Whether you're looking for holiday gifts, toys to entertain your kids during your family's travels, or you want some fun diversions for use at home – we've got you covered. Scroll down to see all sorts of super cool toys for traveling kids.
Toys for traveling tinkers
littleBits Rule Your Room Kit
While traveling, we parents want our children to keep their brains active and learning. The littleBits Rule Your Room Kit comes with everything needed to create a variety of fun projects.
Kids can play with sounds and movements as they build the experiments in the handbook or use their imaginations to create their own projects. The small size makes it great for play on an airplane or in a hotel room.
Ravensburger 3D Earth Puzzleball
This puzzle will inspire future travels. Tweens and teens will enjoy piecing together this Ravensburger 3D Earth Puzzleball.
It's composed of 540 curved pieces that snap together to form a detailed, full-color globe. When completed, kids can place it in the display stand in their bedroom and plot their next trip.
Toys for traveling family fun
Scrabble to Go
Fun for both adults and older kids (ages 8+), the classic Scrabble word play game is now easy to bring along with Scrabble to Go.
The snap-in tiles are perfect for trains or planes. Bonus: the zippered case is great for keeping all the pieces safe on the go.
Jelly Belly Bean Boozled
Do your kids love to try new taste sensations when you travel? For school-aged kids with daring palates, playing Jelly Belly Bean Boozled is sure to please.
Spin the wheel and see which jelly bean it lands on but for each color there are two options: one yummy and one yucky. Is the green jelly bean Juicy Pear, or is it Booger? This is a great game to bring on a family vacation since it's compact. Get the whole family to play and you'll be laughing in no time.
Toys for traveling artists
Pattern Play
Craft projects keep kids super busy when they're on the road. Pattern Play provides paper patterns and stickers that kids can fold into an impressive variety of 3D animals.
This book of patterned paper keeps hands and minds busy while traveling (Photo from Amazon.com)
This book of patterned paper keeps hands and minds busy while traveling.
Finger Print Crafts
Fingerprint Princesses and Fairies and Fingerprint Monsters and Dragons feature hundreds of ideas for making caricatures from fingerprints.
Crafting books like this are easy to pack for travels (Photo from Amazon.com)
Be sure to buy the Clearsnap Colorbox Pigment Petal Point Pad for eight colors with which to make your whimsical fingerprint designs.
Toys for traveling photographers and videographers
FujiFilm Instax Camera
The trendy FujiFilm Instax Mini 9 Instant Camera (available in a rainbow of colors) makes a fabulous gift for budding photographers. This is a modern take on a classic camera.
Kids will love watching their pictures come to life instantly. Be sure to add some film to record their travel adventures.
VTech Kidizoon Action Cam
For kids, video is where it's at. With the VTech Kidizoom Action Cam, kids can capture all of their family travel fun via video.
Two mounts attach the digital camera to bikes, skateboards and more. This underwater camera comes with a waterproof case to take photos and videos up to six feet below water, perfect for beach vacations.
Toys for traveling gamers
Nintendo 3DS
Let's admit it: electronics are a great way to keep kids content on long journey. If you've got a young gamer on your gift list, the new Nintendo 3DS is sure to please. The 3D screen can be turned on and off according to your child's preference. Plus, there are plenty of parental controls, which makes mom and dad happy.
Add a classic game like Animal Crossing, or new favorites like Super Mario Maker and Disney Magical World 2. Your kids will be thrilled!
Kindle Fire with Kid-Proof Case
A Kindle Fire 8 with Kid-Proof Case will please children with its plentiful downloadable games. Meanwhile parents will being able to add books for reading while traveling and at home.
It comes with a two-year warranty so, even if your child breaks the tablet or drops it in the hotel pool, you just need to mail it back in to receive a brand new Kindle Fire. Choose from a pink, blue or yellow case. You can get the Kindle Fire 7 with Kid-Proof Case in green.
What are your favorite toys for traveling? Let us know in the comments below!
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About Lyla Gleason, The Globetrotting Travel Mama
Thank you, very helpful 😉 Maybe you should also try IBIZA
We travel quite a bit and I’m always trying to find creative ways entertain the child that doesn’t all have to do with screen time. I love a lot of these ideas and I think I will buy a few of these for him for Christmas.
Thanks Jeanette. So glad you liked these ideas. Happy holidays!
I would love to get the Scrabble game. It’s perfect for everyone no matter what the age.
Agreed. Everyone loves Scrabble!
I have played Bean Boozled. There are some interesting flavors to those jelly beans. It’s quite the hoot to play.
So much fun to play!!!
I love the globe puzzle – what a great idea. I think puzzles are such fun. They are such wonderful ways for a family to spend time together.
I agree. Love to do puzzles with my family. Happy travels.
Our girls love to play checkers when we travel, similar to the travel size scrabble you mentioned, we have checkers that are magnetic. Works great for two kids. We have played Jelly Belly Bean Boozled and that is super fun! A great gift that we like to give as well.
Magnetic checkers is a great idea for traveling! We have a tradition of playing Jelly Belly Bean Boozled on New Year’s Eve (kids and grown ups) and it is always the highlight of the night.
This is such a great list! Awesome games! Love it!
Thanks Claudia! So glad you liked it. Happy holidays.
These are really great options! I remember when we’re traveling, I just brought them colors and papers. But they get easily bored. It’s great now that there are a lot of fun games for them to choose from. Thanks for sharing this!
There are so many fun travel games for kids. It definitely makes it easier to keep everyone entertained on the road. Happy holidays.
omg she is such a cutie. that first pic is brilliant.
Thanks Dawn! Happy holidays.
The puzzle globe is my favorite. It’s amazing how much kids love these.
Puzzles are such fun for kids of all ages! Happy holidays.
WE LOVE a good old fashioned pen and Paper to play tic tac toe and. Hangman but I am so glad you shared all these options as we can always add new toys and games to our travel playlist!
Glad you liked these ideas Melissa! Happy travels.
My friend has the FujiFilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Camera and loves it. I will have to look at getting one for my oldest for Christmas.
Cameras are so much fun for kids. Happy holidays.
Traveling can be so boring for kids. These are great ideas. We love to play car games when we are on a long trip.
Thanks Oriana, we love to play car games too.
The Nintendo 3DS is perfect in the car. I have a few new games I got the kids for Christmas.
It definitely makes for a quiet car trip!
These are great! It is so important to have things that will keep the kids busy while traveling. It can be very boring for them.
Totally agree with you Christina. So hard to relax when kids are bored and cranky. Happy travels.
What a bunch of great ideas to get kids excited about traveling! we have that vtech camera and love it!
Thanks Reesa!!! That vtech camera looks amazing. Happy travels.
I love that camera! I’ve had my eye on it for quite some time!
Great selection of games and toys. Scrabble remains an all time favorite. Monopoly is another one 🙂 .
You can’t go wrong with classics like Scrabble and Monopoly!
Great lists . We’re always planning on long road trips with our child. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you found a few fun things for your next family road trip!