Skip to Content

Best Baby Bottle Warmers for Travel

When it comes to feeding, all babies have their own preferences. While some will take a drink right from the refrigerator without so much as a peep, others will scrunch up their little noses at even the thought of something not perfectly warm.

How do you warm a baby bottle when traveling?

The easiest way to warm a baby bottle when traveling is by using a portable bottle warmer. With several options to choose from, new parents have the choice of going high tech or keeping it simple.

If your baby needs milk at the perfect temperature, then one of these baby bottle warmers for travel is worth considering!

Even with all your baby travel essentials packed and organized in your handy diaper bag, preparing a warm bottle of milk is a tedious task when you are on the go. A travel bottle warmer may just be your knight in shining armor, allowing you to prepare a warm bottle while traveling anywhere you choose to go!

baby drinking from bottle on airplane

Granted, on a spectrum of “must-haves” to “nice-to-haves,” a baby bottle warmer for travel can seem like one of those accessories that lies somewhere in the middle. The need for serving babies warm milk depends on factors like age and the personal preferences your baby may have.

All in all, travel baby bottle warmers are a useful product and can be a lifesaver during unpredictable hunger episodes that are inevitable during a vacation with a baby. Definitely worth a buy, or at least a try, so read on to find the perfect portable baby bottle warmer for you! 

This post contains compensated links.

Types of Portable Baby Bottle Warmers

Portable baby bottle warmers heat milk in a hassle-free way and are designed to work well for different situations and environments. Most baby bottle warmers for travel use hot water while some others use induction heat to warm the milk directly either with a built-in battery pack or USB charging cable.

Diaper Bag Bottle Warmer

Diaper bags with built-in or detachable travel bottle warmers are equipped with various compartments and pouches as well as dedicated insulated pockets for milk bottles. These diaper bags (or backpacks) are considered all-in-one solutions.

They are perfect for new parents who are still in the process of purchasing their newborn’s essentials, and work great for shorter day trips. Whether they have a USB heating facility or not depends on the brand and pricing.

Hot Water Travel Bottle Warmer

If you don’t want to worry about cables and electricity while on the go, this is the kind of back-to-basics, hassle-free travel bottle warmer you want. A lot of parents prefer this on-the-go bottle warmer as it allows them to prepare their baby’s bottle in advance.

This type of portable bottle warmers securely stores hot water to use to heat your baby’s bottle. These can also be used as baby travel food warmers!

Water baths also ensure gradual and uniform heating of milk so as not to modify its natural properties. Plus, nothing beats its versatility. You can use yours to heat up frozen breast milk, food packets, or even warm up your coffee!  

Baby Bottle Warmer with USB, Battery or Plug

In situations where the milk bottle hasn’t been pre-heated or where there isn’t a provision for it to be heated through a hot water bath, electric or battery-operated baby bottle warmers prove to be more convenient.

An in car bottle warmer works quicker making them ideal for cold milk bottles or preparing baby formula and come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Compact enough to carry in your baby’s diaper bag, a car bottle warmer is preferred by parents whose first priority is efficiency. Just hook it into a car charger, power plug, or a mobile power bank and you’ll be ready to go! They’re the perfect companion for road trips with a baby.

baby drinking from bottle in car

Best Travel Baby Bottle Warmers

Our Recommendation for the Best Baby Bottle Warmer for Travel

Overall Best Travel Bottle Warmer: Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Portable Travel Baby Bottle Warmer

Best Battery Operated Travel Bottle Warmer: The Baby’s Brew

Best Portable Bottle Warmer for Budgets: Kiinde Kozii Voyager Compact Travel Bottle Warmer

Features of the Best Portable Bottle Warmers for Travel

If you are one of those parents who has a bottle warming station at home, you might be wondering if it’s really necessary to buy a dedicated baby bottle warmer for travel. The answer is yes!

The key difference between the two is that the former needs an electrical outlet while most portable bottle warmers are either USB compatible, quipped with a battery pack or require hot water in a thermal flask. This, along with their compact size is what really makes them portable in the truest sense. Below are the features to look for in the best travel baby bottle warmer for your family.

Compactness and bottle compatibility

While nursing bottles do come in a variety of shapes and sizes, most popular brands follow some sort of standard sizing system which makes it convenient to find a compatible baby bottle warmer. Some travel bottle warmers also come with adapters for wider/narrower bottles that break the standard as well, so knowing the exact dimensions of your baby bottles will come in handy when deciding on which to buy.

Keep in mind that no matter the size of your warmer, you want it to be constructed in a way that makes it compact and easy to stow away in your backpack diaper bag for travel

Ease of cleaning

The best bottle warmers should mostly be made up of washable/wipeable and leakproof components to make clean-up hygienic and free of hassle. This proves especially useful during travel when the opportunities to conduct a deep clean might be few and far between. 

Don’t forget a compact bottle drying rack to make all your bottle cleaning a little easier!

Length of warming time

Travel, no matter how planned out, is always unpredictable when with a baby. One thing you can and should be able to control is food and feeding times, which is why having a baby bottle warmer that takes 45 minutes to heat up your milk is an absolute no-go. Most of the bottle warmers on our list have a warm-up time between 10 and 15 minutes, which is the ideal amount of time you want to look for.

Technical requirements

Different bottle warmers have different specifications and hence have their own set of requirements.

  • Diaper bag bottle warmers require the milk in the feeding bottles to be preheated before placing them in the insulated compartments. They will also require a power bank hooked up to the inner USB port of the bag.

  • Thermos-type bottle warmers require water that is hot in the thermal flask. This type of warmer does not require electricity and hence does not come with any pesky cables or plugs.

  • Electric or battery-operated bottle warmers need to be connected to a power supply/ power bank in order to start heating your bottle. Some need have a rechargeable battery so you can leave the cords behind for the day. These typically have multiple heat settings to get the right temperature.

Other Baby Travel Gear

Pin It For Later!

The Best Portable Bottle Warmers for Travel

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.