The Best Travel Gear for Toddlers, Babies & Kids -

Traveling with kids is hard enough, but doing it without the right travel gear? Well, that just doesn’t make sense! In this blog series, I’m compiled my years and miles of family travel knowledge to bring you the my recommendations for the best travel products that will make your family trips a breeze.

In this edition we’ll cover the top travel gear, from car seats and strollers to suitcases and accessories. These products will make your family travel easier and more enjoyable. So, don’t head on your next trip until you check out this list.

Ready to embark on a journey towards a hassle-free travel experience with your little ones? Let’s dive right in!

I may earn a small commission from the links in my posts – at no additional cost to you – and I sincerely appreciate your support. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. I personally own, use, and genuinely love all the products I feature, and I never compromise on this principle.

Keep in mind, you typically can rent baby gear wherever you may be traveling through companies like BabyQuip – so do some research and see if that option works for you before investing!

Travel Car Seat

There are a few options in this category that we absolutely love.

If you’re flying with an infant, the Doona is the ultimate travel with baby hack. It is a car seat and stroller combined (I mean, how genius is that?!). It is also airplane friendly (can attach to your child’s seat), making it great for flights and one less thing to pack.

A more affordable (albeit heavier, bulkier) option that we have used in the past for infant travel is the Chicco Bravo Travel system. The car seat snaps easily into the base and the Chicco Keyfit infant carseat is top rated.

Now that our kids are out of the infant stage, we invested in the Cosco Scenera NEXT convertable carseats. They are affordable and super lightweight (under seven pounds!) They also receives strong safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is FAA-approved for use on a plane. Keep in mind: the shoulder straps are low, so some kids outgrow it quickly, be sure to check the measurements to make sure it will work for you!

If you plan to check your carseat, don’t forget to keep it protected. We use this, which keeps them dry and clean, but if you’re traveling with a more expensive carseat, I recommend this.

The best ways to get your carseat through the airport are:

A travel cart (your kid can actually sit in the car seat while you pull them along)
A bungee cord (you can strap it to your rolling carry on luggage)

If you are not planning to use your child’s carseat on the airplane, but have safety concerns, check out an airplane safety harness.

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Baby Carrier

If your child is under 40 pounds, the very best way to fly is to check your stroller and wear your baby. You’ll have your hands free and it’s so much easier to maneuver in the airport (especially when you’re not constantly hunting down and waiting for elevators). This BabyBjorn carrier is by far the best (and I’ve tried so many). It’s ergonomic and comfortable, even when wearing for a long time. It’s also easy to put on, take off, and secure your child.

Travel Strollers

If you aren’t using one of the options above, I highly recommend packing a lightweight stroller on your trip. Even my 5-year-old still uses one – traveling is a lot of work on tiny legs! My favorite options are:

The UPPABaby MINU V2 – If you plan on only investing in one stroller (rather than one for home and one for travel), and especially if you’re already a fan of UPPABaby products, this stroller is great and well worth the (ahem) price tag. Don’t forget the travel bag!

A more affordable option we like is the Summer Infant 3DMini Convenience Stroller. We bought this when we took our daughter to Disney World because we were worried about our stroller getting stolen or lost in the shuffle (it didn’t). It turned out to be a great stroller, especially for the price!

Now that we’re traveling with two toddlers, we use the Joovy Kooper X2. We have rolled this baby around Disney World and on our Disney Cruises. We prefer a side-by-side double stroller for our kids and find it’s much easier. It fits through almost all doorways and is our newest travel companion.

Travel Crib

I talk more in depth about my favorite travel crib, the BabyBjorn Travel Crib Light, in my post on travel sleep, but it’s worth adding here, too. It’s super lightweight and easy to set up.

Travel High Chair

This clip-on high chair is perfect for travel. You can clip it onto a table at your hotel or rental, or onto a restaurant table when your resturaunt doesn’t have high chairs. It’s portable, washable, and secure. We also love to travel with sticky placemats!

That’s it, my favorite travel gear for traveling with kids.

You’re almost ready to take on travel with toddlers after reading this blog post. Don’t hit the road without reading the other posts in this series:

It’s my goal to make family travel easier, so you spend more time enjoying and less time stressing! Get out there and explore!