Travelling with children isn’t easy. Factoring a child’s needs into your travels involves a lot more than bringing some colouring books and making toilet stops. In an effort to make your travel not only stress-free but enjoyable, we’ve shared some hard-won wisdom for travelling on Red Arrow luxury coaches with children:
1. Bring What You Need
There’s nothing like embarking on a long trip only to discover you left your daughter’s favourite stuffed animal or your baby’s bottle at home. Plan ahead with a checklist to make sure you pack all the essentials, not only for you but your children.
2. Bring A Car seat
If you want to seat your child in their car seat next to you on the motorcoach, you are welcome to do so! Please be aware that you will be required to pay the fare for the coach seat occupied by the child’s car seat. Additionally, our motorcoaches are equipped with either lap belts, or 3 point seat belts and may not be compatible with all car seats. If the car seat is not being used it must be placed in the bins below.
3. If they’re unaccompanied…
That’s ok! Children between the ages of 6 and 12 can travel safely without you under our Unaccompanied Child program. The child will be seated as close to the driver as possible and will be assisted on board and disembarked by the driver or a Passenger Experience Representative. These reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance by phone with payment. Contact information for the adult dropping off at the departure point, as well as the adult picking them up upon arrival is required to make the booking, and ID will be required.
4. Take advantage of Wifi
A busy and happy child makes for a relaxing and quiet trip. On Red Arrow, you’re in luck — all our luxury coaches are fully equipped with complimentary WiFi! So pack any and all of your kid’s electronic devices that’ll keep them busy and comfortable during the trip.
5. Save money
When you travel with Red Arrow with your child, children under two years of age travel for free if they’re in your lap, their is a child fare for children ages 2-12, and youth fare for those aged 13-17. Even our older kids in University can travel at our Student Rate, by creating an account and adding their Student ID card. Better yet, get them a Student Flex Pass if they’ll be travelling to and from University often. (Currently available for purchase by phone only.)
Successfully pulling off a great family trip requires a lot of planning, patience, and effort. While you’ll get better the more you do it, take some time before you leave to brush up on our top ten tips for travelling with children (and keeping your sanity).
With our new Safely Clean program, you can rest assured your family will be travelling with a company that is committed to getting you Safely Home. We’ve introduced a full program dedicated to enhanced cleaning and sanitization, preventative measures, and elevated protocols to ensure the safety and protection of our staff, passengers, and the communities in which we operate.