Going on Holiday with a Baby: A Practical Guide from a Mum of Six

Going on holiday with a small baby is one of those things that sounds either utterly impossible or completely magical depending on the day. The truth, in my experience, is somewhere in between — it's perfectly doable, just different. We've taken babies to Icmeler in Turkey for three weeks at a time — once with a three-month-old, once with a ten-month-old — and we're heading back this July for another three weeks with one of mine at ten months. Same place, very different stages of babyhood. I've done this enough times now to feel confident about what actually matters.

So here's everything I wish someone had told me before that first big trip away — practical, no-fluff, and aligned with NHS advice where it matters. ☽

When Can a Baby Go on Holiday?

If you're driving or staying in the UK, you can go pretty much as soon as you and baby are ready. There's no medical reason a healthy newborn can't enjoy a quiet cottage in Devon at three weeks old, provided the journey isn't too long and you have everything you need close to hand.

Flying is a bit different. The NHS generally advises waiting until your baby is at least two weeks old before flying. Some airlines will allow younger babies to fly with a letter from your GP, but most parents I know find it easier to wait at least four to six weeks before considering a flight — both for baby's settled-ness and your own recovery. When we took one of mine to Turkey for the first time, we waited until three months and it felt like exactly the right age — settled enough to handle the flight, small enough to nap through most of it. By our second Turkey trip at ten months it was a different game altogether — more mobile, less easily nappable, but easier in lots of other ways.

Should You Holiday in the UK or Abroad?

For your first holiday with a small baby, the UK has a lot going for it. No flights to navigate, no time zone changes, no unfamiliar supermarkets when you've run out of nappies at 9pm. A self-catering cottage where you can do baby's bath, warm bottles and have a quiet evening once they're down is honestly one of the most underrated ways to take a break with a baby.

That said, plenty of small babies travel abroad happily — and if you're confident you've got the basics covered, there's a real argument for going further. Our three weeks in Icmeler at three months old was so much easier than I'd feared. We went back a few years later with a ten-month-old and that was different but no harder — just a different set of considerations. Turkey is warm, family-friendly, the flight from the UK is short enough to manage, and self-catering apartments out there are usually huge for the price. For our July trip with another ten-month-old, I'd pick Icmeler again in a heartbeat.

The Baby Holiday Packing List

I always start with two non-negotiables: pack for two outfit changes per day, and add at least 20% on top of any nappy estimate. After three weeks abroad with a 3-month-old, I can tell you now — you will hit that 20% buffer.

Sleep Essentials

• A travel cot or bedside crib (most accommodation will say they provide one — bring your own fitted sheets either way)
• A travel blackout blind with suction cups — this one item has saved more holidays than I can count
• Your usual sleeping bag in the right tog for the climate
• A portable white noise machine if you use one at home
• A familiar comforter, muslin or sleep aid baby already knows

Feeding & Hydration

• Bottles, formula and a sterilising option — Milton tablets and a bag are brilliant for travel
• Bottled water for making up formula if you're somewhere with non-potable tap water (Turkey included — we used bottled throughout)
• Snacks and weaning foods baby is used to — sudden recipe changes on holiday are not your friend
• Bibs, burp cloths and at least one spare top for you (you'll need it)

Clothing

• Two outfit changes per day, plus a couple of spares
• A light cardigan even in hot climates — air conditioning indoors can be surprisingly cold
• A wide-brimmed sun hat
• Pyjamas or sleepsuits for evenings
• A swimsuit and swim nappies if you're near water

If you're after soft, breathable summer pieces for a baby holiday, I've written more on what works for warm weather in my guide to dressing a newborn in summer.

Health & Safety

• A small first aid kit with Calpol, baby paracetamol, antihistamine and a thermometer
• Sunscreen with SPF 30 minimum and at least 4-star UVA protection
• Vitamin D drops if you give them at home — they don't pack themselves
• Any prescription medication, in its original packaging
• Nappy cream (somehow always forgotten)

Flying with a Small Baby: What Actually Helps

Flying with a baby for the first time feels enormous before you do it, and then once you've done it once you wonder what you were so worried about. The flight to Dalaman from the UK is around four hours — long enough that you need a plan, short enough that the plan doesn't need to be elaborate. A few things genuinely help.

Bring a Sling

For going through the airport, a sling beats a pushchair every time. Hands free, baby calm and close, both arms available for coffee and passports. Pushchairs can be gate-checked at most airlines if you want to bring one too. On both our Turkey trips I had baby in the sling from check-in to landing — it made the whole thing feel manageable.

Feed During Takeoff and Landing

The NHS advice on minimising ear pressure for babies is lovely and simple: feed during takeoff and landing, or offer a dummy to suck on. The swallowing motion equalises the pressure in their ears and stops the discomfort that makes adults reach for their jaws. I've fed at takeoff on every Turkey flight — not a single ear cry between us.

Pack Hand Luggage Smartly

Everything you might need in an emergency goes in hand luggage. That includes a change of clothes for baby, a spare top for you, more nappies than you think you'll need, formula or expressed milk if relevant, more than one dummy (they fall on the floor at 38,000 feet just as readily as on your kitchen tile), and all medication.

Don't Stress the Cabin Reaction

Most babies are far better travellers than parents fear. The white noise of the engines often sends them to sleep, and if they do cry, most fellow passengers are sympathetic. Most of us have been there at some point.

Sun Safety: The NHS Rules Worth Knowing

This is the part where being firm with yourself matters. Icmeler in summer is properly hot — by 11am the sun is brutal — so I treat the NHS guidance as completely non-negotiable when we're out there:

• Babies under six months should not be in direct sunlight at all
• Babies over six months should be kept out of the midday sun between 11am and 3pm
• Always use SPF 30 minimum with at least 4-star UVA protection
• A wide-brimmed hat and lightweight long-sleeve clothing protect more than sun cream alone
• Any sunglasses should carry a CE mark and the British Standard mark

It's worth picking a holiday day rhythm that fits this anyway — early breakfast outside, pool in the morning, indoor lunch and a long nap during the hottest hours, back out around four. By week two of each Turkey trip we've settled into this without thinking, and it's become one of my favourite parts of the holiday.

Sleep on the Move: What Actually Works

Sleep is the thing most parents worry about most, and it's almost never as catastrophic as you expect. A few things that have worked for me, six times over.

Bring as much of baby's home sleep routine as you can fit in the suitcase. The same sleeping bag, the same sleep cues, the same lullaby. They're a portable bubble of the familiar in an unfamiliar room.

Plan your day around naps, not despite them. Babies still need to sleep when you're on holiday, and a day spent trying to skip naps to fit in more sightseeing rarely ends well for anyone. Mornings out, naps in the pram or back at the accommodation, gentle afternoons.

Use the travel blackout blind from day one. The novelty of bright early sunlight wears off fast at 5am. Suction-cup blackouts pack into almost nothing and turn any window into a usable sleep environment. On longer trips like our three weeks in Turkey, this has been genuinely the difference between a holiday and a fortnight of 4.30am starts.

The Things Parents Most Often Forget

From my own packs, and from years of conversations with other mums, these are the items that get left behind most often:

• The baby monitor charger
• Nappy cream
• Vitamin D drops
• A spare set of travel cot sheets (one accidental wee and you'll be desperate)
• Sterilising tablets or bag
• Antihistamine for unexpected reactions to new foods or insect bites
• Pram rain cover — it's the UK, bring one for either end of the trip
• A small fan or portable air cooler if you're going somewhere very hot

If this is your first time packing a bag for a baby at all, the same logic applies to a hospital bag — there's a separate mum-of-six hospital bag checklist that covers everything you need for those first few days.

A Last Word

Don't pack for the worst possible version of every scenario. You'll end up with three suitcases and a sore back. Pack practically, pack for the climate and accept that whatever you forget, you can almost always buy at the destination — even with two languages between you and the chemist.

And try, in among the bottle warming and the nappy bag rummaging, to actually enjoy it. A baby asleep on you in the shade of a parasol while you read a book is one of the best holidays you'll ever have, however unfussy the location. I'm counting down the days until July, and I'll be back here in August to tell you how round three in Icmeler went.

Holiday Pieces at Milkmoon

If you're packing for a baby holiday and want soft, breathable pieces that work for warm days, cool evenings and everything in between, we have a lovely range of summer rompers, two-piece sets, light cardigans and sun hats — all chosen by me because they're what I'd pack for my own little ones.