Our Brand and Campaign Manager, Vicky, recently got back from an absolutely mega trip with the whole fam – proper dream holiday type stuff. She spent two weeks in sunny Thailand, but before any of that, she and her family had to get there first – and The Land of Smiles (and Singha beer) ain’t down the road. We know travelling long haul can feel pretty daunting for loads of families out there, so we thought we’d have her stop by to give you the lowdown on just what it’s like to fly long haul with a young family in tow.

Ey up! Vicky here – Brand and Campaign Manager for Netflights. I’ve just got back from Thailand with the fam: the hubby and two kiddywinks – Eva, 15 and Lewis, 10.

I’ve been dying to go long haul with the kids for years to show them a completely different holiday experience, but I’ve just been waiting for the right time. You know, flying with 2 kids on a 14 hour flight… it’s not been top of my list! But, just like that, I randomly booked a last minute holiday to Thailand. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? .

Let me give you the lowdown.

Okay, I know I work in travel, but I didn’t know where to begin with Thailand. I mean, it’s massive! All I knew is that I had two weeks to play with, and that the weather in Thailand can be rainy in our British summer holidays (the wet season runs from May to October and listen, I’m from Manchester, I don’t need anymore of the wet stuff!) – so I went for the Easter holidays instead. Beyond that? I had no idea!

I knew that I wanted amazing beaches, luxurious hotels, and a good lick of culture. But where to go? The easy answer to that question was to go straight to my pal – the one and only Mark, one of our travel pros here at Netflights (you might have been lucky enough to have heard his dulcet tones down the phone before).

I told him what I wanted and he suggested Khao Lak to start off with. After the long flight, we’d need to flop on a beach and chill, he said. Khao Lak’s lovely for that. Then he suggested Phuket would be good for day trips. And one place I did actually know I wanted to visit while I was in Thailand was Bangkok – so that was our itinerary! Khao Lak –> Phuket –> Bangkok. Oh, and with a stop over in Dubai chucked in on the way back as Lewis was desperate to go to Aquaventure Waterpark in Dubai (Bless, he thought that Dubai was in Thailand, the little lovey )

I’m not going to lie – I was a teeny tiny bit bit worried. But let me tell you, the kids were AMAZING. They loved every minute of it. Seriously. I had ZERO WORRIES flying with the kids – there, I said it. They were absolutely living their best lives. Let me tell you why…

It all started with the flights. My lad is a bit of a plane geek, you see – he knows all the lingo: “Mum, that landing was butter”, “Check out the ATC by the apron” ( ) So his dream was made when I told him we were flying with Emirates on the big one – the A830, obvs! Talk about making his day. My kids are used to flying on low cost airlines to Europe, so I was really excited to tell them what the flight to Thailand would be like (it was like telling your kids they’re going to Disneyland!)

I told them they would get more legroom, wider seats, a pillow, a blanket, kids’ food, free drinks, their own TV with games, movies and music, and that they could watch the plane taking off on their own TV screen too. Oh, and the absolute star in their eyes? A380s have two floors! Like any other kids, they’ve all been on YouTube and seen the videos of the upgraded cabins. It was Lewis’ dream to go upstairs on Emirates. I told him it would be very, very expensive (it’s where Business and First Class are!) BUT, I made it a reality for him (Mum of the year)… sort of.  We got to choose our seats – for free, by the way – so I made sure to book upstairs. We were still in Economy, sadly (), but – most importantly – WE WERE UPSTAIRS!

As soon as we boarded the aircraft, we were greeted by the iconic uniform (that lovely red hat and white swathe of fabric), we found our pre-booked seats, grabbed our blankets, earphones, and buckled up. Travelling as a family, the cabin crew were great with the kids – we even got a Polaroid family snap to keep (loved that!) and the kids got a mini rucksack each, filled with activities to keep them entertained. They watched the plane take off, all the films they wanted (Eva opted for Wicked, whilst Lewis went for The Incredibles), ate loads, drank loads, charged their devices, slept a bit… and then woke up in time to watch the landing. The 7 hour flight literally flew by! And let me tell you, because of the sheer size of the A380, you feel no movement at all. So good!

We landed in Dubai and had 3 hours to wait before our connection to Phuket. This sounds like ages, but it’s actually just enough time. Dubai Airport is so big (and impressive) that we had to get a train to the next terminal. We tried our best to catch a sneaky peek of the Burj Khalifa through the windows, and obviously had to hit the shops in search of the viral Dubai Chocolate (we found it, and it cost about 110 Dirhams – grab some on your way back to use up any left over currency!)

After a quick last chance toilet break, we were boarding again. Take off was smooth and, yes, we saw the Burj Khalifa! We got another great Polaroid pic, the kids got a duffle bag and money belt full of stuff each, and I got a vodka coke and a well-deserved chill, thank you very much. It wasn’t just the kids making full use of Emirates’ award-winning onboard entertainment, you know. It was time to catch up with the film I half-finished on the flight from Manchester – The Seven Faces of Jane, if you’re interested.

One thing I really do have to mention though, is just how amazing the cabin crew on this flight were! I was a bit cheeky… there were some spare seats after take off, so I nabbed ’em. Turns out, there’s normally a reason why seats are vacant – as I found out . Apparently, depending on the aircraft type, there’s not always an area for cabin crew to have a break in, so on this Boeing-777 those empty seats were that resting place. Oops! Sheepishly, I went back to my allocated seat. But instead of making the cabin crew annoyed (and rightfully so!), it actually had the opposite effect… lucky! One of the flight attendants happily told me that when the cabin crew had finished their breaks, we were free to use those window seats. The kids jumped at this – they love filming on the phone, so I had a little camereman and woman for my content, winner! As if that wasn’t nice enough, the same lovely flight attendant gave me a Business Class meal as the beef dish I wanted wasn’t unavailable, she gave me an extra shot of vodka in my drink, and gave the kids chocolates and ice cream. What a lovely lady.

7 hour flight done. We arrived in Phuket Airport, straight through security, and to our private transfer to Khao Lak. It took an hour and Lewis fell asleep in the van, but as soon as we got to our room, it was straight back to sleep. Twenty four hours of travelling had took it out of us, but we had 3 days to chill on the beautiful beaches of Khao Lak! Luckyyyyyy! Mark was so right about stopping here first.

Waking up on our first morning in Thailand, the heat hit the kids like a smack in the face. So, there was only one thing for it: pool, ice creams and Coca-Cola! It wasn’t just the heat, either. Another worry that I’d had about going to Thailand with the kids was the food. Would it be too spicy? What would they eat? Why are kids so fussy? But that was just another worry easily solved. You can get chicken nuggets pretty much anywhere in the world – parenting goals right there – as well as things like plain rice and chicken noodles. On the plus side, you get fruit everywhere too, so all those vitamins and goodness cancel out the odd chicken nuggy or two, I reckon.

The best thing about going long haul with the kids is it’s so different to Europe. The food, the people, the things to do, the viral 7-Eleven must-haves. Needless to say, I got serious Mum points for seeking out that lip tint that everyone is talking about. We went on boat trips, saw wildlife, did water sports, ate street food, wore crazy outfits and loved it. That reminds me… we went to Thailand whilst Songkran was being celebrated (that’s Thai New Year to you and me, and basically an excuse for a massive water fight). We got the biggest water pistols in the shop, headed to Phuket Old Town and got soaked to our bones. The 10 year old LOVED it, the husband not so much .

The hotels we stayed in were all geared up for kids too. We spent 4 nights in Khao Lak at the Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort, 5 nights at the Anantara Mai Khao Vacation Club in Phuket, and a couple of nights in Bangkok at Banyan Tree. We also spent one night at Atlantis the Palm in Dubai (you get free entry to Aquaventure with your stay). They had kids clubs, floating cinemas, ice pops for FREE, floaties in the pool, breakfast stations just for kids – yep, pancakes and doughnuts galore – plus pizza on tap and even separate bedrooms (goodbye sharing!) Each night we got so many gifts in our room too. At Anantara Mai Khao Vacation Club and Banyan Tree Bangkok we had sweet treats, cupcake decorating, animals made from banana leaves, stuffed toys, and room spritzes. And let’s not forget Aquaventure in Dubai… it’s no wonder it’s the best waterpark in the world.

Why’s travelling long haul so different? Try sponsoring a baby turtle to be released into the wild. Hopping on the ride of your life in a crazy neon tuktuk. Kayaking down a river with tree snakes. Eating deep fried insects… or not. Swishing bioluminescent plankton on a tiny perfect island by night. This sort of stuff just doesn’t happen when you travel short haul. You’ll make memories everywhere you go, but long haul really does hit different. My kids realise how lucky they were to go on this trip, and I think it’s great that they got this experience. It may be far away, but kids love quiet time and to be in their own little bubbles, and an A380 is definitely the place for that! This was the trip of a lifetime and I couldn’t recommend going long haul with kids highly enough.

So where to next, kids?

Find cheap flights to Thailand for the whole family