Travel with 1 year old

[buckeyegirl]

We just booked a trip to London and Paris. I want to purchase an umbrella stroller that fully reclines as he might be taking some naps while we are out. He will be about 11 months when we go. Can anyone recommend a stroller that would work in this situation. The only stroller we have now is the City Mini Baby Jogger.

[Deleted]

I think there is a mac Claren that reclines. Ours does not (volo) .

[grk2012]

Our Maclaren reclines. I thought it was a Volo, but pp's response has me rethinking...

[frlcb]

The Maclaren Quest reclines, and we travel with it to the UK all the time. Be prepared that many, most actually, of the tube stations do not have lifts and you will have to carry the stroller up and down the stairs.

[Deleted]

Chicco Liteway fully reclines.

[anaps28]

I have the Quest and bought it for travel only. Every time I put it to recline he would fling himself forward and it actually brings it from recline back to seated so that really annoyed me. Also I'm tall so when I walk my feet kick the wheels.

[Shreddingbetty]

Nov 13, 2012 14:04:20 GMT -5 frlcb said:

The Maclaren Quest reclines, and we travel with it to the UK all the time. Be prepared that many, most actually, of the tube stations do not have lifts and you will have to carry the stroller up and down the stairs.

This goes for Paris as well. Our first trip to Paris with DD was at 4 months old and that was the last time we brought the stroller (on any vacation that is). We went back at 16 and 28 months and just used the Ergo. Much easier to navigate the subway and she sleeps in it as well (even at 2.5).

[Deleted]

A few things: (I live in Europe and know the cities and stroller situations too well!)

1) I would highly recommend a stroller with air filled tires.... If your kid is going to live in the stroller for a week while you tour around, it would be easier on everyone with the uneven, cobble street, curbs, etc

2) Paris is not stroller friendly at all. Sorry to be a bummer about this. The reason I say it's not stroller friendly is that there are stairs everywhere you want to take the metro, so plan to pick up the stroller with your travel partner and carry it up and down the stairs and there are A LOT of stairs.

3) Pick a stroller with a GREAT rain cover -- not sure when you are traveling but I have found most umbrella strollers have crappy rain covers...

4) I just re-read you have the citi mini-- take this -- it folds easily and can be gate checked and has a great rain cover. Just get a huge-ass plastic bag at the airport to put the stroller in at gate check (or full check in) so that the stroller does not get wet and dirty upon arrival.

5) I cannot remember which, but it's either London or Paris that does not let you gate check strollers (either way) so plan to have a carrier to carry son around when you arrive --- int'l arrivals can be a LONG walk. I think it's Paris and their airport is a HUGE PITA. Hopefully you are flying into London.

PM me if you need any additional advice! I own 8 different strollers and use every single one for a different purpose -- we walk & take the trains everywhere in Europe!

[Mushe]

Switzerland, can I thread jack to ask a question? We have a Britax B-Agile now, for reference. We're going to Mexico when my son will be 14 mo and then a 3+ week trip to Spain and London when he'll be 21 mo.

Do you have a rec for me? We do carry him a lot and will bring the Ergo, but thought an umbrella stroller would be good for naps and to give us a break. My husband thinks a $20 one would be fine and I like the Chicco Liteway.

Thanks!

[Deleted]

Mush, I think a umbrella stroller is definitely better for in the summer but it also depends on what you are doing... will you have a car at all or only rely on public transportation? I have only been to Barcelona in Spain and we did not have the kids with us there...but the public transport is a little more child friendly than say Paris. I would never buy a $20 stroller for a 3 week trip to Europe if my main mode of transportation is walking. They are $20 for a reason! Your back will kill you after trying to push it as a lot of the handles are shorter on those cheap models.. Then when it breaks you will be spending a ridiculous amount in EUROS to replace it while you are traveling.

Also, unless your son is on the tiny side, even in the Ergo you will get tired and sweaty carrying him all day in the summer. I have an Ergo sport and use it daily and my youngest is already 10kg in it. At 21mo he may not want to be in the Ergo at all. At that age we use a Deuter Kid Comfort III back pack carrier -- they are like the Rolls Royce of back pack carriers and are awesome. They have a ton of storage space to hold diapers, etc while the tot enjoys the view form up top. I would think about something like this in addition to a cheap umbrella.

I have a Maclaren but the Chico looks similar. We only bring our umbrella stroller on travel IF we are using a car mostly and this is b/c space is usually tight in Euro cars. If we are hoofing it everywhere (which is what we usually do) we use a Baby Jogger City Select b/c you can easily pull up the stroller if you find public transport does not have room for it. The ride is also more comfortable for my kids when they are in it for the majority of the day while we are sight seeing and it can hold a lot of goodies --- these umbrella strollers can tip over easily when too much is hung on the back handles and their underneath basket is usually crap or hard to get in/out of (even on the Maclaren).

Good luck! You will have a great time, just be ready for some jet leg when you arrive. The older the kids are the longer it takes to adjust and even more so if you are coming from the West Coast vs East Coast.... those extra 3 hrs make a HUGE difference! (at least for us they do!)

[Mushe]

Thanks, Switzerland!

We'll be on public transport most of the time. My husband is kind of opposed to buying a new stroller for the trip, so maybe we should just take our B-Agile?

What you mentioned about the umbrellas tipping over, etc. is my concern. I also think a real cheapie won't be comfortable for baby. We've got to bring something because my ILs will watch him a bit so we can go off on our own, and they can't carry him.

And I'll look into that carrier.

[nabum]

We love our Bumbleride Flite.

[frlcb]

We have traveled around Europe a lot with our Maclaren and it is fine. We have a bugaboo as well (and used that when we lived in London) but I wouldn't travel with a big bulky stroller, even in Paris or London. Also sometimes we are allowed to have our stroller gate checked on the way to London and sometimes not, depends on how full the plane is (meaning we always take it to the gate in the US but sometimes we get it when we land in Heathrow and sometimes it goes to baggage claim)