Travel hacks and advice

[muted reborn]

Have the wife sit in first class and then trade seats with her half way through the flight.

[old goat]

Have the wife sit in first class and then trade seats with her half way through the flight.

Both of you sit in first class. Put the kids in coach. Separate rows are best.

[Buzzworthy]

Have the wife sit in first class and then trade seats with her half way through the flight.

This is how marriages last.
And feed her extra wine.

[summit]

Rub whisky on the gums

[Djongo Unchained]

Have the wife sit in first class and then trade seats with her half way through the flight.

This is how marriages last.
And feed her extra wine.

I'd like to watch as Toast pushes aside the first class curtain , walks up to his sloshed-on-wine wife and says " time for you to go back to economy and manage the kids. They're hungry and grumpy and the seat's smaller and beside the toilet."
The roar of 1st class laughter will be real as Toast gets ejected.

[The AD]

I'd like to watch as Toast pushes aside the first class curtain , walks up to his sloshed-on-wine wife and says " time for you to go back to economy and manage the kids. They're hungry and grumpy and the seat's smaller and beside the toilet."
The roar of 1st class laughter will be real as Toast gets ejected.

Right, what are the odds his wife asks a flight attendant to please direct this man back to cattle class where he belongs?

[JRainey]

I've flown from Europe to the US starting with a single 6mo, and slowly progressing up to 3 kids at almost yearly intervals with 3 years off for the pandemic. Went back last year with a 7, 5, and 2yo.

By the time they are 5 they can watch movies non stop. Getting them to sleep on the Euro-bound direction is brutal, and there's a lot of whining about comfort. US-bound, just let them stay awake and be ready to schlep them onto the connecting flights after they've crashed out.

The key is having a mindset that you will not get your own free time. You will, but it only counts as extra credit. This can help with the "what the fuck do you need now?" factor.

I've done it sober and with drinks, and drinks is 100% the way to go. Just keep the buzz going. This works for trains too... confined spaces chasing toddlers, best to take the edge off. With little babies maybe no booze.

For the readers that don't have 5 year olds yet. Just be prepared to walk them around the plane a lot, and hang out holding them in the common areas. You actually feel better after all that activity on a long haul flight, it just seems like a pain in ass when you're doing it.

[MontuckyFried]

No video games currently, but I'll certainly crack that egg open for this trip. Normally our kids don't get a ton of screen time, but that policy is on hold for airplanes. In the past, it hasn't been quite as helpful as I'd hoped though. They've always gotten restless ~45 minutes into any given movie (including ones they'll happily sit through at home).

But yeah, definitely planning on bringing every feasible form of entertainment. Books, games, movies, hookers & blow, etc. Might also bring some extra NRS straps for securing them in the overhead bins.

Twin 5 year olds?! Yeah, I'd say you have the right game plan in place already. I think the biggest thing is do whatever it takes to keep them from getting hangry, and NOT with empty calorie cheesy poofs. Substantial, healthy foods, ie fruits/veggies/proteins. When travelling with our kids, we'd make a bunch of hard boiled eggs and bring those along with fruit, nuts and stuff. Also, making sure they get a good night's sleep the night before. Never bust out the screens until last resort. Start with books, activity/coloring books, games, etc. until you finally want to give in and allow them to watch/play something screen-based. Lastly, engage with them! Sure, it can be exhausting but it goes a LONG way with kids that age.

Our kids are now 7 and 9, but from babies til now, they've done numerous cross-country road trips and full days of air travel and they have been absolute rock stars. Some might call us cruel as we've blasted back and forth from Montana to Texas non-stop minus gas stops. Almost 24 hours of driving. All of the above tips are what made it possible. Keep em well fed and never over-tired. A little boredom from time to time is good for them too. Let them stare out the window for hours on end and use their imaginations. Anyway, that's all I got. Godspeed, toast.

[muted reborn]

I'd like to watch as Toast pushes aside the first class curtain , walks up to his sloshed-on-wine wife and says " time for you to go back to economy and manage the kids. They're hungry and grumpy and the seat's smaller and beside the toilet."
The roar of 1st class laughter will be real as Toast gets ejected.

Ha, you are right. But i do think having an escape chair for team Toast is a luxurious way to go.

[jm2e]

We also travelled with some regular duffels (Gregory Alpaca, now discontinued ) that I like quite alot for their burly simplicity

This got me poking around the Gregory website. Now I have a boner for this bag.
https://www.gregory.com/collections/...64&cgid=alpaca



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[singlesline]

This got me poking around the Gregory website. Now I have a boner for this bag.
https://www.gregory.com/collections/...64&cgid=alpaca



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That is a dope duffel.

I don't need another duffel (and I just ordered one of those eagle creek rollers to look at)...but that Gregory would sure be nice to have in my bag quiver.

[alpinevibes]

They'll be about 5 (twin boys). On shorter flights (< 5 hrs) we've done, they've waffled between being totally fine and thrashing uncontrollably (which resulted in one of them kicking the stewardess).

Getting them to sleep I think is going to be the real trick. We're going from a small airport (Kalispell) to a small-ish airport (Geneva), so unfortunately that makes timing the flights around logical bedtimes essentially impossible. At some point, either on the outgoing or return flight, pretty much all available itineraries have some level of suck.

Checking in from a parallel universe: my twin boys just turned 5 a few weeks ago. We flew to ORD-BCN this summer and they've done quite a few longer flights previously, most originating from Aspen with transits through bigger hubs. My takeaways:

- We try to give the boys equity and decision making power in the process of travel. We let them pack their own backpacks with a few each of toys, snacks, lovies and clothes to bring on the plane. They have their own kid headphones for ipad/movies. They carry it and they manage when they play with stuff, within reason. Let them choose their meal options, etc. We have them pack jammies to change into once it's after dinner and time to start moving towards rest/sleep.

- Bring some surprises: small toys and treats/snacks to change the dynamic if things start going south

- audio books: our boys love audio books and will sit engrossed with them for hours. Big win on flights and a nice change from screens.

- Movies/i-Pad: we have about 2-4 hours of screen time a month for the boys at home, but we allow whatever works once they're on the plane

- Sleep: Heading to Europe, we've found it helps to have them be/end up tired so they fall asleep and "sleep" once you get to your destination, versus working hard to keep them on their current schedule, while flying, by forcing/fighting sleep. We've used melatonin for sure to help some sleep, but also kinda let them fall asleep when they fall asleep. The first overnight sleep and morning wakeup in Europe is hard for everyone, but you just need to set a reasonable alarm time and stick to it. The second morning is still hard, but by the third you're good. The return flights are a different story and I would use melatonin.

- Boarding: we always wait till late in the boarding process if possible and try to keep our carry-on's limited and manageable for intl flights. Let the kids play and run around a bit before the flight.

[liv2ski]

Likely around 5 years ago we bought smaller carry on luggage per EU regulations. Still did the 3 week holiday with a couple of Air B&B stays to do laundry with no issues. I for one will never do the large checked luggage again.

[skaredshtles]

Likely around 5 years ago we bought smaller carry on luggage per EU regulations. Still did the 3 week holiday with a couple of Air B&B stays to do laundry with no issues. I for one will never do the large checked luggage again.

Yep - last time we headed to Euro-land I took my 60L backpacking pack as a carry on. 2 weeks was no issue with a single laundry day in the middle. F**k that giant luggage nonsense.

[bodywhomper]

Does a 60l pack meet current carry-on regs?

[nickwm21]

No - a 60L backpacking pack is the way you sneak past the gate agents oversized then fuck over your fellow plane mates by taking more than your share of bin space.


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[Iowagriz]

We bought these for our first Europe trip 3yrs ago. 1 week of clothes, laundry day in the middle. Wear any chunky shoes onto the plane, pack a pair of sneakers in the bag. The wife was a skeptic, but agrees that packing lighter is the way to go.

Works as a small carry-on, with the straps zipped behind a cover. Pull those out for the airport and train rides.

We use a few compression bags to ensure everything fits.

On sale now, we have a rust one and a black one.

[Buster Highmen]

F**k that giant luggage nonsense.

^This.

And sink laundry add charm to the experience.

[mcski]

Yep - last time we headed to Euro-land I took my 60L backpacking pack as a carry on. 2 weeks was no issue with a single laundry day in the middle. F**k that giant luggage nonsense.

A 60L pack IS giant carryon luggage nonsense. Fuck that - on behalf of your fellow passengers

[singlesline]

50L squeaks by in duffel form, but backpacking packs are often too tall. 60L is definitely oversized.

Technically the limit is more like 45L, but 50l duffels are squishy and mostly formless...they often fit better in the overhead than people's ridiculous overstuffed roller bags.

Giant luggage is for gear (which I guess includes baby/toddler gear). If you only need clothes, you should be able to make do with a carryon.

I will say though...the checked bag experience has gotten a lot better than it was 10 years ago. All of the automated kiosks mean I almost never have to wait in long lines to check something and most airports are decently quick about getting your luggage back to you. There are some niceties to not having to drag luggage around airports and fight for overhead space.

My dad has become super enamored with gate checking these days...I think he thinks he's scoring a deal when they ask for volunteers to check his bag through to the final destination for free.
Except he has an airline credit that would give him free checked bags AND would let him board early while there's still bin space...so I think it is really just old man thought process.

[skaredshtles]

A 60L pack IS giant carryon luggage nonsense. Fuck that - on behalf of your fellow passengers

I mean - it wasn't any bigger than a "standard" carryon. Perhaps a bit taller, but it is on par with all the other full-size carryons.

I should also add - it wasn't full. Perhaps if it was packed to the max 60l it would have been considered oversize. <shrug>

[californiagrown]

When travelling with our kids, we'd make a bunch of hard boiled eggs and bring those along

Please tell me you don't do this on plane trips.

[nickwm21]

Backpacking pack carryon gang sometimes gets the added karma of when caught - strappy pack goes through the bag well and gets shredded…


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[Buster Highmen]

40L fits and hold all the shit I need for 3 weeks. except skis, poles, avie gear.
emptied, it's the day pack.

[XXX-er]

40 L ski pack is great for carry on, I think 60 might be pushing it

sink laundry for sure, black T-shirts don't show stains/ Hawian shirt to dress it up