Travelling with 5 or more (Q & A or just to Vent)

[battymum]

This subject has come up quite a bit in other threads, so I thought I would give it its own area.
From catching cabs, to rooms and cabins, that third child can really make travelling so much more difficult, (Everytime someone in my family annoys me, i tell them "you know how much easier it is to go on a holiday with 4 people")
Personally this will be my childrens first overseas trip, they will be 16, 13, 13 as were resigned to the fact that it too hard and it was much easier to holiday in QLD.
I used to get really annoyed when people would say "did you see the ad in the paper, kids, stay,play and eat free" EXCEPT THE THIRD ONE!!!

Please share your experiences!

 

[HappyFingers]

tell the 16 year old to make his own way back to the hotel

sorry thats the best ive got

 

[5ofus]

I hear ya! My 'fifth wheel' isn't even born yet and I'm already working out where to stay and how to get places. Thank God we can get a family suite on the new Disney cruise ships that will fit the five of us. We still don't know where we're going to stay at WDW, but at least there are a couple of options. Transport is the biggest issue.

Yep, traveling as a family of four was much easier for sure.

 

[Oz-kateer]

I travel with 5 - one adult and 4 kids (3 teenagers and one primary school age) and I didn't really think this last trip in Sept/Oct was too much of a hassle. I just accepted what will be will be. We needed two rooms in the hotel, a bigger rental car (3 in the back was no trouble for short-ish journeys) and the odd number didn't cause too much inconvenience overall.

Was there anything in particular that was bothering you about the 5 heads?

 

[AussieDisneyNut]

I'm hearing you Battymum! We have 3 kids too (5, 7, 10) and all my planning for our trip to California seems to revolve around fitting 5 into one room! For some of this trip we are also travelling with grandparents, so we are working around a party of 7. We are hiring a people-mover/minivan and would love to be able afford a suite, but not quite in our budget!

 

[ame]

I have 4 kids (currently aged 7,8,11 & 12). I'm just resigned to the fact that we have to hire a minivan and find hotels with bedrooms/suites or two rooms.

B/c of the cost of public transport it is more often than not cheaper (and easier) just to hire a minivan. If you shop around, then you can find reasonably priced accomodation.

It is a little bit more work to get the kids across the pacific, but it is so worth it.

 

[kyl]

One piece of advice I can give you is just make sure you book everything prior to leaving. We did a drive on the way back from WDW, from San Fran to Anaheim. Thinking this will be relaxing we will just find some accomodation on the way for a couple of nights. WRONG!!!! First night was o.k we found a B&B at carmel by the sea and got two rooms. Then the next night we went to Santa Barba, nothing I mean nothing 15 hotels nothing with two rooms and no one would let us have one room for the five of us. I would just say make sure all your accomodation is organised. We sat in mcdonalds at 7pm at night all looking at one another thinking we would seriously be sleeping in the car! Ended up we got accomodation in Anaheim, but had to travel such a long way to get to it. Never again!

 

[jacs1234]

We have four kiddo's who were 9, 7, 4 and 3 on our last trip. The most stressfull thing for us was getting through the airport, you know, filling in all those forms and trying to keep all four together and get luggage and all that stuff. It was a bit tricky to get a limo with child seeats but we managed from home. We hired 2 rooms in the howard Johnson with a connecting door. We're too big for the family rooms there. I've done some more research since and found suites that will hold us all. We're really eager to take them back again. We LOVED our trip but......................we're going again in one weeks time with just the two of us and leaving the kids with Grandma. It's going to be a TOTALLY different trip.

 

[kylieh]

We're starting to notice it now for next year's trip. Yep, another change of plans!!! There will now be 5 of us.

So accom is going to change. I wanted to hire a convertible in LA for a couple of days but all the convertibles are 4 seaters not 5!

And I'm thinking more of where we are staying. How could we catch a cab with five...

I'm really feeling it now. And I've got months to go.

 

[Travel Mum]

We're starting to notice it now for next year's trip. Yep, another change of plans!!! There will now be 5 of us.

So accom is going to change. I wanted to hire a convertible in LA for a couple of days but all the convertibles are 4 seaters not 5!

And I'm thinking more of where we are staying. How could we catch a cab with five...

I'm really feeling it now. And I've got months to go.

Welcome to our world!