March 10, 2023

Round The World Flights: 7 Tips for Travelling with Children

Tips and Tricks for a Stress-free Travel Experience

Picture this: you’ve planned your dream RTW trip, booked your round the world flights and have strolled into the airport. All around you are calm and organised travellers, but heading overseas with your kids in tow isn’t that smooth.

Travelling with children can be tricky. It’s hard to manage everyone, and trying to keep everyone calm can often get overwhelming. Here at Airfare Geeks, our team knows how being stressed out when organising a trip can take away from the excitement of the trip itself. So we’ve put together our best tips and tricks to ensure the entire family can have a stress-free experience.

Pick The Right Round The World Flight Times

Picking the right flight times can have a huge impact on your little ones (and the rest of the family). And if you pick the correct flight times, you might even avoid jet lag, which is great for everyone!

When you first organise your trip with your travel agent, let them know that you’ll be travelling with children and that flight times will make a difference. Just like adults, kids need their sleep. However, kids are less able to control their emotions when they get overtired. Picking flight times that aren’t early in the morning is your best bet for dealing with exhausted children, so you want to pick flight times that depart at night, encouraging them to sleep on the plane.

Prep Your Children Beforehand

If this is your first time taking a round-the-world trip with the whole family, it’s important to explain the situation to your children and outline the process. Tell them that there is the potential for long lines and a lot of waiting time, so they may have to be patient. There might not be much room for moving around or playing.

The conversation doesn’t need to be doom and gloom, though. Although they may have to stand for a while, they’ll be able to see so many cool things and have an adventure on the way.

Get Organised And Prebook

Nothing is worse than arriving at the airport with unsettled kids and then becoming flustered and struggling to find the necessary paperwork. If you’ve seen parents in a scenario like this at the airport, you know how tough it can be to watch – it’s a stressful situation for all involved.

When travelling with children, especially on a round the world trip, the key is to be and stay organised. Your organisation should start even before you get to the airport. Pre-booking everything and anything can save you from those long wait times, and check in online before you arrive at the airport. These small changes that can be completed beforehand can make the biggest difference for the entire family.

Snacks And Distractions Are Your Best Friend

Prior to boarding your flight, stock up on some healthy snacks for your little ones – this is key for long-haul flights. Having snacks at the ready to keep your children focused on everything but staying still for 10+ hours is a great way to get through your flight peacefully. We’ve listed below our best healthier snack ideas for kids so that you can avoid dealing with that sugar crash.

Pretzels
String cheese
Cheese and crackers
Sultanas
Dried fruit
Rice cakes
Muesli bars

Where you can, take full advantage of inflight entertainment. Airlines like Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Finnair and Virgin Air have entertainment available specifically for children – another great way to keep kids entertained. Also, a little insider tip, if your children don’t have any, be sure to purchase some child-size headphones.

Get Your Kids Involved In Packing And Pack Wisely

We’ve all been through those trips when everyone packed a little too much or, even worse, hadn’t packed enough. Learning how to pack for a round-the-world trip can be overwhelming. And this can be magnified even more so when packing for little ones. We’ve heard so many stories about over-packing and lugging numerous items all through the airport, leading to more frustration. Pack with layers in mind for kids like you would adults.

If your kids are old enough, get them involved in packing. This not only mentally prepares them for a trip, but it’s also fun. Let them pick and choose what they’d like to take (within reason), and allow them to have their input. This way, they can be excited about wearing their favourite jumper or comfy pair of socks on the plane.

Get Your Children To Sip During Take Off And Landing

Depending on the ages of your children, they may or may not be able to communicate with you that their ears hurt when you take off and landing. To avoid the uncomfortable ear ‘popping,’ have them sip on water or suck on a lollipop to keep them calm and comfortable. For those with babies, breastfeed or bottle feed your baby during these times.

Make It Exciting

Travel is fun and exciting, so your children should feel this too. However, while travelling with kids can be chaotic at times, time is fleeting, and they’ll only be young for so long. So it’s important to remember that during long-haul flights, like from Australia to Tokyo, it may be a little taxing, but you’re building precious memories together as a family – ones that will last a lifetime.

Final Thoughts

Travelling with kids can sound daunting and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. When travelling as a family, take the time to relax, enjoy and ease into the adventure of travel. Just because it can be a stressful experience doesn’t mean it needs to be. If you’re considering jet-setting off on a round-the-world trip with your family, get in touch with our specialised travel agents. We’ll work with you to plan a trip you and your little ones will love.