Have Stroller Will Travel: Travel With UPPAbaby Vista

Stroller Reviews For Travel With Baby…

The UPPAbaby Goes To Cuba…

According to my husband, the UPPAbaby Vista is the best stroller in the world. And while it certainly costs less than a Bugaboo, it’s by no means the cheapest stroller at Babies R Us – does Babies R Us even sell it? But if you can convince my husband that something (especially a stroller!) is worth every penny, than it must be good as he’s been singing our Vista’s praises ever since I offloaded our Peg on Craigslist and brought home the Uppa baby. Our Uppa is our most-traveled stroller, and while it’s not perfect for travel, it has certainly been a great ride for us.

**note** my husband is 6’7″, and this is the only stroller we’ve had that he can push with total ease. The extendable handle and rounded axle really helps him with this**

The Uppababy’s first trip was to Florida. Bub was 6mos., and still riding in his infant car seat. Luckily our Peg Perego Primo Viaggio car seat could be used without the base. So we were able to bring that along with no issues, as well as our Uppa. With the seat facing forward, you are able to fold the UPPAbaby Vista in one piece (a huge bonus over the Bugaboo, in my opinion), but since we also had the car seat adapter for the Vista frame, what we did was leave the adapter attached to the car seat, and brought the stroller seat along in the basket. The basket for the Vista is massive, so we were able to fit not only the stroller’s seat in it, but also our daughter’s light booster seat, and the diaper bag. Luckily, both flights weren’t full and we were flying Southwest, so we were able to gate-check the complete folded stroller, and brought Bub on board in his car seat (with adapter attached – made no difference in installing the seat).

Our flight home (and this first trip with the Vista) was our only snag with this stroller. The foot bar of the seat was broken, likely because a baggage handler used that part to lift the stroller. We couldn’t fix it, (duct tape worked as a quickie repair) and since we waited longer than four hours to report it, we weren’t able to be reimbursed from Southwest. Enter UPPAbaby’s great customer assistance. Their Canadian distributor replaced the frame, and also sent along new wheels when I asked for suggestions to de-squeak them. Our wheels had been squeaking on the Vista for a while, and brand new wheels did the trick! You can purchase a travel bag for the UPPAbaby Vista, but I thought the expense wasn’t worth the number of times we’d use it, so I haven’t bothered.

The Uppa Goes To Epcot – Pre Nap!

Of course, I didn’t want the seat frame to be damaged again on subsequent trips, and luckily it hasn’t been. What I’ve done since is raised the foot bar once it’s folded at the gate check, and placed the stroller on its side. That makes it easier for the baggage handler to grab it from the side bars, and makes the foot bar an awkward choice for a handle. I know I’m taking a chance, but after five return trips since, the Vista has traveled like a champ.

And we do love this stroller. Bub still continues to have amazing naps in it! Our last trip to Disney he had unprecedented 3hr naps every day in it – slept through lots of fun but also made it so we had fabulous long days out at the parks when we were fully prepared to leave and come back.

It’s big, and it’s about 24lbs, so some airlines like American won’t let you gate check it, but Bub is very, very comfortable in it, and it’s so easy to push and handles steep curbs and cobblestones with ease. Too big to wheel into most restaurants, but for patios it’s great as you can push it right up to the table.It’s now getting a little ragged. The basket’s been replaced once already (and has to be again, I think) but UPPAbaby’s service has always been super fast, and great. Now one of the seat belts has torn, and I know when I get in touch this week it’ll all be looked after straight away.

*edited to add:
On our last trip we had an issue with the frame of our Uppababy Vista and upon our return, Uppababy sent a replacement straight away. We can’t say enough about both how much we love our Uppa and their awesome customer service.

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