Spending on taxis & impromptu plans: S’porean parents share what travelling with kids for the 1st time is like

Travelling is enjoyable because it allows you to explore a new country, eat new food, and witness brand new sights and sounds.

Travelling with kids, however, brings about a whole new set of joys and challenges that you might never have had to deal with if you previously only travelled solo, with friends, or other adults.

If you are about to travel with your kid for the first time or have ever wondered what it’s like to travel with young kids, you’ve come to the right place.

We got three Singaporean parents to share the highs and lows of travelling with their little ones for the very first time.

Here’s what they said.

1) It is impossible to travel without data connectivity these days

Josephine Kawi is a 35-year-old Singaporean mother to a boy and girl, aged 3 and 1 respectively.

Her first ever trip with her kids was to Melbourne in May 2023.

As this was the first time Kawi and her husband were travelling with a toddler and baby, as well as both her kids’ first flights, they experienced quite a significant amount of stress leading up to the trip.

“We were filled with the typical worries:

• Would my kids be able to equalise their ear pressure during takeoff and landing?
• Would they have a meltdown mid-flight?
• How can we keep our toddler entertained for the entire duration of the flight?”

To mitigate any possible problems on their 8-hour flight from Singapore to Melbourne, Kawi and her husband secured bassinet seats and packed as many snacks and toys they could squeeze onto their carry-on for their children.

Thankfully, both kids were on their best behaviour, took their naps on schedule, and did not have any ear issues or meltdowns.

While Kawi’s flight and travel experience with her kids were relatively smooth, she acknowledges that it could have been made easier if she had gotten a roaming service before leaving Singapore.

Kawi only realised that her phone was not e-sim compatible when she landed.

Neither she nor her husband purchased any sim cards prior to their travels, and they ended up having to purchase physical sim cards upon their arrival at Melbourne Airport which made the process longer than expected.

The process was manageable because her children were cooperative, but Kawi understands that this might not always be the case whenever they travel:

“If we had a roaming service such as Singtel’s ReadyRoam when we travelled, it would have eased the mental load of needing to remember to purchase data, spending extra time fiddling at sim card counters at the airport or latching on to the airport’s wifi, and ensured a much more seamless travel. After all, travelling with young kids is stressful enough without having additional things to worry about.”

Ultimately, Kawi feels that her Australia trip was a success and has boosted her and her husband’s confidence to do more trips as a family.

2) You will need to spend more money and be more flexible with your plans

Chandel Tan is a 29-year-old Singaporean mother to a 10-month-old daughter, Milly.

In July 2023, she went to Barcelona and London with Milly, her husband and her parents.

Tan is thankful that Milly got to fly for free as she was under 2 years of age, and all Tan and her husband had to pay for Milly was just taxes.

One major difference Tan experienced when travelling with Milly compared to without was needing to take the taxi and ride hailing services more often:

“Milly is currently 10kg. Because we needed to lug her and her diaper bag along, everything was bulkier and heavier. As a result, we usually took a taxi or Uber to get around, unlike pre-baby where we would have walked or taken public transport. Even though this new transport arrangement was much more convenient than travelling by train or bus, we had to spend a lot more money as a result.”

Tan also pointed out that their travel plans often changed depending on Milly’s needs, so having reliable data was a necessity in order to do quick research to accommodate any impromptu change in plans.

“Milly naps thrice a day, but sometimes her nap timings can be inconsistent. As a result, our days usually revolved around her schedule. While we had a general pre-planned itinerary, we still had to be nimble and readjust according to what time Milly woke up in the morning because that would affect her subsequent nap times. Having reliable roaming data really helped us in this aspect because it allowed us to be spontaneous and plan on-the-go.”

3) Your child may have jetlag or a hard time adapting to a new environment

Megan Tay (not her real name) is a 35-year-old Singaporean mother to a 2-year-old son, Kyle.

In May 2022, Tay travelled to Denmark with Kyle to accompany her husband on his overseas work trip.

What Tay enjoyed most about the trip was having all the cute photos and videos of Kyle and her to look back on.

However, Tay admits that travelling alone with Kyle while her husband was away for work had its own set of challenges:

“Even if you're not prone to jetlag, your baby may be, and this will keep you up. We eventually solved this problem by sticking to Kyle’s original napping schedule to try and recalibrate his jetlag.”

Tay also confessed that the Airbnb apartment that they were staying in did not have the most reliable WiFi, and she ended up relying on her own data roaming to get food delivery.

This proved to be an essential need for her as her husband was out for work and she couldn’t leave her child in the room alone while he was napping.

So if there is any advice Tay would give to other parents who are thinking of travelling with a baby or toddler for the first time, it would be to get reliable data roaming:

“Internet access is a must for Googling child friendly activities, how to get to places, calling and face timing others.”

Roam like a local with Singtel ReadyRoam

Travelling with kids, while a joyous experience in many ways, isn’t exactly a walk in the park.

From having to deal with possible in-flight issues to spending more money and needing to be flexible with your plans, most parents need all the help they can get in order to have a smoother travel experience with their little ones.

One common thing that all three parents pointed out as a necessity in their travels with their kid(s) was reliable data roaming.

Thankfully, Singtel has just what travel-prone parents need with their set of ReadyRoam plans that ensures connectivity while flying or exploring.

ReadyRoam plans cover 157 destinations such as Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, most of Europe, USA and more.

For starters, the ReadyRoam Neighbours plan that covers Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, goes for just S$5/GB for 30 days.

But of course, with all roaming plans, what matters most is having connectivity that is both convenient and reliable.

With Singtel ReadyRoam, you’ll be able to get high-speed and reliable data connectivity including 5G and LTE coverage by Singtel’s partner operators while you’re overseas.

The cherry on top? Singtel’s partner operators include top telcos, with multiple telcos in each destination, so you won’t be stranded with just one network option.

From now to Feb. 29, 2024, customers will automatically be given a one-time Inflight DataRoam* (24-hour unlimited) on selected airlines and aircraft when they purchase a ReadyRoam Asia, Worldwide, or Others plan.

What’s even better is that it will be automatically activated on the start date of your selected ReadyRoam plan so you literally don’t have to do anything.

Those who need more data roaming can also enjoy discounts after utilising their ReadyRoam data bundles.

Find out more about ReadyRoam here.

*Terms and conditions apply.

This sponsored article by Singtel ReadyRoam opened this writer’s eyes to the joys and challenges of travelling with young kids.

Top image via Canva