Thinking about going on holiday with your baby or toddler and wondering if you can? With a little preparation and careful packing, a baby-friendly holiday is totally doable. Here are our top ten tips to make travelling with your baby easier.
Looking for fun activities with your baby or toddler?
There are thousands of classes and groups on Happity. Find one you’ll love here.
1. Make It Easier On You – Consider A Resort Or Park
All-inclusive or dedicated resorts can make your first baby holidays that little bit easier. But of course you can plan your own trip and have loads of fun too. For days out on a budget, try Kids Pass – they currently offer a trial month for just £1 and you can save serious cash on entry to zoos, theme parks and other entertainment. Or invest in a National Trust or English Heritage membership which will last for a year. Happity users get 25% off with code Happity25 for English Heritage. Merlin Passes will give you entry to tons of UK-wide attractions including Legoland and Chessington.
“Change your expectations of what a holiday entails! Resorts are your friend and MUCH more relaxing than hotel-based city breaks you might have taken before. Look at caravan parks and Center Parcs – we also like Away Resorts which are much cheaper. On one of the family resorts we went to, they had staffed play areas within sight of your dining table. It was AMAZING!”
– Sara, Team Happity
“We’ve also really enjoyed Center Parcs – they give you Ella’s Kitchen pouches in the restaurants. We’re going to Haven next month too. I haven’t been before but it looks amazing for babies and toddlers!”
– Helen, Team Happity
“We loved Center Parcs when could go outside school terms (and have now found European ones are a good price, even in school holidays!)”
– Emily, Team Happity
“Choose a family-friendly hotel. All-inclusives are good, especially if you have fussy eaters.”
– Sheefa, Team Happity
2. Choose Family-Friendly Accommodation
When booking your accommodation, think about living as well as bedroom space. A large bedroom-only booking for the whole family can seem like a good deal, but once your baby is in bed, you may want some extra living space where you can chill or watch TV. It can also be really useful to have your own cooking facilities. But remember to sleep in the same room until your baby is 6 months old.
“One thing I’d add on accommodation – think about the set-up carefully and the number of rooms. Getting a separate lounging space to the bedrooms is useful if you want to relax after bedtime. We went to a lovely hotel which was great in all other ways – food, pools, playground, kids activities – but there were four of us in one room in a double bed, sofa bed and a travel cot and there wasn’t too much space to move around beyond this. We tend to stick to apartments/Airbnbs but the downside is often self catering and I don’t feel like it’s a holiday if I still have to do the washing up!
– Sally, Team Happity
“Rent a house with your friends. Generally I find Airbnb or similar is better than hotels for a living space you can relax in once kids are in bed, same as Sally.”
– Sara, Team Happity
We rented a one-bed Airbnb with large kitchen-living room, so although we were sleeping in the same room as our one-year-old, we could kick back in the evenings.”
– Liz, Team Happity
3. Recruit The Grandparents, Friends Or An Uncle Or Two
Having the grandparents along for a holiday can not only be great for them to spend some quality time with you and your baby, but it can also prove really helpful for logistics and babysitting, even during the day.
“I know it’s not an option for everyone, but we’ve found it helps a lot to go away with grandparents or friends to help with childcare. We’re going to Haven with two other families who have children the same age so we’ll have lots of adults, and the toddlers are all good friends!”
– Helen, Team Happity
“Going with grandparents (or another family) helps as then you might even get an evening out yourself!”
– Emily, Team Happity
“Convince the grandparents to come along if you can.”
“ – Sara, Team Happity
4. Make The Most Of The Hands-Free/Less Mobile Baby Months
When baby’s not crawling and still bottle or breastfeeding it can be a good time to travel or even go further afield as it’s easy to carry and feed them.
“My friends took their baby around Thailand for 3 months when he was tiny – I can’t remember exactly how old, but definitely pre-solids, so under 6 months. Although this sounded crazy to me when she told me, it actually had a lot of positives. She was on maternity leave anyway, so they could go for a long stretch and she was fully breastfeeding baby, so there was no need to worry about what he was going to eat. Baby still had lots of naps, so there was more chill time for mum and dad and she was still able to use the sling for long periods, so was more mobile than you are with older children.” –
– Lisa, Team Happity
“We’ve been on cruises with a baby, ones that left near us so we didn’t have to fly. Some cruises have childcare or nurseries on board (Disney cruises are amazing for this!)
– Helen, Team Happity
*Remember to follow current sling safety advice and always take your baby out of the sling when feeding.
5. Invest In A Comfy, Good-Quality Car Seat And Travel Buggy – Baby-Friendly Holidays
For your baby or toddler’s safety, think about and choose your car seat safely. Check out our ultimate guide to car seats here.
“Take things to make the holiday easier, e.g. a travel buggy. We have one that folds down so small it can go in the overhead bit in a plane (a Cybex Libelle buggy). We take our baby carrier, travel potty, and travel white noise to name a few things. Also a snooze shade and USB fan to clip to the buggy if going somewhere hot!”
– Helen, Team Happity
“Bring a sling and travel buggy.”
– Sara, Team Happity
6. Explore The UK By Car, Train Or Ferry
You’ll be surprised at how many destinations there are within an hour’s radius of your front door. You can plan a shorter break and still have fun! From the islands off the coast of Scotland to the beauty of the National Parks, historic cities and market towns, there’s also miles of coastline in the UK to explore too.
Just remember to follow car seat safety advice on travelling in cars, particularly with younger babies.
“We just did UK holidays so we could pack EVERYTHING!”
– Emily, Team Happity
“We did UK holidays with the car filled to the brim – we made it up to Scotland and the Isles of Skye/Harris etc. by ferry and car with our one-and-a-half year-old.”
– Liz, Team Happity
7. …But Also Trust That You Can Fly Or Sail Further Afield
“In the last 6 months I have been to Tunisia, Egypt and Saudia Arabia. I would say my top tip is to pick flight times wisely and travelling with family and friends is great if possible. Packing cubes are fab. Plan outfits and that really helps when you are over there!”
– Sheefa, Team Happity
8. Plan Ahead For Passports
Babies need passports too and you can even take your own passport photos if you lie them on a neutral surface or background and follow the guidelines.
“Remember baby passports – the photo rules are more relaxed for babies. We got our passports early so we had them ready.”
– Helen, Team Happity
9. Plan For Naptime – Baby-Friendly Holidays
If you’re travelling by plane or train, you may be able to book a flight in the evening or overnight which coincides with your baby or toddler’s naptime. This can help your baby settle into the travel. Some parents prefer the opposite and to travel during daylight hours – that’s totally fine too, and you will often find the movement of the journey lulls your little one into a nap anyway. When on holiday, remember to allow time for rest and naps as well.
“Plan in downtime and rest time as little ones can get over tired and that’s really not fun!”
– Sheefa, Team Happity
“If going by plane we try to do a night flight so the children can sleep. We put PJs on at the airport.”
– Helen, Team Happity
10. …But Try To Go With The Flow
“Just go with the flow and try not to worry about routine going out of the window when on holiday. Expect that bedtimes, naptimes and mealtimes will shift and kids are actually really adaptable.”
– Eleanor, Team Happity
“We’ve done lots of theme parks with baby/toddler. We just approach them in a much more relaxed way by not rushing around doing too many things in each day. We manage the day with lots of breaks, snacks and look for things with short queues.”
– Helen, Team Happity
Here’s a link if you’re looking to book Legoland!
11. Take Regular Breaks When Travelling By Car
With a younger baby travelling by car you should plan to stop regularly (at least every 45 minutes) to take them out of their car seat and move them around. With older babies and toddlers, plan your route so you can stop every one to two hours for a proper break. The Lullaby Trust advises against travelling for long distances with very young or preterm babies and says if possible have an adult sit in the back with them. See here for more information on this.
12. Pack A Grab Bag – Baby-Friendly Holidays
As well as your baby’s changing bag, you may want to pack a grab bag full of essentials – such as spare clothes, snacks and drinks – that you can get to easily on your journey. It just makes travelling that little bit easier and once you arrive, you can pick up just one or two bags rather than searching through a suitcase or larger bag for what you need immediately.
“Pack as light as possible for a travel bag and be super organised. Take a foldable tote bag just in case!”
– Sheefa, Team Happity
13. Take Plenty Of Snacks And Toys
If your baby or toddler is on solids, a well-timed snack can help with journey fatigue. If you’re on a plane or train you will be able to eat on the move, but try to stop when travelling by car. Board books or interactive toys can be good for travel, but always make sure your baby is under supervision.
“Take snacks and activities. For older children you can download videos on tablets for the journey.”
– Sheefa, Team Happity
14. Experiment And Have Fun!
It can take a bit of experimenting to figure out what works for you when it comes to baby-friendly holidays. But that’s OK – try different ways of travelling and mix it up if you need to. No family or baby is the same. And as with anything with a baby, you’ll have good days and not-so-good days, even when on holiday!
How Early Can You Take A Baby On Holiday?
In theory you can take a baby on holiday whenever you like, but in practice it can take a while to get newborn feeding and sleeping established. Also make sure you follow car seat safety advice when travelling with a very young or preterm baby.
“We’ve done loads of trips as we were determined to carry on going on holiday when we had our little ones. Our holidays are something we really enjoy!! We found we just changed a few things and took things at a slower pace and it still works.”
– Helen, Team Happity
“We did a lot of travelling with the kids from day one, including Morocco, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.”
– Sara, Team Happity
This post contains affiliate links, which means Happity earns a small commission if you buy something. This fee goes towards helping more parents find classes and support near them. We only link to products we love.
Want to get out and about, have fun with your baby or toddler, and meet other parents?
Search Happity to find everything that’s happening for the under-5s in your local area – from music and singing classes, to messy play, arts and crafts, baby massage, gymnastics and more. Simply enter your postcode and child’s age to search, and then book your spot in a few taps. Enjoy dedicated fun time with your little one, watch their skills develop, and make friends at the same time. Mums, dads, grandparents and carers will all find something to love!
If You Found This Post Useful, You May Also Like:
9 Genius Travel Hacks When You Have Small Children
The Happity Guide To Easy Flying With Your Toddler
0 Comments