Discover the baby travel essentials that made our trip easier! From must-have toys to screen time tips, here’s what helped us travel stress-free.
Traveling abroad with a baby can be both exciting and overwhelming, especially when it comes to packing. When we took our then 15-month-old daughter on holiday, we spent hours researching all the baby travel essentials we needed to make the journey smoother. Like any parent, we wanted to be fully prepared with a baby packing list for holiday to ensure we had everything from must-have gear to everyday necessities.
I won’t sugarcoat it—traveling with a baby comes with its challenges. We experienced more tantrums on that trip than ever before! But having the right toddler/infant travel packing list made a huge difference in handling those tough moments. In this post, I’m sharing the must-have items for traveling with a baby that helped us along the way.
This post is all about 10+ must-have baby travel essentials!
Baby Travel Essentials
Flying with a baby
Before I get into some of the must-have items for travelling with a baby, I want to start by talking about one of the things that really helped us with our outbound flight and not so much with our inbound flight – which shows how important it is.
My biggest advice when travelling with a baby/toddler is to TRY (and I am saying try because it’s not always possible due to availability) to book your flight around their nap times. Our outbound flight was during her nap time. This meant that as soon as we got on the plane, after like 30 minutes of flying, she took her nap. This gave us some quiet time.
However, we struggled with our inbound flight. Because although she fell asleep for a bit, she was overtired as the time she fell asleep was her bedtime. So the car journey back home was full of tantrums which were hard. So, when booking your flight try your hardest to book it during the naps for both the outbound and inbound flights because it will make it just that little bit easier.
Right, let’s get into the toddler/ baby travel essentials!
Baby/toddler Travel Essentials List For The Airport/Flight
1. Tablet
Although this isn’t the exact tablet we took on our trip, I wanted to find an affordable, kid-friendly option that serves the same purpose. In my opinion, a tablet is one of the most essential baby travel items, especially when traveling with a baby or toddler.
Before our trip, we downloaded our daughter’s favorite show—Peppa Pig, of course—so she could watch it without Wi-Fi. When you’re on a long flight, screen time rules go out the window! The goal is to keep your little one calm and entertained, and a tablet does just that. It was a lifesaver compared to handing over our phones, which helped to avoid wasting our charger and saved us from so many tantrums!
2. Baby travel bag
This baby travel essential may seem like an obvious one but taking the right baby travel bag is important. We decided not to take our normal changing bag that came with our baby travel system as it didn’t have enough space and would be uncomfortable to carry with us. So we found this travel bag which was so convenient. It has so much space with multiple compartments to stay organised. It even has a section where you can keep your milk bottles in built-in insulated pockets.
3. Travel Toys
Bringing 2 or 3 small toys can make the flight much smoother, providing an extra way to keep your little one entertained—because yes, even their favorite show can get boring after a while!
You can pack familiar favorites or introduce new toys for added excitement. New toys tend to hold their attention longer since they’re eager to explore something different. We opted for just two toys that were both educational and engaging. A simple coloring book kept our daughter busy for quite a while, especially since it was her first time coloring. Before our trip, I noticed her growing interest in paper and pens, so this turned out to be the perfect distraction!
4. Snacks
Who doesn’t love snacks? Most babies/toddlers love to snack more than they like to eat proper meals. So making sure they have plenty of snacks with you will help to ensure that they are eating even if they refuse a meal. Our little one refused her meals during the journey (even when we got to Turkey) so carrying snacks with us made sure that she was eating,
The 5 compartment container was amazing as we were able to pack different types of snacks for her – this for sure kept her the most entertained!
Other travel posts you’ll find helpful:
Baby Travel Checklist For When You Are Out And About
4. Travel pram
Before we invested in this travel pram we currently have, we had a baby travel system from Ickle Bubba which we loved. However, as she entered toddlerhood we realised that we needed something lighter.
This travel pram was the cheapest one we found and the quality is amazing! Super light too which I loved. This is essential when on holiday because it is so easy and quick to fold when getting on taxis, and so lightweight to push around. It has a decent amount of space at the bottom to fit some of your shopping too!
5. Stroller Fan
This is not just a travel essential, this is essential in general. Our little one threw so many tantrums when we were in Turkey and I know for sure it was because of the heat. The stroller fan helped to calm her down which helped her nap on the go too. This stroller fan can be attached to your pram or can be adjusted to sit up on a flat surface – perfect for when you’re by the pool or at the beach and they need to take a nap.
6. Pram Snoozeshade
If your little one likes to sleep in the dark like my one does then I can’t recommend this enough. Our little one never sleeps in the pram because she’s a tough sleeper but the snoozeshade helps her sleep for as long as possible in the pram.
It is breathable and suitable even during the summer. The stroller fan and Snoozeshade are the perfect combos for naps on the go. As I’ve mentioned before our little one threw so many tantrums, and ensuring that she had a quality nap helped reduce these tantrums which helped us have a better time in the second half of the day. And this is why I can’t recommend the Snoozeshade enough.
Bedtime On Holiday
Many of you who follow me on Instagram or know me personally know how much I struggle with my little one’s sleep, whether that is during nap time or bedtime. However, one of the best pieces of advice I read before traveling was to keep the same bedtime routine. Literally from reading the same books to keeping the same step-by-step routine. This advice helped her sleep the same way as she does at home.
Below I will list some of the bedtime travel essentials that worked really well for us!
7. Baby Travel Cot Shade
Usually, I would always recommend portable blackout curtains because that is what I use at home and helps our little one sleep. However, you are most likely not going to know the exact size of the window in the hotel room. So I found a better option that helped to keep it all blacked out for her.
This one we got was really good, breathable, and kept it dark for her which helped her sleep better especially as our hotel room did not have black out curtains and got really light during sunrise.
8. Bedsheets
We took 3 of our little ones bedsheets for 7 nights. The reason why I am listing this as an essential is because look at it this way – You would sleep so much better in a different environment if you had your pillow with you. Well, I sure would.
This is the same for babies too as it would smell of home. This made her feel like nothing changed when it was bedtime! And alongside her bedsheets, we also took her favourite cuddly toy that she loves to sleep with. So don’t forget to pack a few of your little one’s bedsheets!
9. White Noise Machine
I have spoken about this in my baby essentials post and how amazing it is! A white noise machine is key, even if you are not used to having one at home.
Our little one is an extremely light sleeper and this helped block out the noise from when we were going to the bathroom or moving around the hotel room to get things done.
Also, a lot of hotels will have night entertainment like the hotel we stayed in, and it was loud but luckily the white noise blocked it all out for her.
Beach Essentials
10. Sunscreen
This is an obvious one! There are so many baby sunscreens out there and I didn’t know which one to choose, especially because I was worried as our little one has sensitive skin. Thanks to the mum community on Instagram, so many recommended the Child’s Farm sunscreen. And I approve! Fortunately, it didn’t make her skin react at all and rubbed in really well into the skin.
11. Beach Hat
This beach hat from H&M is so cute and does the job too! They’re cotton fabric so they’re breathable and provide good shade too. The one thing I love about these hats from H&M is that it has a strap that keeps them in their head!
12. Beach Toys
Taking beach toys with us gave us a bit of time to relax without having to keep her entertained. It kept her busy and entertained for a while. The bucket was a winner as she absolutely loved filling it up with sand and then pouring it all out.
13. Swimming Nappies
Don’t forget to pack swimming nappies in your beach bag! The last thing you would want is for their nappies to get all puffed up and make your little one uncomfortable.
Other Baby Travel Essentials
14. Medicine
This was probably the first thing I added to my baby travel checklist because it is so important. You never know what will happen when you’re abroad. When we were in Turkey, our little one started teething badly which resulted in a high temperature. Luckily we were so prepared and had her teething granules and Calpol which helped calm it all down and sleep better. So make sure you pack a baby first aid kit!
15. Bib With Sleeves
Bib with sleeves is so much better than the normal silicone bibs in my opinion. Especially when you are out and about and you want to avoid changing their clothes. I usually feed our little one, but there are some finger foods that I give her and she can get messy.
These bibs helped her avoid getting her clothes dirty when we ate out. Also, they wash so easily and can be wiped with a wet wipe too! The best bibs we ever got for sure.
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This post was all about 10+ must-have baby travel essentials!
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