This blog is written by Shayna, a NICU/Emergency Nurse and Mum to her young daughter.
Overseas travel (or even thinking of travelling) with a one year old can be both exciting and challenging. They are truly not a baby anymore, but aren’t quite a true toddler yet either. While the idea of exploring new places as a family is thrilling, the logistics of travelling with a toddler can sometimes feel overwhelming. I recently travelled to Europe with my one year old (It was her birthday on the day we left), Ruby, for five weeks (I will preface this by saying we did have family help at times throughout the trip).
In the lead up I was frantically searching for resources of best packing lists, plane essentials and really just scrambling for any tips. I have collated my top practical tips here to hopefully help make your journey smoother and more enjoyable!
Planning
There is certainly no one option that will work for all families, however I think taking some time to think about whether a night flight or flight aligning with sleep time vs awake time sounds more manageable to you. In saying this, I think there are so many variables with our little ones, that sometimes we won’t get this right even when we do plan!
We broke up the long flights by staying a couple of nights at our “stopover” in Perth, which when coupled with a night flight for the long haul, which worked really well for us.
In saying this, for all of our internal flights/travel we didn’t bother with the mental load of trying to find the perfect times, and just did the best we could with a whole range of different times. We found that our little girl was so exhausted from the go, go, go of the trip (and the heat) that she slept the majority of the flights (a plane provides perfect, organic white noise).
When planning travel, it is important to think about moving around once at your destination, and to look into child transportation safety in other countries combined with your own family values. There are differing rules for travelling in taxis, ubers, rental cars and child car seats, so it is absolutely worth looking into for your specific destination.
Packing
- TO-GO KIT - knowing we had the perfectly curated, condensed first aid kit to tackle any medical situation that may have arisen, made us feel extremely prepared. Having the sharps products already in a little pouch, made it so easy to pull out when going through security, and we added some basic liquid medications into this as well.
- Clothing will be entirely dependent on where you are travelling - we took a decent amount of clothes so we weren’t having to do washing every few days. Using packing cells to sort clothes into categories was also so helpful.
- Travel cot
- Travel pram
- Pram fan
- Baby Carrier
- Mini thermos - this meant if we were heading out for the day we could pack some veg, fruit, cheese etc to have on hand
- We took Weetbix, plain oat sachets and a SUBO bottle - knowing we had one meal option that we knew would be eaten was reassuring
- Drink bottles - I made sure I had an insulated one for those hot days out
- Nappies and wipes for ~5 days, therefore we had no rush to buy these
- Sleep sacks
- SlumberPod
- Smock/bibs
- Beach towel
- Sunscreen
- Monitor
- Spare dummies if used (you don’t want to have to try to find exact dummies overseas!)
Plane Travel
- Travel Pram (you can check in a pram once at the gate as you board if you don’t need it during a stop over and it will come out with checked bags, or you can stow with your overhead carry on, however it is best to check this with your specific airline)
- Baby Carrier
- Packs of nappy, change mat, nappy bag in zip lock bags (made it easier to grab and go, as I would just have to grab one of these and wipes to head to the bathroom for changes)
- Packs of changes of clothes (onesie or leggings/top)
- Pack of sensory toys/new toys (little animal/people figurines,, cars)/books/bubble stickers (these aren’t hard to remove off of a surface once used)
- Snacks, snacks and more snacks!
- Drink bottle
- Sleep suit
- Blanket
- Hand sanitiser
We found having the bassinet row for the long haul flight was such a must. Some one year olds may not fit in the bassinet, however having the extra space was so helpful.
Expectations
Travelling with a young child simply won’t be the same as without - however I think managing expectations and finding different senses of joys is what travel is about at this stage of life. Finding time to fill up your little one’s cup through playgrounds and time to play is key to them sitting in the pram or carrier at other times.
We would make sure that before flights we let Ruby have as much time exploring, not being held or contained as possible and utilised lounge kids rooms where available. Accepting that you may not get to fit in as many things as trips pre-kids will set you up for success, and if you do, that is great!
Document
I am sure most of us don’t need this reminder (if you are like me and your photo app is constantly nearly full!), but take lots of pictures and videos - capturing precious family memories that last forever.
Travelling with a one-year-old is an adventure that requires a bit of preparation and a lot of flexibility. By planning ahead, packing wisely, and maintaining a positive attitude, you can create wonderful memories as a family. Safe travels, and enjoy showing your little one the world! Our trip was certainly our favourite holiday to date!
Overseas Travel With A One Year Old