Tips for International Travel with a Toddler or Baby

When I think back to my childhood, there are a handful of memories that come to mind. And while a ton of those memories are with my friends, most of them are with my family. And I love that.  I have memories of our family laughing over hot cocoa on the slopes, getting lost in the pouring rain in Italy, playing road trip games in the back of our conversion van, riding camels in Morocco, and so much more. And I want that for Cayson. I want him to look back at his childhood with fond memories with us. Traveling as a family helped mold me into the person I am today. I learned about the world, learned how to be more flexible, learned about cultures and learned about myself. I truly believe traveling is the gift that keeps on giving!

Cayson now has multiple passport stamps, has visited almost 20 States and has multiple frequent flyer numbers.  So we’ve learned a thing or two since he was born. After months of trial and error, I’m finally putting together all of my tips for international travel with a toddler or baby! These are also useful if you’re traveling in general or are traveling out of your timezone!

What to Pack

Check out my Travel Necessities You Need with a Baby or Toddler post! I went pretty in detail about all my ‘must have’ items when traveling!

Flying Tips

Check out my 20 Tips for Flying Solo with a Baby or Toddler post first, as almost all of it applies to traveling as a family! Also check out my 25 Tips for Flying & Traveling with a Baby or Toddler post! I’m fairly certain I cover almost any flying tips you might need in those 2 posts. If you have additional questions, let me know! I’m happy to help!

How to Adjust to the Time Change

I truly believe Cayson does so well adjusting to the time zone because we follow a pretty strict schedule at home and we continue that schedule when we travel. OBVIOUSLY, we give ourselves lots of grace within that schedule, but we do our best to stick to it.  We’ve taken Cayson to Europe twice in his 1.5 years of life. The first time was on his 3 month birthday to Italy and the second time was at 1.5 years old to France. We did a red eye flight both times and he had his own seat both times. The first time went perfectly and he slept the entire flight in his car seat. Both times we covered turned his sound machine on and covered his car seat so he could sleep. The first time Cayson slept until we arrived at our hotel roughly 9 hours later. This most recent time did not go so perfectly. Cayson hasn’t slept well in his car seat in a while since he is now a stomach sleeper. So he slept for about 1.5 hours total on our red eye flight and played with us the rest of it. Not ideal. Luckily, Delta Airlines had Daniel Tiger as a TV option and he rewatched the same episodes over and over again. Despite the fact he didn’t sleep on the red eye flight- he was pretty good. Would I want to do it again? Absolutely not! Will we likely do it again? Probably. Mostly because red eye flights are often cheaper and work better with our work schedule.

Once we arrive to our destination we jump right onto their time zone. We don’t nap and simply push on. Trust me- resist the urge! After our sleepless red eye to Paris, Cayson did fall asleep in his car seat on the drive from the airport to our Airbnb and slept for about 30 minutes after our arrival {so he slept for like 1.5 hours}. We arrived at our Airbnb at 11 AM & Cayson was up and ready to go by 12 PM. Normally his nap is from 12-2, but since he didn’t sleep on the red eye we knew his schedule was just going to be a bit off that day. He finally took a nap on the go from about 4-5 PM. We then returned home to our Airbnb for dinner at home, gave him a bath and put him down for his regular bed time at 8 PM. The first night he woke up a couple of times and we tried letting him sooth himself for a few minutes. We then went in and simply rubbed his back until he fell back asleep. We went in to rub his back {while he was in the crib- we didn’t pick him up} twice that first night. The first full day we reclined his stroller and turned on his sound machine at around 12 pm {his normal nap time at home}. By 1pm he finally dozed and he woke up around 2pm. The second night we again followed his normal sleep routine and did end up going in in to rub his back once.  The third night he slept through the night and was officially on the Parisian time zone.  I really believe Cayson does well because we follow a schedule and he knows what to expect- regardless of where we are in the world. We have a routine and he is comfortable in it!

Check out his schedules as a baby here

Naps While Traveling

We love our Yoyo stroller! When we are traveling we do our best to have Cayson nap in his stroller so we can keep exploring. As I said, we are big fans of routine. So even on the go, we try to have Cayson nap sometime between 12-2. At home he sleeps anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours, but we know he will likely only nap about an hour while out and about. Right before we want Cayson to nap we would find a park for him to run around in and burn some energy. If we weren’t near a park Caleb or I would simply hold his hand as we walk down the sidewalks of Paris, that way he was at least walking and burning some energy. After some time out of his stroller, we would then put him in the stroller, recline the stroller and turn on his sound machine. He didn’t always fall asleep right away, but eventually he would fall asleep. There was one day he didn’t actually nap, but he sat very still and you could tell his body was resting and very relaxed during his ‘nap’ time. We do our best to follow his schedule, but again, we give ourselves lots of grace. If it happens, it happens and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

Eating While Traveling

The younger your baby is, the easier they are when traveling. When Cayson was 3 months old we literally took him to Michelin star restaurants in Italy and he slept through them. Now that he is a toddler we are a bit more limited. In France we rented an Airbnb so we went to the market to pick up some essentials. We also learned it was easiest to make lunch our biggest meal of the day. Prices are cheaper and lunch is always more casual then dinner {and therefore people give more grace about a babbling toddler}.

We would normally wake Cayson up at 8 AM,  give him breakfast at home & hit the road. He would start the day with yogurt and strawberries and we often gave him part of a croissant for a mid morning snack. Then he would nap sometime between 12-2 and then we would have a big meal out together. We tried to eat outside whenever possible, since Cayson {and we} love people watching and the weather was glorious. We were aware high chairs aren’t a huge thing in Paris so we just had Cayson sit in our lap, in a chair pulled right up next to us or in his stroller. It varied depending on the restaurant and his mood. Normally, we would order 2 entrées and a couple sides and/or an appetizer for the three of us to share. We often gave Cayson another snack later in the afternoon and made sure we were home by 7pm for dinner at home. A lot of the markets have gorgeous pre-made items so we ate at home most nights. It was really nice coming home to a nice bottle of wine, amazing food and the comfort of home for dinner- especially after a long day out. This also allowed us to have our normal routine and put Cayson down at 8 PM. Then Caleb & I would stay up and enjoy wine, cheese and a baguette!

Keeping your Toddler Entertained While Exploring

When planning our trip I knew a handful of places I wanted to take Cayson- places I knew he could run around and enjoy. We made mental notes each day to find at least one place he could run around in for an extended period of time- from Parks to monuments {like the Palais Royal pictured here}. When traveling somewhere new, simply seeing the new surroundings and people watching is often stimulating enough to keep toddlers content in their stroller- at least for a while. When Cayson started fussing, we would either let him walk hand-in-hand with us for a while or one of us would carry him for a while. Just give yourselves grace. And remember, temper tantrum happen. There is only so much you can do. It’s all good. We also always keep Cheerios and Happy Baby Fiber Protein bars in our diaper bag for when he needs a snack.

Traveling with a little is daunting- I won’t deny it. Sometimes it is straight up hard. But overall, it is 100% worth it. I would do the sleepless redeye and go through the temper tantrums all over again in a heart beat just so we could remake those family memories together. He might not remember it at this stage, but I will remember riding a gondola in Venice as a family and walking with my boys along the Seine while the Eiffel Tower sparkled in front of us. These are precious moments I wouldn’t trade for the world! Check out my 14 reasons why I believe you should travel with a baby or toddler!

Did I miss anything?
What else would you like to know about traveling with a baby or toddler?

Where would you like to visit?

on me
bodysuit {$15} :: skirt :: boots

on cayson
jeans :: jacket :: shoes

on caleb
sweater :: pants :: shoes

Photography by The Parisian Photographers