43 ages of travel: The ultimate guide

This is the definitive guide to the 43 ages (and six heights) of the travelling man, or woman.

Minus 12 weeks: if your expectant mother plans to travel by air in the 28th week of pregnancy, she needs a certificate confirming her fitness to fly on many airlines.

Minus eight weeks: British Airways does not carry women who are pregnant with more than one baby after 32 weeks.

Minus four weeks: BA will not let women with single pregnancies fly after 36 weeks.

Nought: Eurostar will take you through the Channel Tunnel from London St Pancras to Amsterdam, Brussels or Paris on the day of your birth, in theory, but as you will need your own passport to travel abroad (beyond Ireland) it is irrelevant because you must wait “around three weeks” for your first UK passport.

Eight days: Ryanair will let you fly, but your fare may be higher than your mother. The flat infant fare is £25. Oh, and even if you are only going to Ireland, Ryanair insists you have a passport.

BA also has a minimum age of eight days, with additional stipulations for premature births.

Two weeks: easyJet will let you fly.

Four months: Neilson will welcome you into its Starfish Creche; the activity operator has eight separate age bands for children’s activities.

Six months: Crystal Ski’s Pepi Penguin Nursery is all yours, until you are four. Many cruise lines will allow you aboard, though for some longer voyages (typically those with three or more consecutive days at sea) the minimum age is one year.

Two years: on many scheduled flights you must pay the full fare (less Air Passenger Duty).

And it's time to start paying the child fare on some trains. The railways of the US, Canada, Colombia and Namibia will charge you half the adult fare.

Three: time to pay half fare on Taiwanese trains, and on Inca Rail links to Machu Picchu in Peru. Full fare in Indonesia, but your parents are unlikely to be bankrupted as a result: the 100-mile run from Jakarta to Bandung clocks in at a reasonable £6, through the handy English-language website en.tiket.com.

What you pay on some other railways depends on how fast you grow.

90cm: you now need to pay half fare on trains in the Philippines. But you can go unaccompanied on the Peter Rabbit Hippity Hop ride at Alton Towers.

100cm: half-fare on Thai and Chinese railways.

110cm: ditto, in Chile.

3ft 8in (112cm): until this height, you travel free on New York's subway and buses.

Four: you start paying child fares on Eurostar and on the trains of Australia and New Zealand.

120cm: time, or rather height, to pay full whack on trains in the Philippines.

Five: most British and European rail and bus operators charge you half fare – though Transport for London allows anyone aged 5-10 to travel free when accompanied by an adult.

Exodus Travels’ adventure holidays start at age 5, with a two-week family trip called the Tropical Island Wanderer to Sri Lanka.

Six: time to pay half fare on Japan's Bullet Trains.

Seven: Dragoman will welcome you on a family adventure, for example on an overland truck from Victoria Falls to Windhoek via Botswana. And many of the the most generous train operators are in southern Africa: Zambia, South Africa and Botswana Railway; you only start paying half fares now.

Across in Madagascar, though, adult fares now apply.

PGL Summer Camps are now open to you.

Eight: The minimum age for the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb – but you must also be at least 120cm tall.

140cm: minimum height for the five most exciting rides at Alton Towers, including Nemesis and Oblivion.

11: to qualify for free buses and trams in London, and child-rate fares on the Tube, you must pay £15 for an 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard.

12: the age when everything gets more expensive. Train operators in many countries – including most European nations – insist you should pay full fare. And boys are now banned from ladies' carriages on trains in Pakistan.

Most of those airlines that have child fares until now make you pay full fare. No 1 Lounges now categorises you as an adult.

But there is some good news: Eurostar will let you travel unaccompanied between London, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris through what quaintly used to be called the Chunnel (ask an elderly relative about this term). And you can stay in a Youth Hostel dorm, though with an accompanying adult.

14: British Airways will allow you to travel on your own, though your parents/guardians must fill in a form. You can stay in a German youth hostel on your own, with your parents’ consent. And you can start driving with a learner’s permit in the US states of Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and North and South Dakota.

15 years 9 months: you can apply for a provisional UK driving licence, but you can’t start driving a car until 17.

16: You are now expected to pay full fare on British trains, but you qualify for the 16-17 Saver which costs £30 per year and gets you half price on the railways.

Visiting London? You’ll now need the 16+ photocard, valid until age 18. (Residents of the capital get extra benefits.)

Air Passenger Duty now applies to all the flights you take from the UK, adding anything from £13 (short-haul economy) to £172 (long haul in anything but economy).

On an easyJet or Ryanair flight, you can travel unaccompanied.

You can stay in a UK youth hostel without an adult.

And on a P&O cruise, you can be left unaccompanied on board at a port of call.

17: at last you're an adult on Mozambique Railways.

18: you are old enough for that Tui river cruise you’ve always wanted, and can take a Tui Scene holiday without a note from a parent or guardian.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic will accept your application to work as cabin crew.

Europcar will rent you a vehicle in South Africa (120 rand daily surcharge). In New York State, Hertz will hire you a car ($52 a day surcharge). And you can rent a car in Saskatchewan without any under-age fee.

19: the minimum drinking age in most Canadian provinces (in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec it is 18).

Centauro of Spain will rent you a car.

20: you can now legally order a drink in Paraguay.

21: minimum age for renting a car in Florida, though there is a young driver surcharge of typically £25 per day.

23: Avis and Hertz will rent you a car, but charge an extra fee of around £35 per day.

25: Most of the car-rental surcharges vanish, but there are restrictions on the kinds of car you can drive.

26: you no longer qualify for the 16-25 Railcard – though you can buy one on the eve of your 26th birthday, and it will be valid for a full year. The 26-30 Railcard takes effect, though its benefits are not as good.

Residents of the European Union must start paying to get into the Louvre (for non-EU residents, the age is 18).

27: you start paying extra for youth hostels in Germany.

28: you are no longer a youth in the eyes of Interrail.

30: Hertz UK will now rent you a Ford Mustang, a Bentley GTC or a Lamborghini.

31: you no longer qualify for the Australia Working Holiday visa unless you have the good fortune to be an Irish or Canadian citizen, in which was you can stretch it to 35.

35: you are now too old to stay in a dorm at the Hans Brinker hostel in Lisbon and Amsterdam.

36: Contiki, the youth travel organiser, will no longer accept you.

40: you are no longer welcome on G Adventures' 18-to-Thirtysomethings tours.

50: you qualify for Saga holidays (though travelling companions can be as young as 40).

ScotRail invites you to join Club 50 (£15 annually) which is a kind of trainee version of a Senior Railcard. Scotland only, 20 per cent off advance and off-peak tickets.

60: a real Senior Railcard will put you back on a par with those under 30, saving you one-third off rail travel in the UK. If you are feeling fit, buy the three-year version, price £70.

And Interrail will give you a 10 per cent discount off adult fares.

65: start watching for those insurance policies that reject or surcharge older travellers.

70: private pilots in the UK must start self-declaring to the Civil Aviation Authority that they meet the same health requirements as a ordinary driving licence – which mainly involve visual acuity.

75: Europcar will not rent you a car in Argentina or Lebanon. And the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb demands a Certificate of Fitness signed by your GP.

80: Explore will “discuss the itinerary with you before booking you on the trip” and may ask “additional questions about your health and fitness”.

99: many car rental firms will no longer hire you a vehicle.