Okay, parents of twins, if you’ve made it to the toddler stage alive and intact, then first things first, CONGRATULATIONS!
Now, for the reason you’re here: you’re planning on travelling with twin toddlers.
Yikes. *Grimacing*
Well, my husband and I have been there. We travelled internationally 3 times with our twins, twice with them as toddlers.
And we’ve done a couple of road trips, too.
Our travels with the twins have left scars (literally and figuratively!).
But hey, war wounds and all, we want to share our experiences so you can avoid some of the bumps on the road (or in the sky).
Or at least be prepared for them!
Here are my 7 tips for travelling with twin toddlers.
Okay, this may not sound like a conventional travel tip, but as Sun Tzu (author of The Art of War) says, “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight”.
In other words, choose your battles wisely.
Do you have to travel for work, a really important event, or are you relocating? Okay, great.
But vacationing?
Hah!
I’m not usually a pessimist, but someone once said that holidaying with your kids is like playing an away game.
“You’re doing the same thing elsewhere, but you’ve lost the home court advantage.”
Truer words have never been said.
Don’t find that out the hard way like we did, though.
If I could go back in time and cancel some of our unnecessary road trips, I would do so in a heartbeat.
But hey, if you’ve got necessary travel coming up, or if you’re a sucker for punishment, continue reading.
#2: Lower Expectations (A LOT!)
Are they a wonderful napper? Well, they might be up the entire time on the plane. (Happened with one of our girls on an 18-hour, 2-layover journey).
Don’t assume they’ll sleep in the bassinet (even if they’ve done it before!).
Is their favourite food bread bananas? That might not be true for the duration of your car ride.
Plan as much as you humanly can.
But make sure you have enough mental flexibility to roll with the punches of travelling with twin toddlers.
Delays? No problem, you’ve brought extra snacks and diapers.
Because with twins, that type of unpredictability will not only throw you and your partner in for a loop, but the other twin is likely to get dysregulated, too.
The worst mindset you can have going into travelling with twin toddlers is, “That won’t happen with me.”
So make sure to pack the back up of the back up of their favourite things (and your favourite coping mechanisms) for both twins.
Whether it’s milk, snacks, toys, or screens, make sure you’ve got enough of it to last twice your trip.
#3: Optimise for Time Spent Travelling with Twin Toddlers
In July of 2022, we made a massive error.
I figured, “the twins sleep great on planes, so I’ll book us a ticket that works well with their bedtime and they’ll be asleep for most of that time.”
At 5 months old, the girls had travelling on a short-haul flight before at nap time and slept the entire time.
This time, they would be 8 months. So, it should have been the same, right?
Wrong! (See tip #1).
I had booked us an 18-hour journey that started at 7pm on our side, and would get us to my husband’s family at 5pm the next day.
Most of the flight would be spent with them sleeping in the bassinets.
Did that happen?
Nope!
One twin slept for a couple of hours, while the other, excited by the screens and the announcements, was up THE ENTIRE TIME.
We parents had to take turns napping because she just would not go down.
I very soon realised that we should’ve taken the direct flights (which were cheaper, too!), even though they left at midnight.
You have to optimise for the time spent travelling with twin toddlers above everything else.
The rest will figure itself out.
#4: Choose Easy Mode
Travelling with twin toddlers is not the time to be in “we’ll manage without” mode.
In fact, you need to make things as easy on yourself, your partner, and your toddlers as possible.
Their grandparents volunteer to help you out at the airport?
Take them up on it!
Your toddlers restless car passengers?
Plan as many stops as you can afford!
Long, unavoidable layover?
Book an airport lounge or research family-friendly restaurants to spend some time in.
We once had a 1am long-haul flight from Addis Ababa airport to Manchester.
So, we booked ourselves into the in-terminal airport hotel at 7pm the evening before and simply slept until 00:10, where we could simply walk to our gate and board the plane at the very last minute.
To say that it was a game changer is an understatement!
If there are things like that you can do for yourselves, do it.
Look through your itinerary and logistics, research everything you can beforehand, and choose the path of least stress.
As my mom used to say, “This is what money is for – to make your life easier!”
#5: Travel Light
Speaking of choosing easier things, make things easier for yourself and pack light.
If you’re travelling by plane, put as much as you can in your checked-in luggage and carry only your essentials in your carry-on.
Same with the car.
Everything you don’t need should go in the trunk. Don’t clutter the cabin of the car with unnecessaries.
Why?
Well, first, when your toddlers are having a meltdown, you don’t want to be rummaging through a million things.
Trying to find the wipes or the socks in that situation can be stressful, to say the least!
And secondly, in the case of air travel, you definitely do not want to be lugging too many extra pieces of luggage when you’re travelling with twin toddlers.
I’m sure you’ve guessed it, but we made this exact mistake.
I wanted to take as much as the airline allowed, which meant two little rolling bags, two backpacks, my handbag, and two baby bags.
This was in addition to the car seats and massive twin stroller that we had to lug around, too.
Needless to say, by the time we sat in our seats for our super long flight (yup, that 18-hour disaster), we were already tired.
So, pack light! Your back will thank you.
#6: But Pack Double of These Items
Although you’ll want to travel light (see Point #5), you won’t want to skimp on the following.
- Any and all diaper/ nappy related things (even if they’re more-or-less potty trained). You don’t want to be stressing about finding toilets on long car rides, or worse, at airports. Also, pack extra, because travel makes toddlers poo like 50x more than usual (I have enough evidence for a thesis!).
- Snacks! SNACKS! Of course, you can never have enough snacks. Pack a massive variety, because toddlers can be unpredictable during travel (see Point #1). If you’re travelling by plane, snacks will help with the pressure build-up in their ears, too. Also, and this is very important, pack snacks for yourselves, too. In fact, treat your travel days as a marathon and make sure you refuel regularly to avoid a meltdown of your own.
- Spare clothes. And again, not just for your little ones. Travelling with twin toddlers can get really messy. When you’ve got the snacks out and you’re adding motion, plus a whole lot of distracting stuff (and there’s a twin!), you have a recipe for spills and messes.
- Distractions. I’m talking toys, books, and (fully-charged) screen time. You don’t do screen time? Well, you might want to make an exception for long travels. Otherwise, if you have a multi-hour journey with your twin toddlers and don’t want to do distractions, make sure you’re ready to be the entertainment. (And no, do not count on them sleeping the entire time because you booked the travelling to correspond with nap time, see Points #1 and #2).
#7: Only Do One Thing A Day (Max)
This last one is a general rule for most days with twin toddlers, but is especially important to hammer down during travel.
You may be tempted to want to do two things in a day.
Discover the old city in the morning and check out the pebble beach that afternoon.
But friends, if you are on holiday, and actually intend on having a modicum of enjoyment (a foolish quest, really), then choose one thing you want to do that day and do it calmly.
Because what inevitably ends up happening with a two-thing-a-day schedule is that you get stressed.
Sure, it might be possible to do the two things. It may even be feasible.
But what state of mind (and distress) is it going to require for you to make that happen?
And is it worth it? (Hell no!)
So, pick an activity and take your time in doing it well.
Wake up late, have as leisurely a breakfast as you can with two gremlins, do the thing and let them nap a bit extra later.
Don’t get into the “we’re on holiday so we have to see as much of this new place as possible” mindset.
That died, along with your boundless freedom, when you had twins.
Final Thoughts on Travelling with Twin Toddlers
There’s so much more I could write on this but I have twins so I don’t have all day.
But as a final, bonus tip, I would say that make sure your ratio of adults to toddlers does not fall under 1:1.
Travelling with twin toddlers is not for the faint of heart.
Don’t do it alone.
Don’t do it unprepared.
Make sure you’re as well rested as you can be.
Treat it like a marathon.
Hang in there, fellow twin parents.
And let me know how your travels have gone in the comments below!