I recently shared my best practices and lessons learned from traveling with Wyatt the last two years, and traveling with two over Christmas this year (link here). I’ve found one of the keys to successful travel with kids is having a robust packing list, and ensuring that you’ve checked every box before heading out the door. We also reference it during the trip when traveling between destinations to ensure we haven’t misplaced anything! Below I’ve shared our full kid packing list here for your reference, plus some of our favorite products for traveling with two (I previously posted about traveling with a newborn here). Anything else you think is essential for traveling with kids? Share below in the comments, please!
OUR FAVORITE PRODUCTS FOR TRAVEL WITH KIDS
If you haven’t read my previous post “Traveling with Baby“, be sure to check that out for my favorite products for traveling with baby (< 1 year). This post is focused on how we travel with two, and in particular how we travel with a toddler and a newborn – a whole different ball game from traveling with just one!
Car Seats: We almost always travel with our own car seats for both kids to avoid the cost of renting and because we like to have Wyatt in a car seat in-flight. Note: I have a separate post on how I selected our full-time and travel car seats here.
- Infant Car Seat: For Luke, we use our everyday UppaBaby Mesa Infant Car Seat. We bring the car seat base because it is so easy to install with it and it easily stores in the car seat travel bag when you gate check.
- Convertible (Toddler) Car Seat: For Wyatt, we have a lightweight (11 lbs) convertible car seat for travel (we use the same seat in our nanny’s car). We use the Go-Go-Babyz travel car seat roller board to lug Wyatt’s car seat through the airport.
Stroller:
- Double Stroller: We usually travel with our UppaBaby Vista, with the Mesa Car Seat for Luke and the Rumble Seat for Wyatt. While there are plenty of lightweight double strollers out there, we prefer to travel with the Vista because it is compatible with our infant car seat and has a large storage basket where we can stow our travel bags while navigating the airport.
- Lightweight Travel Stroller: If you are traveling with just one baby, or you have an older toddler who can be controlled in the airport without being strapped into a stroller seat (does not apply to ours!), you might prefer to use a lightweight travel stroller rather than a full-size like the Vista. We also have the UppaBaby Minu, which is perfect for everyday use and would be awesome for travel with one kid.
Travel Bags: I strongly recommend using protective bags for any gate checked items (car seats, strollers) to ensure your expensive gear is not destroyed. The UppaBaby Vista base and Rumble Seat do both fit inside their stroller travel bag (snuggly) – make sure you know how to fit them before you get to the airport. Here is an instructional video to help (link here).
Travel Crib: I’ve raved about the Guava Family Travel Crib before, and I still think it’s a fantastic product. The included backpack makes it super easy to travel with. We also recently purchased this SnoozeShade crib shade (helps when sharing a hotel room) and Marpac Hushh white noise machine to help Wyatt sleep. For Luke, we brought his Dock-a-Tot and he slept well in that every night.
Toddler Entertainment: We are frequently asked how we entertain Wyatt on board during long cross-country flights. I’ll be honest – I feel pretty strongly against screen time in general, but this is one of few occasions I find it a necessary evil. Since most airlines are BYO device these days, we have the Amazon kid tablet and usually load it up with Finding Nemo, PJ Masks, and Peppa the Pig. We also usually bring along a few other small, mess-free toys (though admittedly these buy just a very short amount of time!), like these key ring flash cards or these reusable stickers.
What are your favorite products for traveling with kids? I would love to hear your ideas! Send me a note at [email protected] or leave a comment below. Bon voyage!
