Travelling with a baby

Realistically, you are unlikely to want to travel immediately after your baby is born. They require constant feeding, changing and attention and you will probably be exhausted. By three months or so however babies are pretty good travellers and can be surprisingly adaptable. Many parents say that this is the easiest time to travel with young children.

We have all experienced the lack of energy, irritability and sleep deprivation of having a young baby and you may feel that a holiday is the last thing you are up for. However there are huge benefits to travelling with your children at a very young age. Babies are generally happy to go wherever you go and love looking at new and interesting things.They can generally keep themselves occupied and as long as they are comfortable, fed and clean they can be easily transported. They cope well with disruptions and delays and this can in fact be an ideal time to travel with your baby.

Babies often travel free or for nominal cost and the older children get the more expensive they become. There are plenty of baby travel products designed to make life easier and it is possible for parents to choose luxury hotels that welcome families as kids clubs and other such facilities will not necessarily be top of the agenda.

The major downside to travelling with a baby is the amount of equipment they need as they do not travel light. Holidays with an established base are generally best when travelling with a baby and you should check our hand luggage and packing lists for our top tips on how to make sure you have space in your luggage and have everything you need either on board your flight or in the car.

A few well chosen pieces of travel gear will help make your travel easier and you should think about and research travel systems, travel cots, a lightweight buggy or pram and if you're going to a warm climate a baby shade.

Remember when you are flying that you should remember to book a bassinet or bring your own and check out our tips for boarding and flying which should help you on the journey. If you are renting a car research carefully the cars seats that may be available from rental companies. If in doubt you should bring your own as standards can vary particularly when you are renting a baby car seat rather than a car seat for an older child.

If your baby takes formula milk or is weaning then make sure you take enough for the journey. Check that there will be appropriate supplies in your destination or take enough stock with you. Depending on your choice of accommodation preparing fresh food for babies may not always be possible. One option would be to cut down on your luggage by having your nappies food and other supplies delivered to your destination by a company such as tinytotsaway who provide a fantastic service by delivering all your supplies to your hotel in advance.

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.

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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