When Your Holiday Starts On The Plane

When Your Holiday Starts On The Plane! One of the main headaches when preparing for a family holiday and even worse – a trip by plane – is all the STUFF the kids want to bring along or not along. Getting them to pack lightly and efficiently is quite the task.

Three toggle-bags, two cars-seats, one for the toddler and one for the baby, one double stroller, three backpacks, and two carry-on suitcases later, you’re exhausted… and you haven’t even left yet.

Take a breath, it can be easier with good planning. Here are some tips, even making sure you don’t want to come back home to chaos is important and then there is … how to keep them occupied so that the trip is enjoyable…

Most important make it fun from the moment you leave the house… the holiday starts right away!

Important Documents – Get Them In Time!

• Children require a valid passport, yes babies need passports!
• And Unabridged Birth certificate.. Kids born after 2013 will be issued with a Unabridged (name of mother and father etc.) automatically
• Passports are normally valid for a minimum of 5 years depending on how regular and for what purpose you travel.
• Always check existing passports validity well in time of traveling – one loses track if you don’t travel often.

Where To Get Your Passport Or Unabridged Certificate

Here are the basic, yet you might find a facility closer to where you reside

• PRETORIA

259 West Ave, Die Hoewes, Centurion, 0163

012 663 6084

Open hours:8am-4pm

• JOHANNESBURG

Cnr. Plein & 77 Harrison St, Gauteng, 2001, South Africa
Private Bag X11, Johannesburg, 2000
011 639 4000

• DURBAN

1 Market St, Ixopo, 3276, South Africa
City of Kwazulu Natal
039 834 1253

• CAPETOWN

106 York St, George Central, George, 6529, South Africa
City of Western Cape
Private Bag X6551, George, 6530
Phone number:
044 805 4100

TIPS ON PROCEDURES AT HOME AFFAIRS

• Fill form in at home affairs (they do not allow you to take it home to fill)
• Remember a pen – must be BLACK
• Ques are long – ask security which line to que in as it can be confusing sometimes AND YOU DON’T WANT TO REALISE THAT HALF AND HOUR INTO THE PROCESS
• Bring cash – enough – The cost for just an unabridged certificate is currently R75 as an example
• Go early – Sometimes it helps to go only around 11 but that is never guaranteed

TIPS ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR AN UNABRIDGED BIRTH CERTIFICATE WHICH YOU WILL NEED TO APPLY FOR A PASSPORT

1. All documents submitted must be originals or certified copies.
2. Go to your nearest police station to have your copies certified – keep a few extras
3. Apply at your nearest Home Affairs office where your Biometric information will be verified.
4. Take your ID book along, as well as your child’s ID number.
5. The Unabridged Birth Certificate costs R75.
6. It takes 3 to 6 weeks to arrive but many a Mom have been surprised by an sms for collection after one or two weeks – don’t take chances though – do it early and get it out of the way.

BE SAFE AND STORE AND YOUR IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS CLEVERY AS WELL AS ONLINE

• Prepare one big zip-lock bag marked
• Inside have a smaller zip-lock bag marked including each family members docs and books
  • Passports
  • Booking Confirmation Plane and/or plane tickets
  • Hotel booking confirmation
  • Car rental confirmation
  • Any other important papers

….. each bunch in a separate zip-lock – no spilling accident will ruin them

• Take photos of all Id books and passports important front and back inner pages as well as all documents
  • Mail these to yourself – save in your cloud
  • And email them to your friends….

TRAVEL TIMELINE TIPS – DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL

Domestic flights arrival times

• Domestic flight book-in time is normally an hour before departure – but always add more time to the schedule for traveling, traffic and also so that the process at the airport can be calm and not a rush.

International flight departure times

• You normally have to arrive and book in 3 hours in advance of departure – with kids add half an hour extra for when they are half asleep, tired or just slow…
• If you were clever enough to pack in such a way that you only have hand luggage you can book in at the self-help machines – It saves a lot of time and aggravation
• If not, you can still book in at the self-help machine and then cue at the baggage station which also goes a bit faster

TRAVEL PACKING TIPS

DRAW UP A PACKING SCHEDULE

6 Months before – Check documentation requirements.

KEEP THEM BUSY WHILE TRAVELING TIPS

There are few things worse on a long flight than when your child blazes through all your carefully planned activities before the seatbelt sign has even been turned off. Tell your child they can only pick a new activity every 15-30 minutes (or more or less, depending on their age and the activities). Also package each activity separately, whether in a plastic bag or by wrapping them in crepe paper, which makes even getting the next activity out an activity of its own.

Make sure you pack, literature, drawing and colouring in items and electronic entertainment items.

There are a lot of cool ideas on Pinterest.

MAKE MEMORIES LAST

Off course you won’t forget to take pictures, but make sure you have additional external charges. Charge everything each night ready for the next day’s exploring and taking pictures.

Now and then when you are at a place long enough let the kids draw their favorite thing about the trip. Keep the drawing but also take photos of them just in case they get lost.

On the plane let the little one’s draw a picture of the plane and/or the pilot – promise to put it up at home when back. Remember to take a photo just in case it gets lost. Also take a photo of the little one with his/her picture for Facebook memories.

RETURN HOME SANE AND CALM

Make sure you plan to clean up after packing time and wash the last dishes … so that when you return it’s not a mess that makes you forget what a wonderful trip you had.

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