Traveling with a baby isn’t glamorous. It’s logistics, preparation, and just enough hope to make it to your destination with your sanity (and your pacifiers) intact. Whether you’re flying across the country or heading out on a weekend road trip, these baby travel essentials are the best products you can invest in for all your future family adventures.
I’ve been traveling with my babies since my daughter was tiny, so I know what I’m talking about here. Our family takes multiple vacations a year and sometimes we fly, but more often we road trip our way there. You can feel confident knowing these are the things I actually use on our journeys!
This post is focused on travel-specific baby gear you might need and doesn’t cover basic essentials. If you’ve already got most of the big ticket items you need and just want to make sure you pack everything, you’ll want to check out my baby packing checklist that covers ALL THE THINGS down to baby socks and the nasal aspirator. There’s even a free printable AND digital spreadsheet!
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The Biggest Gear
Baby travel success = hands-free, efficient movement. In this case, you actually need to bring more gear to have more opportunities to free up your arms.
First off, for ALL forms of travel, I can’t recommend a travel high chair enough – especially if you’re traveling without another adult. Sometimes you just have to put the baby down to get something done, and floors are filthy! Having an actual seat to put your baby in, assuming they can sit up on their own, is great for feeding, but also simply to have a seat for them.
Air Travel
Use an FAA-approved car seat. I highly recommend a convertible car seat, especially if you’ll be getting your own rental car you can strap it into. If you want to bring your infant seat and base, though, make sure you strap the two securely together so they don’t get separated after being checked! And don’t skimp on the gate check bag – it will get filthy otherwise, and a colorful one can make it easy to spot.
In a perfect world, you could baby-wear or carry the car seat 24/7, but you will get worn at fast trying to do that on vacation. Lightweight strollers can collapse quickly at security and the MAMA & BABY one still allows a newborn to lie flat. If checking your stroller, I highly recommend a travel bag or foam protector for this, as well. You want to ensure it’s intact after baggage handlers have their way with it. And if you don’t already have one, a stroller fan with long, bendy legs will help keep your baby cool in warm climates.
Once you take baby out of the stroller, a soft baby carrier (I preferred fabric wraps that fold up tiny when not in use) lets you keep baby close through security and boarding.
Road Trips
This is my preferred method of vacation with a baby. Everything is so much easier when you have your own vehicle! Make sure your car seat is rear-facing in the center of the backseat, if possible (it can be the kind with a base). Put up window shades and a backseat mirror, but keep an adult in the backseat, too, if you can. It’s way easier to replace a binky that way versus stretching your arm like Elastigirl into the backseat!
Store wipes, toys, and burp cloths in an organizer hanging behind the passenger seat. Stop every 2–3 hours for burp breaks after feedings and diaper checks.
Outdoors or Adventure Travel
If you’re going to go hiking or do a lot of walking, the stretchy fabric carrier isn’t going to cut it. Use a structured carrier like the ClevrPlus Cross Country that has a cover. Don’t forget a UV rain cover and fan for the stroller if you’ll be out for long stretches and alternating between stroller and carrier.
Feeding on the Go
Feeding while traveling can feel like running a pit crew. You need speed, strategy, and backups for the backups.
If Breastfeeding…
I preferred having a nursing cover for public spots – specifically the super-stretchy tube-like kind I could just slide all the way over both of us. It wasn’t too hot and it was easy to put on while still covering everything easily.
A lightweight, battery-powered breast pump is a game-changer during long travel days, and you don’t have to have whole bottles attached to your boobs. Have an insulated cooler bag with ice packs OR loose ice in Ziploc bags to keep your milk bags or bottles in. I learned the hard way that the ice packs the coolers come with aren’t always going to be easy to re-freeze, but hotel ice machines are pretty reliable!
If Using Formula…
Pack pre-measured formula in a dispenser. A battery-powered travel milk/bottle warmer is essential if your baby won’t take cold milk. Bring sterilizing wipes to clean bottles on the go if they might be reused, then use a travel bottle cleaning kit/drying rack for a proper wash in the hotel.
If You’ve Started Solids…
You’ve probably got gobs of regular bibs already, but do yourself a favor and take some disposable ones when traveling. You don’t have to bag them up and worry about washing them before they mold. Just feed and toss!
And even though I recommend the travel high chair 100%, I still always took my high chair cover with me as well. It’s better when actually eating at a restaurant and can also be used on shopping carts.
Diapering and Hygiene Essentials
Even if you already own a shoulder or crossbody diaper bag, you NEED a backpack-style for traveling. And on top of that, I keep a much smaller bag inside that backpack full of diapers, wipes, and my portable changing pad so I don’t have to dig through the whole (jam-packed) diaper bag for quick changes. Disposable bags keep smells in check until you find a bin, and double as storage for soiled or wet clothes until you can wash them.
Babies can sometimes go long stretches without a bath, but I wouldn’t count on this. All it takes is one blowout or particularly sweaty day to make one necessary. A travel baby tub isn’t optional, in my opinion. Many hotels don’t have tubs anymore for you to lie in the water with your baby while you wash them (and if you’re traveling without another adult, that is not a safe option anyway). And I will never trust a hotel sink to be clean enough to put my baby in.
We tried an inflatable tub, and I would not recommend them because the sides get so slippery it was hard to keep my baby sitting up to wash her. So even though the foldable one takes up more luggage space, it’s the better choice in my opinion.
Sleep & Comfort Essentials
Sleep is where the trip wins or loses. Recreate your baby’s home sleep environment as much as possible. Use a compact travel crib – a pack n play works just fine. I would not rely on wherever you’re staying to provide a pack-n-play or anything similar. The one time we asked for one at a hotel, it was covered in mold, so we co-slept instead.
Bring their usual sleep sack or swaddle. My daughter literally could not sleep without white noise, even for naps, and this little portable speaker is perfect. A travel blackout shade helps in bright hotel rooms, but we have also used black trash bags when we forgot ours.
Health & Safety Musts
Your baby won’t need a thermometer – until they do, right. My husband (to this day) thinks I’m crazy every time I pack our ear thermometer, despite having two instances where it sussed out a fever while on vacation! These days, though, I’d spring for a touchless one.
Bring baby-safe sunscreen and a wide-brimmed sun hat for sunny destinations. Baby-friendly essential oil bug spray can help, too.
If you’ll be staying in an AirBnB or similar multi-room rental, you may want to bring along an expandable, hardware-free baby gate. Just like at home, you’re going to need to be able to corral your baby in their bedroom at some point.
Traveling with a Baby
Hopefully I’ve offered a ray of light with these baby travel essentials, giving you confidence that you can actually pull it off! Keep in mind that these are just the items you may not already have on hand, and you still have a lot more you need to pack from your nursery. That’s where my baby travel checklist comes in handy.
Successful travel with a baby in tow isn’t just about what you bring, though. Before you go, check out my article on how to travel with a baby – it covers ALL the ins and outs, from pre-planning to how to keep your baby calm on a road trip. If you’ll be flying, that’s a whole other beast, so read up on how to fly with a baby.
Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get everywhere, pack twice as many diapers and wipes as you think you’ll need, and go for it. Once you have the first trip down, it gets easier every time!
