Toddler Travel Must-Haves for Your next Family Vacation

It’s almost Memorial Day weekend, which is the unofficial kickoff of summer, which ALSO means it’s time to plan those family vacations. Personally, we’ll most likely be in town this summer since we just got done with a big family vacation to India. Through this family vacation, I learned what works to entertain my 3 year old on extremely long travel journeys. Thus, I’m compiled a list of everything that I used, and the best part is that it’s all available on Amazon. So here goes!

Ride on Suitcase-The first thing we bought for our daughter was a ride on suitcase. We liked this one because of the mattress that came with it. However, we never used the mattress. That being said, the ride-on feature of the suitcase did the job of  stroller, where she was able to sit and ride through the airport, but could also move around as she wanted to. Plus this one came with stickers, so she was able to decorate her bag however which way she pleased to.

Busy Book-I saw another tiktok mom post about using busy books in travel, and omg was she onto something. I ordered this busy book from Amazon and it entertained her so much. In fact, any time I pulled it out she would play with it for awhile. Plus, it’s lightweight, easy to pack, and has very little detachable parts.

Stickers-Honestly, the best thing that entertained my child was stickers. Whether they were reusable ones that she can place on the windows, or regular ones that she’d place in a notebook; any kind of sticker worked for her. In fact, on the flight back, I bought multiple sticker pads from a local store and gave her a sticker pad one at a time, and she would peal off each sticker one at a time and place it in a notebook. This activity, with multiple sticker pads kept her entertained for the longest time.

Coloring books-Another thing that worked pretty well were coloring books. These always work for us, even at restaurants. However, the only challenge with coloring books was that the crayons would fall everywhere and it would get irritating to pick up.

Magnet Games-Another item I had handy but never needed to use (thank you stickers). Again, nothing detachable or too small.

Snacks- All the snacks. Thats all. All. the. snacks

Travel Friendly Toilet Seat-A HUGE staple for us. This toilet seat has worked on a road trips and small restaurant trips. Thus, she’s familiar with it and uses it frequently.

Pretty Toilet Seat Covers-We didn’t like the airplane bathrooms, but 16 hour flights require the occasional bathroom trip. Therefore, the toilet seat with a flower seat cover made the bathroom trip much more tolerable. So it really helped.

So those are all my travel recommendations to entertain kids and toddlers on your next family vacation. Happy Summer to you all and enjoy your vacations!