How to Travel with Baby and a Stroller

Between the summer break and the winter holidays, chances are you’ve got a trip coming up with your little one.

Wondering how to travel with a baby and a stroller without it turning into a nightmare? You’re not alone. Most parents figure this out through trial and error, usually somewhere in the middle of a busy airport with a screaming toddler and a stroller that won’t fold. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Travelling with a baby takes a bit more planning than travelling on your own, but once you know how the systems work (at the airport, on the bus, in the car) it gets a lot less stressful. Here’s what actually helps.

Choosing the right stroller for your trip

Before you even get to the travel day, think about whether the stroller you use every day is the right one to bring. A big, heavy travel system with a bassinet attachment is brilliant for daily walks but can be a real pain to lug through an airport or fold on a moving bus.

If your baby is old enough to sit up unsupported (usually from around 6 months, though check the manufacturer’s guidance for your specific model), a lightweight umbrella stroller is often a much better travel companion. They fold small, weigh a fraction of a standard pushchair, and some come with their own carry bag with a shoulder strap, which is genuinely useful when your hands are already full.

If you’re travelling with a newborn, you probably do need something that reclines flat or takes a car seat attachment, so weigh up portability against what your baby actually needs at their age and stage.

Flying with a baby and a stroller

When you check in, tell the desk agent you’re travelling with an infant and a stroller. Most airlines will let you take the stroller right to the boarding gate and use it up until you walk onto the aircraft, rather than checking it in with your regular luggage. This is worth asking for every time, because it means you’re not carrying a baby through security and the terminal with no way to put them down.

At check-in, staff will usually attach a gate tag to the stroller. If it comes apart into more than one piece, ask for a tag for each part so nothing goes missing. Keep hold of your receipt or tag stub if they give you one.

Going through security, you’ll typically need to fold the stroller so it can go through the X-ray machine, or in some airports you can wheel it around the scanner while an officer checks it separately. Rules vary by airport and country, so if you’re unsure, ask a member of staff rather than guessing.

Once you’re at the gate, you can use the stroller right up until boarding. Before you hand it over at the aircraft door, empty the basket, take off any clip-on toys, cup holders or hooks that could snap or go missing, and fold it properly with the brake on. Ground crew handle a lot of luggage in a short space of time, so anything loose is likely to get lost or damaged.

A padded stroller travel bag is a good investment if you fly often. Cargo holds are dusty, sometimes wet, and strollers get thrown around with the rest of the luggage. A bag protects the fabric and wheels, and it stops your stroller coming out the other end covered in grease from the conveyor belt. You can pick these up fairly cheaply online or from most baby stores.

When you land, your stroller should be brought back to you at the aircraft door or just inside the jet bridge, the same place you left it. If it’s gone to the main baggage carousel instead (this happens occasionally, especially on connecting flights), a member of ground staff can help you track it down.

Worth checking before you fly: your airline’s specific policy on stroller weight and size limits, whether they allow double or tandem strollers to gate-check, and their car seat policy if you’re bringing one. These details vary a lot between airlines, so it’s worth checking their website or calling ahead rather than assuming.

Travelling by car

Strollers and car boots don’t always get along, especially in smaller cars. Your baby will need a properly fitted car seat for the journey regardless of what stroller you bring, and trying to fit both a car seat and a full-size pushchair into a small boot alongside luggage can be genuinely tricky.

If this is a regular problem for you, a travel system where the car seat clicks directly onto a lightweight stroller frame can solve a lot of headaches, since you’re essentially packing one item instead of two separate ones. Umbrella strollers are also worth considering for car trips for the same reason as flying: they fold down small and don’t eat into your boot space.

If you can, pop the stroller in a bag or an old sheet before it goes in the boot. Stroller wheels pick up all sorts from pavements and car parks, and you don’t want that transferring onto suitcases or anything else you’re packing.

As a general safety point, always use a car seat that’s correctly fitted for your child’s current height and weight, and if you’re at all unsure whether yours is fitted properly, most local fire stations, some hospitals, and specialist retailers offer free car seat checks. It’s worth doing if you’ve never had it checked before.

Bus and train travel

Buses tend to be the trickiest form of transport for stroller travel. Most have narrow aisles, steep steps at the entrance, and no real space to keep a stroller open, so you’ll likely need to fold it before you get on. That’s a genuinely hard thing to do single-handed while also holding a baby, so don’t be afraid to ask the driver or a fellow passenger to help. People are usually more willing to lend a hand than you’d expect.

Policies differ between bus companies. Some will ask you to hold your baby for the whole journey once the stroller is folded and stowed, similar to flying, while others are relaxed about you keeping your baby in the stroller if there’s room. If you’re relying on public buses regularly, it’s worth checking your local operator’s policy in advance rather than finding out at the bus stop.

Trains are usually a bit easier. There are rarely steep steps to manage, and the aisles and vestibule areas tend to be wider, so you may be able to wheel the stroller straight on without folding it at all. That said, peak times and busy services can still mean squeezing into a tight spot, so it helps to know where the accessible or family carriage is before you board, if the service has one.

Whatever you’re travelling on, there will be moments where you need to fold a stroller and hold a wriggling baby at the same time, and it’s rarely graceful. Most people, drivers included, are happy to help out when they see a parent struggling. Don’t feel awkward asking.

Depending on your baby’s age, how much walking you’re likely to do, and how much stuff you need to carry, it’s also worth considering a baby carrier as a backup or even a replacement for the stroller on certain trips. Carriers free up your hands completely and skip the folding problem altogether, though they’re obviously not going to carry your nappy bag and shopping the way a stroller will.

A few other things worth sorting before you go

A little bit of prep on the day makes everything smoother. It’s worth:

• Checking your specific stroller model’s fold mechanism at home a few times before travel day, so you’re not fumbling with it for the first time in front of a queue of people.
• Packing a change of clothes for your baby (and yourself) in your hand luggage, not just the checked bag, in case of delays or spills.
• Bringing a lightweight rain cover if you’re heading somewhere unpredictable, since you may end up waiting outside for transport at some point.
• Double checking your airline, bus, or train operator’s specific stroller and car seat policy a few days before you travel, since these do change and vary between companies.

Travelling with a baby and a stroller takes a bit more organising than travelling alone, but most of it comes down to knowing the process in advance and not being afraid to ask for help when you need it. Have a lovely trip with your little one.