• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Work With Us
  • Shop
  • Blog Coaching
  • Disclosures
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Amazon
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t fe It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t feel like it in Miami, it really never does but that just gives us a reason to explore other states. West Virginia is one of them, fun fact I actually lived here between undergrad and grad school! Here are Things to do in West Virginia (SAVE + SHARE): 

1. Enjoy New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, or visit any of the states 35 state parks as West Virginia has 1.5 million acres of parks and public land. We personally walked the Shavers Lake Trail and canoed on the lake. 

2. Enjoy some serious adventures! We’re always trying something new and West Virginia offers a lot of options from whitewater rafting, to 1,000+ miles of off-road ATV trails, to rock climbing, caving and mountain biking . 

3. Take a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad which stops at the Whittaker Camp where those who worked in the lumber and coal industry lived during the work season. 

4. Explore Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where you might just get to see some black bears! 

5. Walk the Falls of Hills Creak trail to get up close to some gorgeous waterfalls! 

This week I’ll be sharing various cities and states you can experience a beautiful Fall getaway. What are some of your favorite places to enjoy autumn?

Tap the link in my bio for my West Virginia blog post and a blog post of the best places to experience Fall in the US!
Still not over our day exploring the waters of For Still not over our day exploring the waters of Fort Pierce. We danced, snorkeled, fished and went tubing. Definitely want more days like this and still pinch myself that this is what a day of work looks like for me sometimes. Thank you @seadoo for the opportunity.
If you know my husband you know water activities a If you know my husband you know water activities are his favorite! Fishing, jet skiing, just being on a boat on the ocean relaxing, name it, he’s there. So we couldn’t be more excited than to not only get the chance to test out the new @seadoo Switch but be the stars of a whole commercial for it. We had entirely too much fun filming this. Of course now he wants to buy one!

Do you like getting out on the water? Favorite activity?
Our 3 Day London Itinerary (SAVE + SHARE): 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 1: Walked across the Tower Bridge (you can take a tour of London of Tower as well), walked along the River Thames and took a make a fascination hat class with @create_your_own_hat! 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 2: Harry Potter walking tour, checked out Borough Market and went on a night ghost bus tour. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 3: Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen, Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guards, and explore Westminster for the infamous red telephone booths, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

If you have more time on previous visits to London we have taken a day trip to check out Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, rode the London Eye, took a ferry ride down the Thames River, checked out Warner Brother Studios, and did a graffiti/street art tour.

Is London on your list? If you’ve been what did you do that you think is a must for visitors?

Things to do in London, London with kids, family travel
Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are no Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are not babies anymore. Where has the time gone? Excuse me while I go cry in the corner 😭😭😭😭. 

Too in my feelings to provide an informational post, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? List Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? Listen replace husband with whoever you need to but why these ppl keep acting like we can take our money when we’re gone?!? Y’all feel me or nah? 😅😬😩
Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is us Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is usually on everyone’s things to do in London list but since the girls and I don’t eat beef or pork the menus for most places didn’t make sense for us as they are filled with ham sandwiches and other things we don’t eat. I ended up finding Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen instead which offers a tea menu with breakfast items, while not traditional it worked best for us! It cost £35 pp.

For a traditional Afternoon or High Tea Try:

🫖Palm Court at The Ritz
🫖The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason
🫖Theatre Royal Drury Lane
🫖The Grill Room Hotel Cafe Royal (has vegetarian an vegan options)
🫖Coronation Afternoon Tea at Cellarium, Westminster Abbey
🫖The Rosebery Coronation Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
🫖The Goring Hotel

Afternoon Teas Geared Towards Families:

☕️Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at Aqua at The Shard
☕️Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel
☕️Jungle Book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
☕️Secret Garden Afternoon Tea at Taj 51
☕️The Buzzy Bees Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel
☕️Grover’s Children’s Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel
☕️The Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
☕️Sherlock Holmes Inspired Afternoon Tea at the Mind Palace
☕️Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych
☕️Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson
☕️Wizard of Oz Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel

Have you done a proper Afternoon or High Tea in London before? Was the one you did on this list, if so what did you think of it? If you have additional recommendations please do leave a comment!

The Traveling Child

If kids live there, kids can visit!

  • Affording Travel
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Kenya
      • Morocco
    • Asia
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
    • Australia
    • Caribbean
      • Aruba
      • The Bahamas
      • Barbados
      • Cuba
      • Grand Cayman
      • Jamaica
      • Puerto Rico
      • Trinidad
    • Central America
      • Costa Rica
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Denmark
      • France
      • Italy
      • Spain
      • The Netherlands
    • North America
      • Alaska
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Hawaii
      • Idaho
      • Illinois
      • Kansas
      • Louisiana
      • Mexico
      • Nevada
      • New York
      • South Carolina
      • South Dakota
      • Tennessee
      • Texas
      • Utah
      • West Virginia
      • Wisconsin
    • South America
      • Brazil
      • Colombia
  • Travel Tips
    • Tips on Traveling with Kids
    • Trip Planning Tips
  • Reviews
    • Airline Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Product Reviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Buy Our Book
  • Blog Coaching

How Old Does a Baby Have to Be to Fly

June 30, 2016      Tips on Traveling with Kids

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

How old does a baby have to be to fly? This question is a popular one and I’m constantly asked how old my daughters were on their first trip. As someone who loved to travel prior to having kids and frequently traveled pregnant I knew having kids wouldn’t limit my travels. My eldest took first trip was at 6 weeks on a flight from New York to Miami to visit family. Her first international flight was to Jamaica at 8 months doing an island tour and visiting Ocho Rios, St. Elizabeth, Negril and Portland.

With my youngest we had to move cross country immediately after her delivery and flew with her at 11 days old. When I was telling friends and family how soon we were traveling with her they all said “Can a baby fly that young?” Yes a baby can! Here is more information on how old a baby has to be to fly and practical tips for traveling with young kids.

mom holding newborn in front of pretty door
Traveling with my newborn internationally ay 10 weeks old.

Get the Go Ahead From Your Pediatrician to Fly with a Newborn

When we flew with our newborn we got the go ahead from her pediatrician before buying our plane ticket. Everyone has different views on vaccinations but as we flew with one child for the first time at 11 days old she obviously hadn’t completed her first round of vaccines. We spoke with our pediatrician and she gave us the go ahead to fly. She moved one of her visits up as a last check up and we got the final go ahead the day before our flight. I suggest purchasing travel insurance for any flights with newborns in case you need to cancel. We needed to travel so early because we had to move from New York to Miami and I wasn’t really about a 16 hour+ road trip with an infant. Just imagine all the stops we’d have to make to nurse, burp, and change her diaper!

How Old Does a Baby Have to Be to Fly on Each Airline

No matter how comfortable you are with traveling with a newborn the airline you book will dictate the age they’re okay with. Always check their age restrictions before booking a flight with young kids. While one airline may allow babies as young as two days others may have age minimums as high as 7 or 14 days. American Airlines allows babies as young as 2 days old to fly. JetBlue has a restriction of 3 days, however they do require a doctors note for children under 14 days old. Other airlines start allowing babies to fly at 14 days old and do not require a physicians note. Be sure to double check with the specific airline below as rules are always changing.

  • Southwest
  • JetBlue
  • United
  • American Airlines
  • Delta
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Alaska Airlines

Documents Needed When Traveling with Young Children

While kids under 16 don’t require any ID to fly domestic, if you’re traveling with a newborn or lap infant you’ll want to travel with some documents. When the airline you’re flying requires a doctors note for kids under a certain age be sure to get one! Whether they are just a few days old or even two weeks from the minimum age bring their birth certificate or immunization forms to verify their age. Seriously, who can tell the difference between a 7 and 8 day old!

The same goes for traveling with lap infants. Even though without a seat infants under two fly for free sitting in an adults lap always bring their birth certificate, immunization records, or passport if they have one. While most people can tell a six week old isn’t two, Southwest Airlines has been notorious for asking to see proof of age even for kids clearly under two.

I have yet to be asked for ID for my children but I carry their passports with me each time to be safe. Once at the airport I saw a very angry parent get turned away when the he couldn’t provide proof of age for his lap child. The gate agents would only allow him to board the flight with his daughter if he paid for a ticket for her on the spot since he could not prove she was under two. Not only is buying a plane ticket the day of expensive, there is no guarantee the flight will have available seats to purchase. Better to be safe than sorry!

When my daughter was 10 weeks we had an amazing time in Cartagena, Colombia but before you book an international flight make sure your child has a passport. All kids regardless of age require one, here is an easy guide to applying for your child’s passport.

baby eating passport

Documents Needed for Traveling with Kids Without Both Parents

If you are traveling internationally with a child without one or both parents you may be required to provide proof of consent. Some countries require this while others don’t but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Cruise lines also require this form or one found on their website. I traveled to Italy with my daughter without my husband and while Delta Airlines didn’t ask me for a consent letter when checking in for our flight Royal Caribbean requested one when embarking the ship. The agent really looked through my letter and we would have been turned away if we didn’t have one. You can make a free travel consent form here.

If you have sold custody of the child you will need to provide proof of this in the form of:

  • Court order granting sole legal custody
  • Judicial declaration of incompetence of the non-present parent
  • Death certificate of the non-present parent
  • Certified copy of the child’s birth certificate listing you as the only parent
  • Certified copy of an adoption decree listing you as the only parent

Once you have all the document needed to fly be sure to prepare yourself for getting through security with kids, flying with babies, flying with toddlers, or surviving long haul flights with kids.

Flying with Newborns is Typically Easier

People were always surprised I traveled with my daughters at such a young age. Since we’ve continued to travel with them I can confidently say traveling with kids 5 months and younger is actually the easiest. When traveling with kids in the newborn stage they don’t need anything! Just nurse or give them a bottle and change their diaper and you’re set. You don’t have to worry about them wanting to crawl or be on the move or entertaining toddlers.

baby sleeping in bassinet
My young daughter sleeping in the airline provided bassinet on our overnight flight.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

The hardest part of flying with young children is using the bathroom! My go to trick was to always wear my baby in her carrier and use the toilet that way. However, often times the flight attendants at the back of the plane would offer to hold the baby while I used the bathroom. Don’t be afraid to ask, most people are quite helpful.


Deciding How Young is Too Young to Fly is a Personal Choice

At the end of the day deciding how old a baby has to be to fly is really up to your comfort level. At the same time it’s always great to learn from others’ experiences. We had an Instagram conversation around this question where many parents weighed in about how old their child was on their first trip and their experience. Check it out for insight and it’s not too late to add your own comments to help other parents in the future as well. You can leave them below and/or on that Instagram post. If you’ve made the decision to fly with your infant here are 8 tips on flying with babies and 3 things to consider when traveling with young kids.

Did you find this post helpful? Please share it with others trying to figure out how old a baby has to be to fly.

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Share32
Tweet
Pin31
Email
Share
63 Shares

Newsletter Subscribtion

 
Join Our Mailing List
You'll get tips on affordable travel, flight deals and detailed itineraries for every trip we've been on (family, girlfriends getaway, baecations and solo) to make your planning process easier.
Thank you for subscribing!

Primary Sidebar

  • Amazon
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter
You'll get tips on affordable travel, flight deals and detailed itineraries for every trip we've been on (family, girlfriends getaway, baecations and solo) to make your planning process easier.
Thank you for subscribing!

Recent Posts

  • Warm Places to Visit in December (January and February)
  • How to Travel Hack Long Layover Flights
  • Best Snowy Places to Visit for Winter Vacation
  • Best Tips for Planning a Group Trip
  • Things to do in Long Beach with Kids

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

Facebook

FOLLOW US ON PINTEREST

Copyright © 2023 The Traveling Child, LLC.