Travelling is fun but it can be stressful at the same time. It is usually a bit more stressful when you are travelling with kids as you have to pack more stuff. And kids usually hardly ever cooperate or move quickly. I did most of my travel before the kiddies but I have also done some travel with them because I the travel fun outweighs the stress. Travel is one of my favourite things to do. I have visited a couple of cities/countries over the years, which is how I picked up various airport travel tips to help make our adventure less stressful.
Here are some of the tips –
Pack light & weigh before getting to the airport
It can be tricky to pack light especially when you have kids involved. But it is important to only pack what you need to reduce the amount of boxes you take away on holiday. The last thing you would need is to drag boxes with stuff you won’t use or be stuck with excess luggage at the airport. The fear of excess luggage is the beginning of travel wisdom. The fear makes me weigh my boxes before arriving at the airport so I can rearrange the boxes if needed. We have a travel scale we use to weigh boxes and it is usually spot on.
Hire a taxi to the airport
Hiring a taxi to the airport is the best way to get there without stress. Driving to the airport means you have to load your car yourself. It also means you have pack it yourself at the airport, which can be frustrating if you are running late and unable to find a parking space quickly.
Parking far away from the airport with the hope of catching an airport shuttle is very dangerous. Apart from the stress of packing a car and catching the shuttle, the shuttle may be running late. We experienced this first hand earlier this year when we booked an airport shuttle, the shuttle was over 30 minutes late, and we almost missed our flight. The best way to get to the airport is to go in a taxi.
Label your boxes
Label all your boxes before getting to the airport. Make sure you also mark your boxes so it is easy for you to spot them from far. I mistakenly carried the wrong box some years ago. The box was exactly the same as mine. And the padlock was the same as well (we both use the padlock that came with the box), and I only realised I got the wrong box after getting to the hotel. I bet you can imagine how stressful it was for me. We had to head back to the airport the next day to return box and I got mine later that day as well. It is one mistake that I can’t afford to make again.
Check in at home
We always check in and book our seats 24 hours before our flight. That makes our life easier when we get to the airport as we only have to do a bag drop. Checking in before you get to the airport is even more important when you are getting on a full flight or via a busy airport. Flights to London and other popular destinations are usually busy, so ensure you check in beforehand.
Get to the airport early
Getting to the airport helps as we are not stressed on the travel day. Kids never move quickly so having. few hours to play with works great for us. It also means we can get something to eat if needed and slot in some duty-free shopping as well.
What do you think of these airport travel tips? Do you have any tips of yours to share? Please sound off in the comments section below.
Thanks for stopping by.
*Collaborative post.
Before we had kids we used to fly every once in a while. Since having kids, we just can’t afford it. These are good tips to use though.
Travelling with kids can be stressful and expensive. I can relate.
These are some very well written lovely tips that I have to say that i agree with because I travel a lot. One main thing is keep your calm.
Yea staying calm is important. Thank you.
Great advice. Minimizing the stress of traveling can significantly improve the experience. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for reading.
I keep a holiday box at home which has our holiday stuff in, such as plugs, towels etc.
I also keep another box which I stock up during the year with toiletries, sunscreen etc when they are on offer.
I also have a generic list on my office for checking off each year.
I also make sure clear bags for meds and one for toiletries/makeup are packed up with the suitable proof for cabin carry on for check in to save time. You can never be too organised
The tips you give are great for newer travellers. I remember it well when the adult children were young re travelling.
It’s hard enough now with all the additional security, quite rightly so, so I can well imagine with young ones how hard it is.
Serendipity moment as I have just read this post after packing to travel abroad tomorrow for a week
Oh that is nice. Enjoy your holiday!
Hiring a taxi rather than trying to catch a bus always makes my journey that much more stress free! Thanks for the useful tips!
Yes hiring a taxi works best for us too. Thanks Vivian.
Keeping the day stressless is super important. I recommend checking to see if you can get into any of the lounges at your airport. Usually if you have a type of credit card, you’re good. Then you can show up early and relax!
Fab tip Marta. Thanks.
This tips are really essential. Getting airport early is really a challenge for me. Due to this I missed my flight once. from that day I always ensure to reach airport early
I have almost missed my flights a few times. Experience is the best teacher 😊
Invaluable tips! I still remember on one of our trips we made a mistake not to weigh our luggage beforehand. This was a home return trip after a year long stay and how much stuff we had to discard at the airport! Since then, we always carry a small weighing gadget 🙂 Some lessons are learnt the hard way. HAHA.
That has happened to my sister before. She had to abandon her stuff at the airport too.
Very nice tips. Taxi sure is the best option especially on my way back. It is also priceless for early or very late flights.
Yes it is. Thanks Lyosha.
Thanks for the airport travel tips. I like to travel a lot, but sometimes if I do not prepare properly, the trip can be a nightmare.
Yea good planning helps. If I don’t plan in advance, everything falls apart.
My family and I travel a lot so I’ve gotten my packing and airport check-ins down to a science already, lol. Great tips, by the way!
Glad you like the tips.
beautiful tips. travelling is not fun. needs a lot of planning 🙂
Thank you.
So true about getting to the airport early. I’d much rather relax, be there 3 hours ahead of time and grab a drink rather than the stress of getting there last minute. Good tips.
Thank you.
It is very nice information. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you like the post 😊
These are such great tips that I totally agree with! Flying can be so stressful, I agree you want to do everything you can to make it easier. I really hate traveling in the winter too because you always have so many layers you have to take off for security and it gets so hot. I always get hot when I’m stressed too. I like the tip about labeling your luggage – that is always helpful even if it’s in an overhead bin, you’ll always know it’s yours. I also like the tip about getting a ride to the airport and not having to deal with driving yourself.
Glad you like the tips. Flying can be stressful but it works better when you are organised.
Loved this post!
Glad you love the post 😊
Labeling the luggage is a good tip, I really like it, hiring a taxi is also a good tip because its saves time, overall love this post.
xo Corina
Thanks Corina xo
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Great post!!
Thank you.