This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning I receive a commission for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read full disclosure here.
You need to know how to travel light with a toddler before going on vacation with your family.
Learning how to travel light with a toddler is going to make your family vacations so smooth. I am a mama who swears by being organized. When you don’t carefully plan items to bring with you before a trip, you forget things. It is the absolute worst to be far from home and realize you don’t have something your baby is really going to need.
Knowing how to travel light with a toddler is essential. I have had a lot of experience packing and traveling light. As a mama with plenty of experience, I am sharing all the tips to help make your trip a success.
You are going to learn secrets to traveling with kids, tips for packing for vacation with toddler, and what to pack when traveling with kids. Minimalist traveling with kids is achievable with a little preparation.
This post is about how to travel light with a toddler.
Best Tips For How To Travel Light With A Toddler
Book A Great Place To Stay
I personally prefer to stay somewhere with a washer, dryer, and sink. Sometimes accidents happen and you really need to do some laundry. Staying at an Airbnb makes me feel more at home than a hotel. It is also much easier to wash and dry sippy cups, prepare food, and wash clothes.
When you are staying somewhere with a washer and dryer, you don’t have to pack as many clothes. This is how to travel light with a toddler. Let’s get to come other tips.
Make A List
The secret to how to travel light with a toddler is to make a list. Before we travel anywhere, whether it is a road trip or a flight, I always make a detailed list of every single item we need to pack. I remember having so much anxiety before our first family trip because I worried about forgetting something my baby would need. Babies come with a lot of stuff! So I wanted to make sure I had everything.
I make a list for every member of our family. This ensures that all the necessities actually make it into the bag. We recently took a quick trip to Mississipi. This is what my daughter’s list looked like:
A Good Luggage Bag Is Everything
Another great tip for how to travel light with a toddler is to buy a good luggage bag. From my experience, a suitcase on wheels is the easiest way to go. This suitcase is how I manage to pack light with a baby. This brand has a great reputation and this suitcase comes with a 10-year warranty.
PRO TIP: When packing your clothes, be sure to roll your clothes. You get more room this way! Pack smart, travel light.
Use Packing Cubes
The next tip for how to travel light with a toddler is to use packing cubes. These packing cubes are so good. In addition to enhancing your organization game, they also keep your clothes protected. These packing cubes will help you remember to pack light. Packing cubes are one of my favorite travel tips.
(RELATED POST: 20 Totally Awesome Water Toys For Toddlers)
Categorize When Packing
Packing cubes help you categorize your items. I highly suggest categorizing all of your items before packing your bags. Designate clothes, accessories, and care products to their own area or section. Put medicines in their own area, charging cables in their area, and so on. You get it.
This will help remind you of the goal, which is traveling light. When you categorize all of your items before packing, you are very clearly able to see how many outfits you are packing. It is really easy to overpack without a list and categorizing your things!
When every item has its own place in the suitcase you won’t have to search just to find a particular item. This doesn’t take much extra time and it is totally worth it.
Carry On
Looking for more tips on how to travel light with a toddler? Carry on your bags if possible. When implementing the tips mentioned above, I am able to travel light with a carry on bag.
Our family usually shares a carry on bag. When your carry on bag has wheels, it is a total game changer. My husband will wheel and put the suitcase in the overhead. This way I just have to worry about my diaper bag and my toddler.
Use A Backpack For Essentials
Another essential tip for how to travel light with a toddler is to use a backpack for essentials. My diaper bag is a backpack and I love it. I have been using it for almost two years now and it holds up great.
I store things inside that I will need easy access to when traveling with my toddler. These items include a change of clothes, a few diapers, wipes, a boogie sucker, a toy, a snack, and shoes.
Buy Diapers When You Get There
Something else you may want to consider is buying diapers, wipes, and other toiletries once you arrive. By not packing these necessities, you are definitely going to be packing light. I always keep a few diapers in my diaper bag for diaper changes while traveling.
(RELATED POST: 53 Superb Ideas For A Toddler Summer Bucket List)
Rent When You Arrive
Whenever I go visit my grandparents in Florida I always rent things like a highchair and stroller. Baby rental companies have everything under the sun. The company we rent from is in central Florida. However, there are plenty of other baby equipment rental companies. Trust me when I say it is so worth it. I love not having to worry about the big stuff that we absolutely need. This is an excellent way to help you travel light with kids.
PRO TIP: Something I did not know as a first-time mama was that you can actually rent a car seat from many rental car companies. Check with your rental car companies prior to booking. I wish I knew this how to travel light with a toddler tip so much sooner.
Minimalist Diaper Bag Checklist
I wrote a whole post on this topic. Click the post below to get your free minimalist diaper bag checklist! This checklist will make minimalist travel with toddlers a breeze. This post also includes a checklist to ensure that you travel light with a baby and what to pack for toddler travel too. FYI: This is my favorite mom backpack for travel.
(RELATED POST: 8 Absolute Musts On Our Minimalist Diaper Bag Checklist)
Traveling Must-Haves
A diaper backpack is essential. Especially while traveling! While traveling, my husband and I usually pass our daughter back and forth. So I thrive with a backpack. A backpack makes traveling seamless.
Always keep an engaging toy in your diaper bag. We love Lovevery and I always travel with one of their toys. Some toys from the kits are easier to travel with than others. With these toys, I know my daughter is going to be entertained. Always have a good distraction ready to grab! These toys are must haves for traveling with one year old babies.
Are you looking for a small baby bag? A baby fanny pack is so handy. Sometimes you are just going for a quick trip and want to be hands-free. This is where your fanny pack will come in.
Snacks! Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. Never travel anywhere with little ones without snacks.
(RELATED POST: 19 Healthy Hiking Snacks For Toddlers)
How do you travel light with two toddlers?
My packing tips for travel with toddlers is to follow the same suggestions above. A few of the most important tips include: making your list, categorizing all items, using packing cubes, buying diapers and wipes when you get there, and taking advantage of rentals! Packing light with kids pays off.
How do you survive traveling with a toddler?
My best tip for survival is to do something that makes you happy once you put your toddler or toddlers to bed for the night. For me, this looks like pouring a generous glass of mommy juice (wine).
Maybe you’d benefit from bringing along a book to cozy up with.
Maybe you and your husband decide to have a nice romantic dinner followed by a movie on the couch.
Really truly follow my packing tips for travel with toddlers. They will certainly help you survive!
This post was all about how to travel light with a toddler.
Other Posts You May Like:
Where To Find The Best Montessori Toys For 1 Year Old Toddlers | An Honest Experience
50 Practical Newborn Hacks I Swear By
2 Inspiring Successful Pregnancy After Miscarriage Stories
Leave a Reply