids. And what about you then, Rainer? What about the kids clubs? What do you look out for? Well, obviously looking to see what age they start from because you have lots of people who sort of come to you saying, "Oh, I'd like a kids club." And their children, let's say, infants under two. And there are very few hotels that actually can provide that service. And also making sure that if you do need to pre-book, you do that because there's nothing more disappointing thinking you're going to have a nice week sitting by the pool, child-free, and then to discover that it's actually all booked up. And then of course, some of them also, there are extra costs at times as well, so we're checking that out. And whether there's babysitting in the evenings as well, going back to the flights though, we were also, I mean, looking at direct flights, obviously, the is a real plus. And then pre-booking seats, just to make certain. I mean, I know that if you're under a certain age, they have to be set up in an adult, but it's nicer if you can sit as a family rather than all spread out over the plane, which has happened to us before. Typically, I was the one stock with the kids and my husband was sipping at GNTs a few rows in front. Typical, David, you've got something to add. Yeah, a couple of things you mentioned just now. Two things that I think are really important. One is how we get to the airport is also important, because one thing I must have is meeting Greek car parking. So this takes away the need of the bendy bus. So when you get to the airport, and I live near Birmingham Airport, so we drive to the airport and you just give your keys to someone outside the terminal and you walk in. Then hopefully they go and park it somewhere. So I was going to say I can meet you in someone in a high-disk jacket. Yeah, you've got to be a bit trusting there. But I mean, one of the worst things I find is when you come back and you've got to go through the car park trying to find your car after being on a bendy bus, and for the extra money it costs to well worth it. And the other thing you mentioned was transfers. Again, I must have for me, I'm sure, or Rainbow agree with this, but I'm sure you're going to have a chance for transfers to have someone with your name on a board when you get to a new destination in your own car, normally air conditioned, and you're at the hotel before anybody else. Coach transfer, again, it can take an age. So again, it's a small price to pay a peace of mind in my mind, yours. That sounds perfect. And that's what you're looking for, really, as a parent, I guess, just to feel as relaxed and chilled as you can be, I'm not saying that you're in a good mood. But I'm not saying that you're in a good mood, because it's just a little bit more relaxed. And that's what I'm saying. And I'm just saying, you know, I'm just saying, you know, you're going to have to go back and get the money. So, I'm just saying, I'm just saying, you know, I'm just saying, you know, it's a little bit more relaxed. But I don't think it's going to be a problem. And I'm just saying, I'm just saying, you know, it's going to be a problem. And then I think that's what I'm saying. laundry room where you go and you do your own laundry. So if I know I've got that then I'm a little bit sort of pack a little bit smaller because I know I can do that because as we all know kids get filthy you know you put a t-shirt on and you think I'll wear that tomorrow but by the time you've had them meal it's everywhere. So I'm always you know have a look out for that. Things like you know things like sterilizing bags for microwaves and stuff finding out if you've got babies things like that taking that kind of thing along and also your powdered milk and whether you can buy nappies there and things you know if you if you know you're going somewhere that you can actually get there's no point packing those. Also for my lot we always make sure we've got good headphones for the plane because the one they provide never fit children so we always have that and then of course your your meds you know you anti-histamine and things always good to have a few of those things insect repellents essential but oh yeah and also I'm not so much in the packing but I've always used to have a small push chair that I took just for going on holiday it was I mean the most basic simple thing ever but it was tiny and it was and I didn't really mind if it got damaged or whatever so that I think is also really good. Yeah they're great packing tips there Dave um Dave what are your packing tips? Yes as light as possible jewels that's what I say um what I if this as as four of us I always say two cases not four if you can get everything into two cases it means the kids haven't got to carry their own case around the airport um and it means you can look after them better but I always say pack take it out and pack again um so two cases I think that's I agree about the headphones um and also if the kids are going to be doing like some sports you know they've got like a sports camp within the hotel which they do is make sure you pack their sports gear as well otherwise you've got to go and buy some expensive sports shoes um and the other thing talking about push chairs and we're past the push chair stage now apart from from me um push chair you can actually get push chair higher in some results so we've been somewhere where you actually kind of higher a push chair wider your way which saves um taking it and you can you know higher it and leave it so that's sometimes I agree. Yeah absolutely and any other thing is for the plane keeping the busyness at the rainside about headphones um and sort of uh iPads are very good for the plane depending especially if it's a long one. Yeah definitely. Sorry right? Nice for the plane. Oh snacks 120% we are all sh- nod in our heads like crazy here. What's your top go to snack day? Not for the kids. For me, oh no nothing with too much sugar in depending on what you want them to do if you want the kids to get a sleep then don't give them loads of sweets. Fruit is one of my favorite fruit on the plane yes. What about you Raina? Have you got to go to? Oh yeah I'm afraid I'm working not as good as that. I but no, things like having maybe a packet of Christmas cereal bar just you know things that sort of take a bit of time to get through because um it's all about just you know using up as much time as possible just to get through the journey um so yeah it's of course a little thing and then maybe a little treat heading up ahead generally something. Yes definitely. I think I'm minor at the age I'm still uh can still bash out a pack of cheerios and that is um what other brands are available obviously um that yeah any small cereal raisins they're all always a good to go to snack for my ones especially when they get stuck in the teeth and then that limits the talking so double bonus. I guess for my um packing tip of something I found really great when I went on holiday was um when we first got into the resort obviously they're all different but um this particular one was a very well-known family brand and when we went to see the rep in the um her little office they had a whole bunch of toys, buckets, spades things to do around the beach so we sort of loaded up and then took them all back at the end of the week which was obviously the idea but it meant you're not spending those few euros on the beach and you're not packing it before you go because you know but obviously like you said check before you go that might not be available on all the holidays um so any tips whilst you're there how do you keep an eye on all your kids at the same time rain? Do you have any tips of how to to keep an eye on the remoul and keep them safe? Oh that's a really good question it's uh been well I suppose when they were really young we did actually use the kids clubs quite a lot so obviously that was quite nice and we'd have you know a few hours a day assigned to that um but otherwise we're we're actually quite a um a beach family rather than a pool family uh so that kind of made it makes it quite easy in a way because we tend to go into the sea together and and things um but to be honest because there's four of them they do all kind of look out for each other quite well and the older one can look after the little ones and they are actually all really good at mucking in and one thing um that my children have always loved from probably about the age of five is um our mobile phone numbers so they they know my number really you know have always known it so things like that you know we do that when we get the airport as well as sort of in resort you know here's my mobile number anything you get lost or anything you just tell them it's this um yeah things like that but yeah generally they we're pretty good at you know my husband and I when they're a little we used to tag team you know I'm really a bit tough now you look off the kids and vice versa now we don't need to see that saying much but yeah oh good tip what about you day you got any tracking advice uh tracking devices on your kids not so much tracking advice isn't again now that the the sort of ages six and ten I agree with Rainy sort of do look after they do especially in the daytime whether on the beach or around the pool they do tend to sort of work together on that but then we might do take one each so again whether different ages if if the older one wants to go and place and football do some sport our generally do that bit uh and then my wife will look after the youngster um but again we do things together and I think that's one of the main things about family holidays it's about quality time together um so where possible again we'll be on the beach or around the pool um that that sort of thing so yeah and they find friends you know as well you know they make friends and then they end up having a bit of a gang and they all sort of look out through each other you know so yeah so the kids just do it's great yeah they just don't have the inhibitions that we get when we're adults you know it's very much what's your name let's play you know it's really very shy yeah Bri and I have seen though um in terms of the safety on uh Bournemouth beaches they have a um a scheming place um where you can have they you get the kids a wristband and you write your own number on it's a similar to what you're saying Rain you would write your own mobile number and then if they did it's minor a bit younger so they do tend to wander off and um see something shiny and then go for that um so yeah so anything like that for the younger ones um just check it out when you get in a resort now I think we've come up with some really great tips have you got any other tips for traveling with kids you wanted to share um we've covered a lot I really I'm really happy I think the the depending on what type of holder you have is trying to integrate children with local cultures if there are something we're depending on where you go I mentioned about the um restaurants earlier where you know I always like my kids to order their meals themselves um remember their pleas and thank yous and look at people but also wherever you're traveling especially if we're going long haul um and if for example when we're looking going to um Sri Lanka next year and I want to get them to go to like a Sri Lankan school so they can see and I think traveling these days isn't just about the beach and the pool and the kids clubs I think it's about learning about other cultures so if you do go is not to ignore the local culture and just stay in in the hotel is actually going getting the kids to see how other people live and I think that's really important yeah um my kids um at Christmas they their grandfather always gives them a journal for the year and that's really great because they collect things on holiday and they write little things in it and you know be lovely for them to look over them you know when they're older and see you know what they get up to because well my my eldest he is one of the best travelled 15 year olds ever but he actually probably doesn't remember most of it uh because he was really little when he went on safari or went here in there so um yeah I think of journals a really nice one there as well and also for those maybe these afternoons where you want to just be out of the sun for a bit and you want a bit of quiet time it's something that you know you can get the kids get the coloring pens out and they can fill these in yeah that's a great idea and I love what you're saying but they're the culture and integrating more into the country day and I was thinking with the situation that we're encountering at the minute I think perhaps all inclusive in these buffets type serving is going to um either become a lot more stricter in terms of time slots or be gone entirely so I think people will feel brave to venture out as self catering obviously gives you the freedom of what you're going to eat and when and you're going to eat it and we're. So yeah. another top tip there looking for yourself catering holidays. But if we could wrap this up, I just wanted to end with your favourite family holiday and why it was your favourite family holiday. Did you want to start, Dave? Yes, happy to, yours. I think the our favourite family holiday so far was in Menorca, where we went away with our friends and their two children who were of similar age. And we had a villa and the kids loved, we all loved that because you have freedom, you have your own private pool, you haven't got a fight over some bids, so you can mix it up so you can, you can, and now I said we don't cook, but you can have a barbecue or you can go to local restaurants and the position of the villa is really important because I don't like to drive on holiday. So the villa we were able to walk to a local town, local restaurants, we were also able to walk to the beach so you can, we were able to mix it up so I think having our friends there and having that freedom and flexibility was, what makes it our favourite holiday, yours. Brilliant, that sounds brilliant. Did you go with another family? Yeah, you're with our friends and their children, yeah. Well, fantastic. Yeah, and then the kids I guess just played with each other and everyone got on. Most of the time, yeah. And what about you, Ray? What's finnual favourite family holiday to date? Well, there's been some great ones, but I think the kids always say they loved our trip to Bali, which was probably about two years ago and again like Dave, we stayed in a villa and we were lucky enough to have a house girl who did our laundry and cleared up our fras and made some meals. We, what we loved as well, when we go, we've done quite a lot of villa holidays because there's six of us and it's the best way for us. We never hire a car so we always use the local transport and we've been the Caribbean sitting in little vans, squished between people and with the kids that we, they liked doing that. We also, they were like, Bali, it's very reasonable to have a driver. So we had a driver, he took us and we explored the island and we also discovered the best water park in Asia, basically and it was brilliant. I was really didn't want to go, but then we ended up going, let's go again and the kids loved it and we again we were able to walk out to the beach, we were able to go to restaurants and make a sample or the local food and yeah it was just a really lovely holiday. I mean the downside is it was a long way but with electronics on the plane it seemed to work beautifully. Brilliant and I guess so my favourite holiday is in the UK with I guess because they're a little bit younger and I have taken them abroad but I find the UK base holidays a little bit easier with their ages and but we go camping every summer to Willekum Bay in Devon and we love it. It's this massive beach, it takes you just as long to walk to the sea as it does to walk back into the town because it's such a wide beach, really really safe, glorious sand and we stay somewhere up on the cliff so you get the great view and nice, some nice pub lunches together, a bit of nice walks and they have some children's entertainment there as well which can keep them happy and and chuff for a bit and out of our hair but yeah like you said it's all about being together and going to see all these different things and experiencing them as a family and so thank you so much to both your time today, I've really appreciated it and I think we have some great tips for the people when they're thinking about their holidays with kids and to you listeners if you did enjoy this then please give us a five-star review on iTunes and for more information and links to what we've talked about in today's episode head to the travelpodcast.com where all the links will be featured on the episode's page so thanks so much for your time today, bye! Thank you, bye-bye and thanks to you, Rene! Bye! Rene has been a pleasure, bye!