Tips for Long Haul Flights 20


This post is sponsored by Hydralyte

No matter how excited you are about going on a holiday, flying long haul is hard work and even harder if you have a baby, toddler and/or kids in tow.

So what can you do to help you feel a little bit fresher on arrival?

Choose Flights Times with Care

If you have a choice when booking your flight,  choose a flight that will have you arriving in the late afternoon/early evening of your destination’s time zone.

This will provide you with enough time to check into your chosen family accommodation, look for somewhere to eat and then have an early night.

Which should result in you waking up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to explore.

Long haul flights tips

Prepare the Kids

Tell your kids what to expect from the flight, how long the flight will be (in terms they understand) and that they will need to stay in their seat.

If they are a bit older talk about some of the activities you have for them (keep some as a surprise) and what entertainment will be provided on the plane.

Dress them in PJ’s when it is night-time during the flight and encourage them to sleep.  Even if you don’t sleep during the flight, having well-rested kids will take some pressure off on arrival.

Long haul flights tips

Pack Sensible Hand Luggage

So far in your packed hand luggage you have the kids PJ’s and activities.  Don’t forget to add your kids favourite snacks (in case they don’t like the food on board) and of course their favourite snuggle friend.

You may also want to add some Fess (a saline solution) that not only clears blocked noses but apparently also help reduce the symptoms of changing cabin pressure.  Use the children’s or baby version for the kids or the frequent flyer version for adults, 30 minutes prior to take off to help equalise the kids ears.

Please let me know how this goes as I haven’t tried using Fess for this before.

Don’t forget yourself when packing your hand luggage.  Maybe pack one of those neck pillows, take something to read – you may not want to watch movies the entire flight, and wear comfortable clothing (I cannot stress this one enough).

I have talked about catching colds while travelling before so boost your immunity with a vitamin tablet like Frequent Flyer Health Boost.  This tablet has vitamin C, Zinc and Echinacea to help boost your immune system and improve your chances to ward off a cold.

Long haul flights tips

Accept You Will Be Tired and Dehydrated

Look there is no getting around it you will be tired and a bit dehydrated from the flight no matter how much you have prepared yourself and the kids.

To help ease that tired feeling on arrival refresh eyes with something like Murine Eye Mist that you can easily spray onto closed eyes.  It will help to moisturise and refresh your eyes to cope with the next stage of your journey.

Once you arrive at your accommodation re-hydrate your body with some Hydralyte that comes in 3 flavours (Orange, apple blackcurrent or lemon lime).  Hydralyte is also really handy to have packed in your travel medical kit in case of stomach upsets.

long haul flights tips

Switch to Local Time

I find the best way to get over jet lag from long haul flights is to accept the local time the moment you arrive if not during the flight.

This is one of the reasons I suggest arriving in the late afternoon.  I am usually really tired from the flight and am happy to go to sleep a few hours after arriving.  This means when I wake in the morning my body clock has switched over.

If I have taken an overnight flight and arrived early in the morning I am extremely tired and drag myself around until I can get into my hotel room in the afternoon to have a short nap –  the trick is not to sleep too long or you’ll never get to sleep that night.

Oh you don’t want to lose another precious day of your holiday feeling tired.

What are your tips for long haul flights?

long haul flights tips

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  • DISCLOSURE:  This post was sponsored by Hyratlyte


About Sally-Ann Brown

I am Sally-Ann the author of Toddlers on Tour. I am a wife and mother who has always had a passion for travel. I love sharing my experiences and lessons learned to help you have a better family holiday or day trip. Read "All About Me" under the "Home" tab to discover my story and what lead me to here.

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20 thoughts on “Tips for Long Haul Flights

  • Natalie

    I like the tip about Fess! Will have to try that next time.
    I like packing some herbal tea bags- I love a cup of peppermint tea to keep me awake and feeling fresh, or chamomile when Im needing to relax and get into sleep mode.

  • Cerys

    Fantastic advice – we’re heading off for our first long haul this year double the time of any previous flight and with double the number of kids as well. I’ll be looking into some of the products thank you.

  • Karilyn

    We have done a ton of long haul flights with my now 4 year old. He was born in India and our family lives in the US and Ireland, so you can imagine the flights we had to do! Some of our favorite tips – make a tent out of the airline blankets so they have a dark little space to sleep and when explaining how long the flight is, tell it in terms of sleeps – you will need 1 nap and 1 long sleep. You will be able to watch 2 movies in the other time. it seems to work for my son – he can get the concept of naps/sleep and movie length!

  • Clara

    We used to always take little sachets of Calpol (this might be a UK brand – it’s children’s paracetamol) as you can’t take bottles due to the amount of liquid. Inevitably one of them would have some sort of earache/headache/something else ache and there is nothing worse than being stuck three million miles up in the sky with no access to any kind of pain relief. For babies I also always tell everyone to try and keep breastfeeding as long as possible – then you know you will always have food on tap if things don’t go to plan (stupidly i did not heed my own advice when we got diverted on a flight and ended up spending a day in a hotel room in Dubai with a 7 month old baby…). #MondayEscapes

    • Sally-Ann Brown Post author

      I use to pack about 1 or 2 extra feeds of formula just incase (but obviously can’t cope with a long delay like you had Clara). For the childrens’ paracetamol I buy a 100ml bottle specially for the plane and put it in the zip lock bag with liquids.

  • Cindy

    Great list! The health boost is a good tip – I take Berocca when I travel. I agree about arriving in the afternoon/early evening – we have a 20+ hour journey coming up this Friday and chose the flight with the earliest arrival time (around 6pm) so we could have some time to settle down at the hotel, have dinner and (hopefully) get a good night’s rest so we’re ready to go in the morning. #MondayEscapes