My sister Michelle is one clever little coconut, and over the last 12 months has been quietly working away on building her own travel website, Where To Tomorrow. The website is a personal account of travel, with anecdotes and the types of handy hints you won't find on other travel sites, such as 'how to travel with friends and stay friends' and my personal fave, 'how to maximise your time inflight.' Here's an excerpt:
There are a few questions that tend to plague most people, who shot JFK, do aliens really exist, do these jeans make me look fat and how the hell am I going get through the next 18 hours on a plane without wanting to kill everyone on board including myself.
Yes I know there’s mid flight movies, rouge newspapers in foreign languages and a pack on Xanex in your bag. But more often that not you will need more then that to pass away the mind numbingly dull hours while traveling… Here’s a few tips that I’ve learned along the way
ALCOHOL
Yes folks this is were to tell your kids to stop reading. But let me give you, not only a hot tip, but an equation that would make Albert Einstein proud. Booze = fun and fun = time going faster. Now I’m not encouraging you get so incoherent that you you think you’re arriving in Berlin instead of Bangkok. But a good mid air sample of the local wines will not only relax you but help your frame of mind. Especially for some of my future suggestions. And hey if anyone asks red wine really does improve mid flight circulation.
FIND ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE
Now I suggest follow this up after step one. Let me throw another equation at you planes = lots of people, lots of people = some have to be hot. It’s a jungle out there kids but in a confined space it’s loads of fun. Something as simple as a stroll around the cabin can do the trick. As can the beverage section mid flight. I have, on more then one occasion, turned this into my own private bar. And for those of you with balls of steel, never be afraid to chat to said stranger because rest assured they are as bored as you are.
She's a funny one, my sister... anyway, she's asked me to write a little article for her website on 'top tips for travelling with children'. I've had a little go, but the truth is I don't have all that much experience travelling with children, yet! Here's what I've got so far, I'm up to #5 and I'd love any further top tips you can provide to help with my piece!
I think it was Mia Freedman who made an observation once that travelling with one’s children was not to be confused with any previous preconception of a ‘holiday.’ Holidays with children, she said, was simply lifting up one’s life and transporting it into another place for a while. Luxuriously sipping cocktails by the pool; relaxing with a Summer romance novel; going out for a long, boozy lunch – these were part of the ‘old’ concept of a ‘holiday’ and were not to be confused with the reality of travelling with children.
Here’s 10 top tips for travelling with your beloved offspring. And remember, if all else fails – do keep your return flight flexible…Tip #1. Lower your expectations.
The word ‘relax’ and ‘children’ are a juxtaposition at the best of times. Accept before you leave home that you will not be lying poolside with a cocktail at sunset. In fact, you may not even seea sunset.
Tip #2. Ensure there is a Kids Club.
Folks, don’t leave home without it. When choosing your resort holiday, ensure it has a kids club. The kids will love it. You’ll love it. Its win win for all concerned.
Tip #3. Packing light does not apply to children.
At 2am, with the entire family crammed into one small hotel room and paper-thin walls between you and your neighbours either side… now is not the time to realise you left the spare dummy at home. The one you DID bring, you realise, was left on the plane. Now is not necessarily the most convenient time to try out controlled-crying.
Tip #4. You can never have enough snacks.
Children + snacks = time. When you spend 2 hours in the hot midday sun lined up outside the Lourve with your tiny beloved crammed into a hired stroller, you’ll see what I mean. Bring snacks. And plenty of them.
Tip #5. Be prepared to spend a lot of time in your hotel room.
We went to Tasmania for a week when our baby was 4 months old. Stayed right in the capital, where all the good restaurants are. Know how many restaurants we frequented come nightfall?
You guessed it.
Takeaway or room service. Your only options, unless you are a sadist. Enjoy your restaurant experience at lunch time.
... and that's all I've come up with thus far. Helllllp! What can you add?? x
