When you are traveling with a baby you have to be prepared for any surprises. Properly chosen, safe and comfortable lightweight stroller can make family vacations much easier.
Light, compact and portable stroller is a must have if you plan on traveling with your baby, no matter if you’re going to travel by plane, car, train or bus.
What features should have a stroller to provide convenience and comfort during holiday?
Size
If you travel by car you should pick a lightweight stroller that will easily fit in your car trunk. You will probably have a lot of things to pack for you and the baby, so the folded stroller can’t take up the whole or even a half of the car trunk!
There are some lightweight strollers that feature compact but long fold which still takes up some space – like Inglesina NET. But there are also few strollers design specially for travel – like GB Pockit or Mountain Buggy Nano, which fold into a compact, small package that not only easily fits in the car trunk, but can even fit behind the driver seat!
If you travel by plane, it would be definitely nice to have a stroller that can be take on plane and put in the overhead compartment. Only few strollers features such a compact fold: GB Pockit, Baby Jogger City Tour, Mountain Buggy Nano are the best in this category. Of course before each trip you need to check specific carry-on regulations and make sure folded stroller dimensions meet those regulations.
Why it is useful to have a stroller on board? First of all, you don’t have to worry that your stroller get bumped-around, broken or torn apart. Secondly, you don’t have to wait for it after landing which always adds unnecessary stress to already stressful trip with a kid. Moreover, not every child feels good on airplane and often such a trip can be tiring or even exhausting for baby. It is good to have a possibility to put child into the stroller right after landing and quickly move around the airport.
Small folding size is important during travel by train and bus as well. In public transportation we don’t usually have much space therefore compact stroller that takes up small space is really useful.
Weight and folding
Another feature – lightweight construction and easy folding. Stroller for travel with baby should be light enough so you could easily lift it and even carry around the airport or train station. Folding should be quick and easy to do, even when you need to handle fussy infant or moody toddler.
Besides, if you travel with an older child who can walk, lightweight stroller will be also very useful. Thanks to easy folding and opening your child could ride in it whenever he needs to and when he is rest to walk again, you can carry the stroller on your shoulder effortlessly.
Besides at the airports there are usually lots of people and many escalators so lightweight construction is very important, especially if you have a lot of luggage to carry – I’m sure you don’t want to have a bulky and heavy stroller to transport.
Maneuverability
Travel stroller should be not only light, but also maneuverable and easy to steer. It should have a tight turning radius and be easy to operate in crowds (for example at the airport or in places where there are a lot of tourists).
Wheels
Many lightweight travel strollers have rather small wheels which are great for flat, even terrain, but not of an off-road cruising. However, some of them can handle cobbled streets and narrow old sidewalks which are typical for old towns, especially in Europe.
But you should be aware that small, plastic or rubberized wheels don’t provide super smooth and cushioned ride like big air-filled tires. However, few models have suspension which can be very useful on more rough and uneven terrain. So on flat terrain you can expect fine, comfortable ride, but on bumpy surface lightweight strollers usually wobble more or less.
Seat and canopy
Who said that stroller for travel can’t be comfy and cozy for the baby?! During sightseeing recline seat can be especially useful. If your child like to nap during strolling, the lightweight travel stroller must have multi-position recline seat.
Moreover, if you travel with older child you should check if the back rest is long enough to provide comfortable ride.
Another useful features is adjustable footrest, but I must tell you – this is very rare function among small and light strollers for travel.
If you plan on traveling to a place where the climate is hot, your stroller must have a large canopy that would protect your child from the sun. It should also provide nice ventilation, to prevent your baby from overheating.
Unfortunately not every lightweight travel stroller has big, expandable sunshade. GB Pockit has tiny hood which doesn’t give much shade. Mountain Buggy Nano and Baby Jogger City Tour have much better canopies as they cover the child really nicely.
Storage space
Lightweight strollers usually don’t allow to hang heavy diaper bags from the handlebar, so it is good to have a large storage basket that would accommodate all of our gear during day trips.
Handlebar
Other useful feature that is worth considering is a single, adjustable handlebar, instead of two small handles, as it provides more easy pushing and turning.
Accessories
Remember that it is also nice to have a weather shield and insect cover, especially if you are going somewhere where there are a lot of mosquitoes or where it rains often and the wind is strong.
Hello Moms! I am Zooey. I am a wife and a mother of three amazing kids: almost 5-year-old Haley and 2-year-old twins Jesse and Matthew. I am a jogger, cooker and blogger.If you have a question or a comment, do not hesitate to write to me! 🙂
Hi Zoey, there were no comment section in the gb pockit all city so I’m posting here. I am going crazy trying to decide on umbrella stroller for trips only. I already have and love my everyday nuna Tavo. Have a trip coming up to Turkey. At first thought of buying a $15 umbrella stroller but then I started looking around, ofcourse ! I am really torn between the three types of gb pockit. My need is ease of traveling with, that we can carry it while sightseeing and be able to prop it out when my 16 month needs to nap and also since he’s only 16 months he’s not likely to be able to keep up walking so will need to stroll as well. I will not be using this stroller if I have a newborn but rather thinking as my son gets older and if we have other kids as they get past infant can use for vacations, trips into nyc etc. I am probably overthinking this, help ! Lol
Hey Lara,
So sorry for the late reply.
I would suggest you to choose between the original GB Pockit and Plus. They operate and steer similar to all-city, or even better.
But there are a few things that you should keep in mind before getting one of them:
-The original Pockit doesn’t have reclining seat which may be of course a problem when you child wants to take a nap during the stroll, on the other hand Pockit Plus offers recline – it’s not very deep but would probably be enough for a short nap. However it’s worth to notice that both strollers don’t have standard backrest like other lightweight strollers – this is just a piece of cloth which is not very supportive. It also doesn’t give the baby upright position, so he always sits in a bit reclined position. Frankly, I think both Pockit and Pockit Plus are wonderful for travel with slightly older child, like 2.5 years old and up, who can walk for the most part of the stroll and only sometimes wants to ride in a stroller. For younger baby who still naps during the day it may be less comfy…
-Both strollers are very lightweight and you can feel it. I don’t mean they are fragile, but when you’re going over slightly rough terrain like cobblestone the stroller jiggles. But most of the lightweight strollers have this issue, some handle cobbled streets and cracked pavement better, some … not that well 🙂 What’s interesting, I heard a lot of complains about Pockit Plus sturdiness, some parents say it doesn’t feel as sturdy as the original one. The model that I tried didn’t have this issue, so I’m not sure if this is a problem only with some of the models.
-At first folding may not feel easy, especially with Pockit Plus. There are a few steps that you need to follow to fold the stroller down to most compact package. It gets easier once you get used to it, but it definitely takes some time and it requires both hands. Once you fold the stroller it’s super small and it’s very convenient to carry – especially the regular Pockit which weighs only 9.5 pounds and you can fit it in a hand bag or a small backpack so it won’t bother you during sightseeing 🙂
-The canopy on Plus model is slightly bigger than on regular Pockit, but it still doesn’t provide a lot of shade…
I can only recommend you to consider different lightweight strollers as well, like Babyzen Yoyo+ or Baby Jogger City Tour 2019 which are more comfortable for a child under 2 (better padding, more comfortable recline, bigger canopy). These strollers are also very easy to carry as the weight is similar to Pockit Plus. Folding is very simple. Once folded, both these strollers are bigger than Pockit but still very compact. When I was traveling though Europe I saw lots of parents with Yoyo+ , it’s convenient to carry on a shoulder with a built-in strap 🙂 Some airlines allow you to take them as carry on, especially European airlines, but you would have to check it with the airline you’re flying with as they all have different rules.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Have a wonderful trip! 🙂
Hello. I’m an expectant father and I can’t decide between Babyzen Yoyo and baby jogger city tour lux for travelling. Can you please shed some light on these please?
Hi! Both strollers are similar in terms of performance. Both have small wheels which are best for flat urban surfaces. The biggest differences are:
-City Tour LUX has reversible seat which becomes useful as the baby grows
-Yoyo+ is much lighter and has more compact fold – it’s almost 6 pounds lighter which makes it definitely better option if you travel a lot. And if you plan on traveling by plane it’s also better than City Tour LUX because it fits in overhead compartments on many airplanes. City Tour LUX is better option if you want an everyday stroller than is small enough for traveling by car or train.
hi,
i was wondering if you would recommend the babyzen yoyo and gb pockit.
thank you.
Hi! As you can see in my ranking, I find both BABYZEN YOYO+ and GB Pockit one of the best lightweight strollers currently available on the market. YOYO+ can be used from birth if you add a newborn cocoon or infant car seat. The original version of GB Pockit is not newborn-ready (it can be used only for baby who can already sit upright), but if you’re looking for a lightweight stroller with seating option for newborn baby, you should check the new version – GB Pockit Plus.
There are however few differences between YOYO+, Pockit and Pockit Plus.
-YOYO+ has deeper recline than Pockit Plus. The original Pockit doesn’t recline at all.
-YOYO+ has bigger storage basket under the seat than Pockit and Pockit Plus.
-The canopy is more generous on YOYO+ than Pockit or Pockit Plus. YOYO+ has also a peek-a-boo window and a storage pocket on the back, which Pockit and Pockit Plus lack.
-YOYO+ weighs 13.67lbs, GB Pockit Plus weighs 13 lbs, while the original GB Pockit is only 9.5 lbs.
-YOYO+ has bigger fold, but still it can be taken on board on many airplanes.
-I would say Pockit and Pockit Plus feel lighter and more fragile than YOYO+. I prefer the latter one, especially if I’m going for a stroll on slightly uneven terrain.
If you need more information about these strollers please read my detailed reviews: here is BABYZEN YOYO+, here is GB Pockit and here you can find GB Pockit Plus.
Take care 🙂