New parents Meghan and Harry may have more advantages than most, and are unlikely to be seen wrestling with a pushchair while waiting for a no-frills flight. However, the challenges that travelling with young children throw up are pretty universal. There are thousands of things about being a parent that make you wish these mysterious beings arrived with a manual, but travel can feel especially daunting. I wish I’d known some of these tips before travelling with my first baby, rather than discovering them through my own copious errors.

Travelling with a baby is great

As long as your baby’s needs are met, they’ll usually be thrilled by all the things to look at, and babies and toddlers don’t have fierce ideas about what they want to do on holiday. Their arguing skills are undeveloped. This is, counter-intuitively, a great time to travel as parents, as you can carry your new progeny around, push them in a pushchair, completely dictate your itinerary without any dissent, and manage to see lots of stuff that older children are likely to pronounce ‘boring’.

Fares are often free for young kids

On flights, infants (aged 0-2) are usually free or around 10 per cent of the adult fare (though they don’t have their own seat, so will sit on your lap), so make the most of this while you can. That said, on long haul, consider buying them a seat as you’re both more likely to get some sleep. Those aged 2-11 also have reduced fares, but once your child reaches 12, they’re classed as a teen or even an adult, and there’s little difference between theirs and an adult’s fare. Children under the age of five go free on trains in the UK, while those aged 5-15 get a 50 per cent discount.

Timing things right will lessen the stress

Those days of leaving the minimum time to get to the station/airport are over. Leaving more time is usually essential, and simply makes everything so much easier. Think carefully about the timing of your journey: arriving somewhere late at night is a thousand times less breezy with a baby. If flying short haul, aim for a departure just before your baby’s usual nap time so that there’s a better chance they’ll feed then drop off. Long haul, best to aim for overnight.

Travel light

It’s hard to travel light with a baby, but try to get it down as much as you can. Hire a car seat at your destination. If flying, keep the minimum in your carry-on luggage, and stick the rest in the hold. Pack lots of nappies and wipes for the journey, though, more than you think you’ll need. Also pack basic medication and a thermometer to save having to look for them in your destination: I once ended up roaming what happened to be Copenhagen’s red light district at midnight looking for an open pharmacy to buy some Calpol.

Take a spare change of clothes

Oh, you thought I meant for the baby? Of course, that goes without saying, but pack something easily accessible for yourself as well, otherwise a spot of reflux and you could be yoghurt-scented for the rest of the journey. 

When you have a pre-schooler, take trips outside school holidays

Once your kids start at school, you are tied to the school holiday periods, peak season, when prices are higher, places are crowded, and often the weather is at its hottest. While you have a baby or pre-schooler, take your holidays in the shoulder and low season, and revel in those empty beaches and lower prices. This cannot be emphasised enough. Once they skip happily through the school gates, that’s your holidays pencilled in for high season for the next umpteen years.

Snacks or surprises can save the day

So often a meltdown can be averted with a well-timed snack, and this goes for kids as well as parents. If you take along a selection of easy-to-eat nibbles, they’re also likely to be healthier and cheaper than those you can buy on the way. A few pull-it-out-of-the-hat surprise books, colouring in treats, or new unwrappable small toys for young kids work wonders too.

Handy tips when flying

An aisle seat is best when travelling with a baby, as you may want to pace up and down with them during the flight. If you’re travelling long-haul, book the bassinet well in advance as they’re not unlimited. For any length of journey, ear plugs and lollies can help ease ear pain on the ascent and descent for young children. As well as some colouring and books, download the big guns for those moments of in-flight super stress, such as cartoons and nursery rhymes. Take suitable headphones so your neighbours are not subjected to Peppa Pig, and charge up those power packs. 

Handy tips for the car

You’ll need to take more stops on long car journeys than you might have in the past, so plan your journey ahead for suitable break points and leave extra time to get there. Ensure you have adequate shade for the baby, and toys to entertain them on a long journey. Pack easily accessible snacks, nappies and changes of clothes, and be prepared to listen to nursery rhymes, soothing classical music or audiobooks until you want to die.

Everyone will love you

Travelling to Tunisia when my eldest son was 11 months old, we were continually stopping for local people to coo over him, and even pick him up and kiss him on the cheek. One of the many rewards of travelling with your baby is that you will be greeted with smiles and an outpouring of warmth (plane journeys excluded). Travelling with a baby might feel labour intensive, but as Meghan and Harry are bound to discover it’s full of unexpected delights.