Traveling with your kiddo(s) and wondering how you can be well prepared? Here are 10 practical tips for traveling with a toddler to help make your trip easier…with less stress & more fun!
Cammie and me at Big Bear Lake, CA last month (Oct 2021)
I’m passionate about traveling the world and seeing as much as I can, and I knew I wanted to continue traveling often after I became a mother. Exploring new places and getting out of my comfort zone brings me a lot of joy, and I wanted to mold my daughter into a good little traveler as early on as possible.
When Camryn was just a couple of weeks old, we ventured out on a little road trip from our place in New England to visit my parents on the Jersey shore – and we’ve been traveling often ever since.
Hiking in Maine in October 2020
Traveling with a little one certainly hasn’t always been easy – hello, months of infant car rage whenever we hopped into my vehicle, followed by eight months of Cammie getting car sick whenever we went on a long ride! In general, I’ve found that there’s a lot more that needs to go into trip preparation once you have a baby. But over these past 2+ years, I’ve learned a lot about how to give us the best shot at a smooth trip with my daughter.
While we had thought we’d have a few trips abroad with her under our belt at this point, those big trips have been put on hold amidst the coronavirus pandemic. However, from road trips to places like Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, to frequent visits to our families in Jersey, to trips to California, we’ve managed to travel and see a lot! Today, I’m sharing my top tips for traveling with a toddler, which are sure to help make your travels with your little one(s) as easy breezy as possible. Let’s get to it!
10 Tips for Traveling With a Toddler
Taking in the beauty on an autumn road trip to Woodstock, VT last month, Oct 2021
Stow away fun toys and books beforehand, then reintroduce them on the trip.
Camryn has never been a kid that can just sit in a car or on a plane and relax for a bit. She’s a high-energy kid that requires constant entertainment, so I come prepared with lots of activities. One of my tricks is taking a couple of toys and books that she’s been into as of late, and hiding them in the days, sometimes weeks, leading up to a trip.
For instance, the week before we flew to San Diego last month, I stowed a few sticker books that Cammie had been playing with a bit in my closet. I also nabbed a couple of new sticker pages from the dollar store. On the flight, we spent a good 30 minutes playing with the sticker book and putting stickers on our airplane window.
A snapshot of a stop during our drive down to Myrtle Beach, SC from CT in March 2021
Build in “play stops” on road trips.
When it comes to road tripping with my toddler, it’s a must that we build in stops for playtime to break up the drive. I typically will look at the route we’re doing and find playgrounds for her to get her energy out, parks to picnic at, or short trails we can do.
It’s good to know your kid’s limits and to be realistic about how long a road trip will take you. We don’t typically drive more than a few hours at a time. And when she used to nap most days, we’d plan our drive around her nap time so that we could get a few hours of driving in while she napped.
For our flights last month, I packed lots of snacks and activities. My 2 year old gets bored easily and doesn’t nap, so I was prepared to keep her distracted for 6 hours straight! One activity she enjoyed was making pipe cleaner jewelry.
Pack lots of snacks – plus a few special treats.
What’s one thing that’ll keep your toddler occupied while traveling? SNACKS!
My daughter loves her snacks, and I usually bring a variety of snacks that are a bit healthier than the not so nutritious foods you typically find on the road or in airports. A few of my go-to snacks are Hippeas chickpea puffs, banana and Happy Baby crackers.
For long trips, I also bring a few “treat” snacks that could help to snap her out of meltdown mode if she’s starting to lose it. On one of our flights last month, a mini lollipop kept her occupied for quite awhile. She also loves Annie’s bunny fruit snacks.
My little pumpkin at San Diego airport last month
Splurge on a roomier stay.
Before I became a mom, it was easy to find a hotel that fit our needs. Nowadays, a lot more energy goes into finding a place to stay! Why? Because Cammie is an incredibly light sleeper, so we really try to avoid having all three of us sleep in a standard room unless we absolutely have to.
During my recent visit to Big Bear Lake, CA, we stayed in an Airbnb with comfortable accommodations of two bedrooms (one for my daughter and me, one for my mom), and a large, open living space with full kitchen.
Therefore, one of my biggest tips for traveling with a toddler is to spend the extra cash on roomier accommodations that will be comfortable for the whole family. It makes such a big difference to us: the difference between being able to chat, watch a movie, and sleep comfortably, versus sitting in silence and being afraid to roll over in the middle of the night for fear of waking her, no joke! I’ve been booking through Airbnb often to have an entire place to ourselves (even though their fees can be asinine).
I always make sure to pack my daughter’s favorite blanket, even on short trips. Pictured, she’s looking too cool in her Minnie sunglasses heading into New York City last weekend.
Remember to bring those sleepytime favorites.
Your toddler gets used to the sleep accommodations you set up for him/her at home, so when you travel, it’s important to replicate that as much as you reasonably can. For us, that means I always bring our noise machine, one of her stuffed animals to cuddle with…and most importantly, her favorite blanket! We don’t go anywhere without her little pink blankie because as soon as she gets tired or upset about something, she starts looking for it.
Always have a spare outfit on hand.
I’ve made this mistake before and certainly learned from it! Whether for diaper accidents, when your kiddo decides to roll in the mud at the park – or more likely in my case, jumps in the ocean fully clothed! – or throws up in the car, it’s smart to always have a spare outfit handy in your diaper or snack bag so that you don’t have to go rummaging through your stuff.
Shell hunting in Myrtle Beach, SC
Do your research beforehand to find kid-friendly activities and restaurants.
Another one of my most important tips for traveling for a toddler is to do your research. When it comes to unfamiliar places with a little one, I don’t like winging it. Having a hangry, exhausted toddler on my hands and having no idea where to eat dinner is not my idea of fun! I typically will do some research online before the trip and jot down a list of activity options and restaurants that seem kid-friendly and have appealing menus.
Hanging out in a giant spider web in Quechee, VT
Keep your plans simple.
While I do like to do my research, I also have learned to keep our plans kind of open depending on how the day goes. If we have a tough travel day, we adjust accordingly. I used to pack as much as I could in a trip, Nowadays, I’ll pick a few must-do things, jot down a list of additional ideas, and then see how everything plays out. Having a flexible attitude makes traveling with a toddler a lot easier!
Cammie taking a 15 minute nap (her only one of the day) on her first flight in February 2020…right before the pandemic hit!
Have a flexible attitude about sleeping.
Speaking of flexibility, I think it’s important to not stress out about how much your kid will or won’t sleep on a trip. They may wake up a bunch during the night in a new setting, miss their nap a few days, and be jet lagged if you’re in a new time zone. It’s best to go into the trip with a relaxed attitude, knowing that you’re controlling what you can control (like bringing that noise machine and those blackout curtains!), but leaving the rest up to the universe. Trust that everything will not fall apart if your kid sleeps a bit off schedule.
Snowshoeing during a winter getaway to Lake George, NY in January 2021
Keep an overall attitude of hoping for the best, but mentally preparing for the worst too.
Parenthood in general is all about hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, am I right? Traveling with a little one is no different in my mind. All you can do is come prepared, knowing that all may not be perfect, but that’s okay. We’ve had a lot of great trips, but we’ve had some tough ones too.
There was the getaway to Lake George when my daughter got sick and couldn’t stop throwing up or having explosive diarrhea. We wound up at a laundromat the very first night washing her car seat cover and the half a dozen outfits she went through! On the same trip, Camryn had a total meltdown while we were snowshoeing. We couldn’t get her to calm down and wound up having to cut our day short, frantically jumping in the car to get her to nap because our nerves couldn’t take anymore screaming. There was also the road trip to Rhode Island when my then 1-year old refused to nap, then acted completely unhinged the rest of the day. Or her birthday trip to visit family last summer where she just had one stressful tantrum after another.
However, the awesome travel memories outshine those not so great travel mishaps. It’s so much fun getting to show my daughter new things and experiencing new places with her. I look forward to many more family travels together!
Tell me… Do you have any tips for traveling with a toddler? Do you have any upcoming travel plans?
I really love how you’ve continued to travel often with a baby, now toddler! She’s probably already more well traveled than many adults!!
Aww thank you!! We enjoy our adventures!
Oh man, so many of these stories resonate with us! Robbie was a terrible car traveler until we were able to flip his car seat around – 2 years-ish if I recall? It’s all a blur! Since then, he’s been much better! Now that I think about it, many of your tips apply to adults, too. No one is in a good mood if they are tired and hangry!
That is so true! I like to be well fed & rested as well 🙂