Are children plus travel impossible? As if not so! We tell you how to plan a relaxing family trip and share the life hacks of parents from the Ostrov team, who traveled the world with their children and went through fire, water and copper pipes.
Content
- Choose the right direction
- Relax in a comfortable season
- Book an apartment instead of a hotel
- Collect all-all documents
- Pack your suitcase like a pro
- Don’t forget about the first-aid kit
- Take care of your comfort on the road
Promo code for a family trip
The June holidays are coming soon — what’s not a reason to book an apartment for the whole family with a promo code HOLIDAYS and get a 20% discount? You can take advantage of the discount until June 10, 2025 and go on vacation whenever you want. Valid for one order, the maximum savings is 1,500 rubles.
Choosing the right direction
A child is not a huge stop sign on the list of roads and locations around the world, but it is worth paying attention to a few nuances.
The length of the road. We recommend starting with small steps, such as an hour-long car ride to a nearby city or a two-hour flight.
A familiar location.Ideally, for the first trips with a new family member, it is better to choose places where parents have already been and therefore have a good understanding of local life. For example, where and what kind of food can be bought, whether baby food and diapers are available in stores. It will be easier to arrange a comfortable life in the familiar Antalya than in a new city for mom and dad.
Get in the mood for a trip. To make it easier to negotiate with a child who has passed the age of a toddler, tell him about the trip in advance.: show me the photos, describe what you will do and what interesting things you will see or try. Themed wimmelbooks, or find books, will help in this. There is almost no text in them, but there are a lot of details and plots in well-drawn pictures.
It will be easier to build a comfortable life in the familiar Antalya than in a new city for mom and dad. Photo: Oleg_P/Shutterstock.com
Everything is in your hands
Obviously, babies are more likely to go on beach holidays, but you can even meet tiny travelers on Himalayan trails. So, the author of this article personally saw a mother with a backpack carrier and a small passenger on the rise in the Poon Hill area (and sincerely admired her).
Rest in a comfortable season
With children, spontaneous trips fade into the background: predictability, the vaccination calendar, school schedules, exams, training and other important aspects of young life come to the fore.
Official holidays and holidays. Demand and, consequently, prices for travel and accommodation are higher on such days, and there are more people in museums and other entertainment venues. You’ll have to walk in a crowd, which means there’s a higher risk of catching an infection. Acute respiratory viral infections are not the kind of souvenir you want to bring back from a family trip.
Health and important stages in a child’s life. Teething babies or a teenager’s school exams are definitely not the right time for family travel.
Climate features. The temperature at the destination of +50 °C, as well as at -30 °C, says bluntly: it’s worth looking for something else. Drop a place in the wishlist and later go alone or with your spouse, but without the kids.
With children, spontaneous trips fade into the background. Photo: PeopleImages.com — Yuri A/Shutterstock.com
Book an apartment instead of a hotel
The main advantages:
Kitchen availability. The opportunity to feed the children with the usual food at any time, make a mixture for a baby or a favorite liquid porridge for a kindergarten student is priceless. So, if a child has been given complementary foods, but he is not eating all the products yet, the kitchen in the apartment will save: finding a suitable dish in a cafe will be a problem.
Nastya, Head of the Integration Department at Ostrovka
Nastya, head of the integration department at Ostrovka: “In Asian countries with non-traditional cuisine for our stomachs, it is more convenient for me to book apartments: children do not want to eat spicy food with spices. As it is, I cook the usual porridge, chicken with pasta, and everyone is happy. How I look for options with a kitchen on the Island: I mark the necessary filter when searching, study the list of amenities in the apartment profile and dive into the reviews to see if the guests are satisfied with the set of dishes and household appliances.”
Increased area. A vacation is not a case where you should be guided by the saying “In tight quarters, but not in offense.” If you book an apartment with a couple of rooms, the baby’s daytime nap will not make the rest of the family freeze and sit quietly like mice.
More like a home. This means that the change of environment will not be so abrupt and it will be easier for children to adapt to a temporary home.
You can check in contactless (not always). There is no need to stand in line at the reception and wait for the documents to be processed. After a long journey with young children, this one is especially difficult.
Lucy, Transfer Department Manager in Ostrov
Lucy, transfer Department manager in Ostrov:”Some apartments offer contactless check-in, and this is a godsend for us. We quickly stop by when it’s convenient for us, we can even comfortably accommodate a sleeping child. Another life hack: the apartments provide a baby cot and a feeding chair for free, if they are in the room. Hotels can roll out a huge bill for this.”
You will find more arguments and tips on choosing apartments in this article, which is aimed at family vacations. And the promo code of the Island HOLIDAYS for a 20% discount, which can be used until June 10, will make planning even more enjoyable!
Collect all the documents
Here are the documents you need to take with you on a family trip to Russia:
- The child’s birth certificate or passport. Children under the age of 14 travel with the first one, and teenagers over the age of 14 will need the second one. If the parents can’t wait to get on the road or don’t have time to wait for the baby to receive a birth certificate, they will need a birth certificate to purchase a ticket. She is given out at the hospital.
- The passports of the parents or one of them, if only he is traveling with the child.
- Compulsory health insurance policies. If necessary, it will be easier to get medical help.
If you are going to travel abroad:
- Passports of parents and child. You can enter it in your mom’s or dad’s passport or immediately issue your own document. Keep in mind that some countries, such as the UAE and Cuba, require children of any age to have their own passports.
- A visa, if it is required by the rules of the host country. It will have to be issued even for three—month-old babies – a smile and pink heels will not work as a document. But, as a rule, visas are cheaper for children. For example, children under 6 years old will receive a Schengen visa without a consular fee, and children from 6 to 12 years old will receive half of it, 45 € instead of 90.
- Notarial consentto travel abroad if the child is traveling with only one parent, relatives or other accompanying persons.
You will need to collect a package of documents for a family trip. Photo: Shyntartanya/Shutterstock.com
Plus 2 life hacks on how to simplify document collection
- When you are preparing to leave for the airport, it is better to put the documents in a folder and place them in a place that is convenient to get to and where it is convenient to put everything in a hurry. Otherwise, you will have to turn over the entire suitcase every time you need to show certificates and passports.
- You can arrange cross-consents (from mom to dad, from dad to mom) before the child comes of age and list all the countries in the world where trips may be made. This will help save money if the family often flies abroad with an incomplete train.
Pack your suitcase like a pro
And come to terms with the need to take your beloved goose and capybara Mila half a mile away.
- Baby food for the first time. If special mixtures are required and the vacation is short, it is worth taking a stock for all five to seven days and not wasting time searching for the right jar on the spot.
- Diapers. Of course, later you will find suitable ones in a new place, but a strategic reserve for a couple of days will definitely come in handy. As well as diapers for swimming.
- Several sets of clothes. At least two for home and for sleeping, a pair for outdoor plus a bathing suit. Moms and dads know very well that there are no extra clean T-shirts and underwear. Take at least one set of quickly accessible change of clothes with you on the road.
- Baby sun cream and moisturizing after-sun lotion. A must-have when traveling to hot countries and the south. And don’t forget a panama hat or a bandana!
- Remedies for motion sickness. Bracelets, stickers, pills (we recommend consulting with a pediatrician in advance).
- Folding pot and bags for it.
- Bibs and feeding accessories. Baby dishes, bottle cleaner, drinking cup, nibbler.
- Toys.Small and inexpensive items may be easier to buy on the spot: a set of buckets and scoops for the beach, arm guards. But you definitely need a supply so that you don’t get bored on the way: coloring books, puzzles, books, favorite toys — everything that will brighten up the time on the road.
Olya, team leader of copywriters in Ostrov
Olya, team leader of copywriters in Ostrovka: “I advise you to take from toys everything that a child loves, but new — a car, a doll, a coloring book, a puzzle. Aeroflot and Russian Railways provide playsets on the trip, they also add 30 minutes of peace of mind. If you can take something on the theme of the trip, it would be great: a mini train, an airplane, a coloring book or a book about the place where you are going.”
Sergey, Senior Business Analyst at Ostrovka
Sergey, senior business analyst at Ostrovka: “Our guarantee of a safe flight is a pre—purchased package with toys, stickers, coloring books, transformers and pop-ites. We once bought a set of three rubber ducks with hats, glasses and scarves, and now my daughter takes them on every trip.”
Don’t forget about the first aid kit
That’s exactly what you should have with you when traveling, even with a completely healthy child.:
- antipyretics and painkillers;
- antiseptic;
- corn patch and bandage (self-locking is more convenient);
- insect bites and insect repellent reduction of itching;
- antihistamines;
- motion sickness remedies;
- medications for stomach disorders.
It is important to supplement the general list with individual medications if the child takes them regularly. We recommend taking a prescription with you just in case.
Nadia, Islet Business Trip service team
Nadia, Islet Business Trip service team: “If we go abroad with our children, I always pack the largest possible first-aid kit: antipyretic (preferably in the form of a delicious syrup), painkillers, something for the stomach, antihistamine is mandatory. If we are traveling in Russia and are not going to go deep into the countryside, I take a minimalistic first-aid kit: you can always buy the missing items, depending on the disease. Plus, I always arrange medical insurance for everyone.”
Take care of your comfort on the road
Here’s what you need to pay attention to:
Food for the road. The key to a successful trip is to feed the child on time, and for this you always need to have snacks from the baby’s favorites with you. A well—fed child means calm parents. We remind you that baby food is not limited to the standard volume of 100 ml of liquid in hand luggage. Take as much water, juice, porridge and purees as the baby needs for the entire flight and transfer after it.
Bassinet, stroller, hipsit (compact carrier), kangaroo backpack and other holding devices. Long-term flights are greatly simplified by the hammock, which is attached to the back of the chair. A folding wheelchair that can be checked in at the entrance to the plane, and ergoryukzaki are also a topic.
Carrier rules
In the cabin on most airlines, you can take your own cradle or use the company’s device. For example, Aeroflot has bassinets, but they must be booked through a call center no later than 36 hours before departure.
Don’t forget to check the rules of a particular carrier. For example, Pobeda does not provide bassinets for babies, but carries car seats with restrictions.: they must have a special label.
Lyusya, transfer department manager in Ostrov
Lyusya, transfer department manager in Ostrov: “Before our first trip with a two-month-old baby, we bought adapters for strollers for installing a child car seat. You can put a wheelchair on a wheelchair, then the airline considers it as a single wheelchair and does not require additional payment for the carriage of the wheelchair. Plus, you can pack another 10 kg of things in it and wrap it with a film at the airport. Profit. In addition, not all rentals had a bassinet, or they asked for a large surcharge. It saved money and time. Again, it’s hygienic.”
- Sleep. Try to keep the rhythm comfortable for the child and do not overload him. If you’re scheduled to take a nap, don’t plan on running around the airport during this time: it’s clear that nothing good will happen.
- Stuffy ears. On the plane, you need to prepare for the fact that your ears may be blocked — water, a non-watering can, a pacifier, lollipops or marmalade will help you. We do not recommend taking hot drinks: the child may jerk and everything will be in boiling water.
If you keep zen, even missing a train will be easy. How to do it: to understand that nothing can be changed, only to survive. Relax as much as possible, relax every free minute, do not refuse help if offered. Feel free to ask for support if you need it. And, of course, save money with promo codes of the Island. A fresh 20% discount, take advantage of it before June 10th!
Cover photo: KDdesign_photo_video/Shutterstock.com
