Best Airports For Kids

traveling with kidsOver Lucas first 2+ years traveling, he’s visited just a shade under 50 airports.

Over this time we’ve come across some airports which have really fun play areas for kids. As great as these play areas can seem, there have also been times where we’ve had to avoid or distract Lucas from seeing them. When you’re in a rush to catch a flight, there isn’t always time for a play pit-stop!

I came across a slideshow from Conde Naste Traveler which shows the 10 Best Airports for Kids. I was excited to see what made the cut and had a few ideas of my own which I doubted would be there.

Here are CN Travelers picks:

  • Singapore, Changhi
  • Chicago, O’Hare
  • Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
  • Munich
  • San Francisco International
  • Auckland
  • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
  • Hong Kong International
  • Orlando International
  • Amsterdam Schiphol

While Kim and I have been to 7 of the airports listed and Lucas has been to 3, none of these stand out to me from our own experiences.

One airport that has stood out to me over the past few years is General Mitchell Airport (MKE) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which we visited in May 2013.

There are two things of interest, the small but interesting Mitchell Gallery of Flight (a small aviation museum) and an excellent Children’s Play Area.

Here are a few photos of the play area:

traveling with kids

traveling with kids traveling with kids

The play area is roomy and what stood out most were the activities hanging from the wall. Rather than worry about kids falling over lots of tiny pieces, these puzzle/ mazes worked well to keep Lucas occupied.

He also loved flying the airplane as well as climbing over the big blocks.

Do you have any recommendations of airports that are best for kids?

Find out about Conde Naste Traveler’s picks here.

4 thoughts on “Best Airports For Kids

  1. Nathan- Haven’t been to Seattle and have only flown through Stockholm pre-Lucas. We’ll hopefully get to bother one of these days. Thanks for the tip!

    Leslie H- SFO sounds like baby/ kid heaven for an airport! Haven’t been to SF since I was like 10 years old, been wanting to go back. The nursery rooms sound great. They remind me of rooms we saw at a mall in Japan. Nursing in public could be a comfort issue for some. A cover can usually do the trick. As for pumping, probably not so much!

    Andrea- We flew through ATL a few times recently and I don’t recall a decent play area either. Then again, we stayed close to Southwest’s gates & usually grabbed Chic-fil-A before getting on our next flights.

  2. I live in San Francisco, and SFO definitely has some cute play areas that make it nice. My daughter especially loves the new moving art installation in the new United Boarding Area E in Terminal 3. But better yet is the fact that SFO has devoted nursery rooms in each terminal where moms can go to nurse or pump in peace. So many of my working mom friends have found this to be the real challenge of traveling with (or without) their babies.

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