Disclosure: We were sent two Dinky Duvalay sets for the twins, for the purposes of this review. All photos, thoughts and words — as ever — are entirely my own.
It’s that time of year folks! Spring is finally here which means it’s time to dust Dolly down and get her out of her winter hiding place. Hurrah — adventure awaits.
I think we can safely say that I love my caravan; and since we bought our first van — Dolly 1 — I’m always on the look out for a clever gadget or caravan accessory.
Last year I found the number one essential item — the Duvalay — literally the best thing I’ve ever come across for camping in a caravan. I wrote a whole post about it; singing it’s praises.
Then at the end of last year Duvalay launched a mini version for kids; ‘The Dinky Duvalay‘.
It sounds a bit over the top but this simple bit of kit has literally revolutionised our lives.
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Introducing The Dinky Duvalay
Just like the original Duvalay, it’s Dinky counterpart is essentially a posh sleeping bag.
It comprises of a memory foam mattress, bottom sheet and duvet combined; but unlike it’s plainer big brother, the Dinky Duvalay comes in a bright, unisex animal-print.
It provides a comfy, portable layer, that you place on top of a caravan bed to give the best night’s sleep.
And neatly rolls up in it’s own bag.
The Dinky Duvalay In Action
Since we traded Dolly in for a bigger version a couple of summers ago for Dolly 2 ( here’s what she looked like when we first bought her ** SPOILER ALERT** It’s scary!!) the boys now have bunk beds.
I was a little bit anxious about this at first as they didn’t have any kind of barrier; which was a real worry.
So to combat this, we constructed a wooden frame to go around the beds; to prevent the twins falling out.
But not only that, the Dinky Duvalay also give another level of protection to keep them safe in their beds.
If we make sure the duvet opening is facing the wall, the clever Duvalays provide a secondary barrier. It’s almost like popping the boys in a cosy pocket.
The top cover won’t slip off, unlike a regular duvet, as it’s stitched to the bottom sheet; keeping them safe and secure in their bunks.
The whole thing is genius.
If you own a caravan — and have a kid — you need one.
Much More Than a Caravan Accessory
But actually, these clever little sleeping bags are much, much more than just a caravan accessory. If you don’t have a caravan — but have a kid — you still need one.
When I say they’ve revolutionised our lives, I don’t just mean when we’re camping.
Although that would also be true.
Caravanning aside, they helped the boys’ transition from cots to big-boy beds.
Because the Dinky Duvalays work so well at holding little bodies firmly in bed, they were amazingly useful when we first took the bars off the twins’ cots.
The perfect way of keeping them safely tucked up in bed — without the need for side-bars.
But best of all — and this is where they’ve really come into their own — if we’re travelling in the UK, the Dinky Duvalays literally get taken everywhere. They are now our ‘must-have’ travel accessory.
The Perfect Travelling Companion
We used to use the GLTC Bed-In-A-Bags but these are now used for extra beds and sleepovers at home. Although I still think they’re a fabulous product, my main gripe when travelling with them was that they’re pretty big.
In contrast, the Dinky Duvalays are smaller and lighter than the Bed In A Bags, plus we don’t need to take separate bedding as it’s all integral.
They make life SO easy.
Just unroll them and pop them on the floor and the boys have a comfy and familiar bed wherever we go; family or friends’ houses, hotel rooms and holiday houses.
We even took them to Center Parcs and on our trip to Cornwall. And although there were twin beds for the boys, in both of those places, they were much higher than the toddler beds that Bertie and Cosmo are used to; so they were much happier on the floor in their Duvalays.
All in all, the Dinky Duvalay is a winner. Definitely more than just a caravan accessory, this simple product means that the boys have a comfy and familiar bed when we’re away from home.
If there’s no spare room — or spare bed for them — we just roll them out on the floor and we’re all set.
No faffing about with duvets and bedding. We pack their pillows and favourite cuddly toys in the Duvalay bag and we’re good to go. They’re the perfect travel bed for kids; light portable and comfy.
A massive thumbs up from us — we love them.
Thanks so much to the lovely folk at Duvalay for letting us try out the Dinky Duvalay and transforming our camping adventures! They are — without question — some of our favourite and most used items of all time.
Have a look at their website for more products and information.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
Ahhhhh absolutely gorgeous photos! :) What little sweeties. These look absolutely amazing and what a superb product!! Definitely perfect for travel and camping adventures. xx
Thanks lovely — they LOVE Dolly!!! That caravan is synonymous with adventure — and since having the Duvalays, it’s SO comfy!! Best thing EVER!! :)
I love your caravan! The Duvalay looks great, my daughter is growing out of her little inflatable bed that we use for camping so something like this looks perfect, great for sleep overs too
Thanks so much Jennifer!! Ohmygoodness — YES!! I can’r recommend the Dinky Duvalays enough. I had no idea what we were going to do when the boys grew out of their original travel beds. The GLTC ones are fab too but MUCH bigger and more cumbersome. Especially as you have to take bedding separately. The Dinky Duvalays are really light and portable and having integral bedding is amazing.
These are so lovely. I have a vintage caravan we are in the process of doing up. Well very slowly doing up. So these sleeping bags would be perfect for my little ones.
That’s brilliant Sarah!! I can’t believe you’ve got a van too!!! Best thing ever — I love ours!! xx
So cute! I just love Dolly too, all that sunshine yellow is just gorgeous. Have fun this Summer with your adventures.
Thanks so much lovely — Dolly is synonymous with adventure!! :)
Ah they look great and so useful, I would have used these loads when the boys were little and such beautiful pictures, the boys look like such cheeky chappies x
They’ve been used SO much!! I despaired when they grew out of their little pop-up travel tent/cot thingys — but the Dinky Duvalays are the best alternative! :)
Oh these are so cool! We borrow my dad’s camper van sometimes and that has bunks so it does make me worried that Ava will fall out! We also have that well-love Jellycat bunny, so cute x #HomeEtc
They’re so fab Becky!! The best travel beds I’ve come across for kids. The mattresses are essentially just a topper but the boys love sleeping on the floor in them! And having them in Dolly is the best thing ever!
PS — That Jellycat Bunny is Bertie’s best friend. His name is Beeya!!
Oh I wish I’d known about these sooner! They sound completely perfect for nights away, and both my kids are such night-time wrigglers they’d be brilliant for keeping them actually in bed! I love the fact that you can stash extra bits in the bag as well. Gorgeous pics of your gorgeous boys too :)
They are SO amazing! Honestly, they’ve transformed our lives!!! Amazing to have a portable bed for the boys — they love them!!
Wow, I love these! I love the print and they’re so practical too. My three go caravanning with the in-laws and these would be perfect for that. What gorgeous photo’s too! Jemma #HomeEtc
Honestly Jemma — I can’t recommend them enough!! They’re brilliant for caravanning but, to be honest, they’ve had more use when we’ve been going to stay at people’s houses — or in hotels — for the weekend!! They’re the most brilliant travel beds; the twins love them!
I still have serious caravan envy! I remember you writing about the ‘grown up’ versions of these and think I commented then- how perfect to have children’s ones now? The animal print is just fabulous! x
Haha!! If you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d have a caravan, I’d have laughed! I used to hate them so much!!!! I love Dolly though — and YES!! The Duvalays for the kids are amazing. They literally get taken everywhere with us — so brilliant to have a ready made bed wherever you go for the little people xx
Oh, I love this post!!! Like Mary Poppins, it’s practically perfect in every way because it has caravans in it (we have a caravan), it has a brilliant compact multipurpose solution to taking your ‘bed’ with you and the covers are gorgeous. It also has some of the most beautiful pictures of your boys! Wide-eyed close up being my fave, even though I have serious eyelash envy!!!
In May half-term we are off to Harlech in Penny the caravan and we are meeting up with our mates and their newly renovated Cheltenham Fawn caravan Betsy Squirrel. I absolutely can’t wait to take gazillions of photos of it as it has been stripped down to the metal frame inside and had all new wooden interior in light oak, she’s made all the sofa covers herself etc etc…
Anyway,,,,Where was I?!!! Yay Duvalay, Yay caravans and caravanning and Yay gorgeous pics! #HOMEETC
Aah thanks lovely — I can’t recommend the Duvalays enough; they’ve totally transformed the comfort levels in the van!! And the Dinky ones are PERFECT for travelling with kids.They’re fantastic! Love that your van is called Penny!! That was the name of my horse!! LOL!!! Here’s to Dolly, Penny, caravans and adventures!
These look blooming wonderful! So comfortable and I love the design. Thanks for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
They’re so brilliant — the best travel beds for littles, that I’ve come across. So nice to be able to chuck them in the back of the car and know they’ve got a comfy and familiar bed wherever we end up :)
These are the cutest bedsets ever and what a genius idea! I love them and have total caravan envy ;) Xx #HomeEtc
They’re so good — have made travelling with the boys a cinch!! And yep — Dolly is a bit spesh. We love her :)
I love the print on these, Caro. So nice and colourful. You’ve done an amazing job making the bunk beds safer. They look really good. I’d have been nervous without a barrier, as well.
There’s no way I’d have wanted the boys to sleep in them before, to be honest. We’re trying to think of a more streamlined way to make some sides, using something like Cont-Board, but these will definitely do for now! :) The boys love sleeping in Dolly — such an adventure when you’re a little kid. And a big kid, for that matter, I love sleeping in her!!
How brilliant, although not quite as brilliant as Dolly 2! Love her!
Aaah thanks Anna!! Dolly 2 is a beauty — we love her!! :)
Oh wow I love your caravan! And these look fabulous too – anything to make the experience more comfortable and stylish is a win. They seem very practical too and would be great even for sleepovers. #HomeEtc
Aaah thanks Sian!! I used to hate caravans but I’m a convert since we had the first Dolly!! The Duvalays are amazing — and, to be honest, we’ve used the kids ones more for going away to people’s houses for the weekend than we actually have for camping!! They come with us everywhere — literally the best kids travel bed there is!! :)
Wow these are fab! I have never heard of them before but they are just perfect for little ones.
Such a gorgeous print as well.
#HomeEtc
They’re fab — both the kids and the adult ones. Not sure what we’d do without them now, to be honest! xx
They look great – and the boys are super cute – especially the I’m asleep photos, a little way to go yet in their modelling careers :D Love the print too, thanks for hosting x
Haha!! The ‘I’m asleep’ photos were hilarious — they couldn’t keep still for love nor money!!