Travelling long distances with young kids can be daunting, especially when it involves a 23-hour journey. I tackled this challenge when I travelled to Mumbai from Sydney with a toddler and a baby. While it wasn’t always smooth sailing (or flying), I learned a lot along the way. If you’re planning a long-haul trip with young kids soon, here are my top tips to make the journey as stress-free as possible.

Choosing the Right Flight Time

The timing of your flight can make a huge difference in how well your kids handle the journey. I usually use Booking.com to book flights. For our trip, I opted for an evening departure, hoping that my toddler and baby would sleep for most of the flight. While it wasn’t a perfect solution, it did help in many ways.

Things to consider when booking your flight:

• Departure Time: If possible, book an evening or late-night flight that aligns with your child’s natural sleep schedule.
• Nap-Friendly Flights: If your kids still nap during the day, avoid flights that require them to be awake during their usual nap times.
• Non-Peak Hours: Less crowded flights mean more space and less stress during boarding and inflight.
• Pre-booking a baby bassinet: If you are travelling with a baby under a year old, you should definitely pre-book a bassinet. This will allow you to keep the sleeping baby
• in the bassinet while you are attending to your toddler or visiting the washroom.

My tips on making the flight journey relaxing for kids:

• Get their favourite sleeping toy or blanket: Bring familiar items like pyjamas, a favourite blanket, or a sleep toy.
• Keep the kids well-fed and active before the flight: It will help you immensely if you feed them dinner before the flight, so they are well-fed and hopefully tired enough to sleep.
• Avoid too much screen time if you are flying during the night: Too much screen time can overstimulate kids, making it harder for them to settle down.

Personal Insight: On our flight, my toddler was excited and overstimulated at the airport, so she did not fall asleep right away. However, once the cabin lights dimmed and we followed our usual bedtime routine, she finally dozed off.

My baby, on the other hand, dozed off right away. The sound of the flight in motion acted like white noise, which helped him relax sooner and travelling just around his regular sleep time helped too. Alternatively, you can use noise-cancelling headphones or white noise apps. So, while an evening flight helped, I learned that having a flexible and calm mindset is just as important.

Strategic Layovers: Less Can Be More

Layovers can either be a blessing or a nightmare when flying with young kids. Before this trip, I debated whether to opt for a direct flight or one with a long layover. In the end, I chose a route with a 2-hour layover, and it turned out to be a good decision.

How to plan layovers effectively:

• Avoid extremely short layovers: Rushing through an airport with a stroller, luggage, and tired kids is a recipe for stress. Kids have their own moods and the tiredness from the journey gets on to them, so it is nice to have some time in hand . A longer layover between 2-3 hours is better. They give kids time to stretch, eat, and reset before another long flight.
• Find family-friendly airports: Some airports have play areas, nursing rooms, and better facilities for kids. Make sure you read up on these beforehand.
• Consider airport hotels for very long layovers: If your layover is more than 6-8 hours though, it might be worth booking a nearby transit hotel for rest.

Personal Experience: Our 2-hour layover allowed us to grab a proper meal, let my toddler run around, and change nappies and breastfeed my baby, in a more relaxed setting. While my baby was still fussy, having that break made the second leg of the journey more manageable.

Packing Smart: The Ultimate Long-Distance Carry-On List for Kids

Packing the right items in your carry-on can be the difference between a smooth flight and a stressful one.

Essentials to pack:

• Snacks, snacks, and more snacks: Pack a variety of easy-to-eat, non-messy snacks like crackers, fruit pouches, and dry cereal to have at the airport, during flights or during layovers. Especially include the snacks they love and would be hard to get during the flight or in the layover.
• Favourite toys and books: A mix of new and familiar toys keeps them entertained.
• Tablet or phone with pre-downloaded shows and games: As much as I limit screen time, it is always helpful to pre-download some of your child’s favourite cartoon shows that they can watch even without the internet!
• Extra outfits for kids (and you!): Spills, accidents, and messes happen.
• Baby essentials: Enough nappies, wipes, sanitiser, formula powder, bottles, and pacifiers to last the entire journey. Make sure the pacifiers have a strap attached to the baby (you absolutely do not want them dropping the pacifier on a flight). The flight attendant will give you warm sterilised water to be used for your formula, so it is not necessary to carry a thermos. But even if you do carry one, mention it is for the baby, and you should be fine.
• Medicine: Infant Panadol, teething gel, and any prescribed medications.
• A lightweight baby carrier: Lifesaver for walking around the airport and settling a fussy baby.

Personal Insight: I underestimated how much my toddler would eat on the flight! She was constantly snacking, so I was glad I packed extra food. The key is to have a mix of healthy options and “fun” treats for when they need a little motivation.

Keeping Kids Entertained

Keeping toddlers entertained on a long flight is no small feat. The trick is to introduce activities slowly, so they do not get bored in the first hour.

Engaging Activities:

• Sticker books and activity pads: Minimal mess, maximum entertainment.
• Mess-free colouring books and pens or colouring books with triangular crayons: (Triangular ones do not roll away!)
• Surprise toys: Wrap small, inexpensive toys and hand them out every few hours.
• Window gel clings: Fun for toddlers to stick and peel off during the flight.

Personal Experience: My toddler loved sticker books, but my baby didn’t need much at that age, except some teething toys. Having a mix of activities for different stages helped keep both kids engaged.

Final Thoughts: Managing Expectations and Staying Calm

Despite all the planning, things do not always go perfectly. There will be moments when your baby cries, your toddler throws a tantrum, or you feel overwhelmed. That is okay.

Mindset Tips:

• Accept that there will be tough moments: Kids are unpredictable, and long flights are exhausting for everyone.
• Take breaks when you can: Walk up and down the aisle, stand near the galley, or swap holding the baby with your partner.
• Stay calm and ask for help if needed: Flight attendants and some co-passengers are usually very accommodating to parents. If someone offers help and you are genuinely struggling, please accept it right away.
• Celebrate the small wins: Enjoy that break if your child naps for an hour. If they stay occupied with a toy for 30 minutes, consider that as success! Every hour brings you closer to your destination.

Personal Reflection: When we landed after 23 hours, I was exhausted, but I also felt proud. It was not easy, but we made it. I learned to embrace the chaos, adjust my expectations, and focus on the adventure rather than the challenges.

Flying long-haul with young kids will always come with its challenges, but with some planning, patience, and a flexible mindset, it can be a smooth experience. If you have taken a long-haul flight with little ones, I would love to hear your tips and experiences in the comments below!