Best Fun and Easy Places to Travel with Toddlers

Living with toddlers can feel like pure chaos. They are a whirlwind of energy and emotions. A weekend at home with them is draining; the thought of traveling with them can feel downright daunting. However. Toddlers are gonna toddler wherever they are. You could deal with a tantrum at home, or you can deal with a tantrum in a new place while looking at new things and eating new foods. Traveling with a toddler can be better after managing your expectations. It can be even better when you make it easier on yourself by choosing toddler-friendly travel destinations. Places that have less elements that usually make travel stressful, like language barriers, or safety concerns, or cleanliness concerns. This list of fun and easy places to travel with toddlers is your inspiration to start traveling with your toddler!

Best Beach Vacation with Toddlers

San Diego

Sunny San Diego is a treasure trove of adventures for little ones. The beaches are fantastic, and the mild weather year round means that you can enjoy the beach whenever you visit. Besides the beach, there are a ton of other activities that kids would love. From the San Diego Zoo and Legoland to all types of childrens’ museums, there is plenty to keep toddlers and parents occupied for the whole trip. And for parents, there is so much amazingly delicious food and craft beer to enjoy when you get some downtime during nap time.

San Diego is also an easy trip logistically. The well-connected San Diego airport is right near the center of town. It’s easy to rent a car and drive around yourself. If you stay in a central location everything is a 15-20 minute drive away on the freeway. San Diego is such a family-friendly city that there are many quiet and safe neighborhoods to stay in (like La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Clairemont, and University City). So you can try to replicate the comforts of home as much as possible in a home rental.

Check out our dog and toddler friendly San Diego itinerary to save yourself some time with planning!

Hawaii

From the West Coast, Hawaii is a (possibly brutal) 5-6 hour flight away. But it will be worth it for the quintessential beach vacation! Hawaii has some of the most beautiful beaches around, and all the islands have at least one keiki beach. A keiki beach is also known as a baby beach. A baby beach has waters that are generally shallow and really calm so your kiddo play safely in the water. The Big Island has some of the best keiki beaches we have ever been to. Hawaii is also super kid-friendly in general. The atmosphere is more laid back, and almost all restaurants are kid-friendly. Since the point of a Hawaii vacation is to slow down, there is no pressure to be “on time” for any activities and you can truly just relax.

Check out our toddler friendly Big Island guide for all the best baby beaches and toddler activities on the island!

Best California Road Trip with Toddlers

Monterey

Monterey is closer to the Bay Area than to Los Angeles, but a great road trip destination with toddlers either way. There are stunning coastal landscapes for parents to enjoy and animals and playgrounds for the little ones. There aren’t many things you have to do there, but a bunch of choices of things you can do. So it makes for a very relaxing long weekend because you can just choose activities as you go. It’s the perfect short escape to dip your feet into traveling with your toddler. You can figure out how best to work naps in on vacation without having a jam-packed itinerary.

Follow our toddler friendly Monterey long weekend itinerary for the perfect weekend family escape!

Best International Vacation with Toddlers

Canada

One of the stressors in travel is language barriers. And when you’re traveling with unpredictable toddlers, you want to try to eliminate as many extra stressors as possible. Enter Canada – where language barriers are not an issue! Canada is a great first international trip to take with your toddler. It’s a short plane ride from the United States. If you stick to the same coast as home then you won’t have to deal with time differences disrupting sleep. It is generally safe and clean, even in the bigger cities.

The natural beauty in Canada is wild. Banff and Jasper are places that I have visited without kids and would go back to again and again. The best part is that there are hikes to suit all level of hikers, so you can enjoy most of the main sights with a toddler in tow. And don’t think your toddler will be bored with all this nature – there are plenty of fun activities that toddlers will enjoy! And parents will love the food scene in cities like Vancouver. For an easy, low stress international trip, Canada definitely checks all the boxes.

To see all the stunning lakes in Banff and Jasper without skipping any naps, check out our toddler friendly Banff and Jasper itinerary. And if you’re adventurous enough to road trip all the way to Vancouver, we have the perfect itinerary to see more natural beauty along the way!

Switzerland

Bet you weren’t expecting to see Switzerland on this list of best easy places to travel with toddlers, were you? But Switzerland is one of the lowest stress places to travel in Europe, while having something for everyone in the family to enjoy. The major con of traveling to Switzerland is the high cost of pretty much everything. But once you get there, it’s super safe, super clean, super easy to get around, most everyone speaks English, and it is surprisingly kid friendly.

The Swiss have done an amazing job incorporating fun kid things in places that parents would want to visit. So toddlers are having a blast in places that parents would be visiting anyway if they were traveling without kids. The alpine playgrounds are some of the most creative playgrounds I have seen anywhere, AND they have the most jawdropping views. There are train rides galore in Switzerland which is basically a toddler’s dream. Trains are so much more enjoyable for parents than being trapped in a car with a screaming toddler strapped to a carseat. Besides that, not only are the trains easy to use, but they are clean and always on time.

If you are into amazing outdoors scenery and your kiddo is into vehicles, then Switzerland is basically the best possible vacation for everyone. And did I mention the chocolate? Put Switzerland on your family vacation destination list! You won’t regret it.

For more Switzerland family travel inspiration, just follow along our toddler friendly Switzerland itinerary!

Japan

Sticking with the theme of clean and safe, we have Japan to round up this list of best places to travel with toddlers. There might be a little bit more for older kids to enjoy in Japan compared to toddlers, but the draw of Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea should be enough. You can also find fun and unique museums for the whole family, like a fire truck museum or the kaleidoscope of colors that is teamLab Borderless. The other big draw of Japan is again, all the vehicles. Japan is a nation of train enthusiasts, so it is perfect for little toddlers whose idea of fun is just riding the subway. Japan is probably the most ambitious trip on this list because of the time difference and language barrier, but the unique experiences may just make that all worth it.

If this list of fun and easy places to travel with toddlers has you itching to travel, check out all of our toddler friendly travel itineraries for more family travel inspiration!