We made the decision last summer to take our 3 little kids (aged 5, 3 and 1) from California to Montana to visit family and to take a week long RV camping trip through Yellowstone. We had never flown anywhere with all of them before so we knew it would be an experience J
Flying these days is not the same as it used to be. We arrived at the airport about an hour before our flight but by the time we had checked our bags and gotten through the HUGE security line we were running to the gate. So my first piece of advice – get to the airport early! Just taking off everybody’s shoes to get through security is a challenge with 3 kids.
We left early in the morning and had to wake our kids up to get going so by the time we got to the plan they were hungry and cranky. Our middle child had a complete meltdown at the plane and was afraid to get on it and the youngest was crying also. We were the last ones to board and we were one of those families that you see get on your plane and pray that they’re not sitting near you…lol. I did have some snacks in my back along with sippy cups that we had filled with juice by the flight attendant. So my second piece of advice – have something to eat in your bag and within easy reach.
The flights themselves were OK. We used a portable DVD player with headphones for our older 2 kids and that worked really well. Our baby slept some of the time also which was nice J
Ultimately, the RV camping was great and the kids loved it! We took our own car seats for the kids which meant we didn’t have to hassle with getting them on the other end. We saw great wildlife in the park, made s’mores by the campfire and really enjoyed our time together as a family. We enjoyed it enough that we think we’d like to buy an RV of our own one day and tour other areas of the country. It really is a great way to vacation with little ones J
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The eariler the better you start traveling with kids. They are really tough little creatures, and getting them used to being on the road ultimately helps with dinner out, being independant, self sufficient, and enjoying traveling. We took our son on several week long trips before going to Argentina for 4 months when he turned 2. He handled the long flight and always being on the go better then we did!