Toddler Travel Guide

Whether you’re jetting to a vacation or driving a few hours outside the city, traveling with young children requires a little extra preparation to make the experience smooth for the whole family. This week, we’ve gathered our top tips for traveling with little ones.

Bring a variety of activities for planes, trains, and car rides.

Come prepared with a selection of travel-friendly activities and games for your child. We suggest bringing something interactive that can be done with a sibling or parent, games/toys that can be utilized alone, an educational game, a downloaded movie or show, and one small new item. Keep the new (or most exciting) item until later in the trip when you might need to distract a tired or overstimulated child.

We recommend magnetic travel games (like Tic-Tac-Toe) to minimize lost pieces, plus simple card games, coloring books, and workbooks. We love the idea of buying children a travel journal and asking them to draw pictures related to their travels each day – it’s a great way to occupy your child and learn what parts of the trip mean the most to them. And, of course, click here for a list of games that don’t require any supplies at all.

Schedule wisely.

You know your children best – book your tickets mindfully. Although it will be different for every family, in most instances we find morning travel to be the best for toddlers, when they are generally less fussy and tend to have better attention spans. When booking flights, think about meal times, nap times, and energy levels for each child. Communicate the schedule to little ones ahead of time and remind them the night before; children can be very affected to changes in their routine and communication can help manage expectations. If you have a child who has trouble sleeping, you might try a travel toddler bed (click here for Parents.com list of the best ones) – we suggest having your child sleep in it at home pre-travel for a night or two to help ease the transition.

Whenever possible, build in extra time when planning routes – running late can cause a lot of unnecessary stress at the start of the trip that can set the tone for the entire journey. All that being said, flight delays and other unexpected hiccups do pop up; do your best to adjust your schedule accordingly and give your children grace as they try to adapt to new situations.

Take advantage of services your hotel offers.

Many hotels offer family-friendly services, including cribs, toys, diapers, strollers, and more. Call the concierge at your hotel and find out what they can provide for you – often you will be surprised by how much they can take off your plate! The lighter you can travel, the better! Along the same lines, utilize the laundry services at hotels so you can pack less. Click here for our list of hotels with great family services.

Have familiar snacks on hand.

Pack snacks your children know and love to avoid waiting in lines and trying to find suitable alternatives at the airport. Consider bringing sliced fruit and vegetables, string cheese, granola, healthy cookies, and other healthy treats they love. We like the divided travel containers to bring a variety of snacks; you can restock it in your destination city to bring on the trip back. If traveling somewhere where the food will be quite different, you might bring a stash of non-perishable familiar snacks for your child; while it’s important to encourage children to try new things, it’s wise to have a backup ready for days when the priority is just to get them fed and out the door to explore.

Dress in layers.

Dress littles ones in easy-to-remove layers. Often the weather upon arrival and the temperature in the airplane are vastly different; make things easy on yourself and pack simple, comfortable clothing (think breathable clothing with minimal buttons etc.) in your carry on. And don’t forget to do the same for yourself!

Invest in time savers and little luxuries.

This will look different for every trip and every family. However, when possible, we suggest investing in shortcuts that will make your life easier. For some trips, this might be TSA PreCheck® or CLEAR (children under 12 can join you in either lane without restriction). For others, it might be taking advantage of the airport lounges. If you have an American Express card, check if you have access to the Centurion Lounge – they are known for family-friendly amenities, including playrooms with toys and puzzles. In some instances, it’s smart to travel privately for the most flexibility and the least headaches.

Finally, instead of driving to the airport and dealing with parking, we prefer booking a car service there and back; for a small price, you can remove one complication from your trip and make the day a little easier. Call ahead and make sure they have necessary car seats and any other items your family will need.

Communicate with staff.

Make sure you communicate travel plans and expectations to your nanny and any other staff traveling with you. How will the children’s schedules be affected? Is more screen time allowed? What about candy to help with their ears when taking off? Will you try to keep children on your original time zone or acclimate to the new location? To avoid miscommunications, we suggest having a meeting ahead of time to make sure everyone is on the same page. Click here for Tips For Traveling With Your Household Staff.

Stay calm.

Things will likely not go exactly as you planned. The most important thing is to try to stay calm, stay patient and present with your little ones, and not worry about what others think. Make sure you are eating and taking care of yourself too. Trips with little ones can be stressful but they are also an important opportunity to explore the world together, learn new things, and make memories.

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