Tips For Travelling With A Toddler

When I asked for advice about how to tackle a plane trip with a toddler, I was thrilled with all the advice I received (read the comments here).

But I soon learnt that it isn't just the plane trips; there are many aspects of travelling with a toddler that are can be a little tiresome.

Let me give you an idea of the challenges we faced:

• Getting to Samoa involved: getting up at 3am, driving an hour to the airport, catching a bus from long-term parking to the terminal, waiting for the flight, a two-hour flight from Melbourne to Brisbane, a two-hour transit at Brisbane airport including a bus from domestic to international, a four-hour flight to Apia in Samoa, baggage collection, customs, and a bus to our resort.
• Sitting in restaurants for three meals every day, and even a quick meal can be dragged into a long wait when everything is being done in Samoan time.
• Hiring a mini-bus to tour (we were travelling with some friends) around the islands of Samoa. I wasn't well prepared for this, not realising that getting anywhere in Samoa takes at least an hour from where we were staying. Add to this a one-hour ferry trip each way to the other island, with Steve and I both feeling queasy... made for long days exploring.
• Coming home was even longer than getting there: a bus to the airport in Samoa, waiting at a hot airport for two hours, a six-hour flight to Sydney, a two-hour transit at Sydney airport including baggage collection, customs, check-in and a bus from international to domestic, an hour-and-a-half flight to Melbourne, baggage collection, a bus to long-term parking, and a one-hour drive home.

All of these are things that anyone choosing to travel takes in their stride. I had never even thought twice about waiting at airports or queuing for customs, but add a toddler into the mix and it took a bit more effort. So it was fortunate that all of you had given me some great advice and I was more prepared than I would have otherwise been. We also came up with some other ideas along the way, so here are my tips for making travelling with a toddler a little bit easier:

• No matter where you are - at an airport, in a plane, a car, a bus, restaurant - ALWAYS have a bag with various activities at the ready. Things like crayons, blank notepads, colouring books and playdough were invaluable, as were books and small toys. The biggest hit was stickers, and we all ended up with various stickers over our faces, arms, legs and all through the plane (luckily they came off easily!).
• As always, kids surprise you with what they get enjoyment from. For example, on the plane trip home a flight attendant gave Abbey two disposable cups, which she spent a while playing with in awe. It's worth looking around for whatever is at your disposal and seeing if it will give your child half an hour of fun.
• I am not a fan of children watching television all the time, however as a last resort we did have some Wiggles episodes loaded onto Steve's iPhone. It was great for THOSE moments when serious distraction tactics were required.
• We have a backpack carrier for Abbey, which we took for doing longer walks (easier to transport than a pusher). On the way home, we decided to use it around the airports and it worked brilliantly. Small things like going through customs are a hassle with a bored toddler who wants to run away, so it kept her contained while we did those things, and then we let her run around afterwards to release some energy.
• It's important to realise that sometimes you need to be a bit flexible with your plans. For example, Abbey was swimming all day and was exhausted by the evenings, so expecting her to sit quietly at a restaurant for dinner was a big ask. There were nights we just had to get her back to the room early.

I don't want to make it all sound like a hassle, because despite all of that, travelling with a child was fun. I'll talk more about the great parts in another post, and it's also worth noting that travelling with older kids (we had an eight-year-old and a five-year-old in our group as well) is a completely different experience. They're more able to have some patience and understand how to wait with Mum and Dad.

With a toddler though, it's just important to be organised and to remember that it can be both tiring and exciting - so much to explore! - for a little person.

Megan