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The Guava Lotus Travel Crib is a lightweight, portable sleep and play crib designed for families on the go. It folds into a backpack-style carrying case, weighs just 15 pounds, and is compact enough to fit in most airplane overhead bins. It’s marketed as a sleek, convenient solution for travel with babies and toddlers.The Guava Lotus retails for around $300 and can be even pricier with add-ons. With other options on the market for less than $100, it begs the question, is the Guava Lotus Travel Crib worth it?
Pros
The Guava Lotus travel crib is top-notch if your family expects to frequently travel via airplane and needs to bring a travel crib/playpen.
- Ideal for travel – The backpack-style case frees up your hands when traveling and is compact enough for many airplane overhead bins.
- Lightweight – Very portable & lightweight compared to traditional pack-and-plays
- Side-zipper – Helpful for taking baby in and out without leaning over, or for easier access to the child
Cons
Despite its clever design for travel, the Guava Lotus has a few drawbacks.
- Repacking learning curve – Folding it down into its backpack isn’t as intuitive as other options on the market. It requires finding hidden release triggers and following a very specific sequence. Many parents end up watching a tutorial and need a few practice rounds before they can repack it efficiently.
- Overhead bin perk is niche – While it’s marketed as overhead-bin friendly, that perk often doesn’t play out in real life. Families traveling with kids can max out their carry-on allowance with other items, forcing the crib to be checked anyway. Further, if you’re traveling on a smaller or older plane with tighter overhead space, you’ll likely need to check it.
Recommendations
Kathryn: I was initially frustrated with repacking the Guava, but now that I’ve gotten the hang of it, I can do it quickly. While there’s not much wrong with the Guava, I don’t feel like it was worth the splurge because I have never had a need to fly with it. I have taken the crib on road trips, and appreciate that it’s compact, but the other options aren’t that much bigger. For trips that require a flight, I try to travel as light as possible, and a travel crib is something I am always looking to cut in order to navigate the airport with more essential luggage. If I’m staying at a hotel, I simply request a crib; if I’m staying at the grandparents’ house, I keep the Graco pack-’n-play there since it’s so easy to set up and break down; and if I’m visiting other family or friends who don’t have one, they can almost always borrow one from another local friend. You can also pack your own cribsheet, and rent a crib/playpen (and so much other gear) from BabyQuip for a low price with pick up and delivery included.
Caroline: For me, Guava is definitely a “save”. I have found the folding and unfolding very frustrating and in order to get it in its most compact position, the mattress has to be folded perfectly around it. While I fly a lot with my toddler, I have never flown with a travel crib because, similar to Kathryn, I have been able to use one at my destination. I have also found my toddler doesn’t love that the mattress is flush to the floor and doesn’t sleep as well. I think there are a lot of great save options in the travel crib space, including the Graco one, but if you will be using it a lot (in a nanny share, frequent local trips, etc) the Uppababy Remi is a great splurge. It is made with high quality material, elevated from the floor for greater comfort, and incredibly simple to fold, unfold, and store.
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