We always packed a fabric travel high chair in our baby and toddler travel essentials. Even if we were unsure on how much we would use it, it packed small enough that it was worth having our portable travel high chair with us. As parents traveling with a baby or toddler, we wanted to be prepared (without carrying too much) and packing a portable high chair was an easy way to ensure a safe and secure spot at any restaurant we chose to eat at.
You might be thinking that it would be pointless to pack when traveling with a baby or toddler in the United States or Canada, but this isn’t always the case. Sure, almost every restaurant will have a high chair available for you to use. But even in those instances, we often still used our travel high chair in our Airbnb or hotel room! This was also the best way to make sure our little one isn’t getting food everywhere!
As you begin to travel internationally with a baby, you will find that having high chairs is not always the case, even if a restaurant is family-friendly.
Baby Can Travel Recommends:
Most Popular & Best Travel Booster Seat: hiccapop Omniboost Travel Booster Seat – the hiccapop Omniboost folds down small enough to pack, plus it can be used on a chair or standalone. It’s a great multi-purpose chair that you’ll get a ton of use out of.
Best Fabric High Chair: Original Easy Seat Portable High Chair – a fabric high chair will work in a pinch! If you like to pack light, then this is the portable high chair for you.
Best Clamp-on High Chair: Inglesina Fast Table Chair – the Inglesina Fast Table Chair is the perfect high chair that can be used at home and on the road. We love baby travel gear that works in many scenarios!
Best High Chair for Camping: ciao! Baby Portable High Chair – picnic tables rarely work well for travel high chairs, but this one is a standalone that will bring your baby up to table height while still packing small enough to pack.
As parents traveling with a baby, we have enough to worry about, so bringing our own travel high chair for toddlers or babies is an excellent idea. We found that having a portable baby travel high chair in our stroller or diaper bag will enabled us to give our baby her own seat while also being able to eat our own meal! A luxury all moms should have!
As we mentioned, we didn’t just pack our travel high chair for restaurants. A portable high chair seat for baby is ideal for self-catering at hotels or Airbnb apartments. Rarely is a high chair is provided.
Our favorite was a fabric high chair because we always tried to pack as light as possible. It definitely has some pros and cons, which we cover below. However, there are some incredibly good (and worth the space) portable booster seats to consider too!
Depending on which of the travel high chairs for toddlers and babies you choose, you will also find it to be useful for camping and for visiting family or friends. If you are flying with a baby, all of the ones recommended below should easily pack in your suitcase.
In this list you’ll find only portable travel high chairs that are exactly that – portable. We only include travel high chairs that are practical and realistic for parents to travel with. While we know that toddler booster seats like this Fisher Price portable high chair are amazing (we know, we own two of them), we wouldn’t travel with one. What they are perfect for is using both at home and taking to grandma’s house.
The best travel high chairs are the ones that fold small and that you’ll be willing to carry along with you on your daily outings. Otherwise, what’s the point of bringing it?
Best Portable Travel Highchairs – Table of Contents
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Top 12 Portable High Chairs for Travel
Portable high chairs are an important part of your strategy to feed your baby while traveling. We cover everything after this list of the best portable travel high chairs for babies and toddlers, so read on as we walk you through finding the best high chair for travel for your family.
Don’t have time to read? Here’s short list of the best travel high chairs
Most Popular Travel High Chair: hiccapop Omniboost Travel Booster Seat
Best Fabric High Chair: Original Easy Seat Portable High Chair
Best Clamp-on High Chair: Inglesina Fast Table Chair
Best for Camping: ciao! Baby Portable High Chair
Here are the best options for travel high chairs. We've split them out into the four categories of portable high chairs: fabric high chairs, travel booster seats, clamp-on travel high chairs, and stand-alone travel booster seats.
Best Stand-alone Travel Booster Seats
The stand-alone travel booster seats are another great alternative. They are foldable and come with a travel bag.
This type of travel high chair booster seat can either be strapped to a chair or used on its own on the floor. These are the only travel high chairs with a tray, which can be removed when using at a table.
This type of foldable travel high chair is the perfect baby camping chair for camping with toddlers and babies, where you might not have another chair to attach it too. Since it’s also the only portable high chair with a tray, it’s the perfect portable camping high chair to place your baby in to play while cooking dinner over the fire, knowing your baby is a safe distance away.
We also love it for the beach with a baby and have included it in your baby beach essentials list.
The most popular options are the Summer Infant Pop and Sit Portable Booster and the hiccapop Omniboost Travel Booster Seat.
They are big enough that you might not want to carry it out every day while traveling with your toddler, but if you travel with a stroller then it can easily be stored at the bottom.
hiccapop Omniboost Travel Booster Seat with Tray for Baby
The hiccapop Omniboost travel seat is perfect for camping, at the beach or to travel with.
Portability: It's bigger to carry than a fabric high chair, but can be stored at the bottom of a stroller in it's own travel bag.
Safe to Use: It has removable “duck feet” and a wider stance for added stability. It's recommended for babies from 6 months to 3 years old and has a 3 point harness to keep your little one secure.
Ease of Cleaning: It has a removable tray that is dishwasher safe and a machine washable cover.
Best Portable High Chair for: Parents who want a chair that does it all. This one has the best value for the price! It’s great for camping, indoor use, outdoor use and even on the floor.
Pros of the hiccapop Omniboost:
- Very portable yet sturdy.
- Easy to set up and break down.
- Perfect for camping or grandma's!
Cons of the hiccapop Omniboost travel chair:
- A little bulky to carry while out sightseeing.
Read our full review of the hiccapop OmniBoost Booster Seat for Travel.
Summer Pop ‘n Sit Portable Booster Chair
This portable booster seat for travel has a folding frame, just like the hiccapop. It sets up in seconds and can be secured to an adult chair to bring your baby or toddler right to the table.
While the Summer Infant Pop and Sit Booster has an incredible amount of good ratings, many people complain that the straps actually fall closer to the seat of the chair instead of at your baby's waist.
Portability: Similar to the hiccapop travel booster high chair, the Summer Infant can be carried at the bottom of the stroller for daily outings.
Safe to Use: This chair can safely be attached to a chair or used on the floor. As with most portable high chairs, it's recommended for babies who are 6 months to 3 years or up to 37 lbs.
Ease of Cleaning: Detachable tray is dishwasher safe.
Best Portable High Chair for: It’s great for camping, indoor use, outdoor use and even on the floor.
Pros of the Summer Pop ‘n Sit Portable Highchair:- Similar to the hiccapop, this chair is very sturdy.
- Easy to set up and break down.
- Can be used on it's own or attached to another chair.
- A little bulky to carry while out sightseeing.
ciao! baby Portable High Chair for Babies and Toddlers
While we wouldn't recommend this portable high chair for international travel with a baby, it's the best high chair for camping. It doesn't need a chair or a table to attach it to and it's easy to clean. We also love that it brings your baby or toddler sitting in the chair up to the same level as a table.
Portability: While it folds up, it's not likely something you'll bring on a plane. It is the best baby or toddler camping chair, so you can easily fold it up to bring it camping, on road trips with a baby or even to summer picnics.
Safe to Use: It has a five point harness to keep your baby or toddler securely in the seat. Use for babies who can sit unassisted and up to 35 pounds.
Ease of Cleaning: Easy to clean feeding tray.
Best Portable High Chair for: It’s great for camping, picnics and all outdoor use.
Best Fabric Travel High Chairs
Fabric travel high chairs will pack up the smallest, have a 5 point harness and can be thrown in the washing machine. A portable fabric high chair is easily attached to most chairs and will meet almost every budget.
Your baby should be able to sit upright unassisted to use a fabric portable high chair.
Where they fall short is that they don't actually boost your baby or toddler up to the table. A portable fabric high chair also doesn't work in restaurants that have barstools or similar chairs without a back.
The Original Easy Seat Portable High Chair
The Cozy Cover Easy seat is a well reviewed and excellent choice for a fabric highchair. The hardest choice will really come down to which pattern of the cloth travel chair you prefer.
Portability: The Cozy Cover is a portable foldable high chair for that folds up small and is easy to carry in a diaper bag.
Safe to Use: Similar to the My Little Seat, it has a 5 point harness to secure your baby in the seat. Your baby should be able to sit unassisted before using travel high chairs for babies.
Baby should never be left unattended and only for use with babies who are under 35 lbs.
Ease of Cleaning: This fabric travel high chair is machine washable.
Best Portable High Chair for: Budget travelers and packing light!
liuliuby Travel Harness Seat
The liuliuby travel harness is similar to those two above. It has adjustable harness straps plus side loops at the waist for extra security. It has a design to fit chairs that are high or wide.
Portability: This portable high chair rolls up for easy packing in a backpack diaper bag or to throw in the bottom of your travel stroller.
Safe to Use: Similar to the My Little Seat, it has a 5 point harness to secure your baby in the seat. Your baby should be able to sit unassisted before using travel high chairs for babies.
Baby should never be left unattended.
Ease of Cleaning: This fabric travel high chair is machine washable.
Best Portable High Chair for: Budget travelers and packing light!
Best Travel Booster Seats
These travel booster seats are similar to a traditional booster seat, but they are portable. Similar to a fabric travel high chair, they require a chair to be attached to, but will help boost your baby or toddler up closer to the table.
They only have a 3 point harness, so your baby must be able to sit up unassisted.
The travel booster seats that are the most recommended either have an inflatable seat like the First Years On-The-Go Booster Seat or an internal frame like the Munchkin Brica GoBoost Travel Booster Seat.
Neither of these can pack up very small, but can easily be stored at the bottom of a travel stroller. The Munchkin GoBoost has some storage and a strap so it can be used as a diaper bag as well.
BOMBOL Instant Popup Booster Seat
If you truly want a booster seat that will bring your baby up to the height of the table, yet pack extra small then look no further than the BOMBOL!
This lightweight travel high chair is so portable because it folds flat! Plus you can just pop it up when needed.
Portability: This portable travel high chair weighs only 2.5 lbs and folds to 12" x 11" x 1".
Safe to Use: This sturdy travel high chair has a five point harness and elastic shoulder straps that still allow your little one to move around. A locking mechanism works to keep it sturdy when in use. Just unlock to fold flat.
Ease of Cleaning: The straps are removable and can be thrown in the wash. The rest of the booster can be wiped clean.
Best Portable High Chair for: Parents who want to pack light and are willing to spend more to get that feature.
Read out full review of the Bombol Pop-Up Booster High Chair.
Munchkin Brica GoBoost Travel Booster Seat
The Munchkin Brica is like a diaper bag and travel booster seat in one. Because it has an internal frame to create the booster seat, there's storage room for your washable bibs, diapers, wipes and snacks.
Portability: This portable booster seat for toddlers and babies will take up more room in your suitcase, but it does have a strap to make carrying it around easier. It can also be stored in the bottom of the stroller for daily outings.
Safe to Use: It has some grip traction pads to make sure it doesn't slip off the chair. The secure internal frame also keeps your baby from tipping to the side when they wiggle around.
Ease of Cleaning: Similar to the First Years On-the-Go Booster Seat, wipe it down with a wet cloth or sponge.
Best Portable High Chair for: Traveling parents who plan to eat out at restaurants often and want something more robust than a fabric high chair. We recommend it for parents traveling with a stroller and have space to store it while they are out sightseeing.
The First Years On-The-Go Booster Seat
The First Years On-The-Go booster seat is similar to a fabric chair, in that it needs another chair to be secured to. This travel booster seat has a self-inflating base with an adjustable height that will help boost your baby or toddler up to the table.
Portability: While it’s a larger item to pack, it still packs down flat and could easily be stored in a suitcase or at the bottom of a stroller for daily outings.
Safe to Use: There are some concerns that it can be wobbly as your baby moves side to side and the ability of the straps to hold your baby in if she leans too far over the side.
This portable booster seat high chair is suitable for babies 9 months and older. Never leave your baby unattended.
Ease of Cleaning: While you can clean this travel booster seat for toddlers and babies with a wet cloth or sponge, it’s not as easy as throwing it in the washing machine.
Best Portable High Chair for: Budget travelers and those who have a little more room to pack a larger item.
Nuby Easy Go Safety Lightweight High Chair Booster Seat
The Nuby Easy Go booster seat also needs another chair to be secured to and is similar to the First Years On-the-Go booster. This travel booster seat has high density foam padding that can be removed. It helps get your baby or toddler up to the proper height to eat at the table while secured with a 3-point harness. The chair has a security strap to hold it to the chair.
Portability: While it’s a larger item to pack, this portable high chair could easily be stored in a suitcase or at the bottom of a stroller for daily outings.
Safe to Use: Like the First Years On-the-Go booster and because it only has a 3-point harness, I’d be concerned using this with a baby who might lean too far over the side.
This portable booster seat high chair is suitable for babies 9 months and older. Never leave your baby unattended.
Ease of Cleaning: Made of water-resistant polyester that can be wiped clean.
Best Portable High Chair for: Budget travelers and those who have a little more room to pack a larger item.
Read our full review of the Nuby Easy Go Travel Booster Seat.
Best Clamp-on Travel Highchairs
Clamp-on travel high chairs are a great option for people who can use it both at home and while traveling with a baby or toddler. Unlike a high chair that attaches to a chair, these clamp right on to the table. A clip on high chair enables your baby or toddler to be sitting high up and close to the table. They also have a 3 point harness to keep your baby or toddler securely in their seat.
Despite being a much larger item to carry, these travel high chairs for babies and toddlers do fold down flat and your toddler won't be able to push themselves away from the table.
A silicone placemat is best to make sure you aren't scratching the table surface and make sure to practice using a clamp-on portable chair before traveling with it.
The ones we have listed have a U-shaped clamp which allows them to be used on way more tables. Even with these, there are several types of tables that a clamp-on portable high chair is not suitable for (like glass tables, pedestal tables or card tables), so make sure to check what tables it will work on before buying.
Inglesina Fast Portable Highchair
The Inglesina Fast Table Chair is very highly rated, it comes in an array of fun colors and can be used at home or while traveling. It fits tables up to 3.5" thick. You also have the option of purchasing the Inglesina with the tray.
Portability: This clamp-on high chair comes at a higher cost and is more to carry, at 4.2 pounds. However it does fold flat and has a carry bag sewn to the bottom of the chair. For travel, it can be stored at the bottom on the stroller.
Safe to Use: It can be used from 6 months to 3 years old and up to 37 pounds. Your baby should be able to sit up unassisted.
Ease of Cleaning: It has a removable cover that can be hand washed.
Best Portable High Chair for: Long term travelers or parents who want a multi-use high chair.
See our full review of the Inglesina Fast Table Chair.
Mountain Buggy Pod Clip-On Highchair
While the Mountain Buggy Pod clamp on high chair can be used for both home and travel, it can only be used on tables up to 2” thick. This might limit its use while eating in restaurants. While it’s only slight cheaper than the Inglesina Fast Table Chair, it is lighter by 2 pounds.
Portability: While still larger to carry around than a fabric high chair, the Mountain Buggy Pod clip on travel high chair folds flat and weights only 2.2 lbs. It comes with a carry bag for storage when not in use and it should fit easily at the bottom of your stroller.
Safe to Use: Use for babies that can sit unassisted and up to 37 pounds. The clamps on this travel high chair have non-slip rubber grips to ensure it stays put. Not suitable for use on round pedestal tables, glass tables or any other unstable tables.
Ease of Cleaning: Wipe down for cleaning.
Best Portable High Chair for: Parents looking for a high chair to use at home and for travel. Also perfect for long term travelers.
guzzie+Guss Perch Clip On High Chair
The guzzie+Guss chair is almost identical to Inglesina though it is slightly heavier at 6 pounds but also has a high back at 14 inches. Where the Perch shines is with the clamps that can accommodate a table up to 3.75” thick.
Portability: One of the least portable with it’s heavier weight of 6 pounds. It does fold flat and comes with a carry bag.
Safe to Use: The Perch has a 5 point harness to keep your baby secure. It can be used from 4+ months and can hold up to 37 lbs.
Ease of Cleaning: The fabric is removable for washing.
Best Portable High Chair for: Parents looking for a high chair to use at home and for travel. Also perfect for long term travelers who want a more robust chair for apartment rentals.
What to Look for in a Portable High Chair
How are you going to decide which one is the best high chair for travel? The main things to consider when looking to purchase a portable travel high chair are how sturdy is it for keeping your baby safe, when and where do you plan to use the travel high chair, the size and cost.
1. How Sturdy Is the Chair for Keeping Your Baby Safe?
The portable high chairs for toddlers and babies that we recommend are only those with high ratings and without any major safety concerns. If there is anything to be aware of when it comes to the safety of a portable baby seat, we made sure to note it.
As an extra precaution, never leave your baby unattended in a portable travel chair, they just aren’t as secure as a regular high chair.
2. When and Where Will You Use the Portable High Chair?
If you are traveling internationally with a baby and want to bring your own folding portable high chair, how small should it be?
Will you bring it out with you when you are sightseeing or will you only use it at the apartment rental? If you plan to carry it with you, consider trading off some functionality for size.
We travel with as little as possible and often without a stroller, so to carry a travel high chair along with us meant it had to fit in our backpack diaper bag.
If you plan to use your portable high chair for camping with a baby, then you’ll want something more sturdy than a fabric travel high chair. You’ll want one that is stand alone and doesn’t need to be attached to another chair, like the hiccapop Omniboost Travel Seat or the ciao! baby portable highchair.
3. Size of Portable Travel High Chair
If you are looking for a travel high chair for your baby that takes up the least amount of space, a fabric travel high chair is the best option. These portable cloth high chairs fold up to the size of a diaper.
If size isn’t an issue, then a travel booster seat, a portable baby chair with a tray or one that clamps to the table will have the most features. You’ll just need extra space to carry it around.
4. Cost of Portable Travel High Chair
Fabric travel high chairs are the most cost effective of all the high chairs. The other foldable high chairs for travel will not only take up more space but they’ll be more expensive too.
If you are on a budget, consider getting a chair that can be used at home as well as when you travel, rather than spending more money on a second travel high chair.
Which is the Best Travel High Chair for Your Family?
We say this so much that we will probably start to sound like a broken record, but not everyone travels the same. Not every family will have the same needs when it comes to traveling with a baby. As you compare the best portable high chair for travel options, you might find one will meet your needs better than others.
Based on our own experience, we recommend the My Little Seat travel high chair. Update: The MyLittleSeat is no longer for sale at the big retailers. If you want to purchase a fabric high chair from Amazon, we recommend the Original Easy Seat.
First Hand Experience From Real Parents…
Here are a couple of first hand experiences from real parents, like you, who’ve traveled with some of the best portable baby high chairs.
Using a Fabric High Chair for Baby
We are definitely minimalists when it comes to travel, so the fabric high chair that fit in our diaper bag or backpack was the perfect solution.
Get our FREE printable packing list for baby travel here!
We used it in our hotel room for breakfast before heading out for the day and also in our Airbnb apartments. We started using it when our daughter was 6 months old. It was easy to pack and washable, so it came everywhere with us.
What we didn’t love about it, was that our daughter was often too low for the table. This wasn’t a deal breaker, she could still reach her food.
We were still using it for our son, but came to a realization that it wasn’t the best portable high chair for travel to all destinations! It was not at all usable on traveling to Japan with a baby or toddler.
We realized shortly before leaving on our trip (by reviewing our apartment rental pictures) that we were not going to have any way of securing our 14 month old during meal times since our apartments were set up with a traditional Japanese style of eating with no chairs and only a small table.
You’d think we would have made that connection earlier, but what can we say?
We did our best to improvise several different ways by blocking him in a corner, having a plastic table cloth for him to eat on and feeding him small portions at a time. We luckily found a plastic basket in our Kyoto apartment which worked perfectly as a toddler travel high chair, though we don’t recommend traveling with one.
Further to that, while trying to find baby food in Japan, we discovered many of the restaurants in Japan did not have chairs with a back or they were very small. We also traveled without a stroller, so we couldn’t even make use of a snack tray. To keep it in perspective though, our challenges in Japan were a one-time thing and we’ve had no other issues elsewhere.
Using a Clamp On High Chair for Baby
To get more first hand experience on portable high chairs for travel, we enlisted the help of We’re Out of Here. This family traveled the world with a toddler for almost a year and we knew they would know a thing or two about the best travel high chair for toddlers!
The chair they use is the Guzzie+Guss Perch portable high chair and they were kind enough to do a comparison of this clamp on baby travel chair to the phil&ted’s Lobster high chair.
The specs on the phil&ted’s are pretty similar except it’s a little lighter and slightly more expensive.
The big difference between these two is the number of tables they can be used on. Robyn & Shane of We’re Out of Here have owned both and told us that the Guzzie+Guss fits on 90% of the tables they encountered on their travels throughout Asia, where the phil&ted’s would only be usable on about 20%.
The Guzzie+Guss has a c-clamp instead of the lobster claw, allowing it to be used even on tables with a lip or ridge. Another benefit is the back sits higher and the chair isn’t as deep on the Guzzie+Guss allowing smaller babies to have something to lean back on and to elevate them relative to the table.
Click here to see the latest prices on the Guzzie+Guss Perch travel high chair and the phil&teds Lobster travel high chair.
The clamp-on style, though it packs flat, likely won’t fit in your diaper bag meaning you will need to carry another item out with you. If you are travelling with a stroller, it could easily be tossed in the lower compartment of your lightweight travel stroller, or you can do what Robyn does and use the travel bag straps to carry it on your back!
The clamp on portable chair will allow your baby to be up closer to the table and more level with everyone. This would likely lead to less mess and I’m certain they would enjoy it more!
One additional benefit, your baby or toddler can’t push themselves away from the table!
Traveling Without a Portable High Chair
Do you really need a portable high chair for travel?
How do you eat at restaurants when there aren’t any high chairs if you are traveling without a travel high chair? Here are your options:
- Find a restaurant providing high chairs. Not always possible.
- Hold your baby or toddler on your lap during the meal. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy trying to eat while holding a wiggly baby who’s getting food in my hair.
- Use a stroller that has a snack tray. Not all restaurants will have the space to accommodate a stroller.
- Use our baby travel hack and attach your baby or toddler to the seat with your baby carrier.
See all our recommended baby carriers for travel.
We’ve done all four of these and though they work in a pinch, they aren’t always feasible.
Besides eating in restaurants, if you want to do some meals in your hotel or apartment rental, you can keep the mess contained by bringing your own portable baby high chair.
Baby Travel Tip: Always ask your Airbnb apartment if they can provide one. Sometimes the highchair just isn’t included in the listing.
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This post was written & edited by:
Celine is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's been helping new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.