Looking for the best travel backpack for parents? The No Reception Club Getaway Bag might just be the thing you are looking for! In this Getaway Bag review we’ll share why this backpack diaper bag is one of the best travel backpacks for parents!
Diaper bags are essential for traveling with a baby or toddler. The holy grail for parents is finding the best backpack diaper bag that keeps all your traveling essentials organized, while being comfortable to carry and enabling you to quickly find what you need in those emergencies!
Does “The Getaway Bag” from No Reception Club live up to this seemingly impossible high standard? I knew this diaper bag would be ideal for flying and for travel days. Would the No Reception Club Getaway Bag hold up when used as a beach bag and on longer excursion days?
Would it carry all our baby travel gear and have them easy to access as we needed?
Heads Up! The third edition of the Getaway Bag has been released as of October 2023!
Air mesh padding added to the backside of both shoulder straps. A leather handle was added for increased comfort and the luggage pass-through was made wider. Previous changes have included metal carabiners for the stroller straps along with some reshaping of the laptop pocket.
The lunch bag’s insulation has also been improved.
We really appreciate No Reception Club’s commitment to making this the ultimate travel diaper bag for parents!
I’m happy to report that the Getaway Bag did not disappoint! Below you’ll find my full No Reception Club diaper bag review! Including what we loved, is it worth the price and what we missed from our other travel diaper bag.
Our family loves to travel! While both my husband and I work full time, my schedule is flexible enough to allow me to jet set with our two girls (ages 11 months and 3 years old) a bit more than my husband. I have done many small road trips with a baby and toddler on my own but was waiting for the perfect trip to muster up the courage to fly solo with our babies.
When the girls and I packed our bags for a wonderful 16 days on Eluthera Island in the Bahamas, I was equal parts nervous and excited about flying alone with a baby and toddler. Our travel day would include 2 separate 1+ hour drives, 2 flights, and a few hours layover in the busy Atlanta airport. With no extra set of hands, I needed to be prepared for whatever might happen.
Having been the victim of lost luggage before and traveling to an island that prides itself on its laid back and “deserted feel” I needed to be strategic with our carry-on luggage. Here’s where I hoped The Getaway Bag by No Reception Club would really shine.
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The Getaway Bag – Specifications
The Getaway Bag by No Reception Club has a spot for everything. The most unique feature of this diaper backpack bag is the two-shelf system in the center that you can customize!
The main compartment of the bag has three separate, adjustable compartments with easy access from the top of the bag or either side. The shelves are customizable, held in place by velcroing to the walls of the bag. We divided ours into mostly equal compartments.
Because us parents have our own stuff to carry, there are parent pockets for your essentials and a TSA approved laptop sleeve. Plus a secret pocket for passports and valuables.
There is a compartment for dirty or wet clothes that is waterproof – a must for traveling with babies and avoids having to buy an additional wet-dry bag.
Finally, there’s also a compartment for diaper changing essentials which also fits the Sidekick hip bag perfectly! When flying with a baby, you’ll want easy access to your diaper change essentials and bring only those to those cramped airplane toilets for diaper changes.
Pros of The Getaway Bag
- High Quality – In addition to a water resistant polyester with leather trim, you can get your bag clean again by wiping with a damp cloth or putting it in the washing machine on delicate cycle.
- Comfortable to Wear – Padded shoulder straps, stroller clips and the ability to put it on your luggage handle to get a break from carrying it!
- Size is Perfect for Travel – The dimensions of the Getaway Bag are 19.7” Height x 10.2” Width x 6.5” Depth, which meets international carry-on sizes. The bag weighs 2.7 lbs when empty and 3.4 lbs with the shelves and lunch bag.
- Organization & Easy Access – There is a compartment for everything and it allows easy one-handed access to whatever you need.
- Extras – Spill proof Insulated lunch bag is included as are the detachable stroller clips. If you purchase the Travel Bundle it also includes a diaper change pad and Sidekick hip pack.
Cons of The Getaway Bag
There are very few things to complain about The Getaway Bag. Perhaps the one thing that might cause people to shy away is the price. The price for each of the items is:
- $235 for The Getaway Bag
- $85 for The Sidekick
Other things I would have liked to have is an accessible wipes pocket. As parents, we always seem to need easy access to wipes. The Sidekick does help with this, but it would be a nice to have on the actual travel diaper bag.
The insulated lunch bag is great for snacks and there are two external water bottle pockets, but it doesn’t have insulated pockets for formula or milk. This again would be a nice to have.
The Getaway Bag for the Plane
When traveling with babies I highly recommend packing enough stuff so that if you have a flight delayed or canceled you do not have to stress about finding extra diapers or wipes. Additionally, I always travel with an extra set of clothes for everyone, messes are a guarantee with when flying with toddlers and babies.
In the No Reception Club Getaway Bag, I was able to fit enough diapers to have us covered in the event we were stranded overnight in Atlanta, a change of clothes for all 3 of us in the lower compartment, snacks in the middle compartment, and in the top compartment I left the ring sling, nursing cover and toys and added a travel sound machine.
I placed our liquids and passports in the top parent compartment (though the bag does have a secret passport compartment on the back as well).
Toddler headphones for the plane, teethers and phone/iPad charger all fit well in the front pocket along with sanitizing wipes. I placed the Ipad in the TSA approved laptop sleeve.
As an added benefit, The Getaway Bag slides easily over the handle of rolling luggage and can be placed so that the compartments are easily accessed.
I was pleasantly surprised at how easy going through security as well as Customs and Immigration was with the girls, which can often be a giant hassle for parents traveling with babies and toddlers.
On the airplane, I wanted easy access to our Getaway Bag. Even with this backpack diaper bag fully loaded, I was able to keep it underneath the seat in front of us on the airplane so I did not have to worry about getting up and down to access the overhead bin.
The Getaway Bag on the Beach
Eluthera is a beautiful Island with so many wonderful beaches. The island is bordered by the Caribbean Sea and The Atlantic Ocean and at its narrowest is approximately 30 feet wide. While it is famous for the pink sand of French Leave Beach, I would argue the hidden beaches on the smaller Caribbean side are its true highlight. We found ourselves to be the only occupants of many of the beaches we visited.
Eluthera with a toddler was amazing. The calm and shallow Caribbean waters allowed our 3-year-old to explore the water with some sense of independence even encountering sting rays, sand dollars, and a host of small fish.
The Island is very casual and laid back, resorts are few and far between, even restaurants are scarce. Unmarked rocky roads and trails make each beach day feel like a wild adventure. We met up with my extended family for the trip and, with no true itinerary, set out to explore the island each morning with no plans to return home until the evening. This is typically how my family likes to travel, limited set plans, lots of exploring and embracing the day.
What that meant for the No Reception Club Getaway bag is that it needed to have the capacity to carry what we needed for a baby and toddler for the entire day out. I have to give it up for the Getaway Bag, I could fit so much stuff without ever feeling like it was too full or too heavy.
For my taking a baby to the beach, I used the upper compartment for an infant ring sling, nursing cover, and toys. I probably could have made this compartment smaller but I liked having plenty of space to stuff the sling and nursing over in without the need to fold either.
In the middle compartment we kept snacks. This diaper bag backpack also includes a small lunch box which I used for cut fruit and sandwiches then placed dry snacks around.
In the third compartment I was able to fit enough diapers for the day as well as a complete set of dry clothes for both the girls and I. I am amazed at how much fits in these compartments alone!
The bag features a front pocket which fully unzips making everything in it very easy access. Here I stored sanitizing wipes, masks, sunscreen and a book for myself (hey a girl can dream right). I figured I would need easy access to some of this while on the beach and wanted to make sure I could easily dust sand out.
In the top parent compartment, I kept a teething toy (Caroline got 3 new teeth while on this trip!), reusable shopping bags, sunglasses and any other baby beach essentials we needed for the day.
There is also a compartment on the back of the backpack which includes a TSA approved laptop sleeve and mesh compartment. This is where I chose to put money/passports and any other valuables we had with us on the beach. The pocket is easy to miss and very discreet so I felt this stuff would be safest here for beach days.
The bottom of the bag unzips into a “wet compartment” perfect for dirty diapers, wet swimsuits, and my daughter’s favorite mermaid doll who loves to swim in the ocean.
Finally, there is a sizeable side storage compartment which perfectly fits the Sidekick hip bag. After packing all of this, I was still able to easily place water bottles in the side bottle pockets.
Even with our Getaway bag fully loaded for the day, it was comfortable to carry. The No Reception Club Bag features padded shoulder straps and a structured, quilted back so that it maintains its shapes very well even when full and does not cut into your shoulders.
My oldest daughter and I even snuck off one afternoon for tropical picnic while little sister napped. The bag easily transformed into a picnic basket with blanket, glassware, plates, drinks, snacks, all stored safely inside.
An Extra Bonus – The No Reception Club Sidekick
I have been on the hunt for a good hip pack for a while now so I am very excited to have found The Sidekick which you get when you purchase the Travel Bundle with The Getaway Bag. I have the sea glass green color which is accented with a brown belt and I love it!
The No Reception Club fanny pack has a large interior pocket which easily fits several diapers, the diaper change pad and my full size wallet, sunglasses etc. The back wipes compartment has easy access with a magnetic closure.
The Sidekick by No Reception Club also includes a matching folded diaper changing mat. This came in handy for me as I did not come across a single diaper changing station or table my entire time on the island. Taking a baby and toddler into a public restroom alone and trying to change a is a challenge, to say the least! I was so thankful to have the Sidekick where I had hands free while still able to easily access all the diaper changing essentials!
I have every intention of continuing to use the Sidekick as my everyday “diaper bag” for when I don’t need to haul much stuff. I am obsessed.
Comparing the No Reception Club Getaway Bag
Prior to getting the No Reception Club diaper bag, our every-day diaper bag was the Eddie Bauer Cascade backpack. It is large with multiple zipper pockets and is what we previously used for travel.
The Eddie Bauer diaper bag backpack fits easily over luggage and is able to hold most of what we need. The biggest complaint when traveling with The Cascade is the unstructured back. When the bag was stuffed full it was very uncomfortable to wear. Plus we had to dig everything out to find a favorite toy or snack, not ideal when flying with a toddler or baby!
While I love the more structured back, easy to organize compartments and overall ease of use of The Getaway, there are two features I miss. Our everyday diaper bag has two side compartments, an insulted pocket perfect for bottles and an easy to access wipes compartment with its own wipe storage container.
Using the Sidekick hip bag resolved this as I had easy access to wipes. However, if you were taking only the backpack then you would need to be a little more creative in where you pack wipes.
Final Thoughts on the No Reception Club Travel Backpack
Overall, I highly recommend this travel Backpack for parents who plan to travel with young kids. The amount of storage available is impressive and everything stays so organized.
If you have ever experienced the feeling of sweat dripping from your brow as you frantically unpack the entire contents of your diaper bag onto the bathroom floor in search of a change of clothes during a blow out, trust me you will appreciate The Getaway Bag!
After long travel days, many hikes, boat rides, and countless beach days I feel we’ve thoroughly tested the Getaway bag and can say that’s worth it for traveling parents!
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This post was written & edited by:
Catherine Bryant
Catherine Bryant is a freelance travel writer based in Oxford, MS. She spends her days working as a Physician Assistant and dreaming of her next destination. She is a mother to two young girls and aims to inspire and empower parents to explore with their children.
Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
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.