One of the questions I get asked a lot is what suntan lotion do my kids use when we are on holiday and what ones do we recommend?
I think suntan lotion is such a personal choice and people use different types for different reasons so I asked some of the best family travel bloggers I know for their suggestions and this is the list we have come up with.
AD | I have been or could be if you click on a link in this post compensated via a cash payment, gift or something else of value for writing this post. See our full disclosure policy and privacy policy for more details.
I should also caveat the post by saying when I say ‘nice to put on” I don’t actually mean that I, or any of the other family travel bloggers actually enjoy putting sun cream on our children – it is a fundamental fact of parenting that this involves tears and comments such as ‘Do I have to stay still for this long’ on a second by second basis. Â So if I say ‘nice to put on’ I actually mean it’s an easy lotion to use.
Green People SPF30 Organic Children Sun Lotion Scent Free
At £17.50 for 150ml this is not the cheapest sun lotion in the round up, but it is nice to put on, it is organic if that’s important to you, and is really good for sensitive skin.  We used it a lot last year on our kids in Greece and we never had any problems with it.
The downside is that the instructions suggest “pouring a generous amount of sunscreen into your cupped palm then liberally apply to body 20 minutes before exposure to sun then every 2 hours or after swimming.” For me this literally means I have to apply to the kids all day as they are NEVER out of the pool!
Ultrasun Sun Protection Range
Mummy Travels raves about this “It is impressively lightweight for something that’s got high protection, including filtering 91-99% of UVA. I tried the Extreme 50+SPF and it absorbed more easily than some body lotions I own, for both me and Minnie. Instead of squirmy crossness, I actually got requests for ‘more sun lotion’ and she rather helpfully tried to do my legs as well. – I don’t think you can argue with that!
It is also once a day and Ultrasun promises ‘Products don’t rub off with sweat, towel drying, swimming or showering’.
150ml bottle will cost you £25 but as this is only put on once a day the cost for the holiday is reduced.
For Cathy’s full review you can read more here
Nivea Protect & Refresh Invisible Cooling Sun Spray
This spray comes highly recommended by Sarah from Extraordinary Chaos. Listen to what she says “We found a few aerosol sprays, which were great, but didn’t last long so took up so much room in the case. Then we found Nivea Protect and Refresh Cooling Spray. You may think it is only sun cream what is this mad woman harping on about?  But trust me if you have kids, this is a game changer. Yes the boys are older but still hate sun cream; they just haven’t the time in their busy lives to stand having it rubbed in. Yet they will happily stand whilst we apply Nivea. What’s different? Well it is a spray, it doesn’t need rubbing in, I get them to stand like starfish, spray and off they go. I am not stressed and don’t need a cocktail.
Sarah got me at “It doesn’t need rubbing in!” and best of all it’s only just over £6 on Amazon at the moment for 200ml.  To read Sarah’s full review click here
P20 Once a Day
Like Laura of Have Kids Can Travel we love P20.  Pop it on 15 minutes before you head out and “that’s it no more suntan cream for the rest of the day” including time in the pool.  The downside to P20 and I love Laura’s quote on this is that “I also need to point out that this particular suntan lotion for kids smells like cat wee.  No really, it does. In the words of a certain 5yr old of my acquaintance, it’s stinky-yuck.  And it REALLY stings if you get it in a 13 yr old’s eye. Allegedly. *whistles*” – Hilarious.
Smell and stinging aside though it really does keep them from burning all day and is very easy to apply. Â To read Laura’s full review click here. Â We used our P20 in Tignes and Turkey and you can now get this is different factors up to SPF 50, not just SPF 20.
You can also now get a new and updated P20 which has continuous spray. It has a multi angle spray system meaning you can even spray the bottle when you are holding it upside down. Â This is a simply brilliant invention and is currently working very well for us.
The new continuous spray is available in 150ml, RRP £24.49. Only available from Boots stores nationwide and World Duty Free airport shops.
For a detailed summary of sun cream for children with sensitive skin take a look at Lisa’s round up on Sorry About The Mess.
Can you recommend any others?
NB: This post contains some products that myself or other travel bloggers have received to review but all views are our own.
Why not PIN this for Later
Karen Beddow founded Mini Travellers in 2014 while doing what she loves most...going on holiday!
Mini Travellers is for parents looking for holiday ideas, destination reviews, days out and things to do with the kids. We also have family travel tips, activity ideas and all other things family holiday related. Take a look at some of our latest reviews for holidays and day trips in the UK.
Your 5yr old is right about P20 smelling ‘stinky yucky’ but it’s very effective. I don’t burn in the sun when I use it (factor 20) oh except where I miss with the lotion!