At this age, we as parents still call the shots on activities for traveling with our 12-18 month old. We make the itinerary, with some interesting stops along the way for toddlers. Of course, make time for naps, especially if it is one nap a day (around 12 months).

Activity ideas for 12-18 months

Coming up with vacation ideas for your 12-18 month old doesn’t have to be hard. At this age, they’re happy to be with you, and anything from a plane ride to a new view is still exciting.

Anything parents like doing!

With our child at this age, we did a LOT of walking around, use of both the stroller and baby carrier in cities, stopping to look at plants/flowers, saying “hi” to dogs on the street and making dining out fun for our baby.

We like going to new coffee shops at our destination to try new drinks and see the cafe scene. At this age, we’d sit our child down with us at the table, and within moments, she’d be ready to toddle around with us. We’d wind up saying hi to the staff, showing her the traffic out the window and looking at the baked goods at the counter. And that’s just us!

Beaches, lakes and water

Children at 12-18 months old may discover they love water (or are scared of it). Either way, having opportunities to see water while traveling is unique and new, especially if you don’t live near any at home. Whether your family is into beaching or being near a lake or pond, make ways for your child to interact with water.

Interesting places with some action

Toddlers at 12-18 month olds will be happy to see parks, parades, street performances, pools, beaches and markets. There may also be some interest in zoos and playground swings or seeing other children play.

At 14 months during our multi-stop trip, we took a walk to a playground in the neighborhood where we were staying, and tried out swings and slides with our little one. The photos are memorable and adorable! New playgrounds always pique everyone’s interest.

Restaurants

Going out to restaurants is part of being on vacation and traveling. If you don’t eat out much at home, bring your child to a restaurant before departing for the trip, to show them what a restaurant high chair is like and how to eat in a restaurant.

Some toddlers are happy to sit down and play with toys at the table or eat food off your plates; we wound up with a child just the opposite. If your toddler would rather “see all there is to see” at the restaurant, you might be walking around bouncing them in your arms if they won’t sit still at the table!

Try this: bring infant spoons and forks as well as a travel placemat, so that your child can expertiment with food off your plate in the new surroundings.

Be prepared for short attention spans

At this age, the interests of 12-18 month olds only last a few moments. Gear up for changes in moods, constant requests for snacks, fidgeting with toys or excitement around things like seeing a dog or cat.

While taking a walk through the city, your toddler may want to get out of the stroller and walk around or toddle in a public square or park. While dining out at restaurants, your toddler may need to go for a change of environment or take a walk with one parent. While trying out the hotel pool, assume the experience may only last 20-30 minutes if there is no kiddie section, pool toys nor other children.

My tip: Try to remember that vacation experiences you’ve been visualizing tend to play out slightly differently with a young toddler, in case you plan to do something or go to an event where one parent wants to dedicate some time!

In Medellin, we took out 14-month-old on a longer walk to a furniture store we had been recommended to peruse. We were all hot, in need of cold drinks and figuring out the next nap. We set our daughter down to “cruise” along furniture in the store, but also decided that this wasn’t the best thing for the sanity of the people who worked there. After around 15 minutes, we left, even though the two of us could’ve spent ages looking at the beautiful designs!

Take lots of photos!

While children don’t really “understand” cameras, nor posing for photos at this age, it’s a great time to get shots of them being happy and toddling on vacation.

Make photos into an activity

Some of our favorite vacation photos at this age are playing on slides and swings at playgrounds, or getting in the hotel pool before dinner as a family. We recommend getting “action shots” at playgrounds, or swinging your child in the air, over your head, whatever you do to have fun, while in a new place!

Make everyday activities into a photo op

We’ve taken photos of “walking” with our daughter (before she could walk) on the patios of coffee shops, crawling around our accommodation and sitting outside in nature. If you already take photos of everything your child does at home, chances are they’ll be either more beautiful or more memorable on vacation because they’ll evoke a time and place, later.

Photos of your toddler doing things

Take photos at meals, in markets, on hikes, at farms, in cities and on beaches. Take videos, too! Your toddler’s way of eating with their little hands, walking around in their vacation outfit or being awed by new things (tropical birds, big buildings, busy places or just lots of trees!) will be memorable.

Make room for naps

At this age, many infants take only one or two naps a day. For those who take just one nap, it may be lo-o-o-ng, between 1-3 hours. We learned to plan activities around this break in the day, and went into our vacations with a 12-18 month old knowing this would affect our schedule.

Plan activities before, and after naps

Plan the best activity for the morning

We usually plan the “best” activity for the morning, and then “see what happens” after the nap. If there is something you want to do on vacation, tack it in the itinerary for the morning when your child has just had breakfast and is happy. In case your toddler refuses their nap or in case it’s a short nap and everyone’s cranky afterward, you’ll be grateful that the best activiity is already in the books from the a.m.

Or, plan for naps to be on the go

While in Medellin with our 14-month old, we knew it would be too much of a hike to get back to our hotel while we were out in the city, so we planned for naps to be either while we were walking from place to place, or during some downtime. We recommend having a packable baby carrier. It saved the day multiple times, as we’d tend to leave our stroller behind due to the steep hills.

Nap regressions on vacation

You may experience your child regressing from needing 1 nap, to 2, during a vacation. We experienced this when our child was 14 months and we were in Colombia for ten days.

It can be a combination of new surroundings, heightened senses, overwhelm or excitement that may throw off nap needs. Or, your child could be sick, or getting sick. A third scenario is altered night sleep: if there are new sounds that wake your child at sunrise and their night sleep is shorter, they may be ready for a morning nap and then an afternoon snooze. This was probably something we couldn’ve been more well-prepared for, looking back.