The Best Car Seats for Travel

The good news is that virtually all infant car seats are travel-friendly because of their design. “Almost any [infant] car seat will work well for travel,” assures Conn. But if you’re looking for an especially travel-friendly option, the Mint Latch from Joie is our top pick. It has three features that contribute to it landing the top spot: ease of installation, weight and price.

The Mint Latch is a baseless rear-facing infant car seat. While you can install it using a vehicle’s seat belt, you don’t need to—you can use just the seat’s integrated LATCH connectors instead. (They extend directly from the bottom of the seat.) Simply flip them out, click them into your car’s anchors, adjust the seat to the proper recline angle and you’re good to go.

Why is this especially helpful for travel? You can skip wrangling with a seat belt installation, which can be time-consuming and comes with a learning curve. You’ll get a secure install even in a rideshare or unfamiliar rental vehicle. And you never have to worry about lugging around a (heavy, cumbersome) car seat base. It makes everything easier all around—and that’s extra important when you’re on the go. 

The seat’s other standout features—its weight and price—are just as impressive. While not the lightest infant seat, the Mint Latch weighs about nine pounds, which is pretty average. (And fairly light.) And it’s extremely well-priced compared to other baseless infant car seats on the market. 

The biggest downside of this seat is its weight and height limits, which are slightly lower than those of many other infant seats. (This means you may have to make the switch to a convertible car seat sooner.) It’s also only compatible with Joie strollers if you’re interested in making a travel system.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: 4-30 lbs, up to 30”

• Product Weight: 9.2 lbs

The Doona was the first of its kind—an infant car seat that instantly transforms into a stroller with a click of a button—and is still one of only two stroller + car seat hybrids on the market. (The other is the Evenflo Shyft DualRide, another high-quality hybrid seat.) This innovative feature makes it a convenient transportation solution for many families, but especially if you travel frequently, as it cuts down on the amount of gear you’ll need to schlep. It installs easily without the base and features side-impact protection.

“The durability and versatility of this one product has made our lives so much easier and efficient,” one parent told us in our annual favorite baby products survey. “Perfect for traveling,” echoed another. 

Parents who fly often with their baby really appreciate the Doona—it makes getting through the airport and using a car seat on the plane a lot easier. (It’s narrow enough to fit down the airplane aisle.) Just note there are a few downsides; the two biggest being the lack of storage and the seat’s weight when it’s in car seat mode. (It’s really heavy.)

 It’s also not ideal for taller parents as the handlebar is really low.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: 4-35 lbs, up to 32”

• Product Weight: 17 lbs

If you’re shopping for a travel-friendly car seat and want a just-as-travel-friendly stroller to go along with it, consider this pair from Nuna. It’s a splurge, but it’s worthwhile for a family on the go looking for both a car seat and a stroller.

“With a big budget and lots of travel plans, consider the Nuna TRVL + PIPA urbn travel system; the car seat gives a great fit for newborns and has integrated rigid LATCH to install quickly every time, while the ultra-portable stroller will fit in some aircraft overhead bins,” explains Conn.

Other pros include light weight for both the baseless car seat and the stroller (the urbn weighs just over seven pounds and the TRVL stroller is just about 16), an XL car seat canopy and an ultra-fast stroller fold. And you don’t need any adapters to click the car seat into the stroller.

Other than cost, the other big downside of this travel system is the urbn’s weight and height maximums. At 22 pounds and 29 inches, they’re the lowest on our list and significantly lower than many other infant car seats, which last until a baby reaches 35 pounds or 32 inches. And if you’re only interested in the car seat, that’s not an option here—the urbn is only sold as part of a travel system with several different Nuna strollers.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: Pipa urbn Infant Car Seat: 4-22 lbs, less than 29”; TRVL LX Stroller: from birth up to 50 lbs

• Product Weight: Pipa urbn Infant Car Seat: 7 lbs; TRVL LX Stroller: 16.4 lbs

Most convertible car seats aren’t designed for travel. Weighing an average of about 20 pounds, convertibles don’t snap into strollers and are heavy, bulky and meant to be installed in your car and stay there. For parents who travel frequently or don’t own a car, getting around with a convertible seat poses quite a challenge.

The Scenera Next, which is ranked as one of our best convertible car seats, solves this dilemma. It weighs under eight pounds—light for any car seat but especially so for a convertible. It’s easy to sling over your shoulder while you’re walking through the airport or install in an airplane seat or a rideshare. (It’s FAA-approved for plane travel.) It’s totally no-frills and takes a bit of practice to install, but it’s slim, safe and affordable and can be used both rear- and forward-facing.

The downside to this seat is longevity. “Convertible car seats depend more on a child's proportions, but for kids on the bottom of the growth charts, the Cosco Scenera Next is unbeatable for price and weight,” says Conn. It has a fairly low height maximum for rear-facing and a low weight limit overall, so you won’t get as many years of use out of it as you might with a different seat. (For reference, my toddler, who’s in the 98th percentile for height but only the 30th or so for weight, outgrew the seat rear-facing by height right after he turned three years old.) Also, the seat’s padding is fairly thin, so it may not be the most cushy for longer rides, and if you’re using it on an airplane, most kids are able to feel the lap belt’s buckle on their lower back where it routes through the seat.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: Rear-facing: 5-40 lbs, 19-40”; forward-facing: 22-40 lbs, 29-43”

• Product Weight: 7.8 lbs

The Graco Contender Slim is another travel-friendly convertible seat and a good choice if you’re looking for a longer-lasting option, especially rear-facing.

“If your child is tall for their age, consider the Graco Contender Slim,” recommends Conn. “While it's heavier and more expensive than the Scenera, it allows children to rear face to 40 pounds regardless of height, and once they're forward facing on the plane there's a panel that protects their back from the aircraft seat belt buckle.” (Instead of a height maximum, you’ll be able to use the seat as long as your child’s head is one inch below the headrest adjustment when it’s fully extended.) It’s also easy to install and features a no-rethread harness for easy adjustments, a nice perk when you’re traveling and don’t want to spend the time manually rethreading harness straps.

The one downside of this seat is weight. At almost 16 pounds, it’s significantly heavier than the Scenera Next. But the tradeoff is longevity, especially rear-facing, so if that’s important to you, then a few extra pounds likely isn’t a big deal.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: Rear-facing: 5-40 lbs, head must be at least 1" below headrest adjustment handle when fully extended; forward-facing: 22-65 lbs, up to 49”

• Product Weight: 15.9 lbs

The WAYB Pico is unlike any other convertible car seat on the market. Designed specifically for families who travel, the Pico is a folding convertible seat. It’s an expensive option but a good investment if you’re looking for an innovative, safe and incredibly compact car seat.

The creators of the Pico were inspired to create something totally unique after watching parents struggle to lug car seats through airports and in and out of taxis and rideshares. It’s incredibly lightweight (it has an aluminum frame), weighing about eight pounds—the same as the infant seats on our list! And it breaks down to about the size of a carry-on suitcase.

The Pico works just like a traditional convertible car seat, with a LATCH or seat belt installation and a five-point harness. It’s ideal if you want to skip the hassle of lugging around a heavy convertible or if you don’t own a car and rely on rideshares. You can even use it in an airplane seat.

There are a few things to keep in mind about the Pico, other than the obvious downside of cost. It’s forward-facing only, so if you’re looking for a rear-facing convertible for travel, this isn’t a good fit for you. It has fairly low height and weight maximums for a convertible car seat (and a fairly short top harness height—the distance from the seat base to the top of the highest shoulder harness position) so it won’t last as long as a traditional convertible. (It also has a short crotch buckle, which some kids find uncomfortable.) It’s tricky to install using a seat belt and it’s not ideal for use outside of the US and Canada because of seat belt issues that may arise in international vehicles.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: 22-50 lbs, 30-45”; recommended for ages 2+

• Product Weight: 8 lbs

Booster seats do what their name implies: boost children up in your car’s seat to make the adult seat belts fit better on a smaller body. You’ll have to wait a while to transition your little one from a convertible car seat into a booster—don’t take the leap until your child maxes out their forward-facing car seat, meets the height and weight requirements of the booster and is mature enough to sit properly upright for an entire ride. (That last part is the biggie: no leaning, twisting, moving, etc. Most kids aren’t booster-ready until around five or six years old.) 

There are two types of boosters: high-back and backless. Graco’s TurboBooster falls into the first category and is the best choice for a newer booster rider since it offers more support. Due to their height and general clunkiness, no high-backs are particularly great for travel, but this one is one of the best you’ll find in terms of price (affordable) and weight (just over eight pounds). It’s also easy to install and fits a wide variety of children well, and transitions to a backless booster for years of use. Pro tip: when traveling with it, pop off the back and separate the seat into two pieces (the back portion and the seat) to make it at least a little more compact and portable.

Just note that if your vehicle has nonremovable headrests, you won’t be able to use this booster in high-back mode. It also can’t hang over the vehicle seat, which could be a concern if your car has shallow seats.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: 40-100 lbs, 43-57”

• Product Weight: 8.4 lbs

Once your child graduates to a backless booster, traveling with a car seat finally becomes easier again 🙌. The inflatable BubbleBum is my go-to for a travel-friendly booster—and Conn agrees. “I love traveling with the BubbleBum,” she says.

This booster seat is inflatable, so when it’s not in use, it fits easily into a backpack or even a small bag. It’s light, compact and small enough that you won’t turn blue in the face trying to blow it up. And there’s a belt guide, a nice extra to help you position the seat belt properly if needed.

The BubbleBum is useful for everyday car seat life, too. It’s great for three-across since fits between two full-size car seats, and I love using it for carpools as well.

Since there’s no back, this booster is best suited for older children or kids who know how to sit properly in a booster seat. Some children also find it uncomfortable after longer periods of time. If you prefer a non-inflatable option, the Cosco Rise is affordable and almost just as easy to take along for travel.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: 40-100 lbs, 40-57”, at least 4 yrs old

• Product Weight: 1 lb

International travel with kids complicates the car seat game even further, but the Ride Safer Vest offers a solid solution. It lets you skip bringing along a bulky car seat and can be used in any type of vehicle as long as there’s a lap and shoulder belt. (Seat belts outside of the US and Canada can be very different, so this is a big deal.)

Instead of boosting a child up to meet the seat belt, the Ride Safer lowers the belt to the child’s height. Thanks to its narrow design, it works well in compact cars and tight spaces. It’s also small and light enough to fit in a backpack or carry-on luggage so it won’t be a massive pain to lug around like a traditional convertible car seat would be..

There are some important nuances to be aware of if you’re considering this travel vest, however. The most important is installation and use: it’s not easy. You’re going to need to read the manual carefully and watch a few videos (probably several times) both to figure out the fit and to get the hang of installing and using it. You’ll also want to be cautious when using it with younger riders. While it’s approved for kids as young as two, most kids that age won’t be able to sit properly in, so it’s better suited for kids around four or older or with a younger child if you’re able to sit next to them in the back seat to monitor them.

Additional Specs

• Child Weight/Height Guidelines: 30-60 lbs, 35-48” and at least two years old; child must have vehicle head support to at least top of their ears

• Product Weight: 1.5 lbs