Travelling by bus with your children - top tips

Travelling by bus has certain advantages when you are travelling with your children. Bus stations are normally in the heart of the town or city, children can climb aboard easily, children are free to move about in their seats and take supervised trips up and down the bus, you get more room and sometimes a table where the children can spread out their toys and play things and you often have toilets on board on luxury buses/coaches.

Kids just love the idea of buses as well as it is a novelty. On a long journey,children may even make friends with other children. Buses and coaches are considerably slower than trains but do allow everyone to enjoy a variety of changing scenery.

Travelling by bus or coach is not however that family friendly and it is generally not a very attractive option. Rest stops are likely to be limited and not necessarily at intervals that a child would like, there is nowhere to go other than simply up-and-down the aisle and conditions can be cramped and stuffy, you are also subject to the same travel delays as driving in a car. Logistically, you really need to treat travelling on a bus or a coach like flying (with the traffic jams). In fact you need to be sure if the bus or coach company will accept children as some do not for safety reasons.

Family tickets and discounts for bus travel

You should make a point of asking for deals for families and discounts for young people. In some cases, buying a family travel card is a good idea. Travel deals such as monthly bus passes may not be such a good idea for children and families however, as you may feel you are under too much pressure to travel long distances too quickly.

If you are visiting a city where you can get a combination of travel for a few days such as Metro, trams and buses this can be a great money-saving family travel option.

Before you book, find out the length of the journey and if there are multiple stops. You might want the faster option. Check out how much time you have to board and disembark at your stop as it can be a frenetic schedule at some stops where children, luggage and prams need to be removed from the bus in a very short space of time which can lead to panic and stress. In other cases there may be tight connections to get from one platform to another so do check out the connections and how far you will have to travel.

Reserving your family bus travel and selecting your seats

When you are travelling with children on a bus always try to reserve your seat even at off peak times. Make sure you book the non-smoking section of the bus even if you smoke and aim for air conditioning where possible.

Look into how the seats are arranged. Getting a table with seats facing each other could be a god sent if one were available and could be critically useful for games, arts and crafts and carry cots.

It may also be a good idea to check if there are baby changing facilities and if you need assistance either on-board or at stations. Mention this when you are reserving your seats. If you are booking a seat on a bus, request one that is not positioned over the wheels as this can cause motion sickness and try to stay away from the toilets.

Boarding and all aboard

When travelling as a family you need to decide who will be responsible for getting on, folding the buggy and taking it on board, stowing the luggage and finding seats. It is best to position yourself so that luggage and your children remain in view. Toilets (if any) on buses or coaches can be somewhat smelly and unpleasant for children and again supervision for young children would be recommended.

We have prepared some articles on what to pack, what to bring on a journey as well as several lists on how to entertain the children while you're travelling through the various ages and hope these are helpful.

Developing countries and bus travel

In some countries, bus travel can be very slow. The difference in comfort class between classes in developing countries can be dramatic. Investigate carefully the class you will be travelling in. Certainly going first class in developing countries will mean more comfort and room and it may in fact be the only way to guarantee you a seat. There can be an issue with food and water on buses and so do bring your own and try to be flexible as delays are common. Bus travel in developing countries really is tough for kids and if your budget will stretch to it we would suggest you try trains or perhaps an air-conditioned taxi or private transfer.

You will find lots of family friendly travel tips and advice in our research and advice section to help you book the right family holiday. Check out also the experiences of other parents and travellers in our parents forum and add your own experiences as we are a great believer in real parent's experiences as the best measure of whether somewhere will suit you for your family holiday. 

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