The 11 BEST Toddler Travel Potty Options for 2024

Author: Celine Brewer

Last Updated:

While not having to pack a suitcase full of diapers is a certain win for us traveling parents, a vacation with a newly potty trained toddler does have its challenges. I know this from experience, having traveled with my potty training toddler! It was a struggle having to always be close to a toilet for those potty emergencies or managing accidents.

One option I really like for traveling with a recently potty trained toddler is to pack the best toddler travel potty.

As a fellow traveling mom, I only recommend toddler travel essentials that are truly portable and feasible to travel with. That’s what you’ll find in this list of the best portable potty for toddlers.

Toddler on travel potty OXO
Toddler using OXO 2-in-1 Travel Potty

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Best Toddler Travel Potties and Potty Seats

toddler on babybjorn toddler potty.
The Babybjorn toddler potty is great but definitely not for travel!

I’m a real parent, just like you, who wants to know about the best products for travel to make our lives easier and travel more fun! That’s what you’ll find here in my list of the best travel potties for toddlers. Whether you choose the best travel potty chair for toddlers, a portable urinal for toddlers or a folding travel potty seat (don’t worry, I explain the difference!), it has to be compact and fit in your travel bag.

Potty training on-the-go is intimidating the first time you take a newly potty trained toddler out, let’s make it easy on you! With a little planning and preparation, you’ll be packing your bags for your next holiday with a toddler!

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Here is more detail on the best travel potties and toilet training seats for toddlers:

My Top Picks for the Best Travel Potty for Toddlers

I know you don’t always have time to read, especially when you are chasing a busy toddler! So here are my top picks for the best portable potties for toddlers:

Best Overall Portable Potty for Toddlers:

OXO 2-in-1 Travel PottyThe Oxo 2-in-1 is both a travel potty chair and portable potty seat in one. This portable potty for toddlers is the perfect solution for those pee emergencies or to use in a vacation rental. Starting out the OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty can be used standalone with a liner, then when your toddler is ready for the big toilet it can be used as a toilet training seat.

Best Portable Potty Seat

Gimars Folding Portable Potty Training Seat – This foldable travel potty training seat packs super small and fits most toilets. If your toddler is ready for the big toilet, this is the best travel potty seat for toddlers to carry around.

I’ve seen far too many large websites with lists that include travel potties or other toddler products that no parent in their right mind would want to travel with. As a traveling parent, I know instantly when an article is written by someone who either doesn’t have children, has never traveled with children or has definitely not traveled with the products that are being recommend. Finding the right toddler travel gear, including the right potty seat for travel, should include making it more convenient and easier on the parents, not lugging large items around!

Types of Travel Potties for Toddlers

There are three main categories that the best travel potties for toddlers fall into: travel potty chairs, travel potty seats and toddler travel urinals.

Travel Potty Chair for Toddlers

A travel potty chair for toddlers is exactly what it sounds like, it’s similar to a toddler potty you use at home but it can be folded or collapsed to make it more compact for travel.

These portable potty chairs for toddlers are a great starting point for toddlers new to toilet training. Many of them come in fun colors that your toddler will love. Your toddler can get excited about their very own toilet! Another big benefit is that you won’t have to find public toilets to use one of these best portable potties.

While a travel potty chair for toddlers will take up more room in backpack diaper bag for travel, especially if flying with a toddler, you should choose a portable potty for travel that your toddler will be most comfortable using.

You can even get disposable travel potties for toddlers. While we don’t recommend a disposable travel potty for toddlers who are new to potty training, they can be a life-saver in a pinch. These disposable travel potties are best for leaving in the car or in your diaper bag for emergencies. If your toddler is comfortable using a regular toilet but you want a back-up just in case you need to stop on the side of the road or you can’t make it to a public toilet, these are ideal.

Advantages of a Travel Potty Chair

  • A portable potty chair for toddlers like this is easy for your toddler to use because it’s small and easy for them to sit on.
  • It’s a standalone potty, so you don’t need to find a public toilet to use this foldable travel potty on.

Disadvantages of a Collapsible Potty Chair

  • Toddler travel potty chairs require liners or a disposable bag PLUS they create additional waste.
  • These portable potties for toddlers are larger to pack.
toddler on travel potty

Folding Travel Potty Seat for Toddlers

A foldable potty seat for toddlers works as portable toilet seat covers for toddlers. The folding potty seat, when unfolded, will sit on top of a regular toilet seat. This creates a smaller hole and makes it easier for your toddler to sit on it.

When looking for the best portable toilet seat for toddlers, look for one that will be stable on the toilet seat. The last thing you want is for it to move around or have your toddler get pinched in the folds. It should sit firmly on your toilet at home or public toilet seats.

While we love these toddler travel potty seats, keep in mind that you will need to find a public toilet to use it on. Even if your toddler is comfortable being on a big toilet with a folding travel potty seat, it’s hard to make sure you have a toilet nearby when you need it!

The other downside is that your toddler is likely to use their hands on the toilet seat to hold themselves. We recommend sanitizing the toilet seat before putting your foldable toddler toilet seat on or putting a flushable seat cover underneath. On the plus side, there’s no need to manage waste in the disposable liners!

Advantages of a Fold Up Potty Seat

  • A portable folding potty seat is smaller to pack and smaller to carry for your daily outings.
  • A folding potty seat for toddlers doesn’t require liners, as it’s used on a standard toilet, and doesn’t create extra waste.

Disadvantages of a Folding Toilet Seat for Toddlers

  • A folding travel potty seat requires a toilet to use it, so it’s not useful for those emergency stops on the side of a the road.
  • Your foldable toddler potty seat needs to be stable and secure on the toilet. You also want to make sure it’s not going to pinch your toddler when they sit on it.
toddler on portable potty seat

Portable Urinal for Toddlers

Portable urinals for toddlers are another option for emergency bathroom breaks. If you aren’t in a place where your toddler can sneak behind a tree, then this is a good option.

A toddler travel urinal is a large cup with a lid that allows your toddler to pee into it. Some brands of travel urinal for toddlers come with different tops suited to either boys or girls.

Advantages of Potty Urinal for Toddlers

  • A portable urinal is small and easy to pack.
  • You can use a travel urinal for toddlers in an emergency without needing a standard toilet to use it with.

Disadvantages of a Toddler Travel Urinal

  • A portable urinal for toddlers is only good for peeing.
  • Depending on how badly your toddler has to go or for older children, it’s possible to overfill the cup.
  • Having to pee in a toddlers urinal may be difficult for your toddler and may take some practice, including standing up to pee.

What to Look for in the Best Travel Potties

1. Portable Travel Potty vs Travel Potty Seat

The first thing to consider when traveling with a newly potty trained toddler is if you want a portable travel potty or a travel toilet seat for toddlers. A folding toilet seat will be much smaller to travel with but your toddler has to be ok with using it on a big toilet. You also need to find a public toilet to use it.

If this isn’t a possibility, then choose one of the best potties for toddlers that can be used can be used anywhere with a liner.

If you can spare the space you can get a portable potty chair for toddlers that can be used standalone then on big toilets when your toddler is ready.

2. Portability & Size of Portable Potty for Toddler

When looking for the best potty for travel, the portability of the travel toilet will be key. While this BabyBjorn potty is one of the best purchases for toilet training a toddler, we would only consider it for at home, camping or possibly in the car for long road trips with a toddler.

Instead we recommend looking for a portable potty chair or a folding potty seat for toddlers that can fold up to a size that can fit in a diaper bag.

A folding travel toilet seat, like the Jool folding travel potty seat, still requires you to find a public toilet to use it on.

If you want to pack a portable toilet chair, then choose one that can be used on its own with liners or on a regular toilet seat to get the most use and value out of it.

3. Stability of Portable Toddler Potty Seat or Travel Potty

Parents familiar with toilet training a toddler know how important it is that toddlers don’t get frightened while using the toilet. It can cause them to regress from all the progress on using the toilet.

Loud automatic flush toilets, bum pinches and falling in the toilet are two things to watch out for!

Regardless if you are using a portable toilet chair or a folding toilet seat for toddlers, make sure it is stable. You want you toddler to feel comfortable using it.

Choose one of the best folding travel potty seat options listed above to avoid getting one that might pinch or isn’t as stable.

4. Ease of Cleaning Travel Potty for Toddler

You’ll have enough to manage traveling with a toddler, so choose the best travel potty seat that’s also easy to clean. And don’t forget the sanitizing wipes!

5. Waste Minimizing

A lot of the portable travel potties use disposable liners and there are even disposable potties. While we think that’s a great emergency option, we prefer to have a portable & foldable toilet seat for toddlers to help minimize the waste.

Even if you need to start out using it as a toddler potty chair, with options like the OXO Tot Potty for Travel or the Kalencom Potette 2-in-1, you can work towards your toddler using it on a big toilet (with fun toilet seat covers).

If you can, a portable folding toilet seat is the best option for the minimal amount of waste.

Don’t miss my web story with the best tips for travel with a potty training toddler!

best portable travel potty seat for toddlers

This post was written & edited by:

Celine Brewer - Baby Can Travel

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.

Read more about Celine Brewer.

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