Whether it’s your first time at an airport with a baby, or you’re a seasoned flyer, there’s no doubt that travelling with young children can add an extra element of stress to your holiday. This can begin long before you’ve even left the house. Even trying to find uninterrupted time to book your airport parking online in between feeding, changing and a crying baby can be tough, let alone finding your essentials and actually packing! Knowing a few small tips beforehand can make your airport experience a lot smoother.
Keep them busy
It’s a good idea to pack a small bag of toys to take along in your hand luggage. This doesn’t need to be anything expensive – a couple of cheap treats from a pound shop will be enough. Many parents also simply hide away a few of their child’s own toys in the weeks leading up to a trip so that when they are ‘rediscovered’ they can seem new and fun again. Stickers have also been known to distract many a squirmy toddler on a long flight.
Timing is everything
Travelling through an airport with children means that even the most straightforward of tasks seems to take longer than normal. Allow yourself more time than you think you need to check in, get through security and find the gate. It’s also worth planning for any extra time you might need to get from your airport parking to the terminal. Check how often the transfer shuttle runs, and plan your arrival time accordingly. You can compare airport parking prices and travel details to find what will work best for you.
Plan ahead
Most airports now have somewhere safe enough to let toddlers roam free. Check out the airport’s website before you travel, so you know exactly where to head for in the terminal. Planning ahead also extends to your packing – make sure the essentials for your child are easily accessible in your hand luggage, and keep plenty of snacks readily available. Small children can experience ear pain during take off and landing, so offer them plenty of drinks to sip or a bottle to suck on. The swallowing will help balance their ears, and hopefully avoid tears.
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Whether you’re heading away for a city break, a business trip, or you’re about to embark on a family holiday, the airport can be a stressful experience. To ensure everything runs smoothly and you stay calm before you board your flight, we’ve put together some handy tips you may want to take into consideration.
Know where your airport is
Make sure you know exactly where the airport is and how you’re going to get there. It’s recommended that you plan your route in advance and make allowances for any build up in traffic or roadworks, and remember to leave yourself more than enough time. Then if the worst happens and you find yourself stuck in traffic, you won’t find your stress levels increasing.
Take a screenshot of your boarding pass
With more and more airlines moving in the direction of ticketless boarding passes, you should think about taking a screenshot of yours. By using a screenshot, you won’t have to fire up the airline app on your phone which could run into connectivity issues. A screenshot will still work at the scanning stage, so as soon as you get your boarding pass via the airline app, screenshot it and save the picture in a safe folder on your phone. Alternatively, if you’re worried about your phone’s less than reliable battery life, you could always do it the old fashioned way and print your boarding pass off.
Take a clear plastic bag
Although some airports hand these out at security, it’s always best to take a spare one or two in case you have to divide your toiletries up. Carrying a spare clear plastic bag is one of the best ways you can save time at security, along with removing any metal items well in advance of reaching the detector.
Figure out parking
Airport parking can be a nightmare, especially if you haven’t planned ahead. In order to avoid any unnecessary stress on the day of departure, you can save yourself a great deal of time and money simply by booking airport parking online. For full details on inexpensive car parks that offer excellent links to all of the UK’s major airports, see our home page.
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Travel is one of life’s greatest adventures. It can open our minds to new cultures and places and give us a wonderful experience relaxing and exploring different countries. With so many incredible places to visit in the world, many people feel that they want to explore everywhere, and wish they could afford to do so. With a few clever tips and tricks, travelling the world is more achievable than you think. Below, we’ve listed out our top tips for travelling on a budget, so you can get the most of our your money whilst you explore the world.
Keep it incognito
Websites use cookies to record when a visitor has been onto their site. So if you’re looking for flights, travel or accommodation online, you’re leaving a traceable record of all previous searches. By making your viewing window incognito, you’re removing the possibility of the website ‘seeing’ you’ve already visited – so you’ll be shown the best price, rather than an inflated one which returning visitors are likely to see.
Take a class – for free!
Wherever you are in the world, there are always free classes, museum sessions, city tours and more – for free. Do your research and ask the locals – you’ll be amazed at how many life-enhancing experiences you can have in a new place for free.
Hostels
Hostels are a fantastic way to save money whilst travelling, as they’ll come in far cheaper than hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses. Often you’ll find the quality of accommodation can rival many more expensive places, as the standard of hostels across the world is now so high. You’ll meet tonnes of like-minded people also excited to be out exploring the world and you can take advantage of their traveller extras, such as free wifi, sometimes free food and often free book exchanges!
Book in advance
The further in advance you book your travel, the more choice you’ll have and the more favourable the costs of your trip will be. This is true for travel, experiences and accommodation – as well as airport parking!
If you’re looking to book parking from a UK airport, click here to secure your parking spot in advance: https://www.airport-parking.org.uk. We cover airport car parking across the UK, so you’re sure to find your carpark here.
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