Our youngest is potty training. That means, as with our first, we want to make sure she can go when she needs to. So little plastic toilets and seats are now everywhere in our lives:

• Car: The Primo 4-In-1 Soft Seat Toilet Trainer is a bit bulky, but we keep it in the trunk or backseat, plastic liner ready to go. The best thing about it is the tight lid and cushioned seat. On the road, when it’s time, just pull over safely, flip up the lid and transfer your kid to the seat.

  
  

• Home: At home, we have the Summer Infant Lil' Loo Potty and the Disney Princess Soft Potty Seat.

  
  
  

• Travel: Once while enjoying a cappuccino in Tuscany, we left behind our Potette Plus 2-in-1 folding travel potty.
  
  By the time we realized it, there was no turning back. We ordered a replacement from Amazon UK to arrive at our hotel in Croatia. It was waiting for us when we arrived!

Some of the great things about this seat for travel:

• Compact (somewhat) and lightweight: This is a big deal. This easily fits in a backpack.
• Sturdy: Although with effort it’s possible to remove the foldable stands, once secured, they don’t fall off. The bottom of the stands/legs are non-slip rubbery so that’s a nice touch.
• Hygienic: The whole thing is easy to wash and clean. The best thing is that when the stands are flipped outwards, you can put this on top of a toilet seat. Very little of the potty seat actually contacts the toilet seat.
• Reasonably priced: Under $20.

It’s not perfect: flipping the stands is a little tricky and takes some practice, and the seat is still a little bulky. But it’s great as a toilet seat and a standalone seat as well.

We evaluated and tried some of the other lightweight travel potty seats, hoping for something even more compact. For example, there are folding seats. But these seats usually have quite a bit of surface contact with the toilet seat, which means you’ll be taking that with you when you fold it up. That notion made these folding seats much less appealing to us, despite being more lightweight and compact.

Happy travels!