Best Portable Travel Crib

August 9, 2019

In a perfect world, your first few months as a parent are pure homebound bliss, a totally hermetically sealed time of magic with your baby in the nursery with little interference from the outside world. But even in that idealized scenario, the real world will come calling soon enough, and whether it’s because you love to adventure or because you have to spend a few nights away, you’ll need to find the best travel crib to take your little one along with you. After all, there’s nothing more important than your baby’s comfort and safety, so a travel crib that can guarantee both of those is absolutely paramount.

At MASSE, we understand just how crucial it is to find the safest and best travel crib, because we’re powered by parents who have the same priorities. MASSE provides recommendations for the best travel cribs based on these parents’ reviews, and we don’t allow sponsored posts or paid-for reviews, so you can be certain that the recommendations for the best travel cribs you’re reading are truthful and not influenced by shady manufacturers. The child products industry has some unsavory players, but we don’t play that game.

Just as not all families have the exact same needs, not all travel cribs are exactly the same — there is actually a wide variety of features between even the best travel cribs. First and foremost, as we said, is safety, and that’s a constant, but the real variable here is the word “travel” and what it means to different people. Think about it — some people like to pack heavy and stay in luxury hotels, while others are more into going minimal and backpacking. With that in mind, different needs call for different kinds of travel cribs, and we’ve got you covered.

Some parents are looking for travel cribs that are comparable to regular stay-at-home cribs, but made from lightweight material (think hollow metal tubes and mesh) and easier to take apart and reassemble. Others are looking for very portable travel cribs, ones that collapse and fold up into the size of a backpack or even fit into a suitcase. No matter what your needs, though, we’ve got you covered with the best travel cribs on the market.

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  • Travel Crib Light with Night Light

    $299.99

    By Baby Bjorn

    Baby Bjorn is the leading name in transporting children using sturdy items that can be carried on a parent’s back, which is actually a pretty gigantic market. This travel crib has all the great qualities you’ve come to expect from the Baby Bjorn brand, as it provides a very safe and secure environment for your child and is very easy to use. The crib fits in a travel bag, and all you have to do is pull it out and pop it out, allowing the mesh sides to stretch across the lightweight poles. It’s got a comfortable mattress and stays snug to the ground, and as our users point out, it’s both durable and big enough to keep children from even trying to climb over the sides.

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  • Lotus Everywhere Travel Crib

    $199.95

    By Guava

    Another high-quality, all-in-one, backpack travel crib, Guava’s Lotus Everywhere comes with several special features. It’s so easy to fold and unfold, it feels like a marvel of engineering (seriously, you’ll never want to put furniture together ever again) and its backpack is sturdy enough that you won’t have to worry about it ripping and needing to find another one mid-trip. We love the zip opening front of the travel crib, too, as it makes it easy to make any time — at an airport, on a camping trip, on the beach — playtime.

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  • Sena Mini Playard Graphite

    $199.95

    By Nuna

    Not only is Nuna’s Sena Mini Playard Graphite travel crib “compact and portable,” as one MASSE user raves, it also provides unparalleled airflow with an all-mesh build, so that your little one can breathe easy no matter where your travels take you. Even its uber-comfortable, dual-layer mattress. It pops up, folds up easy, and can even be put through the washing machine. Our users say it works for kids at least up to 18 months, and in some cases, even longer.

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  • Traveller Crib

    $199.99

    By Phil & Teds

    You want light and easy? Phil & Teds Traveller Crib weighs in at just seven pounds, which is the same weight as the average newborn baby. It’s pretty remarkable that something so light and convenient — it’s super easy to fold out, as you’d expect — can handle a growing baby, but it’s got sturdy mesh and light-but-durable poles that make it easy. It comes with a traveling bag, too, and it’ll fit easily into a suitcase or an airplane overhead compartment. It’s great for use anywhere, so it’s no wonder MASSE users love it!

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  • Sena Aire

    $249.95

    By Nuna

    Much like its mini playard sibling, the Sena Aire from Nuna stands out not only for its extreme foldability and light weight, but for just how breathable it is. Everything (but the poles) is made of mesh, and air flows throughout, creating an easy, breezy travel crib that, as one MASSE parent puts it, you can go everywhere with. And, once you’re back home, you can run the whole thing through the washing machine!

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