Living abroad often means you become a pro at traveling! Whether by car, plane or train with or without kids! Since living in Joburg we have done 16 hours + car journeys, and countless plane trips, it becomes part of life.

Our Traveling with Kids blog series will review top products, provide helpful preparation tips, ideas on what to pack, and finally hints on how to survive the journey itself. Do you have any recommendations? Or tips that have been really helpful for you? Come join the conversation over in our Moving to South Africa facebook group, click here to join.

Would love to know your hacks, hints and tips for how you get you and your family from A - B.

The Kit:

There are lots of new and innovative pieces of kit on the market, but often they come with a high price tag, and only suitable for small age bracket, here are the ones we think are worth investigating.

Ergo Baby

- One of the best pieces of kit we brought, we continued to use it for our daughter up to 3/4 years old!

- Carry your child / baby in 4 different positions, depending on your personal preference or the childs' age/ weight.

- Great support for your shoulders and back, due to distributing the childs weight across your hips rather than pulling at your shoulders.

$125

Age - Birth - 3years

http://store.ergobaby.com

Travel Buggy

Rather than take your big buggy - which often will fill up the entire boot of your hire car, get yourself a smaller cheaper travel buggy.

A great tip - we always used to ask if we could take the buggy on board with us (particularly if you are travelling Business), usually if you can get the buggy right to the aircraft door, and then ask the staff on board they will often find a place for it. Particularly if you are traveling on your own.

MacClaren  - Tried and tested guaranteed quality. Prices from £115 upward
City Jogger Mini - Easiest buggy to collapse particularly if you will be using it on public transport too. $259 upwards
Uppa Baby - G-Luxe or G-Lite   - Really light, and comes with strap so you can carry it too. $159 upwards

Pram Pack

- Its great at protecting your pram throughout the journey.
- The pram is itself the bag it is VERY bulky.
- The up side of it being so big is you can fit your car seat, travel cot, and clothes inside it too! -

- Brought In SA from Yummy Baby - R3,7500 / or in the US Amazon $199

http://yummybaby.co.za/shop/strollers/stokke-pram-pack-travel-bag/

Hand Luggage Bags:

The Bed Box

- Fantastic idea, extending an average seat to create a bed for your child.

- Works well if have a window seat - not so good if in the aisle.

- During turbulence, you would still have your child strapped in, but dependant on the aircraft.

- Big bit of kit to take through the airport.

- It would be amazing if they are kept on board the plane and distributed to you - so then you wouldn't need the hassle of carrying it!

Rough Age Guide 2 - 3years (the website suggests up to 6yrs) but looking at the size its around the same as a changing matt.

£119

http://jet-kids.com/bedbox.html

Flying Leg Pillow

- Same concept to the Bed Box,

- Inflatable pillow,

- Takes a while to blow up (and then deflate),

- Small and light to carry with you.

- Again great if you have a window seat, probably not so good in exit seat.

$49.99 (Australian Dollars)

http://www.1stclasskid.com

Toby Tiger - Trunki

Love them or hate them, we have had ours for 3 years for our daughter who adores her Toby Tiger, she packs it herself and its nice and light and good quality. However we brought the UK addition, the product has since been sold to Melissa and Doug in US, and sadly the quality has reduced.

- Its quite hard for our daughter to pull along herself (steering is no where near as good as normal pull along case).

- Often I ended up carrying it, so would have been easier to have a normal soft rucksack.

Rough Age Guide 3 - 5yrs

R999,90

http://trunki-sa.co.za/shop/trunki/tiger-tipu/

Micro Scooter - Luggage

- Best thing we can brought! Lots of attention getting through the airport.
- Got our daughter from A - B, kept her entertained whilst waiting.
- Quite hard transferring it from scooter to pull along bag, but this looks to be fixed in the newer version.
- Scooter can be used for adults too - so we all had a ride!

Micro Scooters (suitable for Adults and Children 3/4yrs+):
New Model £275
Older Kids Model on sale - £125
http://www.micro-scooters.co.uk/scooters-age-luggage-scooters.html

Or Zinc Flyte Kids Scooter
£69
https://www.zincflyte.com/

Samsonite Kids Luggage

- Reliable

- Easy for kids to push themselves.

- Will last for years!

Age 3yrs +

From R1895

http://www.samsonite.co.za/kids-suitcases

Trunki Car Seat

- We have used this since our daughter was 3 years old, check regulations for the country you are visiting since its just a boaster seat rather than actual car seat.

- Fantastic Back Pack, our daughter loves packing her toys and colouring books in.

- Brilliant for taking with you and then using in Uber / Taxi to get around.

Age 4 - 8years

R999

http://trunki-sa.co.za/product-category/boostapak/

As much as we love technology to connect us all, there is nothing better than meeting in person - so come say hi at our next monthly meet up! Click here: What’s On in Joburg to find our next one.