Advice on doing an overseas trip with 5 kids

Hi to all the frequent flyers out there.

We are planning on taking our 5 kids on an overseas trip :eek:

We have family and friends in Dublin and KL. I'm of Irish decent and my wife is of Malaysian decent, so those two places are a must see :)

And the kids would like to go to Disneyland...............

So this is the plan:

Melb to Dublin (quick stops in KL and London) stay for a week or so with friends, dom day trips. I will be doing some Geneology research.

Dublin to Paris, stay for 3 nights whilst we do Eurodisney (I know it isn't as big as Disneyland in LA)

Paris to KL, stay for a 1 1/2 weeks. Week with family and 3 nights in penang.

Then home.

I got a quote on the airfares, for 2 adults and 5 kids, $13,700.

Of course we would get the best insurance money can buy.

We have concerns with two of our kids, one has a heart condition (which has been fixed but things can happen) and the other is Anaphylaxis, severe reaction to dairy, nuts, eggs and kiwi fruit. Malaysia is proberly our biggest concern, with the startard of medical care in that country. We would have to take all of our own food for the flights for our allergy kid.

But appart from all that, woo hooo.....lets fly :D

Any advice on places to go or not to go, kids on long flights....etc

Cheers

Jay
 
Lots of places in Paris I could recommend but not sure you will have the time to see them (Mont St Michel for one but is a bit far out).

Sounds like an awesome trip though!
 
Did you consider 'round the world' tickets? Your quote does sound cheap enough, but I think once you've gone halfway around the world to Ireland it's just as easy to keep going via LA. The US is certainly cheaper than Europe and it's easier in the 'jet lag' kind of way.

Make sure you visit the Guiness factory in Dublin.
 
Bring any medication you require for your kids with the prescriptions and the doctors name and contact details incase of custom queries.
Enjoy your holiday.
 
Have you checked you can get travel insurance to cover both of those pre-existing conditions? I imagine it could be quite expensive.

How old are the kids?
 
sounds fabulous...

I've travelled with kids, but not 5 of them! that will be quite a handful.
try to arrive in the morning and run them around all day so that they sleep at night. it took my kids about 5 days to adjust to the time zone, and it was hell.
make sure you plan in rest days.
and are you sure about staying with friends and family for a week at a time, particularly with kids? We always found we were sick of them, and they of us after about 3 days!
 
The great trip

Hi Jay

Sounds like the trip my family made 3 years ago! My husband hails from Tipperary and I am from Singapore! We have family both in Ireland and in Singapore and so accommodation was all provided plus my brother in law lives in Paris very near the Eiffel Tower...Paris is so magical at night!

We took Air France tho' as it allows 2 stopovers in Singapore and in Paris...plus at that time, they allowed kids fare up to 17 years...so it worked out cheaper for us. And yes, we dragged the 3 kids (13,10,8 years old) to Disneyland in Paris...the kids were so excited! Couldn't get into the Louvre tho with the kids as they couldn't have appreciated it ....they had fun running all over the huge front courtyard tho'!

Have fun!
 
Completely agree with having rest stops, even if it is a day in a airport hotel to allow the kids and yourselves time to catch up on some sleep and burn off some energy in the pool or whatever.

Also rest days during the trip when you are not going out to see or do something, just a day at "home" to relax without the stress of rounding up the mob to be somewhere.

On the flights, pack "entertainment" packs for each kid, with activities that are appropriate for them, there are lots of travelling with kids sites that offer ideas on things to take on a plane. Make sure you airline has individual DVD/TV screens, so they can pick their own movie or cartoon.

LOL, my kids are terrified of airplane toilets and I have to flush for them!

Have fun!
 
OK, a few things:

1) Try to arrange overnight flights for the long haul legs. Get your kids tired so when they get on the plane they'll be ready to sleep. Be sure to toilet them prior to letting them fall asleep.

2) Where possible, get in-seat entertainment (ie screen in seat in front). For kids who can't/won't sleep, they work well.

3) When flying, try to stick to healthy treats, because the combination of dry airplane air, noise and bad food makes kids feel sick.

4) Accept that you are going to be tired, so arrange stops between each major flight.

5) Pack things for kids to do, but don't go too crazy with what you take. Tired, cranky kids are not reliable luggage carriers - it WILL get left to you.

6) Organise hotel rooms that have room for 'hanging out' (we normally use serviced apartments). When kids are jetlagged, they need time to decompress - they can't go all day like grown ups, no matter what they say or how excited they get.

Let us know how it goes. Who are you flying with?
 
Travelling overseas will be a wonderful experience for your whole family
hope all falls into place. Ireland is a great place to visit the people are
so happy to help and love children. My husband and I travelled with a
seven year old for a month around Ireland still one of the best holidays
we have had.
Hope you all have a great family holiday
cheers
 
and the other is Anaphylaxis, severe reaction to dairy, nuts, eggs and kiwi fruit. Malaysia is proberly our biggest concern, with the startard of medical care in that country. We would have to take all of our own food for the flights for our allergy kid.

Also watch like a hawk on the flight if you go Malaysia Airlines.

While I would recommend them for everyone else, I would not if you have a peanut allergy.

The flight starts with everyone on the plane being given a bag of peanuts...
 
Hi Gordon,

While I don't have 5 children, I have travelled with my twin toddlers (first time when we moved back to Australia from London when they were 3 months) so below are my tips:

1. For long flights, try to go overnight. My twins slept most of the way when we last did an overnight flight.

2. Have something for them to chew or suck on when ascending or descending. When my twins were infants we gave them a bottle when we took off and landed. Now they are older, I give them a chubba chub.

3. Take a spare change of clothes on the plane in case they tip a drink on themselves or have some other accident
 
That is amazing you taking 5 kids. You ought to be congratulated. We flew overseas recently with 2 kids. Before we left we put a thread on this Forum called Long Haul Flights with Kids - Any Tips? Just do a search for it. There were many magnificent tips we got from lots of people.

Our biggest tip would be to book a flight that leaves at 10pm or 11pm. Do not let the kids sleep before this. This way hopefully they will all be asleep by about half an hour after takeoff. They usually then sleep for 9 hours. Ours did anyway. Make sure they have all been to the loo and have food intake up to date just before they go to sleep.

Cheers
 
We recently travelled overseas with our 3 children & it was fantastic.

All up it took us around 25 hours to get to our destination so we were very tired but it was completely worth it.

The kids coped well with the flight. We packed a small bag each for them with their own colouring things & activities. They were aged 7, 5 & 3. They also had an iPod each which was loaded up with their own music, and some TV shows & movies which they had never watched before.

Each seat in the plane had it's own TV screen with music, movies, tv shows & games so that also helped. We packed chewy lollies for descent.

Good idea to bring food for your child with allergies & don't hesitate to ask for snacks for your other children when they are hungry.

Pack a change of clothes for each of your children in the carry on luggage.

I remember reading some advice before we left that "that the flight WILL end."

I repeated that to myself a few times before we left & honestly, it was so manageable that I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Our kids were so excited & happy. We got to spend quality time together as a family & have some amazing memories. You can't put a price tag on that.

We also did Disneyland & it was amazing & so exciting for the kids & us. Get there at opening time & stay all day (we did 2 full days).

As far as your geneology research goes, I would suggest doing as much as you can on-line before you go. It would be such a pity to miss out on time as a family.

Good luck & enjoy every minute!

Above Average
 
Back
Top