Barcelona on a Family (Honey)moon
I first blogged about our family trip to Barcelona when I shared tips and tricks for planning a wedding and honeymooon on my blog at www.mummykind.com, but this is a bit more travel-focused here instead of general tips!
Why go on a family moon?
When my husband and I got married, we had my stepdaughter who was just shy of 8 at the time, and our 15 month old baby. Whilst we would have loved a honeymoon just for us, the guilt we would have felt in going on holiday without them was too much! So we instead went for a short trip, which was our first time flying anywhere with two kids, one of whom was under two! You know what that means… seat-sharing!
Long-haul or short?
In all seriousness it wasn’t that bad, and now that they are older and we’ve been on a few more trips abroad with them, I wouldn’t hesitate to go for longer-haul flights in place of short-haul.
La playa en Barcelona
There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is that there are things to entertain the older children. There’s only so many times you can be told to look at the scenery out of a window before that, even as an adult, would become boring!
Other benefits are that you could book overnight flights, causing minimal sleep disruption! A sleeping baby is much easier to deal with than one who is restless for an entire hour or two, and we all know that in these situations, a minute feels like a year.
My family moon travel hacks!
So, if, like us, you want to share your honeymoon holiday as a family, here are some tips and tricks to make the journey as hassle-free as possible!
1. Take your buggy in the hold luggage, or plan to take one with you
As Olivia had been confidently walking since about 8 months old, we made the mistake of assuming she would be perfectly fine to walk about everywhere, not factoring in her exhaustion from all of the late nights she had in preparation for the wedding! As soon as we got to Barcelona, we realised that it wasn’t going to work without a buggy. Happy as she is to walk around, the need for sleep caught up with her and Back Pack Baby in Barcelona were saviours in our hour of need!
When we planned this trip, we travelled with EasyJet. At the time, you had to pay to take a stroller in the hold luggage. Since then, I’ve travelled on my own with the kids on other short-haul flights and there are a lot of airlines that will include a stroller in the cost of an infant ticket.
2. No amount of snacks is enough for the plane
I bought 5 packets of Heinz baby biscuits, and 3 packets of Olivia’s favourite fruity bear paw prints. Almost all of that was gone on the outward journey, but luckily she found a hobby in opening and shutting the window blind on the plane, sat on Kiera’s lap. That was a bit less fun for Kiera. The way back was less easy going, due to having 2 grumpy, whingey children. Olivia managed to get about half an hour of sleep on the plane before her ears began popping in her sleep and obviously making her uncomfortable. Once she woke up and had her remaining snacks, she was her normal self, covered in chocolate and kicking to be free from restraint.
My tip here would be to factor in either spending money on the plane for extra food, drink and snacks, or, if your budget allows, to fly with a more comfortable airline or class of flight. Cramped conditions with a 15 month old who wants to be running around everywhere aren’t great at the best of times, but a little more space and more snacks would have made the journey a bit less stressful!
3. Have a nappy plan
After we had to make an unscheduled nappy change in the early hours of our last morning in Barcelona, when Olivia decided it would be super fun to pull hers off and wee on the bed (TWICE), we were left nappy-less by the time we boarded the plane. Of course, Olivia being Olivia, she decided that mid-flight was the best time to poo, and so we had a mad dash through passport control to find a pack of nappies that were definitely too small but had to make do until we could get anywhere else! Wherever you’re going, look up baby supplies before you go, and make sure you’re familiar with sizes. I had no idea where to start and thus we were stuck in this predicament!
Since having Éloïse, we began using cloth nappies. These worked a lot better for travelling as it meant that as long as we had washing facilities where we were staying, we were never going to run out of nappies. I tended to use night-time reusable nappies for a long flight, or disposables for short trips. Reusables are also harder for a tot to pull off by themselves, which would have totally avoided the fiasco Olivia created that morning in Barcelona!
FINAL TIP:
Enjoy it! Even if you may have some horrific moments, try to cherish the good ones and make lasting memories. Not everything goes as planned, but what I’ve realised is that I’m lucky to have my new husband, who is particularly talented at turning rubbish times into great ones. I love him and our little family, and we all enjoyed our little trip to Barcelona, even if it was a bit hectic!
