Hands down, these are the best lightweight travel strollers that have great features for a family vacation at an affordable price. Check out these gems for under $75.
If you are planning to take your baby or toddler on a family vacation, then you should definitely consider acquiring a separate stroller specifically for travel purposes. Why? When you’re traveling through airports, cruise ships and over varied terrain, you’ll really appreciate a lightweight travel stroller that’s easy to maneuver.
And, there’s also a benefit to having a less expensive travel stroller if you’re going to be checking bags and the like. In the event your travel stroller gets damaged or lost, it will be a considerably lesser blow to your pocket book. These days, some of the most popular full-sized strollers easily run $300 and up, with several models topping over $1,000. So, make your life easier and plan to take a lightweight stroller that can take some abuse without regrets.
Plus, you can have some measure of comfort knowing that your regular deluxe every day stroller is waiting safely and securely back home for you so your regular routine won’t be disrupted.
While this post will emphasize features that are great for cruise passengers, the characteristics that make a great stroller for cruise travel will make a great stroller for any family vacation regardless of whether it involves a cruise ship.
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Characteristics of the Best Lightweight Travel Strollers
So what characteristics make for the best strollers for vacation travel? If you’re going to be out and about all day, transferring between multiple venues and/or multiple modes of transportation, you want something that’s easy to fold and unfold quickly and repeatedly.
Something that’s not too heavy to cart around – whether on and off a tour bus or up and down stairs. Plus, a stroller that has some reasonable amount of storage that can accommodate a range of family items when out and about, not just the baby’s.
And, let’s not forget features that can facilitate and accommodate naps. Meaning some measure of recline and some measure of shade or sun protection. And, while we’re not looking for a truly disposable stroller, affordability is important.
In sum, these are the factors that we think weigh most heavily in choosing a travel stroller for your vacation:
- portability
- folding mechanism
- recline
- storage
- affordability (aka price)
Our Top Picks For Best Lightweight Travel Strollers For Vacations (Cruise or Otherwise)
Mindful of the key features highlighted above, these are the top rated lightweight travel strollers with recline and storage available on Amazon that are under $75. Find list right here.
The one that we believe is the top pick is the Kolcraft Cloud Plus.
Kolcraft Cloud Plus Lightweight Easy Fold Compact Travel Stroller
We used some version of this stroller (or its predecessor) for many years, across multiple children. It has great features ideal for vacation travel.
These include an extremely roomy storage basket, one-handed easy fold, a generous sunshade that actually provides protection, and snack/drink trays for both parents and child. Everything you need for a day out and about. And, you can usually find it at a great price point.
Folks that were looking for a lightweight travel stroller were extremely pleased with this choice (as were we). This stroller received particularly high marks for ease of assembly, feeling ultra light, and great storage. Read all of the 5-star reviews here.
Not surprisingly, this umbrella stroller was also a big hit with cruise passengers. Cruising families loved the fact that this stroller is easy to fold with one hand. And, key source of happiness was its compact size. It can easily fit in a cruise ship closet or nestle quietly by the door. Read reviews from cruise passengers here.
Of course, it is extremely rare that a product – particularly a baby oriented product – will receive uniformly positive reviews. And, that’s true here. A handful of people ran into problems. Many of the folks with problems seemed to have issues with assembly or problems that resulted from improper assembly. You can check out all of the negative 1-star reviews here.
Summer 3Dlite Convenience Stroller
A great alternative to the Kolcraft stroller is this one from Summer Infant. It has many of the same features and its usually priced a little lower. It does not, however, have a child tray or belly bar. And it’s storage capacity is a little smaller.
Folks who champion this stroller really love its maneuverability and the fact that it’s comfortable for taller people to push. Plus, many people love how far back it can recline. Read all 5-star reviews here.
And this stroller also performs well on a cruise vacation. Check out the reviews from cruisers here.
Different models of the Summer Infant lightweight strollers seem to go in and out of stock without notice. So, another popular and well reviewed Summer Infant model to consider is the 3D Mini Convenience Stroller. It has similarly enthusiastic 5-star reviews, include favorable reviews from cruisers. It is similarly priced, but it has a slightly smaller storage basket and a separate parent tray.
Jeep North Star Stroller
This is another beloved alternative. It also comes in near the lower end of the price spectrum and it’s the lightest one on our list. It weighs a mere 10 pounds. Of course, slimming down means some features must be omitted. In this case, there’s no child tray. The parent tray is more of a pouch. And the storage is much more limited.
Nevertheless, the folks who raved about this smaller lightweight stroller loved how compactly that it could fold up and that it’s the ideal height for taller parents. Read all of the 5-star reviews here.
And our cruise friends were happy with it as well. Check out the reviews from cruisers here.
If you’re getting ready to take a cruise vacation with a baby or toddler, be sure to check out these other great resources as well:
