Travel Sleep Tips for Babies and Toddlers

It’s that time of year again!! Travel season is here as Canada starts to freeze over! With so many families heading to sunny destinations like Mexico, Jamaica, or the Dominican, I thought it’d be the perfect time to share some travel sleep tips for babies and toddlers. My own family is jetting off to Jamaica in mid-December, so I’m already in full prep mode, thinking about how to make travelling with little ones as smooth (and restful!) as possible.

I’d love to offer some tips on how to keep the kiddos on the best schedule we can. But also to keep their ‘sleep’ environment as similar as we can so they don’t feel confused at bedtime.

Here’s some tips:

1. Try to Stick to Their Routine (as Much as You Can)

When traveling with a baby or toddler, keeping a familiar sleep routine helps your child feel secure and calm. Stick to your regular bedtime ritual, even if it looks a tad different. Like a shower instead of a bath. Reading a book in the hotel bed, instead of a rocking chair. Putting lotion on, on top of the bathroom counter instead of a comfy change table. It will look a little different, but providing similar sleep cues to the babies, will still signal bedtime for them.

2. Bring Sleep Comforts From Home

Consistency is key when it comes to baby sleep while traveling. Pack the normal stuff you use to have your little ones sleep. If your baby needs a soother, lovey or sound machine to sleep, try your best to bring them in tow. If you use the hatch, the hatch has a small travel hatch that works perfect for our family. I’m sure Amazon sells all sorts of other ones that are travel friendly as well. More just putting out my recommendation on what we use!

3. Recreate Their Sleep Environment

Whether you’re staying in a hotel or with family, try to mimic your baby’s sleep space from home.

• Keep the room dark! You know our family LOVES the slumberpod as a travel hack but in the case you don’t have one, try to make the room as dark as you can for baby.

• Use white noise to drown out new sounds. Especially with a busy hotel or a busy pool just outside with music, you want to drown that out for nap and bedtimes. Sometimes I even like a break from the music or loud kids (haha)

• Set up the travel crib or play yard in a quiet corner of the room. I always recommend away from a washroom or door to the hallway. We try to eliminate as many unfamiliar sounds when the baby sleeps. Our pack and play comes with us EVERYWHERE when we travel and we’ve never had a problem. She’s also so used to it, so it is not unfamiliar to her. Again, if you don’t have the means too, a lot of hotels provide cribs, but just call beforehand and make sure!

Familiar surroundings help your baby understand, “This is where I sleep,” even away from home.

4. Adjust to Time Zones Slowly

If you’re traveling to a new time zone, plan ahead.

• For shorter trips (less than 3 days), stay on your home schedule.

• For longer stays, shift naps and bedtime gradually by 15–30 minutes each day before you leave.
  Once you arrive, natural sunlight during the day helps reset your child’s internal sleep clock.

5. Be Flexible on Travel Days

When you’re on the go, naps in the car or on the plane are okay! The goal is to help your baby rest, not to have perfect sleep. I always try to travel with a light blanket to cover baby if they are on me for their nap, or to cover their carseat if I bought a seat for them. I even turn their travel sound machine on (LOW, I PROMISE ) to try my best to drown out sudden noises so they don’t wake. Once you arrive, aim for an earlier bedtime to help your child recover from stimulation and travel fatigue.

6. Manage Expectations (and Give Yourself Grace)

Even the best sleep plans can go sideways while traveling. Expect a few bumps, and that’s perfectly normal. Once you’re home, return to your usual sleep routine. Most babies and toddlers readjust within a few days. It’s not the end of the world if their sleep falls off track a bit. Just try your best to get them back into their routine or schedule.

Vacations don’t have to mean sleepless nights. With the right mix of structure and flexibility, your baby or toddler can rest well while traveling. Hopefully meaning you can truly enjoy your vacation, that you deserve.

Sleep doesn’t need to take a vacation, it just needs a plan. 🤍