8 Tips for Smooth Traveling With a Toddler

Toddler travel doesn’t have to be stressful, thanks to these strategic hacks and savvy planning tips.

Packing light can make travel with young children easier and more flexible. everst/Shutterstock

Not infrequently, parents have limiting beliefs about parenthood and child care.

They might think, for example, “I can’t travel because I have a small child.” While it’s true that traveling with a toddler (or toddlers) adds layers of complexity to a trip, it’s also true that it adds layers of fun. After all, part of the joy of travel is found in seeing the world with fresh eyes, and so bringing along a small child, who has the freshest eyes of all and is naturally inclined to wonder, will only amplify that aspect of your journey.

Traveling with a young child, even internationally, may not be the right choice for everyone, but it’s also not as impossible as some parents assume. As world traveler and travel blogger Jenny Lynn wrote, “Independent, adventure travel with kids is indeed possible and we can honestly say it’s more fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable with them along for the ride.”

My wife and I just took a trip to Italy with our 2-year-old daughter, and although there were a few moments of 2-year-old troubles and tantrums, it was mostly a delightful experience that was enhanced, not inhibited, by the presence of our daughter.

For other intrepid parents looking to do something similar, here are a few tips gleaned from our own and others’ experience.

Don’t Board the Plane Too Soon

Although some airlines allow families to board first, this can turn out to be an unwelcome privilege. You have a lot less freedom on the plane than in the airport, as well as a lot fewer ways to entertain a child. By boarding too early, you may end up extending the amount of time you have to spend keeping the child occupied, using up all your ingenious strategies before you’re even wheels-up. This is why Lynn recommended forgoing the early boarding.

That said, it’s definitely worth taking advantage of family priority lanes for TSA or customs, if available. We found that the airports in both Portugal and Italy provided these, and they saved us a ton of time standing in line.

Traveling with a toddler may take more planning, but it also offers the joy of seeing the world through their eyes. Irina WS/Shutterstock

Pack Light and Plan to Wash Clothes

On our 10-day trip to Italy, my wife, 2-year-old daughter, and I took only two backpacks. We had no other luggage. This minimalist packing took some forethought, but it ended up saving us time and hassle (waiting at the baggage claim) and money (all those extra baggage fees). It allowed us to be more mobile and to have hands free for carrying our daughter or holding her hand. The key to this minimalist style was to plan on washing our limited wardrobe once or twice during the trip. Our Airbnb had a washing machine, but we were even prepared to wash by hand in a sink or bathtub if needed.

Both parents and children can minimize their baggage by packing a few versatile pieces of clothing that can be mixed and matched. Blogger and traveler Kathy Patalsky advised bringing more shoes than clothes, since “toddlers have a knack for dirtying their shoes or suddenly saying that their shoes are not comfortable, and having backups is a game-changer.”

Flying with a toddler comes with challenges, but it also brings moments of wonder and shared excitement. Tomsickova Tatyana/Shutterstock

Embrace a Slower Pace

Blowouts, tantrums, and sudden naps will inevitably happen. Little children can’t walk very quickly and easily get distracted. That’s why it’s important to keep an open and flexible schedule and to not expect to move too quickly from point A to point B. Shifting your mindset can forestall frustration. On our trip, we embraced the slow pace and found it more relaxing than trying to see or do everything available. We spent most of our trip in a single family-friendly city, meandering its streets and getting to soak in the local culture without the pressure to hustle off to the next tourist destination.

Pack Lots of Snacks and a Few Special Books or Toys

Almost more than anything else, hunger pangs can sabotage an otherwise picturesque travel moment. Hunger can make toddlers—and sometimes adults!—suddenly irrational and irritable. For this reason, keeping some protein bars, cheese sticks, dried fruit, and the like at hand is imperative, especially since, depending on where you are, local snacks may not be readily available.

As noted above, packing light makes life easier, so it’s not a good idea to bring your child’s entire closetful of toys. Better to choose just a couple small ones that can fit easily in a backpack but that still have high entertainment value. A good example is a sticker book: It’s relatively small and lightweight but possesses potentially hours of entertainment value—particularly important for long-haul international flights.

Bring a Water Bottle With a Built-In Filter

If you keep a water bottle with you at all times, you can quickly quench your toddler’s unexpected thirst (which often seems to occur when no drinks are available). Using a bottle such as the LifeStraw with a built-in filter allows you to fill up the bottle from a wide variety of sources without worrying too much about the quality.

Consider a Toddler Carrier

Similar to a baby carrier but designed for the larger, heavier body of a toddler, a toddler carrier may be a good investment ahead of a big trip. The type of carrier we used was designed like a reinforced sash across the parent’s chest, providing support for the toddler on the parent’s hip. These carriers allow you to keep your child close and safe in unfamiliar places and save your arms a bit of fatigue from having to carry the child all the time. But be aware: Depending on the device’s design, your shoulders will feel it after a while.

Toddler carriers can make traveling easier and have the added bonus of keeping kids safe and secure. Oleg Breslavtsev/Getty Images

Pick Up a Few Local Toys and Treats

Patalsky recommended enjoying local sweets and picking up a few local toys to help keep your child entertained. The toys double as souvenirs, aid the child in experiencing the local culture, and provide fun during the trip—not least of all because of their novelty. The treats add to the excitement and positivity of the experience for the child—although, of course, too much sugar can lead to sugar crashes and the accompanying meltdown.

You Don’t Have to Feel Guilty

A number of travel-savvy parents have pointed out online that there’s no reason to add extra stress by worrying about what the people across the plane aisle or at the next dinner table think of your child. Certainly, it’s important to try to keep children quiet and well-behaved in public. But also, children are sometimes going to be loud and are sometimes going to cry, and that is a normal and accepted part of human society (or should be).

Us parents do the best we can. Most people recognize that and are willing to give you a bit of grace when the 2-year-old behaves like, well, a 2-year-old. We did have a few instances on our trip in which our daughter, tuckered out from all the busyness and upset by an unfamiliar environment, dissolved into tears and even screams—in public. Those moments were unpleasant, but they were short-lived, and no one ever gave us a hard time for it. Nor should they have.

Traveling with a toddler presents challenges, but most of these can be overcome by planning well and preparing mentally. In the end, traveling with a small child doesn’t have to feel that different from other types of travel, but it will be more full of laughter, bonding, and joy and will give you the privilege of seeing a new place through a child’s eyes.