Travel cots buying guide for UK parents
Short answer: A travel cot is a folding cot with a rigid frame and base, used for trips, grandparents' houses or small rooms. Choose one that fits your space and your baby's stage, and use it as the instructions say.
What is a travel cot?
A folding cot with a rigid frame and base, used for trips, grandparents' houses or small rooms. It is used for occasional or regular sleep, set up exactly like a cot.
How to choose
- Use only the mattress made for that travel cot. Never add folded blankets or a quilt underneath.
- Practise putting it up and folding it before you travel.
- Check the weight and height limits.
Space and layout
The Lullaby Trust suggests a travel cot if a full cot will not fit in your room.
Safety standards
- Cots and travel cots: look for BS EN 716-1:2017.
- Mattresses: look for BS 7177:2008+A1:2011, and BS EN 16890:2017+A1:2021 for cot, travel cot and crib mattresses.
Common questions
- Is a travel cot safe for every night?
- Can grandparents use a travel cot for my baby?
- Is it safe to put a baby down in a playpen to sleep?
- Are travel cots all the same size?
- How do I choose a travel cot?
- Do I need a travel cot?
- How long can you use a travel cot?
- When should I buy a travel cot?
What the guidance says
- Travel cots need the same safer-sleep set-up as a cot: a rigid frame and base and a firm, flat mattress. Do not add folded blankets or a quilt under the baby.
- If a full cot will not fit, the Lullaby Trust suggests a travel cot, set up with the same safer-sleep advice.
- Keep the cot clear: no pillows, duvets, cot bumpers, loose blankets, soft toys, pods, nests, wedges or anything to keep your baby in place.
- Cots and travel cots: look for BS EN 716-1:2017.
- Mattresses: look for BS 7177:2008+A1:2011, and BS EN 16890:2017+A1:2021 for cot, travel cot and crib mattresses.
Shop at Baby Kingdom
- Scout 2-in-1 Travel Cot & Playpen
- Tutti Bambini Hexa Playpen Ecru
- Fiesta Pop-Up Playpen
- CoZee Go 3-in-1 Bassinet, Travel Cot & Playpen
Check each product page for its exact dimensions, mattress size, age and weight limits and safety standards.
More advice
Are all Moses baskets the same size?How do I choose a cot?Can a 2 month old sleep in a cot?Can a 5 month old sleep on their tummy?Can my baby sleep in a cot from birth?Will a travel cot fit in a small nursery?All safe sleep and sleep spaces advice →
Sources
- The Lullaby Trust: Baby mattresses and bedding (accessed 2026-10-21)
- NHS: Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (accessed 2026-10-21)
General information only, not medical advice. Always follow your product's instructions. If you are worried about your baby, contact your GP, health visitor or 111. In an emergency, call 999.