Toddler StaysTravel Essentials › Sleep Essentials
Sleep Essentials
The same bed and the same dark, quiet room, even far from home.
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A toddler who sleeps well away from home is most of a good trip. What helps most is copying home: the same kind of bed, a dark room and steady sound to cover the hallway. Hotel cribs run out on busy weekends, and hotel curtains leak light at the edges.
Our family's picks
We bought every one of these ourselves and use them on our own trips with our toddler.
Travel crib
Dream On Me Travel Light PlayardZip side doorOur travel crib: light, a zip door on the side, and it packs into its own bag.
Travel crib sheets
Joey + Joan Travel Crib Sheets, 2‑pack2-packSoft fitted sheets made for the BabyBjorn and Guava Lotus travel cribs. Use a sheet only on the crib it's made for.
Blackout sleep tent
SlumberPod blackout sleep tentBlackoutA dark little room over a play yard or mini crib, so a bright hotel room still feels like nap time. Follow its safety instructions exactly.
Blackout blinds
Amazon Basics Portable Blackout CurtainSuction cupsBlackout panels that stick to the hotel window with suction cups.
White noise machine
Magicteam White Noise Machine20 sounds20 sounds that don't loop, to cover hallway doors, ice machines and the room next door.
Baby monitor
HelloBaby HB6550 Video Baby MonitorNo Wi-Fi neededWorks without Wi-Fi, so there's no hotel network to fight with. Handy when the baby sleeps in the bedroom of a suite.
What to look for
Shopping for something else? Tap a row for what matters with a little one.
A travel crib or play yard
Hotels lend cribs, but each has only a few and they run out on busy weekends. Your own means the same bed every night.
- Sets up in a minute and folds into a carry bag
- Weighs under about 15 pounds if you'll fly with it
- Use only the mattress pad it came with: safety officials warn against adding a second mattress
Portable blackout shades
Hotel curtains leak light at the edges, and a toddler who wakes at 5 a.m. makes for a long day.
- Suction cups or static cling, nothing that marks the window
- Cut-to-fit or big enough for a full window
A small white-noise machine
Covers hallway doors, ice machines and the neighbors' TV.
- Runs all night, plugged in or on a battery
- No light, or one you can turn off
A dim night light
Find the crib at 2 a.m. without flipping on the room light and waking everyone.
- Warm or red light, dimmable
- Plugs in or runs on a battery
More Travel Essentials
Thank you for helping keep Toddler Stays free. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. "Our family's picks" are things we bought with our own money and use on our trips; nobody paid us or sent them free. Buttons open an Amazon search for that product, so you see today's prices and reviews there; a pick Amazon doesn't sell links to the maker's own shop, and we earn nothing on it. Where we have no pick, we say what to look for instead.