Best Strollers for Travel with Babies and Toddlers

Planning a trip with a baby or toddler in tow? Whether you are about to embark on baby’s first flight or are a traveling parent veteran, you probably know that having the right stroller for the trip is incredibly important. Our network of expert TravelingMoms put their heads together to share their favorites for every kind of trip.

Best Travel Strollers

Traveling with a baby or toddler can be a challenge, but having the right gear with you makes the logistics of it much easier. Strollers are one must-have item for almost any kind of trip. Bring the wrong one and you may find yourself struggling to fold it up without the hands to do it or fighting to fit it in a rental car trunk that just isn’t big enough. Bring the right one and your travels with baby become much more seamless.

Over years of traveling with little ones, I’ve used several different kinds of strollers for all kinds of trips: cross-country flights, plenty of Disney and theme park visits, and even the great outdoors in America’s National Parks. I’ve further surveyed the TravelingMom network for their recommendations. As we like to say at TravelingMom – “we’ve been there!” And we’ve definitely been there with strollers.

Here are the best travel strollers of a variety of brands, sizes, and shapes for all kinds of family travel. Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on them to buy one of our recommended strollers, TravelingMom will get a commission. However, all of these recommendations are based on our personal experience. 

Best Stroller for Air Travel: gb Pockit

The gb Pockit has only been on the market for a year and it has already become my absolute personal favorite for air travel with kids. What makes it revolutionary is its super-compact fold (so small, in fact, it is in the Guinness Book of World Records!). It’s so lightweight you can hold it with two fingers. And for frequent flyers like me, the best part is that there is never a need to gate check your stroller and risk it being lost or damaged again. The gb Pockit is small enough that it fits in an airplane overhead bin or even under the seat in front of you.

One word of warning to taller parents: the handle is a bit low for some. The stroller wheels aren’t ideal for anything other than hard surfaces, but it is pretty versatile for something so tiny. I’ve taken it on my travels through numerous airports as well as to Walt Disney World and Dollywood and always have parents stopping to ask me what it is because they are so impressed. See a full review of the gb Pockit.

Approximate Price: $189 

Best Lightweight Umbrella Stroller: Uppababy G-Lite

Traveling parents can rarely go wrong with a well-made classic umbrella stroller. There are a million and one models on the market. Don’t just opt for a cheap no-name brand when you need a reliable choice for travel. Uppababy is well-regarded. Its most basic lightweight umbrella stroller, the G-Lite is stable and can take a few bumps from family travel craziness. It doesn’t recline so it’s only for ages 6 months and up, but the price is right for such a high quality model.

Approximate Price: $179 

Best All-Purpose Umbrella for Travel: Maclaren Quest

If you want a more full-featured umbrella stroller, the Maclaren Quest is a slightly bigger model with lots of bells and whistles. It’s pricier and a tiny bit heavier, but not so much that it is too heavy for travel. Plus, it may also save you money because it is suitable for all sorts of non-travel uses back home. It may well be the only stroller you need.

The Maclaren Quest has 4 recline positions, so it even works for newborns. Maclaren strollers are always known for their quality; chances are investing in a good one will last you through at least two kids no matter where your travels take you. I still have and use the Quest we bought 8 years ago with my first child!

Approximate Price: $299 

Best All-Terrain Travel Stroller: City Mini

The stroller most mentioned by TravelingMoms as their favorite for travel was, hands down, the City Mini. The City Mini gives parents the versatility of a jog stroller with a more compact footprint. There’s a reason most of the third party stroller rental companies near Disney parks have legions of these strollers in their fleets – they just work.

Day Trips TravelingMom Julie Bigboy says she has used it at Disney traveling alone and “had no problem folding it and carrying it by myself while baby-wearing.” If you are hopping on and off Walt Disney World buses, the benefit of being able to fold this stroller with one hand cannot be understated. It has an ample storage basket and sunshade for a lot of travel uses. Mindful TravelingMom Robin Hutson has had great success with it in airports too, finding it “incredibly easy to have a baby on the hip while breaking it down and slinging it onto the belt at security.”

Approximate Price: $259 

Best Travel Stroller for Babies: Baby Trend Snap N Go

If you are traveling with a very young infant, the best stroller option is actually not really a stroller at all. The easiest combination is to take your infant car seat “bucket” which you will likely need anyway when traveling with a baby and use it as the seat on a simple stroller frame. The most well-known stroller frame and one that fits nearly every brand of car seat with ease is the Baby Trend Snap N Go. It has an ample storage basket underneath for all your essentials and is incredibly lightweight.

Approximate Price: $70 

Best Side-by-Side Double Stroller for Travel: Maclaren Twin Techno

For those of you traveling with twins or two kids of stroller age, the moms here at TravelingMom salute you! It’s hard, but luckily there are a few great strollers for that. Geek TravelingMom and mother of twins Jana Seitzer recommends the side-by-side Maclaren Twin Techno. This high-end double stroller has the advantage of each seat reclining separately.

Approximate Price: $495 

Best In-Line Double Stroller for Travel: Phil & Ted Sport Buggy Stroller with Double Kit

If you prefer a front-to-back configuration for two kids instead of the side-by-side option, look no further than the Phil & Ted Sport Buggy with Double Kit. Parents with one baby and and older toddler/child often prefer the front-to-back configuration. The in-line configuration is not as wide as side-by-side and often the stroller seats are better made for an infant in terms of recline. TravelingMom Karen Heffren, who has two sons a few years apart in age, recommends this stroller from her many travels, especially at Disney parks.

Approximate Price: $649