The Best Travel Products for Babies and Toddlers
Last Updated on Sep 26, 2024
There’s no one-fits-all when it comes to essential travel products for babies and toddlers. Many parents want to bring their entire house with them even on a day trip, while others are minimalists.
We travel nonstop with our kids. Road trips, long-haul plane rides, different climates, ages, hotels, campervans, apartments – we’ve done it all with the little ones. In the process, we discovered that many gadgets are amazing while others despite being glorified by Insta-moms are a useless waste of money.
In this post on traveling with a baby, I decided to divide these baby packing lists into two categories: essentials, gadgets & what you do NOT need.
After numerous trips with a baby: to resorts, AirBnBs, road trips, over 80 flights with a baby, dozen more with a toddler, traveling with a baby solo, and moving to and from different countries with a baby and a cat in tow too – I’ve learned the best ways!
When it comes to the baby packing list, there’s one word you need to remember: moderation. You don’t want to be that person who travels with a baby bathtub and multiple suitcases.
Trust me, you not only don’t need it, but you won’t be able to get off the plane, through the airports and bring it all alone. It’s not worth your nerves, especially as you can easily live without it (and more importantly, so can your baby).
Best Travel Equipment for Babies 0-12 Months:
Portable Crib / Pack & Play
Recommended: Guava Lotus Crib
Depending on where are you headed you might need a crib, as not all hotels and apartment rentals provide one. I’ll be very real: we have one and we only bring it for extended stays where there’s no option, but most of the time I just try to book a hotel with a crib, so we don’t need to drag an extra item.
However, keep in mind that most of the time you can check up to 2 baby items per child for free when flying – a stroller, car seat, crib, or anything you want.
After we tried a few different I recommend Lotus as it packs the smallest possible and it’s easy to set up (here’s my full review). Things like PeaPod sound great in theory, but I’ve yet to meet a child who’s happy in it and I don’t blame it, it’s like sleeping on the floor.
Travel Stroller
Recommended: Babyzen Yoyo Stroller
A travel stroller is a must for traveling. You want something that folds quickly, fits everywhere, handles rougher terrains, and doesn’t have to be gate-checked.
Babyzen Yoyo ticks all the most important boxes off. After trying every single travel stroller on the market (yes, really!) I can honestly say it’s the best choice.
Portable Sound Machine
Recommended: Hatch Baby Light or Hussh
You never know how noisy your hotel room will be. Or simply if you don’t want to go to bed at 7 pm when the baby does, provide them with noise. This white noise machine is small and easy to pack – just in case!
If you’re planning on staying in an apartment and your baby might have a separate room you might get a Hatch Baby Light instead. It’s a night light with an in-built noise machine. We’ve been using it recently as the main one.
Baby Carrier
Recommended: Babybjorn One Air
A baby carrier is a must, as strollers aren’t allowed everywhere or some spots are simply very stroller unfriendly. With the first baby, we followed the trend and got Ergobaby 360… we surely didn’t like it, so switched to Babybjorn and both the baby and us are enjoying it more.
It’s handy to keep one in the car or under the stroller if you know you might do some hiking or go somewhere where strollers aren’t allowed (museum, observation deck, etc)
Portable Changing Pad
Recommended: any is fine
Changing pad is a useful thing to have as they don’t have changing tables everywhere and especially on planes those hard tables might be cold. Having a portable pad is a life safer for travel.
Car Mirror
Recommended: anything works
Most people these days buy a camera for baby instead of a mirror, but for travel, I say a mirror is easier with rental cars. I’ve never had issues with ours honestly.
You Might Need:
Inflatable Bath Tub
Recommended: Mom’s Helper
A bathtub might not seem like a necessity at first, but you’ll be surprised how many places only have showers. When my first baby was small I simply rinsed him in the shower with me, but from 6 months he hated a shower so a little bath became a must.
More for our sanity honestly. Mom’s Helper is the best for one child and as we found out it also works as a pool riding toy. It works much better than a foldable plastic one. If you have two kids or for kids over 2 we still use this one.
Portable High Chair
Recommended: First Years on the Go & Hiccapop
I never thought a travel high chair was a necessity, but let’s be real: not all restaurants have them. Especially in Europe most do not.
If you’re renting an apartment or even a hotel you might want to eat inside. For babies under 12 months hiccapop booster because it’s so convenient. For older kids, First Years on the Go is the best as it fits every seat type.
Formula Dispenser On the Go
Recommended: PopYum
If your baby is formula fed you don’t want to be carrying a giant bag with powder around. In the past we used these containers can be premeasured at home, but these days there’s something even better – ready-to-go bottles with extra compartments.
Packing Cubes
Recommended: Eagle Creek
Packing cubes are a must for packing baby clothes to get things out of the suitcase quicker and easier, without any confusion.
Eagle Creek is the best brand and they sell them in different colors, so you can color-code each family member.
Drinking Cups
Recommended: CamelBack
My child can drink out of a normal cup, but when we travel we bring something that doesn’t spill as the last thing I want is wet clothes on the plane and that he can also use for nighttime.
Most sippy cups leak, I tested a ton. Camelbacks do not and while they’re not great to clean they’re not awful either and easy to drink from – my younger used it from 10 months up.
What You Don’t Need:
Toys – babies up to 12 months are really fascinated with everything around them. You can throw them anything you have next to you and they’ll be entertained. For my second child usually, a plastic bottle was doing the job 😉
Sterilizing machines – don’t drag a giant machine with you, it’s pure madness. If you really feel like your bottle suddenly needs sterilization on the go you can cook the bottles in hot water, or potentially use a microwavable sterilizing bag.
Slumberpod – popular among influencers, but an unnecessary space taker. You can teach your kiddo to take naps anywhere and this way you won’t need this. We never bring blackout curtains at home so kids can sleep with some light on.
Bottle warmer – there’s no point in dragging it, on top of the fact that it takes forever to actually warm up the bottle in it. You can ask for a bit of hot water for the baby anywhere, even without having to buy anything.
Baby Monitor – never brought mine to travel as we either stayed in a hotel (with one room) or when we stayed in an apartment rental we simply checked on the baby or left the door slightly open. These days you can also use your Apple Watch as a monitor to hear the sound.
Best Travel Products for Toddlers (12 months to 4 years)
Products from the baby stage that still apply:
- Travel stroller
- Travel crib
- Portable High Chair
Travel Car Seat
Recommended: WayB Pico or Hiccapop Inflatable Booster
Once your child is out of the infant seat you’re doomed to a giant one and let’s be real: they’re humongous and heavy.
There are a few portable car seats, such as WayB Pico for smaller kids, then hiccapop inflatable booster and mifold. None of these car seats are ideal, but there are certain situations where you simply cannot bring a full-size car seat so it’s better to have something than nothing.
Bed Bumpers
Recommended: Hiccapop Inflatable Bumpers
Switching our older one out of the crib was the best decision for travel as we don’t need to drag a crib. Wherever we can we move his bed to the wall and use bed bumpers to make things safe for him.
I recommend inflatable ones as they’re naturally way more portable than the traditional bed attachments.
Ride-on Carry On Suitcase
Recommended: JetKids
Ride-on suitcase is a lifesaver for long walks at the airport. Plus, it packs your kids’ toys for the plane. We tried trunki first and while it worked just fine, the wheels weren’t turning very well and we kept getting into things. JetKids is much better. Jetkids also turn into a plane bed, which is super convenient.
Another alternative is a Flyaway Kids Bed, but then it takes away the ride-on suitcase part and it’s banned on multiple airlines.
