Tips for Traveling with a Toddler

We just returned from our first flight traveling with a toddler, and we survived! 🙂 I wanted to round up my tips for traveling with a toddler from our experience. Sharing everything we brought to keep our toddler occupied on the flight, as well as travel gear for flying with a toddler. I’m also sharing what we had planned to use for our toddler to sleep on at the hotel. Unfortunately our specific hotel room wasn’t quite big enough for the inflatable toddler bed we brought so we had to go to plan B {below also}. But I do really like the mattress and plan to use it for many years to come when traveling and for sleepovers at home. It’s definitely oversized for a toddler so lots of room for them to grow into!

Prior to traveling with a toddler, I asked friends, on my local moms group, and did a lot of research on other blogs. I really felt like I had no idea what we needed or what was best and needed all the tips for traveling with toddlers. Which stroller do you use when traveling? What do you use for toddlers to sleep when traveling? Should we bring our car seat when traveling or rent one etc? How do you keep a toddler occupied on the airplane? There are so many things to consider! Compiling all my tips for traveling with a toddler here in one place to hopefully make it easier for other moms! Honestly, our travel was so smooth so I really hope these things help make your travel with your toddler(s) smooth too!

I hope this article can help answer a lot of those questions for you and give you all the tips for traveling with a toddler. I’m sharing exactly what we did, and what helped us make those decisions for our particular trip. Every flight and destination is different, so I’ll share all the factors to consider too!

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How to Keep a Toddler Occupied on an Airplane Flight

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Naps, Meals & Snacks

Both of our flights were really smooth with Luca thankfully! I highly recommend planning your flight around nap time if you can so that your toddler sleeps for at least part of the flight. Our flight was short {just 2 hours from NJ to Savannah} which obviously makes this easier. If you are taking a longer flight, I would recommend planning your flight for nap time at the beginning of the flight and be prepared with some snacks or a meal once your toddler wakes up in flight. The airport is an exciting and stimulating place for a toddler so it’s likely your toddler will be ready to sleep very shortly after takeoff.

Secondly, if your toddler is still drinking milk, have a bottle ready for him or her to suck on during takeoff to help with the pressure change. This worked really well for us. I think this might be one of my top tips for traveling with a toddler. I purchased these shelf-stable milks before our trip and actually shipped a box directly to our hotel for during our trip. This way we didn’t have to worry about keeping the milk cold while we were on the go. If your toddler is still drinking breastmilk or prefers refrigerated milk, I recommend using this thermos to keep the milk cold or warm through the airport etc. This is what I did for the flight out and it worked great.

If your toddler isn’t drinking milk anymore, try water with a little splash of juice or an apple sauce pouch to help with their ears popping. On my instagram account, @sunseekinginstyle, I have gotten a lot of questions on which straw sippy cup/bottle we use. We love this straw sippy cup because it doesn’t spill {even when dropped over and over}, the straw goes all the way to the bottom, and our son loves to drink out of it.

Snacks are obviously always helpful, though I’m personally against just giving snacks when your child isn’t actually hungry. If you are flying during a snack time or meal time, be sure you are prepared with foods they will eat. I also recommend foods that don’t make too much of a mess. I really like these teething crisps or these puffs for non-crumbly snacks. Again, apple sauce or fruit pouches are great flight options as well as string cheese. Our son really likes all of these too. 🙂

For in-flight meals, I find that grilled cheese, pancakes or waffles without any toppings {I love making these spinach waffles for Luca} are not too messy so great options. I had a silicone bib packed for the flight, my son’s water cup, a grippy toddler bowl, and these surface wipes to sanitize the seat back tray {and the whole space truthfully}. If you are doing more of a full meal, I bring this travel placemat for toddlers whenever we eat out and definitely recommend it. It rolls up nice and small for travel and grips to tabletops pretty well to make a nice placemat for your little one.

Entertainment

Next in my tips for traveling with a toddler is how to entertain a toddler on an airplane. The name of the game is diversity and things that don’t take up a lot of room in your carry on. Our son is obsessed with board books, so I brought one of his favorites that he just likes to flip through over and over. This was also great as our nap routine is always to read a book before nap so we were able to do that to help get him to sleep.

I bought one of these Pop-Its about a month before our flight. I stashed it away so it was a brand new {aka very exciting} toy which lasted him at least 30 minutes straight on the outbound flight before he fell asleep. He also loved it our whole trip so was great for restaurants and the flight back too.

These toy stacking cups are my go to for restaurants and on the go with my son. They nest together so take up very little space, and our son loves to stack them into a tower or nest them. They also double as a bath toy so minimize what you need to pack! Another great trick for the airplane is these post-it flags or stickers. Your toddler can stick them to the seat back or the tray over and over again for a fun, inexpensive game.

I picked up these mess-free Color Wonder coloring pages and markers so Luca could color on the plane too. He really liked them and especially loved stacking the markers. Whatever makes them happy, right lol? A small pack of washable crayons and new coloring book is a great option too.

For Diaper Changes

Changing a baby’s diaper on an airplane or in the airport restrooms {both airports literally just had a hard flat tabletop area} isn’t the easiest feat lol. But here are a few things to make it a little bit better and easier in my opinion. My diaper bag, which I love and recommend, comes with a travel diaper changing pad as most do so I usually use that one. I also use these disposable changing pad covers whenever I change Luca in a public place. It gives you a little more surface area for your little one to lay on, and in the event that there is a blowout or surprise pee-pee, it keeps your other changing pad clean so you can pop it back in your bag and go.

I also recommend bringing diaper disposal bags to put dirty diapers in before putting them in the airplane garbage. Your fellow travelers will thank you 😉 I also have this portable diaper changing pad case that also holds a few diapers and pack of wipes for on the go. It’s a great option for the airplane to have everything in one spot when you don’t have a place to put things down etc. It’s also easy to wipe down. I recommend packing one of the disposable changing pad covers I linked above inside too.

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Travel Gear Tips for Traveling with a Toddler

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Strollers

Choosing which stroller to bring when traveling with a toddler is probably one of the biggest decisions you will make. It comes down to a few things. One, do you have just one toddler or multiple children? Two, will you be walking a lot at your destination or mainly driving a rental car or taking public transport? Three, what is the terrain like at your destination?

For our family trip to Savannah with our toddler, we decided to bring this stroller rather than a travel stroller. Of course a travel stroller would have been lighter weight & a more compact fold. However, we knew we would be walking everywhere while in Savannah {no rental car} and many of the streets are cobblestone or rough surfaces. Because of this, we needed stroller wheels that could handle the terrains we would be on throughout our trip. Also, having the larger storage basket on the bottom of a stroller is very helpful for stashing your diaper bag, a picnic/park blanket, souvenirs or other things you may need or purchase. Another plus is that this stroller was a lot more comfortable for our son to nap in, which he did quite a few times on our trip as we explored the city.

I will say, I was nervous about bringing our nicer, more expensive stroller on a plane {you know how they handle luggage}. But I found out that the maker of our stroller also makes this stroller travel bag that provides a warranty for your stroller during travel! Amazing right? This might be my favorite of all my tips for traveling with a toddler because I was so relieved to find this! Read all the details on their TravelSafe program for all of their products here.

PRO TIP // use the stroller throughout the airport, and once you get to your gate, store it in the bag. I recommend doing a run through once at home so you know what you have to do at the airport to stow the stroller. Also, take care of storing it away in the bag before they start boarding so that you can just roll it {yes the carrying bag has wheels!} right on to gate check it and not have to do it on the loading bridge while people board around you.

If you are traveling somewhere where you will be staying on a resort {not exploring a city, only need the stroller for the airports really} I would probably recommend a lighter weight travel stroller that you can stash away in the hotel room out of the way.

If you are traveling somewhere where you will be taking a lot of public transport {buses, metros/subways, etc.} and walking, I would also recommend a lighter weight, compact travel stroller that folds up quickly. This will help with quickly getting on and off of public transport. My dream travel stroller is this one, which folds up compact with one hand almost instantly.

Here are a couple other things to keep in mind when deciding which stroller to bring. Our stroller, and most everyday strollers, doesn’t fold down very small. So if you are renting a car that you will need to be putting the stroller in and out of, keep in mind, it will take up a good amount of the trunk space. We did not rent a car, but we did Uber to and from the airports. We requested UberXL to ensure there was enough room for our luggage and the stroller.

Additionally, consider if you need to attach a car seat to the stroller. I did gear this post towards toddlers, not infants. But if you are traveling with a child that still fits in their infant car seat and plan to use that infant seat for the plane and/or car at your destination, you will want to make sure it snaps to your stroller. Very few travel strollers offer this capability, but there are some. A friend of mine has and loves this travel stroller which you can attach a car seat to. Also, if you are traveling with a toddler and a baby that is really a whole other situation lol. Hopefully I’ll have another blog post on that for you down the road!

Car Seats

That brings me to the perfect segue to car seat tips for for traveling with a toddler. We weren’t renting a car for our trip and would only be needing the car seat for the trips too and from the airport. Because of this, I originally did not want to bring our own car seat. I felt like it was a bit of a hassle to carry it, check it, install and uninstall it in Ubers, and then take up room in our hotel room. I did find a couple car services in our destination city that provided toddler car seats for free with your booking. However, car services are obviously pretty costly compared to Uber. As I thought about it more, I decided I also didn’t want to use a used car seat, especially during COVID times. So I decided we would just bring our own car seat.

This is the car seat that we have in both of our cars and love. Since I was worried about it being throw around by the baggage handlers at the airports, I wanted to make sure I had it well protected for the trip. I found this padded car seat travel backpack which worked out great. It has a strap inside to keep the car seat in place, is padded for protection, and was actually very comfortable to wear on my back. The backpack straps are also padded, and there is a waist strap for support as well. I packed two packages of diapers inside of the bag too for additional padding {and to save luggage space}. It states it is universal for most car seats, and it fit the one I linked here perfectly. Be sure to set the incline to upright and drop the head rest of the car seat before packing it into the bag!

Check out my post on What to Do & Where to Eat in Savannah for Families here!

Baby Carriers

Depending how well your toddler walks, how independent they are, or your terrain at your destination. You may want to consider bringing a baby carrier so that you can wear your toddler while traveling. I don’t personally have experience wearing my toddler in the airport, though I know for smaller babies, many people prefer this. I also read that often they don’t make you unwrap your baby at security, which is a nice bonus if baby happens to be sleepy or fussy. This could be great for keeping an antsy toddler from running around {aka away lol} and having your hands free for luggage etc.

I HIGHLY recommend this baby carrier. I think this is the best baby carrier for travel. It is more structured than a ring sling or baby wrap so it can hold heavier babies and toddlers. But it also folds up really compact into its own attached storage pouch so it takes up very little room in your luggage or carry on. Not to mention, it’s super chic looking too 🙂

For Sleeping

Last in my tips for traveling with a toddler is toddler sleeping options for your hotel/airbnb etc. Before our trip, I was really torn on what to have our son sleep on in the hotel room. He weighed just about 30 pounds even though he was only 15 months and he was very tall. Because of this, I was concerned about him fitting in our travel crib {pack & play} or the one that the hotel had for borrowing. Our pack & play is also large and bulky for transporting, though it does have a travel bag. It wouldn’t fit within one of our suitcases at all so it would need to be checked separately and would be another thing we needed a hand for in the airport.

I decided to purchase this inflatable toddler travel bed to try after asking around on my mom’s group. It is compact enough to fit inside a suitcase with your other items so doesn’t need to be checked separately. Additionally, it gives your toddler more space for sleeping. Also, if you have an older toddler, it will give them a little more autonomy than a travel crib. The travel cot also comes with a portable electric pump to inflate and deflate it quickly.

I will admit, I was concerned about Luca getting off of it in the middle of nap or nighttime. But we had our monitor with us to keep an eye on him during naps. And with the toddler bed in the bedroom with us we would likely wake up at nighttime if he did. This inflatable toddler bed does have edges all the way around too so I wasn’t concerned about him rolling off at all in his sleep. I packed this tot cot {comes in lots of patterns} to go on top of the toddler travel bed. He had been using it at daycare already, and it has a built in pillow and blanket. A small pillow and blanket would be fine on the inflatable toddler cot too.

Unfortunately the bedroom part of our hotel suite wasn’t quite large enough for us to put the inflatable toddler bed on the ground next to the bed in the room. We considered putting it out in the living area of the suite. However, we wanted to have him with us at night and to be able to hang out in that area during his naps. Because of this, we ended up using the pack & play type crib that the hotel had. I had asked them to hold one for us as backup just in case so was glad I did.

If we were staying in a normal hotel room with more floor space the toddler bed would have worked well I think. It’s also great to have for future sleepovers or if family visits and stays in our toddler’s room we have a place for him to sleep. So even though it didn’t work out for this specific trip, I still think we will get a lot of use out of it!

It is a little pricey, but this travel toddler crib came recommended to me and looks great. It folds up easily and compactly into it’s own backpack. It’s definitely on my wish list for future baby lol.

I hope these tips for traveling with a toddler help you prepare for your next trip. If you have any questions or additional recommendations, feel free to leave them in the comments below or you can always DM me on instagram @sunseekinginstyle!

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