Virginia Beach, Virginia- 2026
Virginia Beach With a Newborn: Our First Family Trip & Travel Essentials
©️victoriaam
We chose to stay local for our first trip as a family of three. What better way to test traveling with a baby than with a road trip? As first-time parents, we packed just about everything we could think of… and honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. This post is everything you need to know about road tripping with a newborn, how we adapted for traveling with our 2-month-old, and the travel essentials that truly made a difference throughout our stay.
Our trip was short and sweet: 3 days and 2 nights. Honestly, it was the perfect amount of time away from home with a newborn. We drove about 7 hours down to Virginia Beach, and overall the drive went surprisingly smoothly since our baby slept almost the entire way.
©️victoriaam
What We Packed for the Car Ride
Five Dr. Brown bottles + portable bottle cleaning/sterilizing supplies
Blankets and several burp cloths
Bibs — lots of bibs
Diaper bag with all essentials
Ice packs and a small cooler
Two breast pumps
MOMCOZY cordless electronic pump
Medela battery-operated pump
Breast milk bags and storage containers
One full case of diapers
Three packs of baby wipes
Doggy bags + portable changing pad
NUNA Mixx BMW stroller
Fisher-Price Baby Dome bassinet
Rattles and small toys
Portable reading light
Snacks and sandwiches to avoid too many stops
One gallon of distilled water
Reusable plastic bag for dirty laundry
First aid kit
Headphones
Nursing/sleep support pillow
Owlet sock and camera monitor
©️victoriaam
Where We Stayed
We stayed at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Resort, located directly across from the historic The Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club inside the Cavalier Resort area.
To make the trip as functional and stress-free as possible, we booked a suite instead of a standard room and I highly recommend doing this if you’re traveling with a newborn. Having a separate living room and bedroom was ideal for late-night wakeups, early-morning cries, and taking shifts as parents. The extra room also made it easy to keep the stroller open and accessible instead of folding it up and leaving it in the car.
©️victoriaam
Sleeping Arrangements & Baby Gear
My husband and I personally do not co-sleep, especially with such a young baby. We also chose not to rent a hotel bassinet because he was still so little, and we preferred using something that belonged to us and had been cleaned by us.
The Fisher-Price Baby Dome ended up being one of the BEST purchases for this trip.
It folds flat, has handles, and can easily be packed for the beach or travel. A pack-and-play would’ve taken up too much space in the car, so this was the perfect solution for a tiny baby. I set it up right in the bedroom area of the suite. It normally retails around $120, but I found mine secondhand on Facebook Marketplace for only $20 and replaced the missing mattress and toys myself.
I also brought a portable dimming reading lamp that clipped onto the dome to use as a nightlight. This thing was a 10/10 purchase. I use it at home too , even while gardening!
Traveling With the Owlet
Setting up the dome was easy. Setting up the Owlet? Not so much.
I’d honestly rate traveling with the Owlet a 5/10. If you aren’t connected to your home Wi-Fi network, you may run into issues getting the camera to connect. For us, the camera itself wasn’t a huge deal, but we definitely wanted access to his vitals through the sock monitor.
We eventually got it working by connecting through our phone Wi-Fi instead of the hotel network. So if you travel with an Owlet, just keep in mind that certain hotel Wi-Fi restrictions may prevent it from functioning normally.
Pool, Beach & Food
After getting settled, we headed to the pool and beach for some fun in the sun. We grabbed tacos and drinks from Tacos-N-Tequila before ending the night at We Scream Ice Cream across the street.
The dessert portions were HUGE. I ordered a hot fudge brownie sundae while my husband got an ice cream cookie sandwich. We Scream is also connected to Starbucks, which made morning coffee runs incredibly convenient.
Side note: has anyone tried the Mango Matcha yet? I’m usually a lavender girl, but this may have changed my mind.
Dinner that night was simple room service because our little guy got fussy, but honestly, burgers while watching the sunset was exactly what we needed.
©️victoriaam
Exploring Virginia Beach
The next morning we walked the boardwalk to see the famous King Neptune Statue. There happened to be events going on called the Neptune Wine Festival, and we even saw advertisements for a monster truck rally nearby.
We kept things slower-paced since it was our first trip with a newborn, but it was still exciting seeing how lively the area was. Maybe next time we’ll do more activities!
©️victoriaam
Lunch at Ohana & Co.
We later headed to Ohana Hawaiian BBQ & Sushi in Red Mill Commons.
We ordered:
Spam Musubi — a classic Hawaiian grab-and-go snack made with seasoned rice, Spam, and nori
Loco Moco — seasoned beef patty, brown gravy, sunny-side eggs, green onions, and furikake over rice
SO good.
©️victoriaam
Virginia Aquarium Review (Very Parent Friendly!)
After lunch we visited the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, where we saw jellyfish, sharks, fish, and even a giant crocodile.
One thing I absolutely loved was how parent-friendly the aquarium was. They had multiple lactation rooms and even private nursing pods throughout the property.
The pod system was amazing because you unlock it through an app and can even control the air temperature from your phone. It offered privacy while still feeling safe because the ceiling remained open enough to hear your surroundings.
As a breastfeeding mom, that small detail really mattered to me.
©️victoriaam
Mini Golf & Pizza Night
On the way back toward the hotel, we stumbled across Pirates Paradise Mini Golf.
It was stroller-friendly, easy to walk through, and such a fun spontaneous stop. Unfortunately, I did not win… maybe next time.
We ended the night with pizza and calzones from Chicho’s Pizza before catching the last sunset of our trip.
©️victoriaam
Heading Home
The ride home definitely wasn’t as peaceful as the drive down. Our son was much hungrier this time around, and we ended up going through almost all of the bottles we packed.
Thankfully, the portable Dr. Brown cleaning kit and sterilizing bag came in clutch so we could quickly clean bottles and get back on the road.
We also stopped at a few antique and thrift shops along the way home, where I picked up some additions for my air plants. Of course, I also grabbed a sticker for my collection and a magnet for our fridge.
©️victoriaam
Final Thoughts
Overall, this trip was a huge success. Traveling with a newborn can definitely feel intimidating, especially as first-time parents, but having the right essentials made all the difference.
If there’s one thing I learned from this trip, it’s this:
Overpacking is always better than underpacking when traveling with a baby.
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