20 Helpful Toddler Travel Tips to Make Toddler Travel Enjoyable

We have traveled with our toddler quite a bit, so I figured I’d share some Toddler Travel Tips to make life a little easier for anyone reading! 

We all know toddlers can be difficult at times, so these tips will help you have a more enjoyable time while traveling with your little one.

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#1. Just Do It. Travel with your Toddler.

Traveling with a toddler can feel daunting. They’re tiny insane people (mine is, at least).  Tantrums can happen at any time. They’re picky. They like their normal routines. The list goes on and on.

Even with all that, traveling with a toddler can be so fun and rewarding. You get to see their eyes light up over new things, your stroller walk can include views you find incredible, and seeing the world is good for everyone.

You might have some lows, but overall toddler travel can be a great experience. And if travel is important to you, keep doing it after you have kids. Do what you love.

#2. Pick the Right Destination

While I might preach that you should definitely travel with your toddler, I don’t recommend traveling anywhere with your toddler. Picking a more toddler-friendly destination will help make everyone enjoy the trip.

Think about what your toddler will enjoy AND what you will enjoy. Try to find a happy medium.

And make sure it’s a safe travel destination.

Beach trips can be an excellent option for toddlers. They LOVE the sand, swimming, etc. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll get to read a book on the beach for a few minutes.

We took our toddler to Iceland, and it was a perfect toddler-friendly destination. A lot of the beautiful sights are right off the road, so it’s easy to experience the outdoor beauty with a toddler. They may only care about the cool rocks, but you’ll be staring at an epic waterfall.

Or try these 10 Best Toddler Travel Destinations.

#3. Book Toddler Friendly Accommodations

Before having kids, we often booked the cheapest safe accommodations we could find.

If you’re traveling with a toddler, you’ll want to think through where to stay.

Location matters more – you’ll want it to be in a safe area and you might want it to be closer to the things you’ll be doing. Less car time is usually better with toddlers.

I highly recommend getting an AirBnB so you can have a separate area from your toddler. If you sleep in a hotel room together, there’s nowhere for you to go once your kiddo goes to sleep.

Aaaaand if you can get an AirBnB with a hot tub outside, do it. You can sit out there and feel like you’re on a luxurious vacation while your toddler sleeps.

#4. Make Packing Easy

A while ago, I made a Toddler Packing List on the Reminders app on my iPhone. I copy and paste that original list to a new reminder list every time we travel. I modify it based on the destination, but I always have the important items on there.

It has made packing much easier, knowing I have everything I need. And it’s less time consuming to just check things off an already made list each time. Always check it before going out the door.

Try not to overpack.

And always bring these Toddler Travel Essentials.

#5. Toddler Travel Tips: Plan Ahead

  • If you’re traveling internationally, your kiddo needs a passport too.
  • Get TSA Precheck if you don’t already have it. It can be really helpful when traveling with kids.
  • Make sure you have all required documents ready. Keep copies on your phone too.
  • Depending on your destination, buy necessary items early. Beach trip? Make sure your toddler has a swimsuit. Cold weather destination? Buy snow pants, etc. ahead of time.
  • Traveling with a toddler is harder. Make your life as easy as possible. Have all your travel stuff organized – screenshot your rental car information, write out your itinerary, etc. Don’t be scrambling at the airport trying to remember which rental car company you booked with.
family in front of iceland waterfall

Here we are in Iceland having a wonderful time with our toddler

#6. Try to Respect their Schedules

When you’re planning your trip, consider their normal schedules. Keep bedtimes and mealtimes close to their normal times to avoid tired, hangry toddlers.

If they take a mid-day nap everyday, try your best to get them this while traveling.

We try to book 2-3 nights in each destination so that we know our toddler will get a pack n play nap at least every other day.

On the days when we don’t have accommodations, we plan for longer car travel during the mid-day nap time. I’d also recommend a stroller or carrier nap.

Sometimes you have no choice but to totally disrupt their schedules. And that’s ok too. Just try to be patient if they have more meltdowns 🙂

Read Next: How to Camp with a 1 Year Old. Or How Travel Changes When You Have a Baby.

#7. Prepare your Toddler

Toddlers are smart! And they’re always trying to learn. Weeks prior, talk through what flying on an airplane is like. Explain “plane rules” like no kicking seats, you can’t get up when the seatbelt sign is on, we talk quietly, etc. They’ll feel more at ease when the travel day actually happens.

#8. Bring Travel Friendly Toys and Activities

For all my Toddler Plane Activity suggestions, click here. Think small, quiet, distracting toys.

#9. Surprise Them with New Little Toys

This is a simple but really helpful toddler travel tip. When you get on the plane or in the car, pull out a new toy or two. You can even wrap them if you want to make it more exciting. New toys are always better than old ones.

#10. Snacks, Snacks, Snacks

Seriously, all the snacks. Bring lots of options, and let them eat as many snacks as they want. Put them in the harder-to-spill Munchkin snack cups.

Here are our favorites:

  • Veggie Straws
  • Crackers
  • Cheese sticks
  • Melties/Yogurt Bites/Puffs
  • Pouches
  • Muffins (I make them ahead of time)
  • Peanut Butter Sandwiches
  • Fruit and Veggies – Apple slices, bananas, berries, carrots
  • Cheerios

#11. Try to Let Your Toddler Burn Energy in the Airport

Let them walk as much as possible if you can do so safely. The airport is a busy place, so my instinct is to contain our toddler in a carrier or stroller. But they’re about to be stuck in a plane seat for hours! Hold their hand or walk really closely and let them navigate to your gate. Take walks while you wait to board.

And….

#12. Don’t Board Early if You Don’t Have to

If you have assigned seats on the plane, don’t board the plane until later. Especially if it’s a long flight. Kids don’t like to be contained, so let your toddler run around the airport for longer to burn energy.

#13. Try not to Worry about Others

Please try to not worry about others when your toddler is having a hard time. Obviously do your best to keep your kiddo happy and quiet. But they have big feelings. If they’re having a meltdown, do not worry about anyone but you and your little one. Focus on getting them through it and taking deep breaths yourself.

Traveling with toddlers is hard enough; we don’t need to beat ourselves up over our children being humans with big emotions.

#14. Do Not Worry About Screen Time

We try to regularly limit screen time at home.

But on a travel day? You just want to keep your kiddo satisfied. If you’re on a flight and the only thing that’s going to keep them from screaming is watching something on a tablet, just let them.

We do try to exhaust all our non-screen options before pulling out a screen. Once she’s watching the screen, it’s hard to switch her to something else. It’s our last resort.

We also use a kindle and download some kid-friendly episodes/games ahead of time.

And we use toddler headphones that limit how loud they can get.

Great packing list iceland with a toddler rain suit lake and mountain

Use these toddler travel tips to take your little one to cool places like this 🙂

#15. Toddler Travel Tips for Sleep

Ohhh toddler sleep.

It sucks, doesn’t it? For us it does. Either our toddler wants to get up at 5:45am, screams at bedtime, or wakes in the middle of the night.

Who wants to travel with that little terror?

To make toddler sleep a liiiiittle easier while traveling, we always put our kiddo in a pack n play. She’s still in a crib, so we want her to be contained while traveling too. We also always put a Slumber Pod tent over the pack n play so she can’t see us. Bring a white noise machine and whatever lovey/blanket they sleep with at home.

These things give you the best possible chance of good toddler travel sleep.

#16. Toddler Travel Tips for a Time Change

Gah, this one is tough. Kids do not understand time zones. And I don’t have the perfect answer for you.

No one does.

I’ve googled it extensively haha.

We lean towards not fully changing our toddler to a new time zone. When we traveled 6 hours ahead, we ended up with her being like 3 hours ahead. So she had a later bedtime and slept later each day. And we timed her nap accordingly.

If that doesn’t work for you, adjust their naps/wake times so that they’ll be able to fall asleep at that time zone’s bedtime.

And just pray about it I guess?

#17. Toileting Toddler Travel Tips

  • If they are potty trained, bring a travel potty if they’re not yet used to using an adult-sized potty. The one we use even has bags you can use; it’s handy for car travel too!
  • If they are not potty trained, use pull-ups instead of diapers because they’re easier to get on and off.

#18. Find Kid-Friendly Restaurants

It’s worth doing a bit of research ahead of time to find kid-friendly restaurants at your destination.

If you google your destination city, there are usually travel bloggers who have written posts about this. Or Yelp can filter out “family friendly.” It’s less stressful to know your kiddo is welcome at the restaurant, if they have high chairs/booster seats, etc. Or ask your airbnb host or hotel workers!

Also, if you have an AirBnB with a kitchen, it can be nice to cook meals at “home” too.

#19. Don’t Overload Your Itinerary

The last thing you want is to be constantly rushing your toddler from one activity to the next. No one will be having fun.

Plan activities each day, but have some optional activities. You can choose to do those if everyone is feeling up to it or you can head back to the AirBnB and just relax.

Take time to relish the things you are doing.

#20. Take Deep Breaths

Things are going to go wrong. Your toddler is going to behave poorly. You’re probably going to get less sleep than you’d like.

But take deep breaths and try to roll with it all anyways.

Enjoy the little things, and focus on the good things that happen each day.

Toddler Travel Tips – Did I miss anything?

Any important toddler travel tips that I forgot to add? Comment below!

Please share with a friend if you found any of this advice helpful.

I promise traveling with a toddler can be such a rewarding, fun experience. I hope you do it.

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