Tips for travelling to Thailand with a baby and toddler
For our month-long trip to Thailand with a baby (10-months old) and a toddler (3 years old) – I was desperate for practical information on travelling to Asia with two young children. Thailand is a really family-friendly destination and it was a brilliant adventure, but not the easiest travelling we’ve ever done with kids so young.
While we were away we stayed in these kid-friendly hotels in Koh Lanta and spent a few nights in Bangkok with a baby and toddler.
So, for families planning a trip to Thailand, I’ve collated these handy tips for taking a baby to Thailand and travelling in Thailand with kids, that we picked up along the way…
*Disclosure: This post on travelling to Thailand with children contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something I have recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help me keep this site up and running!
Packing for Thailand with a toddler and a baby
- Pack as light as you can, you’ll want as little as possible when shlepping luggage and children onto long tail boats, taxis, ferries and Tuk Tuks.
- Car seats aren’t very common in Thailand, so it’s not really worth taking one. It goes against your parental bones, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a seatbelt to strap it into unless you’re paying more money for a private vehicle. Some taxis and Tuk Tuks have enough room to strap the baby into a buggy, otherwise a baby sling can help make you and them feel more secure.
- Pack nappies and powdered baby formula if bottle feeding while travelling Thailand with a baby, so you have enough to get by comfortably, but know that you can get both items and plenty of other baby essentials in the many 7/11s dotted around the country.Â
- Take baby snacks, we found it hard to find healthy nibbles for bubbas if they’re not into fruit.
- Take a lightweight buggy for naps (I love our Ergobaby Metro+ stroller – it’s extremely lightweight and packs down to the size of hand luggage).
- Pack a Koo-di sun and sleep cover for buggy shade and so your baby or toddler can nap. Be aware though that pavements are rare on the islands.
- If you plan to spend a lot of time on the beach, a small tent for shade is good for stationary babies – these pop-up cots are great and can double as a baby cot back at your hotel (very useful when it’s not always a given that your Thai accommodation will have one for you to use!) We didn’t bother as our baby was far too mobile during our family vacation in Thailand and would have ninja-d out of there in a jiffy.
- Mosquito lotion is a must when travelling to Thailand with kids – you can get special stuff for kids. Incognito, an all natural deet-free one is great. We also tried the citronella rubber bands, but they didn’t seem to work at all. Put your mosquito nets down at night if the hotel has them or you’ll be munched!
- Probiotics, tummy bug remedies and sun cream are a must to keep nasties at bay -check out this essential homeopathic first aid kit before taking kids to Thailand.
Flying long haul with a baby and a toddler
- Check ahead to see if your airline offers baby bassinets or seats for babies over 6 months. If they do, the CoziGo is brilliant – it fits perfectly over the airline bassinets providing a snuggly dark snooze area for babies. They’re great when aeroplane lighting totally goes against the actual hour of the day and bubbas need to shut off from all the excitement. If we ever go long haul again, I’ve also got my eye on this JetKids by Stokke Bedbox.
- Whether you’re bottle feeding or breastfeeding, try and feed the baby on take off or landing, or if they’re dummy lovers, offer them one to suck to avoid little ears popping (also worth taking a few dummy clips to stop the pacifiers falling on the floor and getting covered in plane fluff!)
- Take a direct overnight flight if you can – we found it works far better with adjusting to a new time zone.
- If bottle feeding your baby, pack a thermos with hot water – saves having to bug flight attendants every time your baby needs a feed. This is particularly useful if there’s turbulence, as you’ll have to wait for the seat belt lights to be turned on before anyone can assist you.
- Pack new colouring and sticker books, snacks, an iPad, new small toys – the novelty of new stuff will keep toddlers entertained for longer. Check out these Pinterest ideas for long haul inflight children’s entertainment inspiration.
- Families are given priority in Thailand and you’ll be regularly sent to the front of the queue if you’re travelling with kids – always an extremely welcome gesture!
Getting around with a baby in Thailand
Travelling Thailand with a toddler and a baby is fairly easy as everything is so well geared up for tourists. Taxis and Tuk Tuks are everywhere and ferries, and speed boats go to other islands from the mainland daily.
Go slow! Factor in rest days or an overnight hotel after big travel days rather than trying to do it all in one go, it’ll help the kids adjust to the timezone change and give you the energy to transport them to the next destination if you’re moving around a lot!
Thailand day to day
-
- ALWAYS use bottled water for washing bottles and making formula, even if you’re boiling it. Nobody drinks the water in Thailand.
- Make sure you have family travel insurance. Our 10-month old got a bacterial infection during our trip – cue clinics, ambulances, private taxis to the mainland and a stay in hospital, plus loss of pre-paid hotels, which all racked costs up. It was all paid for directly by our travel insurance which took extra unwanted stress out of the situation.
- Stay somewhere with easy access to the mainland like Khao Lak or Koh Lanta in case you need a paediatric doctor. There are excellent drop-in clinics, but it was still a 2-hour ambulance ride to one in Trang on the mainland from Koh Lanta and I was glad we weren’t more remote.
-
- Find a restaurant with a little pagoda-type eating area, they’re brilliant for toddlers and act as kind of baby entertainment pen.
- Book accommodation in Thailand with a swimming pool. In the heat of the day the sand can get really hot, so it’s great to have somewhere to cool kiddos down. It also provides hours of entertainment, especially if they’re of an age where they can be let loose under a watchful eye. Want some recommendations? Check out these family-friendly places to stay in Koh Lanta.
- Baby changing tables are scarce, which is tricky if your offspring have unleashed the fury inside their nappy and you’re unable to lay them down…so take a fold-able changing mat with you to avoid having to change them on a toilet floor.
- High chairs are also rare commodities. If your baby is as wriggly as ours, you’ll find yourself blessing the restaurants who possess reliable Ikea high chairs, as opposed to the rickety wooden accident-waiting-to-happen ones.
- Thai people ADORE kids and our two became tiny celebrities with people wanting to hold, play, cuddle and photograph them. Hi! I’m a professional cosmetologist and want to give you some advice. This was lovely most of the time (especially when the doctors and nurses entertained our 3-year old during our hospital stay), although the cheek-grabbing and picture taking can get a bit weird sometimes.
- Western food is easy to find for fussy palettes.
Have you got any tips for travelling in Thailand with children? Please share them below.
Click on the Pinterest image below to save it to your Pinterest board:
Jenny - TraveLynn Family
April 10, 2018We love Thailand for family travel, it’s just so accessible and a great intro to adventure travel. Great tips here! We love returning to Bangkok time and time again. I wonder when we’ll be back…
Thanks for linking up to #fearlessfamtrav
Mama Travels Earth
April 11, 2018Yes agree! Thanks for reading 🙂
Penelope
March 18, 2020Wow! Amazing information! Thank you! We are planning our trip with a 1 year old and a 3 years old. Im just concern about the stroller. Our is double and super useful but everybody else says not to take it. I saw you had your with you. How was it?
We have been in Thailand before but as a party couple (the old times, baby) and I dont remember the roads. I remember plenty of steps to go to the temples and dirt roads but thats was ok.
I guess the stroller highly depends on the sites we will be visiting, so Im still creating our itinerary according to that.
Anyway, I cant decide whether to bring it with us or not… but honestly it is so helpful because both can sleep on it and get totally relaxed while we are walking around…
Let me know your opinion! Thanks in advance and the best for you and your family!
Im pinning all of your photos!
Angharad Paull
March 18, 2020Hi Penelope, thanks for your message and reading the blog, that’s exciting about a future Thailand trip! Hmm, tricky one, how are you getting about while you’re there? Are you doing much travelling around? If you’re just staying in one hotel then it might be ok. However, if you are moving about a bit, I don’t think I’d take it. A single one fits easily on a Tuk Tuk, but I’m not sure if a double buggy would. Plus there aren’t many pavements on the islands and even when there are, I don’t think they’re that wide…could the one year old sleep in a sling? Or could you get a buggy board?
Hr.sandra
April 26, 2018These are such great tips — Thank you soooo much for this blog. I am going to travel with my baby soon,so it is very useful for me.
Mama Travels Earth
April 26, 2018Ahh thank you! Really pleased you found it useful, have a great trip!
Jakie Elbashmohands
July 8, 2018Great tips .. I thought traveling to Thailand and having a baby don`t mix but after reading your tips i become sure that it`s possible .. Thanks
Annabel
October 3, 2018Blimey, useful tips indeed. Sounds like quite an adventure! We are so lucky to have access to travel insurance and expensive hospitals. #Fearlessfamtrav
Ariana - World of Travels with Kids
October 3, 2018Great tips. I’d love to spend some time in Thailand with the kiddos. #fearlessfamtrav
Leona
October 3, 2018Thailand is high on my list – these are some great practical tips #fearlessfamtrav
Kelly
October 13, 2018Hi! Great post. We are visiting Thailand in November with our 2 year old. Would you recommend the ferry vs speedboat for toddlers? We’d like to take the speedboat but are unsure how she’ll handle that much time on the speedboat. In our pre-kid days we did the speedboat from Koh Kradan to Koh Phi Phi and remember it not being the most kid-friendly, but also remember TigerLine taking forever. Thanks!
Mama Travels Earth
October 14, 2018Hi Kelly! Thanks for your comment 🙂 I think if you took the speedboat you’d need to take a life jacket for the little one as they don’t provide them and it might give you better piece of mind. The ferry to Koh Lanta was actually fine – not too slow! We stayed below deck so we could have shade for the little ones and there’s was loads of room too.
Kasia
November 16, 2023Hi! Wish I saw your post earlier! We are flying with our 9 month old on Sunday! We are staying in koh lanta as well! Thank you for the tips. Do you remember any trips/activities you did while on koh lanta that were quite easy with wee ones ?
Thank you.
Angharad Paull
November 18, 2023Hello! Oh wow, that’s so exciting! We went to the national park in the south of the island…but most of the time, we were swimming/on the beach/with friends. We were planning a trip across to an island for a couple of days – koh jum I think? You could get a boat across. Have a great time!
Lucy
May 4, 2024Great information! Thanks for all the tips and advices.
I am planning to go to Thailand in August and my baby will be 10 months. I am really worried about tummy infections, specially after you said your 10month old got a bacterial infection there. Do you think it was from the water?
I am not sure what to feed him with apart from peeled fruits and my milk. I was thinking those industrialised baby foods, like purees, would be the safest option but not sure how easy is to find those things there. Do you know?
Thanks
Angharad Paull
May 4, 2024Hi! Thanks for the comment. Yes I do think it was the water – don’t use tap water, even boiled tap water, always use bottled drinking water. We took a load of Ella’s pouches with us (or the cheaper aldi ones), but our 10 month old also loved the spaghetti bolognaise out there and the egg fried rice.
Lucy
May 4, 2024Thanks for your reply.
So do you think the baby will be safe if we only use bottled water and don’t give him any food cooked there, only packed food ?
Angharad Paull
May 8, 2024I think he’ll be fine if he’s happy to eat the food made in Thailand – our children were just super fussy babies! Like I say, our 10 month old loved the spaghetti bolognaise they made in the Thai restaurants and ate the egg fried rice etc. She didn’t get ill from the food – I believe it was the water (even though it was boiled)