Tips for Traveling Solo with Babies, Toddlers, and Young Children

While I love to travel with my own family, I often find myself in the position of traveling solo with young children.

My husband works as a school principal, which means he doesn’t have a lot of flexibility during the school year. Unfortunately, some of the best and cheapest times to travel are during shoulder seasons like September and October or April and May.

Since I work as a travel blogger, I try to fit in as much travel as I reasonably can. If I waited for my husband to be available, we would only travel during summer or spring break - when the rest of the world is traveling! We still do take trips during these times, but I found myself craving more (and needing more for my work).

So I got brave and decided to try traveling alone with our babies, toddlers, and little kids.

I’ll be honest - at first it was really intimidating and I would feel anxious before solo trips. But my anxiety in these situations was simply a lack of confidence in my ability to handle tough situations or manage our kids by myself when I was exhausted from travel.

Once I pinpointed that, I worked on my mindset. I acknowledged to myself that yes, it would be hard, and crazy, and chaotic. But I also made up my mind that I could handle any situation that came up.

Since then, I’ve traveled more and more often by myself with the kids. I’ve done both road trips and cross country flights. I’ve traveled with family, I’ve visited friends, and I’ve done it completely on my own. We’ve visited beaches, resorts, deserts, and National Parks. I’ve traveled with any and all combinations of our 4 kids at different ages.

I’m here to tell you that if you’re in a similar situation - you want to travel more but your partner’s schedule is not as flexible as yours - that you can do it! And the more you do it the more confident you will become.

I hope these tips help you give solo travel with kids a try!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

STRATEGY TIPS FOR SOLO TRAVEL WITH BABIES, TODDLERS, AND LITTLE KIDS

START SMALL

If you want to start traveling solo with your kids but you’re a bit nervous about how it will go, start small. Take easy day trips nearby or stay with family overnight to practice traveling on your own with the kids.

As you gain confidence in your ability to handle tough situations you can try more ambitious trips like longer road trips, solo flights, and international trips.

CONSIDER VISITING A FRIEND

One of my favorite ways to travel solo with my kids is to visit friends with kids my age that live in or near places I want to visit. The bonus here is that you get to parent alongside someone else so you don’t really feel alone, and they often have all the child-friendly extras that make your stay more comfortable: diapers & wipes, toys, cribs or pack & plays, laundry, high chairs, etc.

Not only will you save money, but you’ll likely be somewhere that’s baby proofed and where you can grocery shop and prepare your own food.

I’ve done this type of trips several times and it’s been such a relaxing way to venture out with your little ones especially if you’re feeling anxious about it.

PREP YOUR CHILD FOR THE TRIP

One thing that’s really helped me have successful trips with my kids is to talk to them about what to expect, especially if they’re 2 and older.

Start by explaining what you’ll be doing on the trip. Talk them through what the airport and airplane will be like, and what you’ll do at your destination when you arrive.

When we went to Idaho, I started by talking to my 3-year-old about wearing a mask in the airport and on the plane. I made it sound like a great adventure. Then I told him what to look for in Idaho - potatoes and mountains! (Obviously an oversimplification, but he’s 3). We repeated it over and over as we looked forward to the trip.

You can also grab some books from the library or Amazon about air travel that’s appropriate for their age. The more they know what to expect, the calmer they will be.

Finally, talk to them about your expectations for their behavior ahead of time. Prepare them for things like:

holding onto the stroller while you walk through the airport
not kicking the seat in front of them on the airplane
staying calm when they feel frustrated and asking for help

They will be much more likely to behave if they know what to expect!

DEVELOP A DETAILED ITINERARY

I’m not a natural planner. I usually have a list of things I’d like to do and a vague outline of how the trip will go, but then I like to see how I feel when I get there.

Unfortunately, when you’re alone with young children you have to have a plan. When the baby is crying and the toddler is whining, it’s hard to think straight much less formulate a plan. You need to know when to go where, how you’re going to get there, what the parking situation will be like, and when and where you’ll eat.

>> GRAB MY FAMILY TRAVEL PLANNER TO HELP YOU PLAN YOUR ITINERARY<<

As the kids get older or you get more confident and experienced you can probably relax the itinerary a little bit. Alternatively, you could try an easy resort vacation so all you have to figure out is getting to and from the airport, then just relax once you arrive.

Anyway, no matter your travel style or personality type, I’d say you’ll probably be much more relaxed if you know what’s coming next.

>> How to Plan Your Best Possible Family Vacation Itinerary

LET SOMEONE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE

For safety reasons, it’s important that someone knows where you are at all times. Make sure someone back home has your itinerary and copies of your important paperwork like ids, passports, kids’ birth certificates, etc.

You can drop a pin on your maps app on your phone and share it with a contact back home whenever you’re out and about.

As a general rule, keep in close contact with someone back home so they’re aware of any changes in plans.

NOW IS THE TIME TO SPLURGE ON CONVENIENCE

I’m usually pretty stubborn about doing things the hard way in order to save money. Why would I pay someone else money to do something I could do myself?

However, traveling alone with young children is the perfect time to break your own rules and splurge a little bit on services that make life more convenient.

Some examples might be making use of valet parking, paying to check a bag, getting TSA PreCheck before you go, or renting a car seat when you arrive at your destination so you don’t have to drag yours through the airport.

Taking care of a baby and/or toddler away from home by yourself is hard enough. If you have an opportunity to make it easier on yourself and you can afford it, I say now is the time!

DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOURSELF!

I’m so guilty of focusing on packing for my kids and making sure we have all the baby gear that I forget to pack important things for myself!

If you’re not comfortable and happy, you’re going to have a hard time keeping a good attitude for the kids while you’re away from home.

Make sure you have comfortable clothes that fit well so you’re not worried about adjusting your clothes all day.

Do not forget to bring multiple pairs of headphones. You will likely be stuck in a dark hotel room or on an airplane with a sleeping child and you WILL want to watch a show or scroll TikTok. Make sure you have both the plug in kind and bluetooth.

Pack plenty of your favorite healthy snacks. Schlepping kids through the airport is like a marathon and you need to fuel up with granola bars, bananas, apples, trail mix, anything with protein in it. Also, don’t forget a secret stash of your favorite candy.

Bring a book or download some ebooks to a tablet.

Buy a Sky Clip to you can set up your phone to watch a movie or show on the plane while holding a sleeping baby.

Grab a portable phone charger so you don't run out of battery when you’re alone and away from the hotel.

Obviously this won’t be the most relaxing trip of all time for you, but you do want to make it somewhat special and different from your day to day life so you can enjoy the time with your kids.

SCHEDULE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES EARLIEST IN THE DAY

As the day goes on the kids will likely get less cooperative, more tired, and more whiny.

If there’s something important I want to do that day, I schedule it for the morning time so everyone is fresh and still has a good attitude.

The other activities I schedule for that day will always be ones that I’m ok canceling if the kids are having meltdowns. All I know is I don’t want to ruin an experience I was really looking forward to because I over scheduled our day and the kids are tired and crabby by the time we get there.

Remember your patiences will be tested, too. You will be tired, too. It’s harder to deal with kids in a calm manner when you’re away from home, by yourself, tired, and hungry. Set yourself up for a win.

BRING A TRIPOD AND REMOTE

Get in that picture, mama!

Ok, I know. Easier said than done. It’s hard enough to get pictures of your kids when you’re traveling solo because there’s a baby strapped to you or a toddler running away.

However, I know from experience that it’s disappointing to walk away from a trip with no photographic evidence that you were even there.

Here are my best tips for getting yourself in a few of the shots:

Ask a stranger to take a picture of you and the kids. I always look for someone with a big DSLR camera around their neck (they' know how cameras work, they’ll line up your shot nicely, and they likely won’t try to steal your camera). If that’s not an option, look for a fellow mom. Moms get the job done.
Try setting up a tripod and using a remote shutter to take your own photos. There are some really lightweight tripods these days, and ones for all types of cameras, including phones. (I’ve linked everything I use below). Remote shutters are very affordable, too. Just search on Amazon “remote shutter for ___” and then insert whatever type of camera or phone you have. The bonus here is that you can take as many photos as you want to make sure you’re satisfied with the end result!
Set up your phone or camera on a rock or ledge or chair, set the self timer, and run! These likely won’t be the best photos, but they’ll be fun especially for toddlers.

Gear I use:

DON’T POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN REAL TIME

This is simply for safety. I don’t post in real time on Instagram Stories when I’m traveling solo with my kids because I don’t want people to know exactly where I am at any given time. I also turn the geotag off on my iPhone so people can’t discover my location using the photo’s geotag if I do happen to share something.

HAVE A MANTRA

Having a mantra is a trick I use for my own mindset. I know I need to stay positive for my kids. They’re in a strange place, too, and will need their grown-up’s emotions to be stable so they can feel comfortable and confident.

I repeat the mantra to myself in tough situations to keep my mental stay strong. A few examples of mantras I have used:

Today is going to be a great adventure!
I can do hard things.
This will make a great story later.
Everything is “figureoutable”

GO WITH THE FLOW

Ok so things are definitely going to go wrong. And you’ll have no other adult to lean on when they do.

Have the intention before you go on your trip that you’re not going to sweat the small stuff. Or the big stuff. You’ll figure it out. There’s always a solution.

For example, one time I was traveling solo with a 1, 3, and 5 year old. I was moving quickly through the Atlanta airport to make a connecting flight.

In the process, my 1-year-old who was sitting in the stroller kicked off one of his shoes. I didn’t notice until we were about to board the plane.

I could have gotten upset. But I decided that having a good mindset for the flight was more important than a shoe. I decided that kid shoes are not that expensive and I could easily replace it at Walmart if I needed to. They have Walmarts almost everywhere, you know.

More recently, I went on a trip with just my oldest (she’s 7), and we flew Frontier so we packed light - just our backpacks.

When we arrived, I realized she forgot to pack 2 of the outfits I had helped her pick out. At first I felt really frustrated. She had 1 casual outfit to wear and 1 cute outfit to wear for the whole trip (5 days).

I decided, though, that it wasn’t worth getting upset or ruining my trip over. If she truly needed another outfit we could stop at a store.

That’s not to say I handled it all with perfect grace and didn’t feel frustrated at all. It’s that after a few minutes I came to the conclusion that enjoying my time with the kids was more important that a small setback.

Let it go. Go with the flow.

HAVE A BACK-UP BRIBE OR SPECIAL TREAT

When things to go awry or kids have meltdowns at the worst possible moment, be sure to have a secret stash of bribes or special treats. Lollipops work great. Stickers work great. For my 3-year-old son it was the promise of a new toy car if he behaved well.

I’m not above bribery, especially when I’m alone with small children away from home. Just a thought!

HOW TO FLY ALONE AS A MOM WITH SMALL CHILDREN

BOOK AN EARLIER FLIGHT

Although I typically like flights during kids’ nap times or bed time so they might sleep, I do think it’s worth considering to find a flight earlier in the day when you’re traveling alone with little kids.

That way if something goes wrong (you miss a flight, the flight is delayed or cancelled, etc), there’s still plenty of time in the day to get where you need to go.

It’s also nice to arrive during daylight if you’re going somewhere you’re unfamiliar with.

Now, when I’m going to visit friends while traveling solo I don’t worry about this as much. But checking into a hotel or vacation rental by myself is another story. Arrive before dark if you can.

PAY FOR SEAT SELECTION

Many airlines require you to buy a more expensive ticket or pay extra if you want to select your seats. As a general rule I don’t like paying a penny more than I have to, and I often “risk it” and just try to check in as early as possible on the app to get the seats I want.

However, if you’re traveling alone with a toddler, you may feel more comfortable just paying a little extra to make sure you sit together.

PACK LIGHT

This is one of the toughest tips when you’re traveling with a baby and a toddler. You just need a lot of gear for them.

However, there is only one person to carry the gear. It’s you. You’re the person.

Do your best to make sure you can manage everything easily. Bring a stroller so you can pile bags on it then gate check the stroller.

Get a small suitcase your toddler can pull themselves and a small backpack with only a few lightweight things your toddler can wear on their back.

Bring the baby carrier.

FIGURE OUT A CAR SEAT PLAN

Will you bring your car seats with your from home or rent them when you arrive?

This is a personal choice and you’ll hear great arguments for both options. I usually bring mine from home because I know how to install them correctly and I know they are safe and a good fit for my kids.

You can check car seats for free either at the ticket counter or at your boarding gate. I usually check them at the ticket counter unless it’s an infant car seat that clicks into my stroller. In that case I use it as I go through the airport then gate check it at the same time as the stroller.

Another perk to doing this is if you didn’t purchase a seat for your baby and the plane is not full, sometimes the agent at the gate will let you take your car seat on the plane and use one of the extra seats for them.

Make sure to purchase a protective bag to put your car seats in if you’re checking them. We have this one and it’s HUGE, so we’ve been able to fit both a car seat and booster seat in one bag. If you want one that’s more fitted and snug to your car seat, here’s a good option.

I recently used the Mifold Travel Booster Seat for my trip to Florida with my oldest (she’s 7). I loved how lightweight it was and easy to bring with us. It fit easily in my backpack. It was fairly simple and quick to set up. My daughter didn’t LOVE it, though, because it wasn’t the most comfortable and she had trouble buckling and unbuckling herself with the lap belt threaded through the red clips. We will likely use it again if we take a trip with all the kids. I might also try the Bubble Bum car seat to see if that works a little better.

GET TO THE AIRPORT EARLY

Leave yourself plenty of time to get through security with little kids without feeing rushed or stressed. You’ll also want time to change diapers, get a snack, go to the bathroom, and fill water bottles before you board the flight.

I understand you want to limit the amount of time you’re in the airport, but nothing is worse than running through the airport with little kids to catch a flight. Trust me.

CHECK TO SEE IF YOU NEED A PARENTAL CONSENT FORM

I’ve never had to use a parental consent form when traveling alone with my kids within the US, but check the guidelines for the country you’re flying abroad to. I’ve heard of people needing this for international flights.

PERFECT YOUR AIRPORT SETUP

Ok. You have a lot of gear to juggle and only one adult to do it. What’s the setup? How to you make it through the airport?

I always bring a stroller, especially if I’m traveling with more than one young child. (If I’m just traveling with an older kid - like age 4 and up, I won’t bother with the stroller).

In the basket of the stroller I place a baby carrier, and anything I know security will ask me to pull out of my backpack - laptop, liquids, tablets, etc.

I use a carry-on size suitcase with 4 spinner wheels so I can easily maneuver it with one hand. My personal item is my backpack, which contains my camera gear, snacks, and an extra set of clothes.

Any kids not in the stroller are responsible for their own suitcase and backpack. Obviously I make sure they are light enough that the children can manage them.

If I am bringing a car seat along, which I usually am, I check it right away before going through security. I use a car seat protector bag to make sure it doesn’t get damaged. Most airlines will allow you to check car seats and strollers for free.

Meanwhile, the infant car seat that attaches to the stroller I will take through security and either gate check it or bring it on the plane with me. I rarely purchase a seat for my kids under 2, but sometimes if the flight is really empty they flight attendants have allowed me to bring it on and use an empty seat. (I would not count on this for a while since most flights these days are pretty full due to reduced flight schedules).

When I’m ready to go through security, I pull off to the side and put the baby in the baby carrier, and make sure everything that needs to be pulled out of the bags for security is out or easily accessible.

Finally, I always have a crossbody purse or waist bag where documents and my phone are within easy reach.

FIND FAMILY RESTROOMS

After going through security, our first stop is always a family restroom. It’s a good opportunity to get situated after the chaos of security, and a chance for everyone to use the bathroom before getting on the flight.

Family restrooms are usually really spacious so they can fit your stroller, bags, and kids with ease. There are also changing tables so you can change the baby’ diaper before getting on the plane.

Once I’m on the plane, I try not to go to the bathroom because it’s too tough to fit the kids and myself in those tiny bathrooms, and I can’t really leave them by themselves, unless there is a kind stranger who offers to help.

ASK FOR AND ACCEPT HELP

One of my greatest weaknesses in life is asking for help. I am very independent and don’t like to rely on other people.

However, as I’ve gotten older and had more kids, I realize that people who are willing to help are a gift, and I should happily accept their help.

If someone offers to hold a fussy baby while I get the toddler set up - YES! Thank you!

If someone helps my toddler with their tablet while I’m breastfeeding the baby - AMAZING. Thank you!

If someone lifts my carry-on into the overhead compartment since I’m baby wearing and holding 3 other bags - LIFESAVER. Thank you.

Don’t try to be a hero if people are offering to help. It will go much more smoothly for everyone if you accept help when you need it.

Also, I now look for opportunities to be the helper and pay it forward whenever I can.

BRING A TABLET WITH PRE-DOWNLOADED ENTERTAINMENT

Many planes these days (at least the ones I’ve been on recently) no longer have the setback screen. Airlines seem to be encouraging passengers to download their app to watch movies and shows for free on their own devices.

So make sure before you leave your house and your wifi you take the time to download the airline’s app on all your devices and also download movies and shows from Netflix, Disney+, or Prime Video.

I also have to say that one of the best investments we have made are the kids Fire Tablets from Amazon along with the Amazon Kids+ (formerly Freetime Unlimited) app. Once kids are in the app they can’t leave, so you don’t have to worry about what content they are consuming. You set the age parameters for each kid’s profile, and you can download games, books, and videos to the app if you know you won’t have wifi later.

BRING ORGANIZED SNACK BAGS

The one task I hate almost as much as laundry before a trip is putting together snack bags. But I still do it every time because it has the greatest ROI.

I always put together snack bags for each person for both the flight there and the return flight. It takes some preplanning but it’s so worth it to not have to worry about plane snacks while you’re on your trip.

Each snack bag gets labeled and put into each child’s carry-on. They also get a larger bag with a pb&j sandwich, apple slices, a granola bar, and an applesauce pouch in addition to fun snacks and maybe even a candy bag.

Usually I use ziplock bags and label them with sharpie, but I’m planning on transitioning into reusable bags for future trips.

TRAVELING SOLO WITH KIDS IS SO WORTH IT.

I’m so glad I took the plunge and decided not to wait for backup to be able to travel. You can do it, too! Whether you spend a weekend at a beautiful resort, stay with friends or family, or opt for something crazy and adventurous, there are so many ways to dip your toes into the world of solo travel with kids.

Suddenly the world is your oyster with very little to hold you back. You’ll gain confidence in your skills as a parent, you’ll make wonderful memories with your kids, and you’ll finally be able to make a dent in that interminable bucket list.

You got this! Now get out there and explore!