Recently we took a road trip to the Grand Canyon and Santa Fe.  We took along our Vista stroller from UPPAbaby.  The stroller comes with both a bassinet and a regular stroller seat.  We also bought the car seat adaptor which allows you to use the stroller with your car seat.  The stroller frame itself weighs 18lbs, which isn’t light, but considering the big wheels, shock absorption and easy steering, isn’t that heavy, either.  It folds easily and didn’t take up too much room in the back of our mid-sized SUV.

The stroller seat and the car seat adaptor can both snap in both ways – facing you or facing forward.  You can fold the stroller with the seat attached, but only if the seat is facing forward.  Since our daughter is still a baby, we like to have her facing us, which means that you have to take the seat off first.  It’s not hard, but it does take two hands.  When the bassinet, seat or car seat adaptor are snapped in correctly there are two little red circles – one on each side of the stroller – which turn green.  We find it really nice to know that everything’s safe and ready to go.

Before this trip we really found it annoying that you could snap the car seat adaptor in “the wrong way”.  We couldn’t imagine wanting to have it facing forward.  Then we went for a walk along the Rim Trail at the Grand Canyon.  Our daughter had fallen asleep in the car (a rarity for her).  We didn’t want to wake her, so we snapped in the car seat adaptor.  Only thing was that the sun was on our backs, making the sun shade useless.  A quick turn of the car seat adaptor and she was in total shade!

Although we have and use the Phil and Ted’s travel cot, the bassinet made sleeping at the hotel super easy.     Had she been younger we would have used it in the stroller during the day, too.  We used to before she became much more interested in looking out at the world around her.

The Vista has a large basket which makes it easy to take all the stuff you need with you for the day.  We didn’t even need to carry a backpack this time!  The back of it can be pushed down to allow you easy access to everything, too.

The only thing we really wish UPPAbaby would make is a mesh sunshade.  In fact, when we first bought our stroller the mesh bug screen that is included was described as being for the sun as well.  It turned out to be only SPF 5 and is now no longer described as a sunshade.  Even though the fabric sunshade is very large and extends way out, sometimes the angle of the sun just makes it hard to get complete coverage.  We wind up covering our daughter up with blankets which means that she can’t see and doesn’t get air circulation which makes it very hot and uncomfortable.  As you can see in the photo above we tried a stroller umbrella with limited success, but a mesh sunshade would be perfect.

All in all, we were really pleased with the way the stroller performed.  It’s super easy to push, even on surfaces that aren’t or are poorly paved.  The basket is large and carries a lot of stuff easily.  The bassinet gives you an easy solution to sleeping in the hotel.  The car seat adaptor and the forward or rear facing seat all give you lots of options to keep your little one shady and comfortable.  But best of all – it’s all machine washable!  All the fabric can be taken off and thrown in the wash.  So when you get home from your trip a little grubby, it’s no problem!  We’ll definitely be traveling with our UPPAbaby Vista stroller again – we’ll only be sorry that our little one will soon be too big for the bassinet!

When we started shopping for baby equipment one of the first things we knew we’d need was a travel cot.  Travel is a big part of our lives and we wanted to be able to continue that with our daughter.  We looked at 2 travel cots – the Phil & Teds and the Baby Bjorn. The Phil & Teds requires assembly – something we weren’t too thrilled about facing at the end of a long day of traveling.  The Baby Bjorn is SUPER easy to assemble – it basically just springs open and is ready to use.  BUT – it’s a lot heavier at 11lbs. vs. the 6 lb Phil & Teds.  So, we chose the Phil & Teds and hoped that the set-up wouldn’t drive us crazy.

The cot comes apart into pieces like a tent and fits into a bag that has a shoulder strap for carrying.  It packed easily into our  large suitcase and is also small enough to fit into our big travel backpacks.  Before we left we practiced putting it together.  It took us more than 20 minutes and required quite a bit of strength – we weren’t impressed and left it assembled for a while, dreading taking it back apart again.  On this first trip with it we had to set it up and take it apart 4 times.  Each time it was faster and easier.  By the end of the trip Ian was down to under 5 minutes – making us very happy we chose the lighter weight over ease of use.

The matress is a mostly self-inflating air matress that actually fits into a pocket in the bottom of the cot.  The baby actually lies on the nylon bottom of the cot and you can’t use a sheet.  Although this would seem uncomfortable, our daughter slept well and seemed happy to be put down in it while awake, too.  It also makes for VERY easy clean-up!

The cot has a side flap that can zipper open so you don’t have to lean over to pick up your child.  We didn’t use it, but we can imagine it coming in handy with an older, heavier child – particularly since the cot is big enough to be used by children up to 3 years of age.  You can also secure it to the ground with stakes and it comes with a zippered top flap with UV protection so that you could use the cot on the beach for example.

Overall, we were very happy with our Phil & Teds Traveller and are very happy to have such a light, easy to use, safe bed for our daughter away from home!

Here is the packing list we use whenever we travel:

CARRY ON:

1. Toiletteries bags (something lightweight, portable, tough, waterproof – check out the Eagle Creek stuff here).
2. Hotel confirmations – especially for the first night
3. Passports
4. Money belt – we use a money belt that we can hide under our pants/trousers
5. Extra film/memory cards
6. Sunglasses
7. Guidebook
8. Photocopy of relevent section of guidebook for your arrival city, so you don’t have to dig out the whole guidebook to consult a map
9. Airline tickets, or electronic tickets
10. PDA / ipod / etc. (to watch movies, listen to music – remember, even if the plane has a back of the seat entertainment system, half the time it doesn’t work!)
11. Recharger for above entertainment device – especially if you have a layover, you can often find power points in airports and recharge
12. Hard candy, helps with pressure differences in the plane
13. In case you have a cold, Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) decongestant is very helpful with the pressure change in the plane which can be very painful
14. Medicines to bring:
    1. Aspirin/Tylenol (paracetamol, acetaminophen)
    2. Gravol – Dramamine – motion sickness pills. These can help with not just motion sickness, but are great for calming your stomach for any reason
    3. Immodium
    4. And depending on where you’re going.. Malaria tablets
    5. Any prescription medications – and if your life could depend on them, (i.e. asthma inhaler), have two in two different places in case one is lost/stolen
15. Thermometer
16. Travel-sized Kleenex / tissues. You can put it in your pocket, and can be used as toilet paper when they inevitably don’t have any
17. Kleenwipes (moist towelettes – great for cleaning your hands in places where you can’t easily get to a sink)
18. Alarm clock – this can be useful for waking yourself up after an airport nap
19. Earplugs – might help to sleep on the plane
20. US Cash – for emergencies
21. ATM cards. We’ve never brought travelers checks, even with all the countries we’ve been to. Check which banking network the countries you are visiting use – and if possible bring ATM cards that work with more than one (Cirrus/Plus/Star…)
22. Empty water bottle – once you’re through security you can fill it, or ask the flight attendant to fill it as soon as you get on the plane, so you’re not parched while they taxi for 2 hours.
23. Granola/energy bars, again so you can eat when you want
24. Cellphone, quad band, unlocked so you can buy a SIM chip cheap in the country you are visiting and don’t end up paying AT&T $5 a minute
25. “Cheat sheet” – Sheet with all your personal information written on it – credit card #’s, passport #’s, phone #’s, PINs for credit cards in case you can’t get any ATM cards to work, numbers to call if credit cards are lost (direct/collect call numbers – 1800 numbers don’t work outside US/Canada), emergency contact information. Print it in really small type and keep it in your money belt. Also, keep a copy online (email it to yourself)
26. Printed calendar so you know what you’re doing, when, and when your flights are
27. Pen/pencil
28. Travel blanket -In case you don’t get a blanket on the plane, or the train is too cold to sleep, etc. You can get pretty small, lightweight pack blankets. Down throws also work well.
29. Emergency spare clothes – at least the essentials – in case you lose your luggage.
30. Cheap wedding bands – In many countries, it’s good for couples, to look married (even if you’re not), without having expensive jewelery on.

Packed luggage:

1. Shampoo/Conditioner/hairspray – each in its own ziploc bag, then all of them together in a larger ziploc bag. This way, when the bottle inevitably explodes, at least it’ll only spill its contents to its own bag which you can wash.
2. Shaver/Razor
3. Pack towels/camping towels – these are lightweight, absorbent, and very fast drying towels that are great for when you don’t want to use the budget hotel’s towels (all of them) or they’re not provided
4. Soap – preferably white soap, so you can also use it to do laundry
5. Ziploc bags – great to store food for the day, wet clothes, etc. Bring a collection of sandwich sized, freezer sized, and even some jumbos.
6. Twist ties
7. Elastic Bands (rubber bands)
8. Extra glasses/sunglasses – if you lose them, say in a really big wave on a beach in Martinique, it’s really nice to have a spare pair waiting in the hotel room.
9. Eyeglasses repair kit – you really don’t want to lose a screw and be wandering around trying to fix it. You can get travel sized repair kits that are tiny.
10. Extra batteries for the flashlight and camera
11. Sewing kit (maybe someone will teach us how to sew one day)
12. Some clothes to sleep in that you don’t mind being seen in, in case the bathroom is down the hall
13. Swiss Army Knife
14. Spoon – for impromptu picnics
15. Fork
16. Jackets
17. Water bottle holders (a holster for your water bottle) – unless your knapsack/daypack has them
18. Flashlight – You never know when you’re going to hit a power outage, or have to find the bathroom or light switch in a dark hall. It’s also useful for exploring the insides of Egyptian pyramids that say they’re lit in the guidebook, but, well, not so much.
19. Nylon bag – Before we check them at the airport, we wrap our knapsacks in a large, light, nylon bag we got from REI – it keeps them clean and safe from the luggage conveyor belt
20. Power adapter for an electric shaver – even if you’re not going for that long, sometimes shavers can turn themselves on in transit and drain the battery
21. Recharger for digital camera
22. Recharger for phone
23. Power adaptor to adapt the plug to local socket. You don’t need the full on converter, as most electronic devices will auto-adapt 110-220. (check the device and it will be written on it)
24. Hats – baseball hats or sun hats
25. Sunscreen
26. Hair elastics
27. Gloves/Long johns/thermals for cold climates. Putting your thermal underwear under light travel pants/trousers is a better deal than bringing heavy pants (jeans) because it keeps you warm while still being very lightweight and it dries a lot faster.
28. Flipflops – light, and great to wear in to showers you don’t trust, or on carpets you don’t trust (i.e. all of them)
29. Tevas – or sports sandals – good for water, sand, etc.
30. Zip pants/combination pants/trousers – Two great reasons: Often the climate will change from morning to afternoon and this allows you to easily change without changing. Also, for modesty in mosques/churches/etc.
31. Compass – even if you have a GPS device, a little compass attached to the zip of your backpack is always handy
32. Bandaids (plasters)
33. Umbrella – one of the tiny ones does the trick, even if it falls apart after just one trip

Anything we’re missing from our list? Please leave us a note in the comments!

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