Travelling with children Baby products to take on holiday
When you go on holiday, check what baby equipment the company you're travelling with, or the place you're travelling to, can provide. If you're hiring a cottage, highchairs and cots are often provided and, if not, you can normally hire such equipment through the holiday home company.
If you're travelling abroad with a tour operator, you'll probably be able to hire cots and even buggies through them, as many pride themselves on the baby-friendliness of their resorts. Alternatively, you can contact the local tourist office.
Only take what you need
You don’t need everything you use at home and you can make substitutions – for example, you could use boiling water in a pan instead of a space-consuming steriliser for sterilising baby bottles.
You really only need a baby travel cot if you’ll be making regular overnight trips
Borrow rather than buy
If you don’t want to increase your holiday budget, this can be a good way around it. If you know someone with a travel cot or a spare, lightweight buggy, for example, there’s no harm in asking.
Buy a cheaper model
If you do decide to buy new, you'll probably only be using the item(s) occasionally after your holiday, so a basic model will be adequate.
A possible exception is if you're buying your first umbrella-folding stroller to go on holiday. You'll probably be using this regularly at some point, once your baby grows out of your current pushchair.
The most basic strollers, although fine as a spare, tend to be less user-friendly than more sophisticated models. Paying a little bit more for a lighter-weight model with a few extra features is worth considering. Check out our Best Buy pushchairs.
Disposable items
Disposable items, while not particularly environmentally friendly, can make your life easier. For example, if you normally use washable nappies, you may find disposables more user-friendly while travelling. You can also get disposable bottles and bibs.
Travel models
Travel versions of various types of baby equipment are widely available (though think hard whether you really need to buy each item), such as travel cots, travel sterilisers and travel bottle-warmers.
Plan nappy supplies
The most popular nappy brands are available in most foreign resorts, so if you need to restrict your luggage, it’s worth buying them once you get there. However, they can be more expensive than in the UK. If you’re travelling abroad by car, consider taking a full supply of nappies with you.
