The journey back home is never the best part of your holiday. Geneva Airport tends to be a busy hub for international travel, sometimes making it a challenging place to navigate with children.

However, help is at hand at Geneva Airport, in the shape of the airport’s best-kept secret – the departure lounge for under-fives! Read on to find out all you need to know about Geneva Airport’s departure lounge for under-fives…

We made a recent trip through Geneva Airport, with a lively 1 ½-year-old on my husband’s shoulders.

Instead of frantically looking at the departure board and running to the gate, we took a moment to breathe and happened to glance at a rocking horse symbol next to the board labelled “kids area”.

It was a short lift ride to a quiet part of the airport, just above the hustle and bustle of frantic coffee-drinking travellers. All of whom were none the wiser of the ample seating and calm atmosphere that lingered above them.

Why had we never noticed this before?

Rules of the Kids’ Area…

• The Kids Area is for the use of children up to 5 years of age.
• Children must remove their shoes and adults must use the slip on plastic covers provided. There is a shoe rack just outside the room where you can safely leave your shoes.
• Food and drink must not be eaten in the nursery area. There is a small kitchenette where you can prepare and eat meals.
• Luggage, strollers and bulky items must be stored in the areas provided for this purpose.  There is room for suitcases and strollers just outside the room as well as a small area within the nursery, where you can leave your coats, handbags, important items and nappy bags.
• A single adult per family is authorised to accompany his or her child. With plenty of quiet seating just outside the nursery, this means that one of you can have a little rest. (Although they had no problem with both myself and my husband going in with our little one.)

The Play Area

The free play area was fantastic for our toddler. The room has a play kitchen, with plenty of drawers and cupboards to keep him occupied.

There is a low table  for drawing and colouring and also a reading area, with books in many languages.

A departures board is also in the reading area, which was great as it meant we didn’t rush anywhere to look for one.

A real bonus for families travelling with very young children is the sleeping area.

It has 6 bunk bed style cots with seating for adults around them.

The changing facilities in the kids area was also a pleasant surprise, with two changing areas complete with nappies and wipes.

However, do come prepared as they may not have all the nappy sizes you need.

There is also a mini toilet for the older toddlers and children.

I should mention that we were travelling outside of the holiday season, so we were the only people using the facility. We did speak to the receptionist on the desk, who informed us that even during the busier travel times, the kids area was quite a chilled out place to be.

We will definitely be using the kids area again on our next trip through Geneva Airport. Although, I will still have to plan for a coffee stop at some point!