Our selection of the best baby carriers for toddlers for travel, hiking and everyday: Structured and semi structured toddler carriers we loved in airports, travels and for days outdoors.
A toddler carrier is a great piece of gear for hiking and travel as well as a fantastic everyday toddler essentials even just for trips to the mall.
However, there is no doubt that choosing a carrier for a toddler is not quite the same as picking one for a baby.
While the concept is similar, we quickly discovered on our travels that carrying a toddler comes with its own challenges – a toddler is not just heavier than a small baby but can be rather opinionated about what they like!
Or at least, this is how my two toddlers were: strong headed bundles of energy, with an opinion and a half about when and how to be carrier, how often to get on and off you, whether to be on my hip, back, front and so on!
Traveling with a toddler comes with inevitable negotiations and constant changes of heart.
So for us, getting a toddler carrier for travel that was versatile was paramount!
Based on our experience, these are the best toddler carriers that worked for us + recommendations from parents who read our travel pages and felt like sharing their best finds
I felt adding the option of parents who recently purchased a toddler carrier was the best way to keep this article relevant and make sure you could read first hand opinions of actual parents with direct, recent experience of the products.
Please note, this post contains affiliate links. should you make a purchase through them, we might make a small commission. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Table of Contents
Why getting a toddler carrier
We fond toddler carriers useful in several instances:
>>> Airports, trains and transport in general – to get quickly on and off transport, manage luggage and move fast, we found toddler carriers to be a life saver.
When traveling around Europe by train for instance, having our toddlers on on us when managing the train steps and keeping our hands free to manage our luggage was invaluable.
>>> Locations with uneven terrain such as Lisbon‘s Alfama neighborhood or the Amalfi Coast were immensely easier without having to push a stroller or worry about little legs getting tired
>>> We loved toddler carriers in attractions that don’t allow strollers such as St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican or whenever you want to climb a panoramic historic tower (I am thinking St Mark’s in Venice or similar places that do not offer spacious lifts)
>>> When hiking, a toddler carrier is a must on trails that are not suitable for all terrain strollers
How to choose the best toddler carrier for you
When choosing a carrier for your toddlers, I recommend you look for:
- Type of carrier
- Carrying styles offered
- Shoulder straps and lumbar support
- Maintenance required
Let’s look at each of them more in detail.
Type of toddler carriers
Carriers come in several style and I usually find it useful to consider them falling into 3 categories: sling, soft/semi structured carriers and framed carriers.
Slings
These are non structured, soft carriers, usually made of a long piece of material that you wrap around you and your child with no buckles nor straps.
These are excellent for smaller toddlers and any time I needed them to settle.
They keep them nice and snug against you so they are great to reassure them should the traveling and the new place upset them.
I find they are most suitable for babies and small toddler.
However, I preferred a semi structured one once they started weighting a little more.
Good to know: I am small and I noticed slings worked better with taller parents. This is a personal observation from lots of chats with other moms but if you have a small frame, you may want to double check if, like me, you may find semi structured carriers easier instead.
Soft and semi sructured carriers
Semi structured carriers are my favorite type of carrier for toddlers as they have the advantages of the sling (non bulky, easy to wash) buit a great plus: they are super easy to buckle on and off!
This for me made them the best toddler carriers for flying and the best carrier for travel in general.
In the airport, you are always asked to remove your carrier when passing security so not having to unwrap a sling is a huge plus!
Good to know: if you are buying a carrier for air travel, you may want to have a look at our tips for flying with toddlers too!
Structured carrier/ Frames carriers for toddlers
Structured carriers are those I recommend for hiking with kids and outdoor pursuits.
They usually have a metal frame and buckles for your child and they have them sit on your shoulder.
They offer less versatility of carrying positions than the others.
However, they are excellent on rough terrain and they are the best carriers for toddlers if you are into hiking and outdoor pursuits.
Good to know: while we consider a carrier a toddler travel essential, we also recommend to always bring your strollers when traveling. Not being forces to have your child on out all the time is priceless! You can find our selection of favorite lightweight strollers and favourite lightweight double strollers for travel here.
Toddler carrying styles offered
Toddler carriers usually allow for different carrying positions namely facing you, hip carrying and shoulder carrying.
All positions are good and picking one over the other vastly depends on your body shape and that of your child.
I personally found that my kids and I were most comfortable with them facing me when they were very young and then on my shoulders or on my back.
For a short period of time when they were babies they also liked to face forward.
However, I found the forward facing position to be the least comfortable when carrying a bigger child.
This is why many of the carrier for toddlers in this list do not feature it (some do, it was just not one of my main criteria when choosing).
Adjustable, padded shoulder straps and lumbar support
Shoulder straps are the part of the carrier that will sit on your shoulders and picking a model with large, padded straps that do not cut into your skin is paramount.
Make also sure that they are adjustable, a little like a backpack and come with, ideally, a chest strap.
Adjustable shoulder straps are what allows you to make the carrier sit in the right position on your back and will spread the weight best and will help prevent injury to you and your child.
A chest strap will work just like on a backpack: ensuring that the carrier sits in place and spreading the weight at best.
I also find paramount that a toddler carrier offers good lumbar support.
A toddler gets heavy fast and to avoid injury it is essential that their weight doesn’t stress your lower back or the carrying will quickly become unsustainable (and potentially dangerous for your spine).
I consider a propriety to have a good hip strap and adjustable buckles: this is what you need to get lumbar support and minimise the risk of injury to your lower back.
Toddler carrier purpose
Toddler carriers are made with different purpose and it is worth considering the use you will make of them before buying.
Soft carriers and semi structured carriers are great in cities and for smaller toddlers while we find on mountain terrain and hikes you want a purpose made hiking child carrier that allows you to keep your balance on the path.
These are usually more structured careers with metal frame and while they are a little bulky,they are axcellent on trails as they offer the best support and also stand on their own, meaning you can easily get your child in and out in pretty much all conditions.
Good to know! We found that hiking carriers with metal frames were a nuisance, rarter than a help, in museums and in cities in general as usually bulky and, sometimes, not allowed into museums as a security hazard. This is why, for its travel, we prefer a soft structured carrier.
Maintenance
A good thing to look for when picking a toddler carrier is how easy it is to wash.
Many soft structure carriers can go in the washing machine (excellent!) while more structure carriers are usually wipe clean.
Good to know! If you are worried about you and your baby being cold while babywearing, you can get a universal baby carrier cover like these ones.
This post contains affiliate links. Should you make a purchase through them, we might make a small commission.
As Amazon associates, we earn from qualifying purchases
But enough of the theory! Let’s look at the best toddler carriers as chosen by parents in 2023.
Best baby carriers for toddler chart
This is a quick chart to give an overview of the best carriers for toddlers we know.
Later in this article, I will go through our criteria for selection, what to look for when choosing a toddler carrier and will give more info about each model.
Please note: age and maximum weight in the table below are as as per manufactured specs. Always double check suitability for your child age/ weight before purchasing.
| Name of carrier | Type | Carrying positions | Age/wight of child |
| #ad Ergo Baby 360 baby toddler carrier | Semi structured carrier | 4 | 7-45lbs |
| #ad Tula Explore baby carrier | Versatile baby and toddler carrier | 6 | 7- 45 lbs |
| #ad Toddler hip seat | Hip seat | 1 | 7-45 lbs |
| #ad Deuter Kid Comfort | Kid backpack carrier | 1 | Up to 48 lbs |
| #ad Osprey Poco Kid carrier Backpack | Kid carrier hiking backpack | 1 | Up to 48.5 lbs |
Best toddler carriers for travel, flying and everyday
Let’s look at some of our favourite models a little closer.
Ergo Baby 360 – best all around toddler carrier for travel
The #ad Ergo Baby 360 baby carrier is the carrier I used for my daughter and served us very well in the toddler years especially.
Actually, it served us so well we were able to pass it on to a friend and she also loved it, meaning the same carrier lasted for several years and several toddlers!
The carrier has 4 carrying position: forward facing, facing you, hip carrying and back carrying and it has good buckles, easy to open and close and a large hip band that is excellent for parents’ lumbar support and spreading the weight.
The shoulder straps are large padded and adjustable and the hip strap is also adjustable, which means the carrier is very comfortable.
The carrier is machine washable, very easy to keep clean, and comes in several colors too, which meant we were able to choose one that both myself and my husband were willing to use.
A nice additional touch is extra material on top that allow to protect your toddler head from light should they fall asleep on you.
Good to know: the one with the mesh insert is one of our favorite baby carriers for summer and hot weather destinations.
Good to know: Ergo Baby has several models and they tend to differ for color and material mostly, making them suitable for most parents and styles. With the use of a baby insert, this baby carrier can work for newborns too. So this is a great purchase if you are looking for a carrier that can grow with your child – in our case, that you can use again with a younger sibling!
Tula explore baby carrier for babies and toddlers
Another good baby carrier for toddlers by Tula is this ‘#ad explore’ model for children 7 – 45 lb.
The carrier is presented as 6-in-1 and this means you have three different carrying positions per baby / toddler age: facing in, facing out and back carrying.
The ability to have you baby facing out is what makes this carrier different form the Tula Free to Grow and makes this one a good choice if you want more versatility when it comes to carrying positions.
In all other respects, it ticks all the boxes as the the other Tula product, meaning it is one of the best carriers for toddlers we found.
When I asked friends what they though of it, they said:
I carried my 4 year old in my Tula carrier all around Vietnam last week – it is still super comfy and I don’t feel she is getting too big for it. I even used it to give a quick ride to my 6 year old and it held up: a great purchase!
Another friend said: I used the Tula with my 15 month old all around Italy – it wasn’t too bulky and the best part was that it extends so my husband could wear it too!
Toddler hip seat carrier – an alternative to standard baby carriers for toddlers
A different take on the idea of toddler carriers is a toddler hip seat.
A toddler hip seat is a seat that you strap around your hips and allows your baby or toddler to sit int he same position would have scarring them in your arms with with extra support for you.
This is a good solution if you need to keep the weight away form your shoulder and we found it worked well especially on shorter walks or if you only need to pick up your chid occasionally – this is one of those things that is great to have in the stroller and use as needed!
Some, like the one in the photo, comes with handy pockets for essentials such as your phone or your chid’s dummy.
A good example of a toddler hip seat carrier is #ad here
My friend who use it say: my son is 3 and simply won’t sit still. He wants to get up and down and a hip seat was simply perfect for him as you don’t have to wrangle with straps!
When it comes to picking a good hiking carriers, we recommend you look at brands that specialize in outdoor gear and have special hiking carrier models.
Kid Comfort Deuter – best toddler carrier for hiking
The #ad Kid Comfort Hiking carriers series by Deuter is our favorite hiking carrier for toddlers and one we have used extensively both at home and when hiking onboard.
This is a structured carrier with a metal frame, a comfortable seat for your child and adjustable straps to keep your toddler in place and secure the backpack to your back.
To put it on and off, you can place it on the ground and it has a handy lateral opening that allows your child to step in (you then close it to secure them, it is all very easy).
The carrier has soft padded shoulder straps, adjustable, and comes with a removable sun shade that is handy to protect your child.
Small pockets are handy for your phone or some day hike essentials: this is a back carrier so you won’t be able to also carry a hiking backpack. We found this to be an excellent child carrier for hiking and active travel.
Osprey kid backpack carrier – best for hiking and outdoor adventures
Osprey is the brand I use for my travel backpack and I love it so much, I paid attention when I saw they made a hiking kid carrier backpack.
The #ad Poco child carrier is excellent and make for the outdoors: this is a kid carrier backpack so your child sits on your shoulders and it has an in built sin shade to help keep your child protected while on the trail.
Like others on this list, it has adjustable shoulder straps and it is ergonomically designed for comfort of both toddler and parent.
My friend who bought it reported: We used the Osprey Poco for 4 years. It has built in sun and rain shade and it can stand up by itself – if your toddlers falls asleep in it, you can take it off and let the sleep and sit for a bite or just rest, or you can use it as a high chair during a picnic.
Therefore, I prefer soft structured carriers for city travel.
I hope you enjoyed this overview of the baby carriers for toddlers that worked for us and it helped you pick your favourite child carrier for travel, hiking and everyday.
5 of the best carriers for toddlers – tried and tested by real parents: pin this!
This post was originally written in 2019 and has now been fully updated with recent experiences and toddler carrier models available in 2023.
