Do you want to organize your first plane vacation with your baby? Before booking your tickets, several questions arise: what documents should I bring? From what age is my child fit to travel? What are the best or best destinations to avoid? For future family vacations, this practical file will allow you to organize your trip with baby with complete peace of mind.
Since you became parents, your whole life has changed. On the other hand, your desire to travel is still there. The idea of going on a trip with your little one is going through your head. But is it possible? How to do? Pack your bags and follow the guide: we tell you everything you need to know to travel with a baby peacefully!
It is certainly not easy, but with a little pragmatism and organization, you can fully enjoy your stay. Don’t miss out on these special moments away from everyday life. For the rest, follow our advice to make the most of these unforgettable moments forever.
Table of Contents
When can you travel with a baby?
Unless the maternity unit advises otherwise, you can fly away with an infant quite quickly! Airlines accept children over 14 days old. You can take two childcare items free of charge in the hold and a bassinet will be lent to you during the flight. Additional cabin baggage is also permitted. Concerning us, we preferred to wait for the first vaccines to go on vacation when he was two months old, especially since our child was born in winter. To travel with a baby abroad, we waited until he was over twelve months old to have had all the vaccines. This is our opinion and each parent is the decision maker on this point.
Where to travel with a baby?
The first question you will ask yourself when preparing your stay is where to go to forget the sleepless nights, your pale complexion and the stigma of pregnancy. By taking your child with you anyway!
Some will tell you that with a baby, holidays are easy, you can go anywhere in the world! Others, on the contrary, that we must be careful. From now on, don’t forget that you are the parents, you decide! However, for our first year together, we didn’t want exotic places. In short, you are spoiled for choice of destination, provided you exercise caution and above all listen.
City breaks
In my opinion, for the first vacation before six months, the ideal is to go for a weekend (or more) to discover the most beautiful cities in the world! The advantage of this type of destination is that you can leave light! On site you will find everything! If you forget a piece of clothing, a pacifier, a bottle, etc., you can easily buy some! And leaving with peace of mind and the suitcase not too heavy, it is essential when you are young parents! Forget the cozy, even more the carrycot, take only the baby carrier and the travel cot and enjoy your well-deserved vacation.
Seaside holidays
Going to the sea is also a great idea! No more daily worries, beach towels, flip flops, swimsuits, we would like to be there. However, beware of the sun which is harmful to our little ones! Also, no sunbathing on the beach between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. or take the necessary equipment to protect your child from the sun!
Holidays in the mountains
Holidays in the mountains are a good way to take a break from everyday life and share the joys of nature with your little one very early on! You will see that they love trees, flowers, greenery from a few months. Just beware of the altitude! Do not take your little one above 1500m for three years. If you must, however, exceed this altitude, do not work up to 500m to climb. Also be careful to protect your little one from the sun! Once these precautions have been taken, take advantage of them! Hiking is an ideal way to get together, let go of your thoughts and enjoy the calm of nature.
Traveling with a baby abroad
Abroad, the real problem is the meal. Please note, some bottled waters are not suitable for children under 36 months. And for the small pots, we found Hipp all over the place quite easily. For the layers, forget your usual favorite model and everything will be fine. On the other hand, we had taken the quantity of layers sufficient for the night because we often have leaks with certain models.
Transport & journeys
Don’t stop yourself from making a long trip just because your child is small! There is a great chance that whatever the mode of transport, he sleeps! For the car, he will be used to it if it is your daily mode of transport. For the train, get used to public transport and it won’t be exceptional! Here are our tips for your trip whether by car, train or plane!
The car
The car and us are very punctual. When staying with family or friends, we have experimented with this type of transport. By car, you can take whatever you want and leave at the time that best suits your child. In addition, they tend to fall asleep easily in the car! However, in the car, it is impossible to stop easily and only one of the parents can take care of it. And who said it was easy to drive with a crying little one?!
The train
It is the easiest and most pleasant mode of transport ! Indeed, during a train trip you can jointly take care of your little one. And, no need to stop for a change or a meal! It’s very easy to feed him too. In the changing area of TGVs, you can breastfeed discreetly for the more modest. And you can heat a bottle. To change the diaper, no problem! In the TGV, you will find a changing table space with paper to protect the mattress, not even need a nomad’s changing mat! In TER and other trains, the bench will suffice! We promise, we did it several times, no one saw anything!
The plane
A plane trip, that hardly reassured me at the start. I feared the pressure on my child’s ears. In the end, the takeoff, flight and landing went really well! He suckled, slept and then sucked. Not a cry, nor any discomfort! Whatever his age and diet, getting your little one to drink during takeoff and landing is essential.
Good to know when traveling with a baby by plane: you have the right to two childcare items in the hold, free of charge, between the cot, stroller, baby carrier and / or car seat. Concerning us, our light and compact travel cot fits in the suitcase. You are also entitled to an additional cabin baggage, for us it was the ultra compact stroller.
For boarding, you will have the right to board after the “premium” passengers, if the flight is long, give your little one time to stretch their legs and board late. On low cost flights, get on early to have time to get settled in and make sure you have room for your hand luggage.
The benefits of travel for babies
Those who tell you that traveling with a baby doesn’t mean anything because your little one won’t remember it, are partly right. But only partially! All childhood specialists recommend reading stories to your baby, yet again he won’t remember, right? By traveling with you, he will experience unique moments with his family, and will make a thousand discoveries, smells, tastes, colors. It is to offer it an open window on the world and its beauty, on the difference that enriches us deeply. And that, it is never too early to pass it on!
On our side, we made albums of each of our journeys with our cubs and today they love to dive into them and watch them again and again. Each time, it is the occasion to ask ourselves: “When is it that we leave?”
Travel therefore promotes the development of our offspring! This feeds their thirst for discovery and their curiosity: something to fully develop them. Then children who travel adapt to everything and will feel at home wherever they go! There are many advantages of traveling for a baby even if he will not remember.
The advantages of traveling with a baby
Although this is a constraint in some areas, leaving with your little one will allow you, as backpackers, to live a different experience. Traveling with a baby can be a real catalyst for interacting with locals: it facilitates contact and even makes it magical! People come more naturally to chat and are often more inclined to share part of their history or culture with you. It is really another way to discover a destination, you will be amazed! Likewise, you travel slower and that’s not a bad thing: you might not see everything of your destination, but you will soak up the atmosphere better.
Tips for how to travel with a baby
It’s time to introduce your little one to new horizons! But going abroad with your baby requires a minimum of organization and precautions to be taken. Here are all our tips for traveling abroad with your baby with peace of mind.
Vaccines
To travel abroad with your baby, it is essential to take your health record with you. Check before your departure that your child is up to date with their vaccinations. Some destinations require specific vaccines. Quickly ask your doctor about their immunization times, as they can be very long. If you are traveling in the European Union, also remember to take your health insurance card. It will allow you to access care in the event of small problems.
Food hygiene
For young mothers, it is recommended to breastfeed the baby. For older children, a few hygiene rules must be observed. Provide sterilizable bottles and airtight storage jars. Electric sterilizers and bottle brushes are great for cleaning baby bottles and pacifiers on the go. Also watch food: Fruits and vegetables should be washed in potable water, peeled and cooked to kill bacteria. Think about the food preparers who will make your job easier. Finally, pay special attention to the water. In many foreign countries, the water is untreated and contains many bacteria. Avoid drinking tap water or water from natural sources and prefer water contained in hermetically sealed bottles.
Personal hygiene and baby protection
Abroad, it’s not easy to wash your baby like at home. For perfect hygiene on the go, think about diapers, essential, and wipes, very practical for cleaning baby on the train for example. Be careful to rinse baby well with clean water, to avoid the risk of contagions. Also plan a health and toilet kit: it does not take up space in your luggage and allows you to provide baby care on a daily basis.
Other tips: during your stay, never immerse your baby in stagnant water. Wear closed shoes to prevent any risk of disease. Also protect baby from insects, by equipping his bed or stroller with a mosquito net.
Watch out for altitude with a toddler
Altitude is not recommended for toddlers because it increases heart rate and blood pressure. In general, it is recommended not to take a baby under 1 year of age beyond 1500 m. He will wait until he is a little taller to climb his first summit.
Sleeping baby on vacation
If your child is less than 3 months old, you can use the carrycot of his stroller or a bassinet. But beware, baby grows very quickly at this age, and, if you go away for more than 15 days, your newborn may find himself very quickly cramped! Beyond that, plan an easily foldable and unfolding travel cot and, next to it, a comfortable mattress. The stroller is nevertheless very practical to allow baby to take a nap without blocking the whole family.
Baby meals on vacation
As long as the baby is breastfed, nothing to plan, except the mother available (or, for newborns fed with formula, the necessary bottles, teats, powdered milk and water).
With food diversification, travel requires a little more organization. Above all, be aware that a baby cannot eat the same food as the rest of the family and that he has specific nutritional needs linked to his rapid growth. So give up any temptation to give him what you eat.
If you want to prepare all of his meals for him, take some precautions in a foreign country whose sanitary hygiene standards you do not know. Offer your child only fruits and vegetables washed in drinking water (boiled if necessary), peeled and preferably cooked. Prefer bottled fruit juices over freshly squeezed ones. More than ever, take care to cook fish and meat thoroughly.
Baby’s habits: to keep!
Holidays are made for a change of pace? This is not necessarily the case for baby. All he needs is a routine! One of the main challenges of a baby’s first year being to establish regular sleep cycles, it would be a shame to erase everything in a parenthesis, however enchanted it may be. So continue to respect your child’s bedtime, as well as the established bedtime ritual (song, nursery rhyme, short story, night light, etc.). In a different environment, these small gestures will give him confidence and allow him to fall asleep with confidence and serenity. This will allow you to rest during your vacation!