I'm a travel editor. Here are four things I did before an overseas holiday to help things go smoother
I've done my fair share of overseas holidays already, but there are always new things to try in an effort to ease some of the inevitable stress that comes with planning and then actually being on a big trip.
We just spent a month in Europe for Christmas and New Year's, visiting Germany, Austria and France.
And this time it was a family holiday with a two-year-old, so anything to make things go a little smoother was a big plus in my books. Here are some things I organised - before we even took off - that made a world of difference.
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Before you even take off there are things you can do to help ease some stress. Supplied
1. Book an airport hotel
If you don't live within a 15-20 minute drive of the airport like me, then opting for an airport hotel before your flight can be a real game changer – especially with a little one.
Our flight wasn't until 4 pm, but even so, the chance to genuinely relax before the near 24-hour journey (because the packing was done and we were already out of our usual surroundings) was a huge win.
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This time, we flew out of Melbourne and spent the afternoon and morning before our flight at the PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport hotel.
It is located about as close to the airport as you can get with a dedicated access bridge right into the terminal – though there was construction here during our stay, which meant the bridge was closed.
PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport hotel is right across from the terminal. Supplied/Kristine Tarbert
Check-in was super smooth, and we were even able to have a (very) late check-out in line with our afternoon flight time.
Once we got to our suite, our little one got the biggest surprise when she spotted the actual runway and planes out of the hotel windows.
The hotel has a special 'plane spotting package' with inclusions, like binoculars, to enjoy up-close views of aircraft movements from the comfort of your room.
This really kept the little one entertained the day before the flight and helped build some excitement to actually getting on a big plane the next day.
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Our suite had a view of the runway. Supplied/Kristine Tarbert
Entertainment all day watching the planes take off and land. Supplied/Kristine Tarbert
2. Get an eSim
Relying on public Wi-Fi while travelling can become a serious security concern, while using local SIM providers can often involve lengthy registration processes, language barriers and compatibility issues.
That's where travel eSims have become somewhat of a revolution. Load them onto your phone before you leave. Switch on when you land and presto, you're connected in an instant.
I wasn't completely new to the travel eSim game before this trip, but it is the first time I tried out Holafly and used a SIM that would cover multiple countries with unlimited data.
Being able to research things on the go from the moment we landed was great. Getty
This one isn't cheap ($US75), but especially when travelling with a little one, you just never know when you're going to have to scramble to look up anything from directions to where the nearest supermarket or metro station is, or most importantly, whip out an episode of Bluey to prevent a pram meltdown.
We crossed borders multiple times during this trip, and not once had any connectivity issues. Farewell, dodgy public Wi-Fi!
3. Organise a Eurail Pass
It's no secret that train travel is an ideal way to get around Europe (this is a bit specific for there), especially when the alternative is overloaded airports, or being stuck in a hire car for multiple hours with a squirmy toddler.
A Eurail Pass allows travellers to explore over 30,000 destinations across 33 countries with just one 'ticket'. We used the mobile app and were able to look up different options for trains from Germany to France and back, as well as travel within Germany.
Trains are a great way to travel around Europe. Supplied/Kristine Tarbert
It certainly leans into the idea of slow travel, and was a really great way to get around with a toddler, as she had much more freedom to move than she would have had in a car or a plane.
Eurail Pass covers most rail routes within Europe (included in the Pass at no extra cost), where you can hop on/off without making a prior reservation. It is most useful to people who have a fair amount of flexibility and are keen to maybe jump off and explore new places along certain routes.
But we still found it worked great for our family to have all our train journeys in one place, on the one ticket.
It is worth noting that some rail routes, specifically high-speed trains and cross-border international trains, require a pre-booked reserved seat that isn't included in the pass. So make sure to do that before you leave and have those reservation confirmations handy to show inspectors alongside your pass.
And perfect for travelling with a toddler. Supplied/Kristine Tarbert
4. Schedule some me-time
Lastly, and possiblY the most important one is relatively simple, though perhaps for some the hardest to do.
Before you take off – take some me time!
A long-haul flight is already a lot to handle just on your own, let alone wrangling a two-year-old. So before both journeys (leaving Australia, and on the way back home) I made full use of the hotel spa.
At the PARKROYAL in Melbourne, the indoor pool was amazing for burning some toddler energy (not that it helped in the end!). Even Dad did a pre-flight gym session. While I myself hit up the sauna.
Some pool and spa time at the Grand Hyatt Berlin helps de-stress before our flight home. Supplied
We did the same again on our last evening in Germany (before an early flight the next morning) and hit up the pool and spa at our hotel Grand Hyatt Berlin.
The flight home is always the worst at the end of a holiday, so taking a moment to unwind before the long journey home is something I can definitely recommend.
The writer travelled with support from PARKROYAL, Luxury Escapes, Eurail, and Holafly.
