15 FUN Travel Activities for Kids (2023)
Looking for some travel activities for kids?
I have 15+ FUN travel activities, hacks, and ideas to help you have a more relaxing travel day with your kids.
Let’s get started with these fun travel activities for kids!
#1: Travel Bingo
Use my FREE travel bingo activity cards with your kids for your next trip!
This is a fun travel activity for kids to get them excited. My kids love being the first ones to spy something when playing a game, so this is a fun way to play!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- white cardstock paper
- FREE bingo printable
- markers
Click HERE for your FREE Travel Bingo Activity
B. Set-up
I have four different versions of this printable for you. Print off the number of boards you need.
C. Activity
Since you are traveling, I don’t recommend that you bring small pieces as markers, so they don’t get all over the place. Especially this is an ongoing game throughout the travel time, so I suggest using a pencil or marker.
Once the kids find something on their game board, have them write an X on it. The first one to get 5 in a row wins! They can just be proud that they won the game, or you can have a fun prize for the winner.
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#2: DIY I SPY Pencil Pouch
Do your kids love I SPY? We play I SPY almost every single night at the dinner table. So, I knew this travel activity would work great for us.
This is a fun and EASY DIY travel activity for kids. Plus, it can always be changed up, which keeps it exciting for the kids.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- pencil pouch
- dried rice
- items you want for the I SPY
- pipe cleaner
- paper
- ziplock bag
- dry erase marker
- alphabet beads
B. Set-up
Figure out what you want to include in the bag; this can be things like craft supplies, alphabet beads, or even colored paper.
Add dried rice into the bag.
C. Activity
Create an I SPY sheet with the objects you added to the bag. This can just be on a piece of white cardstock paper. Glue these objects on, so they can cross them off once they find them.
Attach the ziplock bag with the sheet on it by using a hole punch and string a pipe cleaner through it.
The kids will look through the bag (also remind them not to open it up) and see what they can find! They will use the marker to cross off each item once they found it!
#3: Tape+ Scissor Skills Workbooks
Looking for a fine-motor travel activity for your kids? These two books are sure to keep your kids happy and occupied.
We have used both the scissor skills and tape activity book, and my kids have loved them.
This tape book is sure to be a hit with your kids on a plane ride! My kids love using tape, but I never let them use a ton because I don’t want them to waste it all!
Here is a fun way for your kids to use tape, create, and work on those fine motor skills! They can use ALL the tape they want.
I will say that the scissor skills activity will create some mess because the kids will be cutting the paper. So, this activity book should be done in the car or even at home. I wanted to include this book, though, because it’s that good, and my kids loved it.
One hack I can say about the scissor skills book, though, if you want to bring it in the car, is that you can bring a reusable grocery bag in the car, and the kids can place their scraps in the bag.
#4: LEGO Travel Box
Got a little one who loves building blocks? You have to try this simple DIY LEGO box for a travel activity for kids.
I can’t even tell you how many times this LEGO box has come in handy when we have been in the car, on a plane, or just out to eat.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- pencil box
- hot glue gun
- LEGO base plate
- box cutter
- LEGOs
B. Set-up
Measure how big your pencil box is, and cut your base plate down to that size so it’ll fit snuggly inside the box.
Use a box cutter to cut the base plate.
C. Activity
Add hot glue to the back of the base plate and stick it to the bottom of the pencil box.
Add your blocks into the case and let your kids build! This has helped us get through some long travel days!
RELATED: Best Toys for 4-Year-OldsÂ
#5: Guess in 10 Travel Game
I actually didn’t buy this originally to be a travel game. My kids love animals, so I thought this would be a fun way for them to learn a little bit more about each animal.
It turned out to be an awesome travel activity for kids! These cards just stay in my car now, and the kids play the guessing game ALL the time.
Why is this a great travel activity?
There are clues on each card that the kids can read so the other person can guess what animal it is.
My son is 5, and he can’t read it, so he just looks at the photos on the side of the card and makes up his own clues, which I think is kind of neat.
But, they also have a Junior Version as well, in case you are interested in that for smaller kids that just have pictures on them. The Junior set is for ages 3-6 years old.
These cards are small and can fit into a bag very easily! It makes for a fun and easy travel activity for kids.
#6: Color by Code Printables
There’s nothing better than FREE, am I right? I have TONS of free color-by-code printables for you to use as a travel activity for kids on the plane, in the car, or at a restaurant.
My kids are always asking me to print off more color-by-code sheets because they love them so much. I don’t argue, because it’s a great way for them to learn too!
Click HERE for my FREE Zoo Color by Code
There are 6 FREE color-by-code printables in this zoo animal bundle. Make sure to check out all my other free resources!
They make for the perfect travel activity for the car, plane ride, or going out to eat!
RELATED: Printable ResourcesÂ
#7: Nat Geo Sticker Books
National Geographic sticker books are my son’s favorite activity book. It comes with 1,000 stickers, so it keeps the kids occupied for a long period of time.
There are SO many different themes to choose from. Choose from dinosaurs, ocean creatures, baby animals, space, and the cutest animals! This is a must-have travel activity for kids.
Here’s a sticker hack to make YOUR life easier when traveling.
Peel off the white background of the sticker sheet for the kids to be able to grab and peel the stickers easily. This is a game-changer.
When traveling, this hack is essential because it lets you have time to relax and not have to peel 1,000 stickers for your child.
#8: Water Bottle Pom Push
Got a little one you are traveling with? This water bottle pom push is a great travel activity for kids and toddlers!
My kids love fine motor activities. These activities give them something to concentrate on, and it’s fun for them!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- empty water bottle
- craft poms
B. Set-up
Drink the water from the water bottle and let it dry out. You can remove the label, or you can keep it on.
C. Activity
Place some craft poms into a ziplock bag to bring along with you in your bag.
Have the kids, if they are old enough, identify what color poms they are placing in the bottle. Then, have them push the poms in!
This is a great fine motor activity, and you can also use this as a counting lesson too! Count how many they are placing in the bottle as they go.
#9: Travel-Timed Bags
This travel activity for kids is for a road trip! It will keep them excited throughout the trip and keep them busy.
Created bags of activities for each hour of the trip. Each bag has something new in it for them to explore and play with. They will be so excited to see what’s in each bag.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper bags
- marker
- items to place into each bag (you can have a theme for each one or just have different activities)
B. Set-up
Depending on how long your trip is, create that amount of bags for the hours that it is. We did this for our trip to Tennessee, which is about 8 hours away from our home, so we created 8 bags.
Write numbers on each bag for each hour!
C. Activities
I can’t even tell you how big of a hit this was with the kids. They couldn’t wait to open each bag and were anxious to see what was in each one.
You can literally take this list and place all my ideas into each of these bags, and you are done! That would be the easiest idea!
I have done it where all the activities are available to them, and they just pick and choose and then are done in just a short amount of time. This method works, and they get excited about it!
#10: Window Clings/Spinners
Got a baby that you are traveling with? These spinners are a lifesaver! I can’t tell you how much my son loved these on our plane rides.
These suction cup spinners stick right to the window, and they will entertain your little one for a long time.
I remember when my kids were little, I was constantly worried about when they were going to start freaking out on the plane. I was always on the edge of my seat.
Being prepared with something simple like this will entertain your baby and hopefully let you relax a little bit :).
#11: Melissa and Doug Reusable Stickers
These reusable stickers are the perfect travel activity for kids. It fits perfectly into a bag, and it’s thin, so it doesn’t take up a ton of space.
I love these sticker books for the plane or a long car ride. The best part is, is that the kids can use them over and over!
I got the bundle pack so the kids could actually play around with all the animals. They love mixing and matching with these activity books.
The stickers are easy for the kids to take off, and they are puffy! They are perfect for preschool and up!
#12: DIY Pencil Box Coloring Kit
If you have a kiddo who loves to color, this hack is for you!
It’s an easy DIY travel activity for kids that you can put together in seconds. Everything is right there for them!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- pencil box
- crayons
- hot glue
- post-its / small notepad
B. Set-up
Hot glue your notepad or sticky notes on one side of the box.
Then, hot glue the box of crayons to the other side.
C. Activity
This is a great hack for some fun coloring time! My kids love Post-It’s, and it was fun for them to create and then stick them up on the plane.
I love that it is all in the pencil case, so everything stays together neatly, and it’s in a small container, so it’s easy to travel with.
#13: Play Dough Mini Kit
There’s just something special about Play-Dough. The kids love when we bring it out to play with. It’s the perfect travel activity for kids!
Make your own DIY Play-Dough mini kit to take on your next trip for your kids. It’s simple and a cheap travel activity to prep.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Play-Dough
- small play dough toys
- container
B. Set-up
We like to use the mini play dough containers for travel trips since they are small and you can fit more colors in the box. Add yours to the container.
Also, add in some small play dough toys for the kids to play with.
C. Activity
Have the kids roll out the play dough on the tray on the airplane and use the toys they brought! This is an easy and fun way for the kids to play.
They can use a roller to roll the dough out on the tray of the airplane or they can play right inside the container you placed everything in.
We like to add our small animal toys in, so they can even make small animal habitats and create scenes with them.
RELATED: Sensory Activities for Kids
#14: Disney World Travel Hack
Our favorite place to travel is Disney World! If you follow me on Instagram, you know my love for Disney. It’s such a magical place!
This is one trip that you know you’ll be traveling to with your kids, waiting in lines, and waiting at restaurants. So I have a hack for you to make waiting a little bit easier.
Download the app called Heads Up!
This is a fun game that will make the time FLY in line. My kids had so much fun playing the game and guessing. We barely even knew we were waiting in line.
There are themes you can choose from like animals, celebrities, music, and more.
You place the phone above one person’s forehead, and you try to give them clues for them to guess the word on the screen! If they get it right they get a point and they move on to another word until time runs out!
This is fun and will make the time go so fast!
RELATED: Games to Play in Line at Disney
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#15: Wikki Stix
Wikki Stix are bendable sticks that kids can create with! My kids absolutely love these, and I do too because they don’t cause a giant mess.
We brought Wikki Stix on the plane with us for our last trip, and the kids played with them for at least a half hour. Plus, it comes in a small container, so it makes it a perfect travel activity for kids.
These are also wonderful to take to a restaurant or in the car for a road trip.
If your kids don’t know what to create, there is also a version of these sticks that has a connect the dots activity to create with. I suggest grabbing this pack for younger kids so they can learn how to create with them.
This is a great way for kids to be creative, and it’s a wonderful open-ended toy since there are endless ways to play.
RELATED: The BEST Open-Ended Toys
#16: Travel Art Desk
This is a great travel activity for kids on a road trip. I love the fact that this travel desk sits perfectly in your kid’s lap! I
You could take this on a plane if you had enough room in your bag, but honestly, I think it’s kind of big for that.
It comes with markers, crayons, pencils, a glue stick, scissors, an eraser, paper, coloring sheets, and a case!
What a fun case for you to bring along on a trip. Your kids will be occupied with all the fun activities included in this kit.
I especially love that there is a flat surface that they can create on. It makes it easy for them to make their projects right in the car!
#17: Seek and Find Sticker Books
These Seek and Find books are addicting. I was working on these with the kids on the plane, and I enjoyed them as much as they did!
This travel activity for kids is great because it works as an I SPY and coloring activity!
There are a few different themes that you can choose from with these books. I think it’s honestly worth it to get the bundle pack because then you’ll be able to have them for future trips or times when the kids need a simple activity.
#18: Screen Time
Saving this for last because when all else fails, you can always have the kids use an Ipad, Amazon Fire, or whatever tablet you use.
There are sometimes when you just have to use it to get through a tough travel day. We all have been there, and don’t feel bad about it!
We get ready for a trip by downloading some of the kid’s favorite shows on our tablets.
The kids also really love to play games on the Ipad, so I take a look at some new apps the kids may like.
Here are some of our favorite apps
- Kiddopia (this is a paid app) -it is my kid’s FAVORITE app. There are tons of games and activities
- Toddler Aquarium- FREE alphabet learning activity
- Khan Academy- FREE learning app
- PBS Kids Games- FREE and fun games for kids
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
I hope you found some travel activities for kids that you can use on your trip! If you have little kids, you know you have to prep some fun activities for a travel trip.
These travel activities, hacks, and ideas will hopefully help make your travel day easy and fun. Let me know your favorite travel activity with kids in the comments below!
I always love to hear about new ideas or products that work great for traveling.
Safe travels,
Deena
