Toddler Travel Tips: What We’ve Learned and Our Favorite Travel Items
SHOP MY LOOK | CONRAD’S OUTFIT (SIMILAR)
Get travel Ready with these
toddler travel tips
Traveling with a baby is no easy feat and requires a lot of planning, and each trip brings new challenges and adventures. Recently, we embarked on our latest trip to Anguilla with our 13-month-old son. Despite having over 20 flights under our belt, traveling with a newly mobile toddler felt like navigating a whole new ballgame. So today, I thought it’d be helpful to share some of our tried-and-true travel tips and must-have items for making your trips with your baby or toddler smoother and more enjoyable. In case you missed it and are looking for more travel-related posts, I previously shared baby travel tips: part one, baby travel tips: part two, our favorite luggage, our top travel tips, and five tips for traveling while pregnant.
PLANE ESSENTIALS
Tips For Toddler Travel:
PLAN AHEAD:
Check the airline's policies on traveling with infants and toddlers, including what items you can bring on the aircraft. If you’re able, try reserving bulkhead seats, if possible, for extra space. You cannot sit in an exit row with a baby/toddler, as they will need to be willing and able to assist in an emergency. While it’s always great to capitalize on anything free, if you can swing the cost of a seat for them, I would encourage it. We were able to bring our car seat on board (which we will soon outgrow), which is great to be able to strap him in for takeoff/landing, and he does sleep in it, which gives my arms a rest in flight.
PACK SMART:
In my humble opinion, anyone who says they can pack light with a child is simply lying. As someone who has spent years perfecting my packing routine and ritual, I find it incredibly challenging to pack minimally for a baby/toddler. I try to spread the baby stuff evenly throughout the luggage, just in case we get separated from anything. Keep essentials like diapers (think enough for a worst-case scenario), wipes, a change of clothes, snacks, medicine, and favorite toys or books in your carry-on. Having these items handy can help manage any in-flight emergencies or meltdowns. If you can swing it, I would recommend throwing in an extra shirt/outfit for yourself too just in case of any major blowouts or spills.
SNACKS AND MEALS:
Now that Conrad is eating solids, (almost) anything is fair game. I packed various snacks and scooped up a few easy-to-eat meals from the airport (cheese cube box, fresh fruit, etc). Introducing new foods can be a fun distraction, but make sure to bring trusted favorites as well. We love and swear by these puff melts, and I also love these wafers and these shelf-stable pouches. I would strongly encourage you to use one of these snack cups; we also have this one, which works as a great activity for getting the snacks. If you have a toddler who likes to throw things, I would strongly recommend investing in these toy straps, which can allow you to easily attach your cup, toy, etc., to your seat or car seat so that it doesn’t go flying. I would also recommend having a water cup or bottle ready to go for ascending/descending to help with the cabin's pressure for their ears.
I traveled with breast milk but now that we’re onto whole milk, I can’t recommend these powder packets enough. While you’re able to bring milk through security, it does require additional screening, so I thought that these were the easiest to use and mix quickly with water.
ENTERTAINMENT:
Keep your toddler entertained with a mix of activities, like coloring books, interactive toys, and pre-downloaded videos on a tablet. Conrad didn’t really care about the tablet quite yet, but we did have Dancing Fruits pre-downloaded on our phones, which came in handy several times—sharing more of our favorite toys and essentials above!
STRETCH BREAKS:
If the flight is long, take advantage of opportunities to walk up and down the aisle with your toddler. This helps burn off energy and reduces restlessness. We got lucky on one of our flights, and the last row was completely empty, so after a diaper change, I let him crawl on the seats (without disturbing the people in front of us).
NAP TIME:
If you have the option, try to schedule flights around your toddler’s nap times. They won’t sleep perfectly, but even if they sleep for an hour or two during the flight, that is a win. As of now, we’ve gotten lucky enough for him to sleep in his car seat, which we will most likely outgrow by the next time we fly. So, if anyone has any experience with these in-flight toddler beds, I’d love to hear about your experience!
BE PATIENT AND FLEXIBLE:
Travel can be unpredictable in every way imaginable. As hard as it can be, try to stay patient and flexible, and remember that a positive attitude can make a big difference. I do think they feed off of your vibes/energy! I always like to set low/no expectations; that way, I’m rarely disappointed.
On-the-go gear & sleep solutions
I have more of our finds saved to my Amazon Storefront lists titled “newborn favorites” and “baby items.”
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
A FEW Go-To Travel Items for Baby/Toddler:
Lightweight, compact stroller or car seat on wheels. I like this one (borrowed from a friend) because it can go in the overhead bin so you don’t need to gate-check it.
Portable travel crib that we’ve used this on several trips, and my mom keeps one at her house; it folds down easily, and you can check it for free!
Baby carrier for hands-free movement
Noise-canceling headphones for sensitive ears (we never used these, but I bought them just in case)
Portable high-chair, which we use at home all the time for outdoor eating and came in handy for on-the-go situations
Aside from the obvious, what would you add to this list?
Thanks for reading!
I hope this post was helpful, and I will be sure to update and/or share more of our findings and learnings as we travel to our next adventure. Be sure to check out my previous travel guides and trip recaps on the “travel” tab of the blog. I also have more things related to motherhood and pregnancy on my “motherhood” tab of the blog.
xx CMK