Planning a family holiday can be great fun and something every member of the family can be involved in. See below a few ideas and tips to make sure you plan the right holiday for your family.
When Booking a Holiday
1. Holidays are for parents and kids. A great place to go is a holiday resort that has a kids club and lots of kids activities suitable to your kids age group. A lot of these places offer kids stay and eat for free (at certain times), and really welcome young travellers. Remember that kids club doesn’t mean your kids are in there all holiday. Plan it so the kids go a few times in the holiday and while they are there, plan some alone time or couple time. If you are not going to a resort, check on local and surrounding activities to make sure there is enough to do to keep the family entertained.
2. When you are booking ask about room facilities – eg for safety (balcony type, courtyards that are closed off), kitchen, microwave. It’s also handy to ask about room configurations to ensure they will suit you and your children and whether bedrooms have balconies or unsafe windows.
3. We recommend booking at least a one bedroom apartment (separate bedroom to living area) with a baby and two bedroom if you have two or more children. Remember babies and small children still need to sleep in the day and go to bed around 7pm, so if they are sleeping where you are living you won’t have a holiday at all.
4. Also check if you are booking adjoining rooms that it is guaranteed 100% they will be adjoining before you book and pay.
5. If booking a rental car, ensure you book a car seat to suit the ages of your children. Most rental companies offer this service or you could use a baby equipment rental company.
6. Baby equipment rental companies operate in a lot of major and regional areas, and offer portcots, prams, car seats and toys for hire.
7. Check on dates and times on local festivals which might attract or deter you from travelling there at that time.
Just Before you Travel
1. Pack some plastic bottles or jars and fill them up with enough dishwashing liquid, napisan and washing powder for your holiday.
2. If you are bottle feeding, take your bottle brush, bottles, steriliser, formula container and formula. The brand and type of formula may not be available where you are travelling, especially if going overseas.
3. A great tip is pack the long life milk in 200 or 250 ml cartons. You can put these in your carry-on drawstring bag so your child can have milk on the trip.
4. Order some groceries online and have them delivered to your hotel or holiday accommodation the day you arrive. This will save you having to go to the supermarket to buy supplies the minute you arrive.
5. If travelling overseas or to a remote location, check medical facilities available, whether that is at the hotel, or local hospital or medical centre. You do not want to be looking for this information when your child is sick. Always pack a comprehensive medical kit appropriate to your destination. Also, check on outgoing flights so if you have to leave in an emergency, you have an idea if flights go daily or early morning/evening.
6. Leave details of your holiday with a family member or close friend at home and also keep a copy in your luggage/hotel safe. Details include flights, hotel details, insurance policy details, copy of passport and birth certificates and lost/stolen credit card phone numbers. Here’s an easy to complete form to hold all of these details.
7. When travelling overseas or to remote areas, check that your mobile has coverage. Take a phone card if not.
8. If you will be relying on taxis for transport, check with a taxi company at your destination whether you can order a taxi with a child seat or whether you will need to take yours with you.
9. For older children, a child safety harness (and booster if needed) is a great alternative for travel, as it still bolts into the vehicle but is compact to take with you.
Please visit Haggus and Stookles E-store. We sell Formula Container, Child’s Safety Harness and other high quality products for your kids there. Visit now, you can find variety of products to choose from!
More interesting posts you will surely enjoy reading:
Travel Checklists – forms to help when travelling with kids
