Travel with kids isn't the impossibility some advice suggests, nor the easy 'just bring snacks' some parents claim. Each developmental stage has predictable patterns. Working with them, not against, makes the trip enjoyable for everyone.
0-12 months: easier than people warn
Babies sleep most of the time. Travel cot fits in most accommodation. Breastfeeding or familiar formula handles food. Flight: aim for nap times for departure. UK to most of Europe (2-3 hour flights) is genuinely doable.
Pack: passport, baby clothes, formula/feeding gear, two days of nappies (buy more on arrival), light pram or carrier. Most else is available everywhere.
1-3 years: hardest age, plan accordingly
Mobile but not yet portable. Tantrums in public spaces. Naps still essential but harder to time. Pick destinations with: pool, beach, or other safe runaround space; accommodation with separate room for parents (kid sleeping in parents' bed = no parent sleep).
Avoid: multi-city itineraries, long days of sightseeing, restaurants with formal expectations, late evenings. Trip is about the kids' needs, not your sightseeing list.
3-6 years: travelling but with limits
Sleep through, no naps mostly. Engage with activities. Tantrum-prone when tired or hungry. One major activity per day plus pool/beach time. Eat early dinners. Build in flexibility for 'we're not doing that any more' days.
Good destinations: family-friendly resorts, beaches, places with activities (mini-club, kids' pools). Multi-generational trips work well at this age.
7-12 years: peak family travel age
Engage with cultural experiences, walk longer distances, sit through restaurants. Plan one 'their choice' activity per day. Old enough to make memories, young enough to want family time. Best age for ambitious itineraries — Europe by train, cultural tours, even mild adventure travel.
Teenagers: shift the model
Want different experiences than parents. Negotiate trip together. Allow some independent time. Consider activity-based trips (skiing, hiking, surf camps) where they can do their thing and reconvene for meals. Family trips become harder to motivate; their friends start to win the priority battle.
Travel with kids is easier when the trip is designed for their developmental stage. Not the Instagram version of family travel — the version that respects what kids of that age can actually do.