Parenting advice blog

How to Plan a Perfect Holiday with Kids: Part one – Planning and preparation

If you are planning to fly away this Summer on a family holiday, you may find this advice, courtesy of www.family-trips.co.uk, helpful……

Be Prepared…

Check your child has all the correct immunisations they need for the destination you are visiting. Check with your local G.P or travel clinic for advice. Probably not a great idea to take babies on holiday to countries with lots of health risks, particularly where Malaria is present.

List any allergies your children have. It may be useful to translate these into the local language, if you are visiting a country where English is not widely spoken.

Get contact details of English speaking doctors and the nearest clinic or hospital to your hotel. There may not be anyone to help when you most need it, so it’s best to be prepared.

Take a full first aid kit and keep it handy when you travel. Anti bacterial wipes are highly recommended, particularly if you are going to third World countries, where a quick wipe of cutlery in a suspect restaurant may be essential. If you are taking a baby, make sure you stock up on pain relief sachets, or Calpol, which can be very useful if your baby has problems on a flight and can be difficult to obtain in some countries.

Be Organised…

Check passports! This may seem obvious but we hear of many stories of passport problems. Kids’ passports only last 5 years, as opposed to our 10 year passports. Make sure you leave at least 4 weeks to get a new passport issued. A lot of countries outside Europe will require everyone’s passports have at least 6 months validity, from the day of departure from that country. Remember kids all need visas, just as adults do.

Do your Homework…

Always take time to investigate a destination or hotel you are visiting. These finer points are key to a successful trip.

How long is the flight? Obviously the shorter the flight, the easier everything will be. Kids get bored easily, so if you can avoid longer flights it best for everyone. The same goes with transfers. A long transfer in a hot stuffy coach, after a flight may not be ideal. Look for resorts with short transfer times from the airport.

Is there a kids club? If you are staying in a hotel with a kids club, check the small print. Many will charge a daily or sometimes hourly rate and even when they advertise free kids clubs, you may still have to pay for baby care. Find out about staff qualifications and the ratio of staff to kids as you may decide you would prefer a holiday operator that runs their own baby and kids clubs, with British registered nannies. Always make sure you check if you need to pre-book kids clubs, as some have limited spaces. Also check when the kids clubs are running, as most won’t run all year round.

www.family-trips.co.uk is a KalliKids accredited travel agent specialising in creating family friendly holidays. From beach holidays, ski holidays, cruises, villas or the once in a lifetime trip to Disney, Family Trips offer a friendly, professional service and of course, great deals.