What Is the Best Age to Travel With a Baby? My Experience After 20+ Flights

If you’re wondering about the best age to travel with a baby, my answer might surprise you: 0 to 6 months has been the easiest age for me to travel with both of my kids.

After 20+ flights with babies and toddlers, including an 11-hour flight to London with my four-month-old and a solo cross-country flight with my three-month-old, I’ve found that traveling often gets harder as babies become more mobile, not easier.

Of course, every baby is different. Some young babies may struggle on airplanes while others sleep through most of the flight. Health, temperament, feeding and sleep can all affect the experience. But if you have a healthy baby and are wondering whether you should take a trip now or wait until they’re older, I wouldn’t wait solely because you think flying will be easier later. Check out our travel hub for more resources!

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What Is the Easiest Age to Travel With a Baby?

In my experience, 0 to 6 months is the easiest age to travel with a baby, with 3 to 6 months being an especially good window. At this age, most babies aren’t mobile yet. They can spend much of the travel day in a baby carrier, stroller or car seat, and they generally don’t require the constant entertainment that an older baby or toddler does.

Young babies also tend to sleep more frequently throughout the day. That doesn’t mean your baby will necessarily sleep through the flight, but you aren’t trying to convince a crawling or walking child to stay in one small space for hours.

I didn’t fully appreciate how easy this stage could be until my kids got older.

The Best and Hardest Ages to Fly With a Baby

Here’s how I would personally rank each stage based on my experience traveling with my two kids.

0–3 Months: Easiest

Young babies sleep frequently, aren’t mobile and don’t need much entertainment. Depending on your baby’s health and your pediatrician’s guidance, this can be a surprisingly manageable stage for travel.

3–6 Months: Easiest

This has been my favorite age to travel. Babies are more alert and interactive but generally aren’t crawling yet. They can nap in a carrier or stroller while you’re out, which can make sightseeing and being away from your normal routine easier.

6–9 Months: Still Relatively Easy

Travel was still manageable for us during this stage, although I could start to see things changing as my babies became more active and interested in their surroundings.

9–12 Months: Getting Harder

Once a baby starts crawling, pulling up or wanting to stand constantly, keeping them contained on an airplane becomes more challenging. The exact age varies by child, so I think mobility matters more than the actual number of months.

12–18 Months: Hard

This was one of the most challenging stages for me. Toddlers want to move, touch things and explore, but they may not have the attention span to watch a movie or stay occupied with one activity for very long.

18–24 Months: Still Hard

This can be a difficult in-between stage. They’re no longer a baby who will happily sit with you, but screens, movies and other forms of entertainment may not hold their attention for a long flight either.

2–3 Years: Getting Easier

As toddlers get older, you can explain more of what’s happening and use snacks, activities and screens more strategically. They also start to understand that the airport and airplane are part of the experience rather than something they simply have to tolerate.

3 Years and Older: Easier and More Fun

Travel has become fun in a completely different way with my three-year-old. He’s obsessed with airplanes, so the airport itself is part of the adventure. Riding an airport shuttle, watching planes take off and finding our gate can all be exciting.

Once we’re on the plane, we can download movies like Toy Story, bring headphones and pack plenty of snacks. It’s a completely different experience from traveling with a four-month-old, but it’s manageable again.

Why 3 to 6 Months Was Such a Good Travel Age for Us

I booked a trip to London for when my son would be four months old before he was even born. I knew I could cancel if I didn’t feel ready, but I also knew myself. If I waited until after I had the baby to book it, I probably would have found a reason not to go.

I’m so glad I did it. My four-month-old slept for almost the entire 11-hour flight to London. The flight home was a little more challenging because he was awake more, which meant we had to entertain him, but overall he did incredibly well.

I’ve had a similar experience with my daughter. I flew solo with her to the East Coast when she was three months old. She had her own airplane seat, and I brought her car seat onboard. She slept the entire flight.

On our return flight, she traveled as a lap infant. I wore her in the baby carrier for much of the night flight, and she slept again. It wasn’t particularly comfortable for me to hold her for hours, but it was still easier than trying to keep a mobile toddler entertained in an airplane seat. If you're flying with a lap infant and want to learn how to possibly get them a free seat, check out this article.

We’ve certainly had times when we’ve needed to walk the aisle or bounce a baby in the back of the airplane. Flying with a young baby isn’t guaranteed to be easy, but overall, I’ve found this stage significantly easier than traveling once my kids became mobile.

What Is the Hardest Age to Travel With a Baby or Toddler?

For me, 12 to 24 months has been the hardest age to fly with a child, although I usually notice the transition beginning around 9 months. Once babies can crawl, they want to crawl. Once they can stand, they want to stand. And once they start walking, sitting in one airplane seat for several hours can be a very big ask.

They’re also in a tricky stage for entertainment. They may be too active to simply sit with you but too young to watch a movie for a meaningful amount of time.

That doesn’t mean I would avoid traveling between 12 and 24 months. My mom has been a flight attendant for 50 years, and when I interviewed her about flying with kids, she made a point that has stuck with me: the flight is only a small part of the trip.

A difficult five-hour flight doesn’t mean the five-day vacation wasn’t worth taking.

Does Traveling Ruin a Baby’s Sleep Schedule?

One of the biggest concerns parents have about traveling with a baby is disrupting the routine they’ve worked so hard to establish. I’ve found that it helps to maintain the parts of the routine you can while being flexible about the rest.

When we went to London with my four-month-old, I tried to keep his wake windows relatively consistent, but I let him nap on the go. He often slept while we were out rather than us returning to the hotel for every nap.

The time change also meant bedtime was initially around midnight. We gradually adjusted, and by the end of the trip we were back to roughly a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. schedule. When we came home, we returned to our normal routine.

Travel may temporarily change your baby’s schedule, but in our experience, that didn’t mean the routine we had at home was gone forever. You have to let go a little if you’re going to enjoy yourself.

What If My Baby Cries on the Airplane?

Your baby might cry on the flight. Your toddler might have a tantrum. You can’t completely control either of those things, and I think that lack of control is one of the biggest reasons parents are nervous to fly with young kids.

What you can control is how you react. If you’re traveling with a partner, I recommend talking about this before the trip and agreeing that you’re on the same team. A crying baby is stressful enough without getting frustrated with each other.

We’ve had to walk babies up and down airplane aisles, bounce them in the back of the plane and try all sorts of things to keep everyone comfortable. It’s part of traveling with young children, and eventually, the plane lands.

Is Traveling Worth It If Your Baby Won’t Remember?

I think it is. Your baby may not remember the trip, but you will.

My son obviously doesn’t remember traveling to London when he was four months old, but some of my favorite memories are from that trip. We have a digital photo frame in our kitchen that includes pictures from London. Now that my son is three, he’ll point to them and say, “That’s when I went to London.”

He doesn’t actually remember being there, but those photos and stories have become part of our family’s memories. A trip doesn’t have to be remembered by your baby to be meaningful.

Should You Wait Until Your Baby Is Older to Travel?

If your baby is healthy and you’re comfortable traveling, I wouldn’t wait simply because you assume an older baby will be easier. In my experience, 0 to 6 months was actually the easiest time to travel, while the mobile baby and young toddler stages were considerably more challenging.

There will always be another reason to postpone a trip. Naps become crawling. Crawling becomes walking. Then comes potty training, school and everything else.

Even if the flight goes terribly, eventually it becomes a distant memory. The trip doesn’t.

Book the trip.

My Favorite Baby Travel Products

After 20+ flights with my kids, I’ve figured out which baby travel products we actually use and which things aren’t worth taking up precious suitcase space.

You can find all of my favorite travel products here.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Age to Travel With a Baby

What Is the Best Age to Travel With a Baby?

In my experience after 20+ flights with my kids, 0 to 6 months has been the easiest age to travel, especially before babies become mobile. Every baby is different, so health, temperament and developmental stage should also be considered.

Is 3 Months a Good Age to Travel With a Baby?

Three months can be a manageable age for travel because many babies still sleep frequently and aren’t mobile. Whether it’s appropriate for your baby depends on their individual health and circumstances, so ask your pediatrician if you have concerns about traveling.

Is 4 Months a Good Age to Fly With a Baby?

Four months was one of my favorite ages to fly. I took my four-month-old on an 11-hour flight to London, and traveling was easier than I expected because he wasn’t mobile and could nap on the go.

Is It Easier to Fly With a Baby Before They Can Crawl?

It was for us. Once my babies started crawling, standing and walking, they wanted much more freedom to move around. Before that stage, they were generally more content being held, worn in a carrier or sitting in their car seat or stroller.

What Is the Hardest Age to Fly With a Toddler?

For me, 12 to 24 months was the most challenging age to fly. Toddlers at this age often want to move constantly but may not yet have the attention span for movies or other activities that can make a long flight easier.

Does a Baby’s Routine Get Ruined by Traveling?

Travel can temporarily change naps and bedtime, particularly when crossing time zones. In my experience, being flexible during the trip and returning to our usual routine once we got home worked well for our family.

If you’re ready to go but already thinking, Okay, now how do I actually travel with a baby? I’ve got you. I put everything I’ve learned from 20+ flights with my kids into my free Traveling With a Baby Guide, including what to pack, what to expect at the airport and the little things that have made flying with a baby so much easier for us.