Thanks to the falling costs of long-haul flying, family holidays can now include New Zealand, Australia, the Far East, the beaches of Thailand, America and Africa. On many long-haul flights these days you’ll find plenty of children.
Family man Simon’s advice is to choose everything very carefully, especially the airline. Children aged eight to ten will love the idea of flying to somewhere their classmates have never visited but above all children want very good in-flight entertainment. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic offer good services, so does Emirates.
Don’t attempt a flight to Australia or New Zealand in one go. Stopping off in Singapore or Hong Kong offers the extra bonus of a far eastern experience, plus it breaks up the journey and lets you begin to adjust to jet lag. When you finally reach your destination you’ll be in slightly better shape.
Children don’t have to worry about legroom but the parents do worry about health considerations. There are very few health threats in Europe unlike Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is the biggest concern. Understandably many parents think very carefully before taking a child to a malaria zone. Do you want your children to be dosed with anti-malarial drugs? You’ll need to consider this carefully. Intense sun is also a hazard. In fact as soon as you step out of the safe predictable environment of the UK you need to be wary of the health aspects of your trip. This particularly applies to new parents taking advantage of free, or low cost, flights for babies.
Aviation authorities say that if you’re under two you do not have to have a seat on your own, so therefore the airlines can’t charge you for one. Often they charge an ‘administration’ fee instead – usually around 10% of the adult fare.
Florida is the long-haul destination that attracts the most British families. There is so much on offer. However August is the storm season. Better to squeeze a trip into the February half term when you won’t get fried by the sun and it’s miserable and wintry back in Britain. Fred Mawer, the travel writer who covers Florida for TC magazine, doesn’t recommend taking young children to Disney parks. Instead you can try a trip to Disneyland in Paris to see how they enjoy it. A happy parent is someone who is on holiday with a child who is happy. That’s really all that matters.
Simon Calder, Travel Writer
Some of the content of the magazine refers to flights or prices from the UK. At Travel Counsellors Ireland we can source flights from Ireland and provide full quotes in Euros. Please call me for latest availability and prices.
