{"id":19397,"date":"2017-06-28T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/?p=19397"},"modified":"2017-07-10T19:35:13","modified_gmt":"2017-07-10T19:35:13","slug":"survive-airport-10-tips-for-traveling-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/survive-airport-10-tips-for-traveling-families\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Survive the Airport: 10 Tips for Traveling Families"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Stoen of Travel Babbo<\/a> has traveled to 45 countries and all 7 continents with his three kids. They\u2019ve passed through a lot of airports! We asked him for his best tips for traveling families.<\/em><\/p>\n

At this point flying, and airports, are second-nature for my kids and me. We\u2019re on planes so often that we give very little thought to the travel element itself \u2013 it\u2019s simply a way to get to our destination. But part of our ease in airports comes from being prepared and planning ahead, whether it\u2019s months before, the night before or an hour before we depart. Here\u2019s my advice for traveling families, based on what\u2019s worked for us.<\/p>\n

\"Airport

Traveling light through Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport<\/p><\/div>\n

Ten Tips for Surviving the Airport<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1) Bring snacks<\/h3>\n

Eventually you\u2019ll have travel issues. Maybe you miss your connection and you\u2019re stranded at an airport for five hours, or overnight. Maybe there\u2019s a delay after the plane leaves the jet bridge and your time on the plane is extended. Maybe you\u2019re sitting in the back of the plane and the flight attendants run out of food before they get to you. When problems arise, your chances of having grumpy kids are directly related to how hungry the kids are. Snacks can prevent a lot of meltdowns. Bring enough for your flight duration plus a few hours \u2013 just in case.<\/p>\n

2) Bring empty water bottles<\/h3>\n

You can\u2019t take water through security, so don\u2019t be those people dumping whole bottles of water into the trash or holding up the security line because you forgot you had liquids. Bring empty bottles and fill them up after security. This is far preferable to buying water at inflated prices at the airport, and if your kids have water bottles on your flights they\u2019re less likely to spill drinks.<\/p>\n

3) Choose early morning flights<\/h3>\n

The first flights<\/a> of the day are rarely delayed. It\u2019s worth waking up early to greatly increase your odds of getting to your destination on time. We put pillows and blankets in the car the night before so the kids can go back to sleep on the way to the airport.<\/p>\n

\"Airport

We frequently see the sunrise as we’re taking off!<\/p><\/div>\n

4) Arrive at the airport early<\/h3>\n

We always estimate our drive time and then leave early enough to have two full hours at the airport. That way if there are unexpected traffic delays, we can change our routing or wait out the delays. It also gives us some breathing room if check-in or TSA lines are long.<\/p>\n

5) Check in and pay baggage fees online<\/h3>\n

The more you can do in advance, typically starting 24 hours before departure, the faster your check-in at the airport will be.<\/p>\n

6) Check everything<\/h3>\n

We differ from other families on this, but we\u2019ve always preferred to check everything that we can and travel light<\/a> through the airport. The advantages to this are numerous: we\u2019re less likely to leave anything behind; we don\u2019t have to board first since we don\u2019t need space in the overhead bins; security is faster; and if we need to run for a connection, we have less to bring with us. Most airlines will check strollers and\/or car seats for free.<\/p>\n

7) Have your kids travel light too<\/h3>\n

Again, we differ from others because I\u2019m always seeing kids as young as three pulling their own small rolling bags through airports. But we\u2019ve found that the more that our kids bring with them, the greater the odds that they will lose something. This usually happens when we\u2019re slightly separated on planes or when we have a very tight connection \u2013 things out of our control. Also, when we\u2019ve had late arrivals somewhere, we\u2019ve frequently had to carry sleeping kids off airplanes and through airports. This is far easier to accomplish when we\u2019re not also carrying multiple bags. We\u2019ve let our kids bring their own rolling backpacks at seven \u2013 old enough that they can easily wake up when we land and walk off the flight with their bags.<\/p>\n

\"Airport

One carry-on per kid, maximum!<\/p><\/div>\n

8) Think about getting TSA Precheck or Global Entry<\/h3>\n

TSA Precheck gives you expedited security screening at most airports \u2013 meaning shorter lines and not having to remove shoes or take out laptops or liquids. Global Entry<\/a> lets you skip the immigration line when you come back into the US, quickly entering your information at a kiosk instead, and it includes TSA Precheck. Each program requires an in-person interview and has fees associated with it (currently $85 for Precheck and $100 for Global Entry, both good for five years). I love Global Entry since it saves us time in line on both ends of our trip, but Global Entry requires that every member of your family be enrolled \u2013 including the kids – if you want to skip the immigration line. With TSA Precheck you only need to register the adults.<\/p>\n

9) Strongly encourage your kids to use the restrooms in the airport prior to boarding<\/h3>\n

You never how long it will be until you can use the restrooms on the plane, nor do you know if there will be lines.<\/p>\n

10) Bring electronics, chargers and power banks<\/h3>\n

We\u2019re very pro-device when traveling. We download shows and apps before we leave home, and the kids can entertain themselves for hours in airports. Bring chargers and cables for when you\u2019re near outlets in the airport or on the plane, and bring fully-charged power banks for when you\u2019re not. We\u2019ve used power banks from a dozen different companies. Right now I\u2019m liking Ventev<\/a>\u2019s powercells because they come with built-in lightning cables, reducing the likelihood that we\u2019ll forget a cable or leave one behind. Also think about bringing along a multi-port hub, so that you can charge several devices from one outlet.<\/p>\n

Do you have airport tips for families? What have you found to help minimize stress while traveling?<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eric Stoen of Travel Babbo has traveled to 45 countries and all 7 continents with his three kids. They\u2019ve passed through a lot of airports! We asked him for his best tips for traveling families. At this point flying, and airports, are second-nature for my kids and me. We\u2019re on planes so often that we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":19399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[763,299,331],"class_list":["post-19397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-tips","tag-airports","tag-family-travel","tag-travel-with-kids"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Survive the Airport: 10 Tips for Traveling Families - Inspire | Travelocity.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Master the art of traveling as a family with these stress-saving airport tips from Travel Babbo.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.travelocity.com\/inspire\/survive-airport-10-tips-for-traveling-families\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Survive the Airport: 10 Tips for Traveling Families - 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