Before my son turned 2 years old he had taken 9 trips on an airplane including 4 trips internationally to Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Spain. Traveling with an infant or toddler has its challenges but also comes with perks. Here is my comprehensive guide for everything from travel considerations from where to stay to itineraries to car seats to diapers that will set your family up for a fun and successful trip based on my trial and error from traveling with my son in his first two years.

Table of Contents

• Before Your Trip
• Planning Your Trip
• Booking Your Trip
• Packing for Your Trip
• Travel Day at the Airport
• It’s Time to Vacation, Baby!

Before Your Trip

Make sure to have your necessary travel documents for the whole family, including children. If you are traveling internationally your child must have the necessary travel documents such as passports and visas. Requirements will vary based on which countries you are traveling between and the citizenship of your family members.

If your child will require a passport make sure to start the process well in advance of your trip to make sure your passport arrives well before your scheduled to leave. Visas for traveling to some countries may require you to provide your passport number so you want to make sure that you have the passport in hand and complete the visa application and receive your visa well before you are scheduled to leave.

Some airlines will advise to carry birth certificates, adoption paperwork, or some other documentation stating that the child is traveling with parents, legal guardians, or with the permission of the legal guardians. The airline will say if copies are sufficient or if you should have originals. While I’ve personally never been asked to provide this documentation during travel it’s good to know what your airline recommends you have and to bring it with you.

 

Planning Your Trip

Where to Stay

If your trip will be for a week or longer, having accommodations with laundry facilities can allow you to pack lighter since you can wash clothes during your trip instead of having to pack enough clothes for the length of your trip. I cover more about the benefits of packing light in the What to Pack section, but having access to laundry is one way to make it easier to pack lighter.

What to Do

Whether you have a definite itinerary or will improvise upon arrival, make sure not to overload your itinerary with too many activities. Traveling will already throw you child off their routine and jet lag can make anticipating meal times and nap times hard to predict, at least for the first day or so. If there is a time-sensitive activity requiring timed reservations or tickets that you want to do on your trip, try to plan it a few days into your visit when your child will have had a chance to adjust to any time zone changes, and aim for a time that is a time of day our child is most agreeable.

How Far to Drive

If you are planning to cover a lot of ground, such as doing a road trip, be mindful of how much time your child will tolerate in a car. If you time the car travel to happen during a nap, you can probably get away with your child’s normal amount of time they will tolerate in the car, plus the length of time they nap. Try to avoid multiple days in a row with extended car travel if your child doesn’t like to be in the car for long periods of time. Your road trip might not cover as much ground as you would have without kids but you sanity will thank you for keeping your travel radius closer.

My son is fine in the car for 2 hours and can tolerate up to 4 hours. Ask me about how angry he was the time we traveled 6 hours in the car driving from Tuscany to Modena, Italy. Ask everyone in Modena how angry he was because they might still be talking about the Inconsolable Toddler of July 2025.

Booking Your Trip

Flying With Children Under 2

Domestically within the US children under the age of 2 fly for free if they sit on an adult’s lap. For international flights lap infants incur a small charge of taxes or 10% of the cost of the flight if they do not have their own seat. You can check your specific airline for details. Some airlines allow you to include the lap infant while you are purchasing you ticket. Other airlines require you to purchase your ticket first and then add the lap infant to your ticket as if you were adding a checked bag. If it is not obvious how to include the lap infant while you are purchasing your ticket, search how to add a lap infant for your chosen airline to get the instructions.

My son sat on my lap for all 9 of his flights before he turned 2. The obvious benefit is saving on an additional ticket for your child. My son’s first flight was when he was 5 months old and having him sit on my lap became less comfortable the bigger he got. While you can save on paying or your child’s ticket I 100% recommend paying to get a window or aisle seat. I did not pay for seat selection on a 2 hour flight and was assigned a middle seat. Trying to keep a wriggly infant between 2 armrests while sitting between 2 strangers was exhausting.

If you prefer to have your child sit in a car seat while on the plane, you must purchase your child a ticket for their own seat.

Transportation and Car Seats

If your travel plans will involve traveling by car and your child still needs to use a car seat, you need to make a plan for what to do about having a car seat. Even if the only time you anticipate being in a car is to use a taxi or rideshare service to get to or from the airport you will need to figure out your arrangement for a car seat. Trying to book a rideshare with a car seat may limit your options, cost more, and may not dependably provide you with the correct size car seat for your child.

Bringing Your Own Car Seat

You can bring your own car seat. The benefit is that you know you will always have it with you and you have experience installing it into a car. If traveling internationally you need to make sure that your car seat is compatible with the car seat system of the country you are visiting. When my son was still an infant he had a travel car seat system that did not require traveling with the car seat base, in the US. While traveling in Belgium the seat belt did not have the same locking mechanism as the US to secure the car seat in place. We ended up having to use a family friend’s car seat during our stay.

Traveling with your own car seat means it is one more thing to have to carry with you. Backpack-like bags to carry car seats are available online to give you an option to wear the car seat like a backpack, freeing up your hands. If you purchased a seat for your child you have the option to take the car seat on the plane with you. Once my son turned 2 and we bought him his own seat we did try having him sit in the car seat on the plane. The disadvantage was because of the size of our car seat it did make it easy for him to swing his legs and kick the seat in front. I spent the flight having to try to hold his legs down without upsetting him so that he did not kick the person in front of him.

If your child is flying as a lap infant, or if you want your child to be able to sit in the airplane seat without a car seat, most airlines will allow you to gate check the car seat at no additional charge and not count it against your baggage allowance. Confirm with the airline if you will be able to pick up the car seat at the gate upon your arrival or if it needs to be claimed in baggage claim.

Borrow a Car Seat

If you are visiting family or friends they may have a car seat you can use. Make sure to let your hosts know how big your child is to ensure the car seat they provide is not too big or too small for your child. Also have them check if the car seat is still within the expiration date.

Rent a Car Seat While Renting a Car

This is the option that we have used most consistently. Benefits of renting the car seat with your rental car are that you don’t have to carry the car seat with you through the airport in addition to your regular luggage and having a child in tow. Renting the car seat at your destination also ensures the car seat is compatible with the car seat system where you are traveling. The disadvantage is that there is an added cost with you rental car to include the car seat. I always rent with Enterprise-rent-a-car. The car seat has a daily fee that is usually capped based on price or number of days you will be charged. I usually reach the cap if I am renting for a week or more.

The availability to rent a car seat can vary based on the rental branch, even for the same company so ensure where you are picking up your car offers car seat rentals. You should be able to include the car seat as part of the reservation when you are booking the car. In my experience the rental car company would not install the car seat into the car, as the renter we had to do it ourselves. When getting the car seat all the different size car seats are stored together and it was up to us as the renters to locate the correct car seat for our child’s size based on the labels on the car seat. Locating the correct car seat and installing an unfamiliar seat added a little bit of time to the car rental pick up process.

Packing for Your Trip

Your passports and visas are in hand, your tickets are booked, you have your travel itinerary and you know your car seat strategy, congratulations! Now what do you need to pack in your suitcase?

Pack Light, I Promise You’ll Thank Me

I’ve packed for a 2 week Italian vacation for 2 adults and a baby with 2 carry-ons, one backpack, one baby hiking back pack for a trip that involved formalwear for a wedding in Tuscany and hiking boots for the Italian Alps. If I was able to not check a back for that long and diverse of a trip, so can you! Target one carry-on item per an adult. Remember that in addition to whatever luggage you have, you will also be carrying/holding the hand of/chasing after a child, and you may also be carrying a car seat as well.

Having less luggage not only means less luggage to carry but also making your transportation options more flexible. If you have too much luggage you may need to rent a bigger car or have to use a larger sized taxi or rideshare vehicle to carry you family and your baggage. This will cost you money and inconvenience. If you will be traveling for more than a week, look for a hotel or touristic apartment with laundry so you don’t need to bring as many clothes.

Check your airlines guidance about if you allowed any additional bags that don’t count against your personal baggage allowance, if you are traveling with a child that is flying as a lap infant. Some airlines allow caregivers to bring a diaper bag and/or a bag for milk storage or breast pumps that are not considered against your personal items allowed onboard the plane. Generally the diaper or breast pump bag must adhere to the same size limitations as a personal item. Whether you have booked a basic economy fare may also impact how diaper bags and bags for breast pumps are counted.

Packing Light Travel Hacks

Packing cubes make it easier to keep everyone’s clothes organized and help compress clothes so more fit. You can buy a cheap version from a TJMaxx or a name luggage brand. While I upgraded to a luggage name brand packing cube in 2025, I still use the cheap TJMaxx ones from 2019, the zippers are a little temperamental but the packing cubes still do their jobs. Pack underwear and socks into your shoes if you are bringing another pair of shoes in addition to what you wear to the airport.

Pack capsule wardrobe pieces that mix and match across multiple outfits. Yes you’re wearing the same pants 3 days in a row but with different shirts it will be a different outfit in your vacation photos. Because you will get spilled on when traveling with a kid dark colors and patterns help obscure the appearance of spilled food, drink, whatever.

Leave the Stroller at Home – Hear Me Out

Those charming cobble stone streets, the endearing historic architecture. Not. Stroller. Friendly.  Outside the US, elevators are not standard. Are you prepared to carry your luggage, your child, and a stroller up potentially multiple flights of stairs to your hotel or to see the sight you traveled all this way to visit? I’ll never forget my brother-in-law looking at the 4 flights of stairs to get from the parking lot to the charming Italian town of Montepulciano asking “is this stroller friendly?”

Has your child ever been in a stroller, started getting fussy, and you ended up carrying your child in your arms, while pushing your stroller? Having a stroller may be more of a hassle than a convenience, especially when traveling internationally. You don’t want to pass up that buzzy local café because the tables are too close together to squeeze in a stroller. I’ve also seen some restaurants specifically state that they cannot accommodate a stroller due to the size of the dining room. Don’t let your stroller hamper your travel experiences. Instead of a stroller baby carriers or baby hiking backpacks are a great alternative. If your child is not used to traveling in a carrier or backpack let them get used to it before your trip.

If you decide to bring your stroller your airline may allow you to check it at the gate, or baggage check it and not have it count against your baggage allowance. Find out your airlines policy to see what they offer for strollers.

Bring [At Least Some of] Your Own Diapers

When at home my family buys one particular brand of diapers. We have had near-zero leaks or blow outs with them and my son can sleep through the night without accidents. While traveling in Italy I could not find my normal brand of diaper in the size I needed so I bought what was available at the grocery store. During that trip, my son wanted to lay in bed with us at night. Not long after bringing him into bed I rolled over and felt a wet spot. The allegedly “100% leak free” grocery store brand diapers had leaked. It happened again the next night. I can count on one hand how many times my son’s diaper had leaked and 2 of those times were with the Italian grocery store brand diapers. I still had a few of our preferred brand diapers and I prioritized using those overnight.

If you have had positive experiences with a certain brand of diaper, while traveling is not the ideal time to experiment with the effectiveness of a new diaper brand. At a minimum bring as many diapers as the number of nights you will be away and use your “home” diapers for overnight. Packing hack is to line your suitcase with diapers. As you use them throughout the trip it will free up space in your luggage making it easier to pack to go home.  

Books and Toys

I bring 2-3 books to keep the nighttime routine of reading before bed. For toys I usually pack 2-3 toys. Pick something that is not-too-precious so if it gets lost it’s not the end of the world and may go unnoticed. I will sometimes introduce a new toy on travel day. For the sticker-loving toddler crowd I bought a book of reusable stickers that was a big hit and kept my son entertained on the airplane and at our Airbnb.

Sleep Items

Worth prioritizing to pack are favorite pajamas, favorite stuffed animal, and crib sheet from home. The crib sheet doesn’t take up a lot of space but it will feel and smell familiar which I think helps when traveling. In the past I have not always brought a crib sheet and while hotels and Airbnbs will offer pack and play/travel cribs they do not always provide a dedicated crib sheet for it.

Travel Day at the Airport

Food for Travel Day

Avoid a hangry child at all costs, bring plenty of snacks. Airport options are hit and miss, overpriced and finding fresh produce can be a challenge or non-existent. If traveling internationally remember that you usually can’t bring fresh produce into the country. Only bring as much fresh produce as your child and you can eat during the journey and bring foods that can be eaten in whole without leaving behind a peel. Options are already peeled oranges or apples that are already have the core removed. Be more lenient than you might be with food choices on travel days for your own convenience and sanity. Try to avoid things that make crumbs easily think a soft item like a bread or pancake over something like a cracker.

Bring as much food as you think you will need and a little bit more. The day you go on your trip will be the day your child is going through a growth spurt and has an insatiable appetite. Worst case you end up having to eat the fresh produce your child didn’t want and you hit your target serving of fresh fruits and vegetables for the day. On one trip coming back from Atlanta my toddler ate 2 breakfasts, a full lunch, and on the ride to the airport (well before dinner) he ate the 2 bananas and 3 kiwis that we packed for the 2 hour plane ride. I was out of food and in a slow moving security line during a government shutdown he was screaming for “Nanas” and “Wiwis” (bananas and kiwis) but I didn’t have any more.

TSA does allow you to bring drinks for toddlers that are over the 100ml size in your carryon (more details can be found on TSA website: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/tsa-cares/traveling-children). The larger size liquids will usually flag your bag for additional screening, so factor in a little extra time to get through security if you will be bringing oversized liquids for your child to drink. If your child no longer needs breast milk or a premixed formula you can skip the oversized liquids to avoid additional security screening. Bring a reusable water and go through security with the water bottle empty. Once through security you can fill your water bottle at a water fountain which will also save you the exorbitant price for purchasing bottled water at the airport.

Going Through Security

Allow yourself extra time to get through security when traveling with children. Depending on the airport some airport offer a different security line for families traveling with children or those needing additional assistance. Going through a families or special assistance security line can go faster if there aren’t many people in line ahead of you. I’ve also had cases where there were lots of people in front of me in line that needed special assistance so the line moved slower than the standard security line.

Items that cannot fit through the X-ray machine such as car seats and strollers may be screened manually, which adds to the time it takes to get through security. If there are other people ahead of you that also needed items like strollers, car seats, or wheel chairs manually screened you may be held up getting through the security line waiting for the people ahead of you to have their items manually screened.

If the idea of standing in a slow-moving security line with your child is causing you stress about how you child may react, keep your sense of humor. If your kid gets fussy waiting in a slow moving line it’s not the end of the world. The first time my son flew we were waiting in the security line and it wasn’t moving for a few minutes. He began crying uncontrollably which is not his normal demeanor and I was also stressed because it was our first time flying.

The 5 or so people in front of us all insisted that we cut in front of them and go ahead to get through security. Whether they felt bad for the baby, his parents, or just wanted to get the screaming baby away from themselves, as soon as we were actively going through security and not just standing in line, my son stopped crying. During the “Nanas and wiwis” security line incident the TSA agent allowed us to jump to the head of the line and skip about 10 people in front of us. Again as soon as we were no longer standing in line, the crying stopped.

A crying baby is not a guarantee for a “cut the line” pass. We experienced a horrendous security line at the Madrid airport that took about 2 hours. I couldn’t tell you how long my son cried but we did not get offered by fellow passengers, or security agents to be able to advance our positon in line any faster.

Burning off Energy Prior to Boarding

Once you are through security and you know that you have ample time to get to your gate prior to boarding, let your child walk, crawl, run and play in the airport. Some airport have playground for children. If you see a playground and time allows, let your child burn off some energy playing. If there is not a playground en route to your gate, take your child on walks through the terminal to let them stretch their legs. Remember that you are about to ask your child to sit still for potentially hours on end. Know your child’s fine line between tired/docile/content and tired/grumpy/irritable and know when to cut them off from activity if they are starting to teeter to the grumpy/irritable side.

Boarding the Plane

If you are traveling with a car seat, stroller, or hiking backpack that you will not be taking onboard with you, ask the agent at the gate if you need a special tag for gate checking the item. In our experience you will usually keep your items until you are ready to board the plane and you will place your item by the door of the plane right before you get on board (the concourse, what is the tubey thing called?). Ask the flight attendant if you will pick up your item immediately outside the plane upon your arrival, or if it will need to be picked up at baggage claim. If the flight attendant at the gate does not know, you may need to ask the flight crew when you land.

Most airlines offer some kind of preboarding option for families with young children. When you arrive at the gate you can ask the agent at the gate if you are able to preboard. Some airlines have a strict policy for “families traveling with children 2 and under” while others are more flexible about “families with small children, or anyone that may need more time to board.” Preboarding for families is usually offered after first class passengers board but before general boarding. I have experienced that there was no pre-boarding announced so we had to board with the boarding group assigned on our ticket.

If you have an older child that would do better to have as much freedom of movement as long as possible before being confined on a plane, you may not want to preboard even if it’s offered. If you will be installing a car seat for your child to sit in during the flight you will have more time for the installation and have more space to maneuver down the aisle by boarding earlier. Preboarding also improves your chances of being able to take your carryon luggage on board and not being forced to check it at the gate if there is limited overhead storage on a full flight.

Once on board make sure all items you may need during your flight are readily accessible in your personal item under the seat in front of you. Don’t store anything critical in a bag that will be stored in an overhead compartment since you will not be able to access it during taxi, takeoff, landing, or during times of turbulence. Pack your personal item strategically with items to feed and entertain your child easily accessible. Store diapers and wipes where they can be retrieved without having to completely unload everything in your bag.

Diaper Changing on an Airplane

My strategy is to avoid using airplane bathrooms if possible by changing my child 10-15 minutes before boarding begins. Most of the time he has been able to go the duration of the flight without needing to be changed. During a 14 hour flight from Saudi Arabia a diaper change was inevitable. I’ve changed a poopy diaper in an airplane bathroom, it’s not ideal because of the limited space and lack of fresh air, but I survived the experience and you will too. If you do find yourself in a situation where you child needs to be changed, ask the flight attendant if there is a bathroom with a baby changing station. Some planes have the baby changing station in only one of the bathrooms, so you want to make sure you know which bathroom you need to access.

Having a Pleasant Flight

Like dogs and bees, children smell fear. If you are stressed about the thought of flying with your child, they will sense your stress and be stressed too. Bring all your good vibes and zen with you onboard. Be more lenient than you might normally be about snacks your child can eat if it will make them content. Giving a new book or toy while on the plane can also distract and make your child more agreeable.

Put out good vibes into the world that you will have a pleasant flight. My son has had flights here he was happy, smiling, waving at fellow passengers, read his book, ate his snack, and he napped quietly not making a peep the whole time. People came up to us and said “wow he did so good,” or “I didn’t even know there was a baby on the plane!” I hope that you have that flight.

But stay cool, calm, and collected even if your child does get fussy. While the majority of times flying with my son have gone smoothly, there are a few memorable times where he screamed. It might have lasted 2 minutes or 5 minutes, maybe it was 10 minutes. In the moment it felt like an eternity. Usually he was tired and was bigger so it was hard for him to get comfortable while in my lap. He eventually fell asleep and while stressful in the moment, the world didn’t end.

Did people give me dirty looks? Were passengers rolling their eyes and scoffing about having a baby on the plane? I don’t know and I don’t care, I was too busy consoling my son who did end up quieting down. Each time my son did get upset, at the end of the flight someone approached us and said something to the effect of “hey, we’ve all been there. I remember when my kids were that age…” If and when your child has a challenging moment during your flight make a promise to your future self that years from now when you see another family trying to console their disgruntled baby on a plane, you’ll go up to them later and tell them “hey, we’ve all been there. I remember when my kids were that age…”

Going through Customs with Kids

If you are traveling internationally, you will likely have to go through customs upon arrival. While many countries offer self-service passport scans with facial recognition, I have not seen this option for if you are traveling with children. Depending on the airport they may have a special customs line for families traveling with children under a certain age. Like the special family security line, the family line for customs can be hit and miss. Sometimes we were the only people in line so we got through customs quickly. Other times the family line was long with only one customs agent and the family line went much slower than the standard line.

Travel hacks for the customs line, whether traveling as a family or alone is to try to go directly to the customs line after disembarking from your flight. While it’s tempting to stop at the bathroom before going to customs, if another plane lands while you are in the bathroom, potentially hundreds of people could get in line in front of you. If your family won’t be able to wait to go to the bathroom until after customs, try to use the bathroom on the airplane before you land.

It’s Time to Vacation, Baby!

You did it, all your preparation paid off and it’s finally time to relax. These tips will make the most of your holidays

It’s a Vacation for Your Kids Too

Plan activities your child will enjoy as part of each day. Whether it’s going to a playground, the zoo, or being able to run around a park or pedestrian square can give your child freedom and a chance to burn off energy. Dedicating some time for something your kid will enjoy will make them more agreeable to activities for you later on. You’ll also get joy out of seeing your kids having a good time, even if you wouldn’t have chosen the experience on your own.

While I’m not an aerospace fanatic my son enjoys seeing airplanes at the airport and pointing out airplanes in the sky. While on a trip to Tucson, AZ we visited an Air and Space museum that had hangars and fields filled with airplanes. My son loved seeing the different airplanes and was ecstatic to get to interact with the exhibits that let him sit in the cockpit so he could pretend he was a pilot.

Dining Out With Kids

Fine Dining Restaurants for Lunch

My husband and I love trying the local restaurants when we travel, including fine dining restaurants, but it admittedly looks different when traveling with an infant. Look ahead to see if the restaurant allows children and if you will be comfortable bringing your child. For fine dining restaurants, lunch tends to be more casual, have more availability, and easier to book reservations. My husband and I took our son to a Michelin restaurant for lunch while visiting Sigüenza, Spain.

Know the Dinner Hours for Your Destination

If your travels take you overseas, research ahead when the customary dinner hour is. While vacationing in Italy, many restaurants didn’t open for dinner until 7pm, which at home is usually our son’s bedtime. While visiting Spain many restaurants don’t start dinner until 9pm and it was normal to see families out with small children at midnight. If you are staying someplace with a kitchen, you can make dinner yourself where you’re staying to keep your family on their normal schedule.

If you don’t have kitchen facilities, or you want to have dinner out, you may need to get creative with your kid’s schedule for eating and sleeping. When we were in Burgos, Spain the bars offered tapas with drinks. Our son had a light early dinner during the time that would align with a happy hour in the US. We would then go back to our touristic apartment and put him down to sleep around his normal US bedtime of 7pm. At 9pm we would wake him up to go out to dinner and then grabbing drinks bar hopping until 11pm or midnight. Our son enjoyed the nightlife scene and the streets were filled with kids running around, or families out with their child asleep in a stroller. My family would all head to bed at midnight with the added benefit that our son slept in much later in the morning than he normally would at home. While doing a 7pm “nap” doesn’t fit our lifestyle in the US, it allowed us to go out to dinner on our vacation and experience Spanish nightlife like the locals.

Enjoy the Experience

We just wrapped up our 10^th trip with our son, now 2 years old. Even with all the practice, right before we leave for the airport I will still have a moment where I feel overwhelmed. “Is this going to be too many things to carry through the airport? What if I forgot something? I hope my son doesn’t cry on the plane.” The fleeting moments of stress are a small price to pay for the unforgettable memories that we have created as a family.

We live on the east coast but my son’s first experience at the beach was dipping his toes in the Pacific Ocean while visiting Oregon. My son spent his first Christmas in Belgium surrounded by family that lives an ocean away from us. My son’s first experience with a “sandbox” was playing in the sand dunes in the deserts of Saudi Arabia with my brother. “Hola” (hello) and “gato” (cat) were early words in my son’s vocabulary after our visit to Spain. As nature and hiking enthusiasts my husband and I have gotten to share the adventure of climbing mountains in Oregon, New Hampshire, Italy, and Arizona with our son. Our only regret is that our son won’t remember any of these experiences, but we have the pictures.

The idea of traveling with your kids can feel overwhelming, but the reward of the memories you make and the experiences you share makes it all worth it. I wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable journey, wherever you go!