Road trip with newborn baby: definitive parent guide

Couples and families with a new baby… get ready for an adventure! It’s totally possible to road trip with a newborn family member in tow: there’s no need to give up your # vanlife plans , or feel you have to forgo a family trip.

Road tripping with a baby is easier than you’d think, as long as you’re fully prepared and consider all aspects of the trip in advance. Things to think about include the best age to road trip with a baby, what to pack, how to travel safely and how to keep babies entertained on a trip.

We cover all this and more here in our definitive guide to taking babies on campervan road trips.

What is the best age to road trip with a baby?

A road trip with a 1-month-old baby might seem impossible, but any age is totally doable (and probably easier than travelling with a hyperactive toddler!).

We recommend setting off for your trip once you know a bit more about your baby and what he or she likes and dislikes – do they usually sleep in the car, for example? Feeding routines, sleeping patterns, a crying baby... all are much easier to deal with on the road if you’ve previously dealt with it at home.

What are the necessities when travelling with a baby?

The essentials for road tripping with a baby cover practical issues like what to pack (see below), as well as things like dealing with nappy changes and breastfeeding/bottle feeding. This list covers the absolute essentials :

• Nappies

• Nappy bag/diaper bag

• Nappy pail/diaper bucket

• Wet wipes

• Breast pump and breast pump cleaner

• Bottles and formula, if using, plus bottle warmer, bottle brush and teat brush

• Steriliser solution/tablets

• Baby food, if weaning

• Changing mat

• Bath toys

• Warm hat and sun hat

• Sunscreen

Things to take on a road trip with a baby

Food

For reasons of space and storage, we generally recommend stocking up on food daily on any road trip rather than doing a big shop. However, if you or your partner are breastfeeding your baby while on the trip, it’s important to have a good selection of healthy snacks to keep up energy levels.

Have a box or bag of these handy in the passenger seat or in the van’s living space for easy access. Remember to buy or bring plenty of water too so the breastfeeding partner stays hydrated.

Toys

As with food, it’s best to have a selection of toys easily accessible rather than having to look through all your luggage to find a favourite toy at a crucial moment.

Travel toys suitable for babies include small mobiles, rattles, teethers and sensory toys your baby can grab or shake. Books like Julia Donaldson’s “Lift the Flap” series will help entertain your baby too.

First-aid kit

A first-aid kit for a baby on a road trip should include basic items like painkillers/fever reducers plus age-specific items like teething gel. This list covers the essentials :

• Digital thermometer

• Antiseptic wipes, cream or spray

• Plasters and bandages

• Insect repellent

• Soothing cream (for bites and stings)

• Rehydration sachets

• Tissues

• Tweezers

• Nail clippers

• Medications if applicable

• Nappy rash cream

• Painkillers/fever reducers

• Teething gel

Child safety seats

Check that your baby car seat is suitable to use in your road trip vehicle – if the campervan or motorhome has a three-point harness, securing the car seat will be the same as in your car. It’s best to choose a newer (or newly refitted) campervan for your trip, so the van is more likely to have an ISOFIX fastening system and/or seats you can attach the baby seat to just like you would in a car.

Other recommendable accessories and items

Some other useful items to pack are:

• Travel cot

• Extra blankets

• Head torch

• Portable high chair

• Feeding spoons and bibs

• Portable/collapsible playpen

• Collapsible stroller/buggy

• Collapsible baby bath (or large tub)

• Baby shampoo

• Flannels/washcloths

• Bath toys

• Swimsuit/swim trunks or swim diapers

• Bucket and spade

Tips for road trip with a baby

Safety and security tips

Once the car baby seat is secured, follow these additional tips to ensure your baby stays safe on the road:

• Minimise distractions. Phone, navigation issues, other passengers, other children, pets and heavy traffic are just some ways a driver can become distracted, and you should plan in advance how to avoid them as far as you can. Arranging your route to avoid rush hour, turning phones off while driving, and securing pets in an appropriate carrier are just a few necessities.

• Ensure a thorough handover when you collect your van so that you know where everything is and that moveable objects are secured

• Babyproof the van by using drawer catches, socket covers and door locks

• Plan your route , avoiding remote areas where an accident or breakdown will mean a much longer time for help to arrive

• Keep your phones fully charged, so you can summon help if need be

• Choose your campsite and your pitch carefully , allowing for shaded areas in summer, for example

• Unless travelling alone, have one adult driving and the other sitting in the back of the vehicle with the baby

• Make your first stint on the road short (an hour or less) specially if you have planned a long read trip with your baby

• Driving a motorhome/camper van for the first time? Check out our first-time motorhome hire guide or our first-time camper van hire guide.

Entertainment tips

Depending on how old your baby is, you’ll likely already know what keeps them occupied and entertained. Toys, books, tablets and music should all work at various points (but mustn’t distract the driver). A few of our favourite methods to entertain a baby on a road trip are:

• Singing their favourite songs

• Playing peekaboo

• Attaching a toy bar to the baby’s car seat

• Using finger puppets

• Giving the baby a toy/rubber phone to play with.

Choosing the right vehicle

Finally, make sure you hire the right vehicle for your trip, according to your own and your baby’s needs. A larger van is always best where possible; for babies, choose a van with plenty of kitchen space to prepare baby food and formula as well as wash and sterilise bottles and spoons.

Browse the van hire listings on Camplify then check each carefully to assess if it meets your needs. You can filter search results by numbers of berths if you like – opting for**4-berth vans** even if there are only two adults and one baby means plenty of room for safety and entertainment.

Road tripping with a baby needs to be a bit more regimented than travelling with a toddler or older kids. But it’s fully possible and will provide lovely memories for you at this early stage of your child’s life. Take in all the tips above, choose the right van, set off on the road, and enjoy!

Plan your trip today

No matter what your current location or budget is , at Camplify UK you can find a vast range of vans for hire near your home or pick one up at your destination.

At Camplify we offer thousands of vans to get the most of your holiday, just take a look at our search page and specify what type of van you want or need.

Why Camplify

We are proud to be the UK’s fastest-growing campervan, motorhome and caravan sharing community. When you hire a private van from our platform, you get lots of advantages:

• Comprehensive hire insurance

• 24/7 RAC nationwide breakdown cover

• Dedicated customer support

• All members are verified

By hiring at Camplify, you are also helping local families who share their van on our platform and supporting many local companies across the UK in addition to ours. So we are very grateful to you.

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