What to Pack for Travel with Kids
- Beth Bliss
- 5 hours ago
- 10 min read
This is not a typical what to or how to pack list. Naturally, you need clothes, pajamas, swimsuits, sunglasses, cash, travel documents, all the normal stuff. If you need help brainstorming about that, you'll need to look at a normal travel page or blog. This list is specific to kid and family travel.
For babies:
The awesome thing is that all the necessities for travel with babies is included FREE! Now to be clear, you still have to schlep it all yourself, so don't count this as a free-for-all, but it really is very helpful.
Bassinet counts as a free checked item. Technically pack and plays don't, though we've talked several workers into letting it pass because we used it in lieu of a bassinet.
Car seats or booster seats are free.
The car seat either has to be checked or else the baby has to ride in it. If your baby is riding in it, that means you have to pay for that ticket versus free travel for lap riders. It's technically the safest form of traveling with a baby, and I feel like I should be advising people to do it, but to be honest....we did lap riders. Did you read the part where I said they're FREE for 2 years?! Also, some planes have some cool safety things in place for lap riding, such as special seatbelts that go around you and then the child. And one time I hit the GOLD MINE on a plane from Italy to USA....Lufthansa had this baby bassinet thing that they hooked up to the front of the wall in front of me, and my baby slept in it for the whole plane ride. This was the most amazing surprise and experience ever!
If you don't plan on taking the car seat on board, other advice I have is to not board early when they do the whole "family boarding" thing. If you have a car seat and need time to buckle it in etc then it makes sense. Otherwise, you're just putting yourself in a small confined area with your kid for even longer- why do that? Only caveat to that- if you think you can get your kid to sleep in the amount of time it takes for everyone else to load on the plane....I mentioned in my Planes Trains and Automobiles blog about rocking a baby to sleep in the bathroom on the airplane. A great time to do that is if you board early and do so while they're loading everyone else on, but keep in mind, you only have that time and then will be forced to go back to your seat. So only try this if they're really sleepy or go to sleep fairly quickly.
You can buy car seat carrying bags that help protect the car seat for when it's checked on the plane and also make it a bit easier to carry.
For booster seats, you can check them or carry them on. A lot of times we just carry on because it's easier. We clip them to our bookbags using carabineer clips. I cannot say enough about bringing these clips. We use them to clip the booster seat to us, to clip our hiking boots to our bag if they're dirty, to clip water bottles for easy access, and my husband has even clipped the children's bookbags to his if they were asleep or too tired to carry them anymore.
The diaper bag does not count as your carry on or personal item but is extra/free. Again, just keep in mind, anything you bring is something you have to carry, but this can definitely be helpful. Keep children's medicine, snacks, bottles, pacifiers, diapers, and wipes accessible in here for when you need them on planes.
Strollers can be checked for free as well. I know some people who suggest keeping your stroller and checking it gate-side, and we've definitely done that before. It can be helpful if you need to keep your child contained in it and/or to put some of your bags or belongings underneath as well. I think for us, it was most helpful to do gate side with a stroller when our kid was big enough to not be in a baby carrier anymore but small enough to not be great walking independently and just holding our hands (like maybe 3ish). Otherwise, we preferred to check it at the beginning and not deal with another thing in the airport. However, gate checking it also can be helpful if you can ensure you do gate side pick up too because then you have the stroller if you have a layover and need it in the other airport. One thing to know is that the car seat and stroller likely will not come out at the normal carousal with checked baggage- they'll be in an oversized area, so don't panic when you don't see them coming!
Baby wearing items: We loved wearing our babies with wraps when they were little, and this was an easy way to navigate in the airport and still have your hands free. I was annoyed the first time I learned that I had to take the baby out of the baby wearing device during take off because he had already fallen asleep and I didn't understand the logic of how he'd be more or less safe, but just know that in advance. Now, here's my next super important advice: BUY AN OSPREY KID CARRIER BACKPACK!! I cannot advocate enough for this item. These are perfect for nearly any type of trip you are taking. Going to Europe? The cobblestone is a nightmare with a stroller. Going on more nature-based adventurous travel? This is perfect for hiking with kids. Going to NYC or another bustling area? This is an easy way to not stress crowds with kids. No navigating a stroller through the busy sidewalks or trying to hold their hand with a death grip so they don't dart out in traffic. Even just going to your neighborhood zoo? The kids can see the animals better from up there than in a stroller. Seriously, anywhere you go, this is HUGE. The carrier is good for kids about 6 months old (sitting independently) to about 4 years old, but there's also a metal kickstand bar that can open up and my older son (maybe up to about 6 or 7yo) has stood on that bar holding on to the handle up top while his brother was riding in it (yes, my husband's back may never forgive us all!). Also, the carrier backpack has a part you can put up to help keep them out of rain or sun, and it has a zippered underneath compartment to put your day's worth of diapers/wipes/bottles, and it has a side pocket for water bottle grabbing. Okay, I know I'm gushing, but this is the number 1 thing I would tell any new parent. And they hold up really well.....we used ours for both of our children, then handed it down to my BIL who used it for both of his children, and it's still in good working (but maybe beaten up looking) shape. And last statement, we've advocated for it being checked for free as well and have succeeded every time...as long as your not also trying to check a stroller.
For toddlers:
Some of the things I brought up above carry over from baby to toddler time, and some of the items discussed below carry over from toddler to school-aged, so this section is just for a couple items that are very specific to toddler age.
My oldest son liked those pop and play toys where you push or turn buttons and animal heads popped up. Those were nice for travel because there were no loose or small pieces to worry about. I'd also suggest if you use this, or any other toy, hide it and only bring it out for travel. Then it's new and fun and can entertain them much longer.
My younger son loved this Montessori busy board book. I wish I would've known about these when my older son was smaller because they entertained my younger son for hours and were educational too. They're nice because a lot of them come with pouches to put the small pieces into or the pieces are attached or they have carrying bags/handles, so they're really ideal for travel.
Both of my kids also really enjoyed the water books which were nice because when they dried, they essentially erased and were reusable over and over. The water pen made it so I wasn't worried about them getting ink or crayons on hotel walls or on the plane.
When going on a road trip, I loved these travel trays for kids. They had sections where I could put their sippy cup, snacks, crayons or small toys, a device, etc. This helped me not have to reach back to hand them things or pick up things that had fallen 100 different times.
For school-aged kids:
The nice thing about this age is that they can start to become a bit more independent or responsible for their own items. My kids carry their own backpacks (well, like 95% of the time) which is where we put their items for entertainment and travel. Their clothes are in a rolling carry on suitcase, and the majority of the time they also ask to roll that....aka, ride on it and nearly hit numerous strangers in the airport with it.
In our kids' backpacks, we always pack: a couple snacks for the plane ride and/or middle of the night if traveling to a different time zone where you're concerned they may have disturbed sleep and wake up hungry, lollypops for take off and landing, a water bottle (remember to have it empty until through security), a reading book, a coloring or activity book (a lot of times you can buy one specific to where you are traveling as a way to get them even more excited or learning about the place), a travel pillow, a pouch with some pencils, colored pencils, or crayons in it, their device (phone or iPad), and headphones.
For me, headphones are a must that I never thought about before parenting. They can't listen to anything on their device without them because you can't put sound on when on the plane. And if you're in a road trip together, you don't want multiple competing devices to have their sound on. A lot of times the planes will give you headphones for free if they have screens on the plane, but they are the earbud type which are too big or uncomfortable for my kids' ears.
I mentioned a pouch for crayons or pencils....I really suggest getting a cloth zippered pencil case for these items. It keeps them all together and stops them from accidentially writing on or melting on your other items. Those pouches can also be helpful for putting small toys in so you hopefully don't lose them! Finally, they can be great to keep small souvenirs safe, like the National Park pins or stickers or postcards.
I also mentioned a travel pillow. My kids use these sometimes and other times don't, but it's never failed that if I don't pack it, they ask for it! We liked these ones that wrapped all the way around because the traditional travel pillows only really work if you're head is leaning backwards and typically kids' (or everyone's?) heads fall forward or to the side, so this offers support in any position. I personally have tried them and find them to be more comfortable myself.
In our kids' rolling suitcase of regular items, I pack travel cubes to separate their clothes from one another's. I also specifically have one travel cube that is just for everyone's pajamas....that way if we arrive late at night, we can just pull out that one instead of searching through all the clothes for PJs.
For the family:
I have a zippered bag that is like a medicine bag. It has adult ibuprofen, kids' ibuprofen, immodium, ginger chews, a little bottle of aloe, a little bottle of anti-itch cream, vitamin C/Emergen-C gummies, band-aids, my anti-nausea bracelets, and if we're going to a much different time zone then melatonin and kids' melatonin to help with jetlag.
I have a zippered bag that has suncreen and bugspray in it.
Depending on where we're traveling, I sometimes also have another zippered bag that has toilet paper or flushable wipes and hand sanitizer.
I recently got this hygiene bag that I love because it opens up to hang on the back of a door or in a closet. I have been able to put some of the zippered bag items I mentioned above in it as well because there are so many compartments that it's more than what I need for just my bathroom items/make up. This was really helpful when we went on a cruise because those rooms are so small, so hanging it on the back of the door was wonderful.
If we go on a trip for more than a week, we only ever pack a week's worth of clothes. Most of the time you can re-wear an outfit, but we also plan to do laundry one time if on a trip that is more than a week long. This usually means we're staying at an AirBNB which has laundry facilities at least at some point. Usually these come with laundry needs already present (like soap and dryer sheets), but you could also pack a couple laundry sheets in a ziplock baggie and throw dryer sheets right into your luggage. Not only will you have them to do laundry, but it also makes all your clothes inside smell fresh!
When we were going on a big road trip as a family for the first time, I bought a few items which helped the drive be more bearable and enjoyable because of organization.
Because my kids were too old for the travel trays at that point, I instead got seatback organizers that went on the back of the seat that is in front of each child. These had tons of different organizing sections to hold snacks, drinks, devices, coloring books, toys, etc. so that the child can easily reach whatever they wanted at any given time and then put it back in the pocket when they were done with it, rather than stuff laying all over the car and getting lost.
I also bought a container that I was able to put a ton of shared snacks/bags/drinks. I'd say this was ultimately less necessary or useful than the seatback containers because you could just use a recyclable grocery bag for this purpose.
I also brought two empty plastic grocery bags to have as trash bags as needed on the trip because my kids have a fantastic ability for trashing a car!
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