The Baby & Toddler Travel Gear I Actually Use

Every "must-have baby travel gear" list is written by someone trying to sell you the entire nursery. This is not that. This is what my husband and I actually drag through airports — and up Portugal's hills, down Greek stairs, onto Alpine snow — with two kids under three. I don't make a dime if you buy any of it. No affiliate links, nobody's paying me, no brand deals. I just own all of it and have opinions.

Two things that'll save you the most money and the most sanity: you need way less than you think, and the fancy brand-name version is usually not the better one. I'll tell you exactly where.

The hill I will die on: no side-by-side double

Do not buy a giant side-by-side double stroller. I lived in New York for ten years. Something that eats the whole sidewalk would have broken me. And here's the thing — you don't need one.

Twin stroller connectors — around $26. The single greatest purchase we've made for two kids, full stop. They clip our two YOYOs (spoiler!) into one double when we want it — one of us pushes both, often one-handed, through the airport — and pop apart into two singles when we don't. He takes one, I take the other. Skinny doorway? Fine. Stairs? Fine. I want a glass of wine by myself? He takes both kids. Tiny restaurant? Love us. THIS is why you don't need a side-by-side.

The stroller itself

Stokke YOYO3 (formerly Babyzen) — around $400. We have two. The YOYO2 was our only stroller when we had one kid; when the second came along we bought another for travel. It steers with one hand — everyone comments on that.

Now, some honesty, because everyone else lies about this: it is not a one-hand close. Dropping the handle takes two hands. You can do it with the kid still in the seat and then fold one-handed once they're out — but does one-handed even matter when you travel? You've got a bag hanging off it and gear stuffed underneath. You're ripping all of that off no matter what. At the gate I'm packing it into a bag and sitting on the floor anyway. Quick errand at home? Sure, one-handed is nice. At the airport? Who cares.

What it actually is: the lightest real stroller there is. Fits the overhead bin. It'll even go down the aisle (they rarely let you), so you can squeeze past people. It got us up and down Portugal's hills and Greek stairs when nothing else would have. And it takes ski attachments for snow — amazing in the Alps, as long as the village has packed snow. No packed snow, no need for them, and they slip flat into a ski bag anyway.

What makes it worth the money is what you bolt onto it — and it folds with all of it still attached:

• Gate-check travel bag — around $40. The Babyzen-branded one makes you fold the stroller perfectly to fit. Hard pass. This one's still compact but gives you a little room, so I'm not sweating and swearing at the gate.
• Leg rest — around $49. Lets the baby actually recline and sleep instead of folding in half.
• Clip-on fan — around $27. Four speeds. Clips to the stroller, a carrier, a restaurant high chair — wherever the meltdown is.
• Stroller hooks — around $10. For the diaper bag, the shopping, whatever you're too lazy to carry.
• Handlebar caddy — around $10. Cup holders, a phone pocket, a home for the stuff you're always digging for.
• Bumper bar — around $30. Gives the toddler something to grab, folds without taking it off.
• Rain cover. Because you will get caught out, and a soaked toddler is a long afternoon.

The footmuff (hear me out)

Momcozy footmuff — around $150. A cold-weather necessity, and I need you to sit with the logic for a second: when is your toddler actually wearing their coat? Not in the car seat — you're not supposed to. Not anywhere they're strapped in, really. It ends up balled up under the stroller every single time. So instead of fighting a screaming toddler into a coat they hate, you zip them into this. Done.

We have the Babyzen-branded one too, and this cheaper one is better — I feel genuinely guilty that only one kid gets it (the baby, obviously). One heads-up: it does not close all the way when the stroller's folded, so plan for that. Plus, honestly? I want one for myself.

The other way to dodge a double

A folding wagon — around $190. Beach and city both. Small, folds decently. At the beach it lies flat and zips up so the sand stays out and the sun's off the baby, but it still breathes. In the city with two, it's a fraction of a double stroller. If the two-YOYOs-and-connectors setup isn't your life, this is the other way to move two kids without becoming the person everyone hates on the sidewalk.

Getting through the airport

Luggage connector straps — around $9. I truly believed we'd stay a carry-on-only couple after kids. We could, technically. We tried twice. The truth is it's so much easier to check — you're hauling the car seat anyway — and these are what make it survivable. One hand pulls three bags, any brand, so you're not locked into a set. You can push a stroller and pull the luggage at the same time. A total lifesaver when you're late and someone has to run the rental car back.

A wheeled car seat travel bag — around $90. We own the backpack-style ones for both the Doona and a regular car seat. The Doona one's more padded, and honestly? They both hurt. Get the wheels. You're checking the seat regardless — make it roll.

Carrying them (a ladder, by how long you're stuck holding a kid)

A packable sling — around $27 (heads up: fewer reviews than everything else here — I love it anyway). This lives in the diaper bag. When either kid suddenly needs to be held for an hour, you've got real shoulder support instead of a dead arm and a bad attitude. We reach for this one the most.

A structured soft carrier (BabyBjörn Harmony) — around $190. For a full day out with no stroller, this is what I grab. Newborn through toddler, front or back.

A hiking carrier (Osprey Poco LT) — around $300, plus its rain cover, around $44. For my hikers and my Greek-islanders. We've worn this from Ireland to Yosemite. We have a more supportive one at home, but it doesn't fold — so for travel, this is the one, and the kids love the view.

The diaper bag, and what's actually in it

Skip the giant "baby"-themed diaper bag. You need less than you think. I use a normal, non-gendered backpack (Fawn Design's "The Pack", mine's tan) and it holds plenty: diapers, wipes, a changing pad, a spare outfit for both kids, a few books, teethers, a toy or two, a drawing pad for restaurants, three or four bottles. Enough for a full day walking around Europe, small enough that it doesn't scream "I packed the whole nursery." Bonus: a plain backpack means my husband carries it too. I am not the only one who has a baby in this relationship.

One thing worth naming from inside it: a thin folding changing pad — around $13. Flat, not bulky, wipes clean, goes straight in the bag.

One last one

A stroller phone mount — around $15–20. So you can follow directions in a new city without a phone welded to your hand — you actually get to look at the view and your kids. One of my favorite travel memories is riding electric scooters down the beach path in Tel Aviv, and the only annoying part was stopping every two minutes to check how far we'd gone. This would've fixed it. Stroller, bike, scooter — easy win.

That's the list. Nothing here is sponsored and I don't earn a cent if you buy it — it's just what's survived two kids and a lot of airports.