We have traveled with 4 kids to Europe and Africa in 2018 with a total of 80hours of flying !! 2 from the 4 kids have special needs and one of them had diarrhea on the trip.
No matter how short or long the travel is, each child has their own travel backpack with things like a book, word search, drawing kit, writing book, craft kit, a simple jigsaw, rubix cube, water bottle, snacks etc

As a mum of 4 I know the stress of travelling with kids. I found having s supply of things to do is important. While I don’t usually like them playing electronic devices they were the best thing for travelling long distances. Plus making sure there was enough snacks! I always boarded the plane first to make things easier and get them settled. Most airlines are quite good with this.

I always pack spare clothes for them and me in carry on in case of ‘accidents’ or air sickness. Also, don’t have too strict a plan for what to do each day as I find with kids, things don’t go to plan and that can mean you get stressed. If you have a relaxed idea of what you want to do there’s less stress if things don’t go to plan. Enjoy!

Lots of activities for the plane and look into earplugs from the chemist which may help with blocked ears, especially for the younger one. Good luck!

Thanks all for your tips. I have read the blog thanks for the link. I am going to start preparing a travel bag for them after reading that. We are staying at an apartment which has pools. play ground. Activity room and bbq area. We are so excited I have been showing them photos and my parents are planning everything as this was a christmas present for the kids from them.

Plan – take activities that they enjoy as well as snacks. Games like visual scavenger hunts are great.

If its the first time your kids have travelled on a plane talk to them about it prior to going. Our kids love going away and on planes! To make it easy for you and the kids make sure you pack a bag for the plane that they can have under the seat with books coloring books some treats and water and a couple of cars and so forth so they can enjoy the flight.

Take them to the bathroom prior to boarding as I know my kids when we first travelled on a plane wanted to go to the toilet straight away when we had to be seated. Minamise how many times they need to go to the toilet on the plane as it will become a game and a novolity to them. On take off get them to chew on a lolly or suck on a lollipop so they can unblock their ears and when the plane is about to land I’d make it a game and start counting down from 5 until the wheels reached the ground.

When your away plan fun activities for them but not the theme parks all in a row because they will get tired if your at a resort make the most of using their pool and what they may have to do there and enjoy the beach and walks that maybe near by.

I wrote about travelling with my 2 kids last year. I would certainly use any devices you have for some of the trip. You haven’t got a long flight so it shouldn’t be too bad. Plan for some low tech options too because there are those times of waiting at the airport, take/off and landing which seem to take forever. Your older kids might like a card game they can play together or with a grandparent. Or there are small puzzle games like Q-Twist that can be played independently. Your 2.5 yr old will be the trickiest. Bring books he likes and maybe small cars or playdough. All the best. Here is the link to the article I wrote…
http://www.yourkidsot.com/blog/travelling-with-kids-nightmare-or-nothing-to-it

If you have electronic devices the planes allow you to play them on board so if you allow your kids to do this then this is the easiest thing on boards a plane as they will sit still whilst playing.
I find it best to plan ahead. Book in things you know you can do with all 4 kids ( I have 3 boys 2, 9 & 11).
There is an awesome park opposite Australia Fair near Southport they have BBQ’s that are free and a huge playground that has a huge jumping pillow and many other facilities for children to play on. The Aquaduck was also a big hit for my kids!.
Be sure to keep an eye out on the counters at the airport and in the shopping centres there is a Gold Coast information book that is JAM PACKED full of discount coupons with plenty of things to see and do with the kids whilst you’re there.
Most important!!……You enjoy it yourself.