The Best Toys, Activities and Hacks to Keep Toddlers Entertained While Travelling

Toddlers are curious, energetic and easily bored. Add in the confined space of an airplane seat or the long stretches of sitting in a car, and you’ve got a recipe for restlessness — and a lot of parental stress.

Having a handful of well-chosen activities ready makes a real difference. It reduces meltdowns (bored toddlers are cranky toddlers), helps time pass faster for both of you, keeps them mentally engaged without overstimulation, and turns travel into a more positive memory for everyone involved.

The trick isn’t bringing everything — it’s bringing the right things.

1. Sticker Books

Sticker books are hands-down one of the most versatile travel toys. Freddy will happily spend ages peeling, sticking and resticking — the key is to get reusable sticker books so the fun doesn’t end once all the stickers are placed.

2. Water Wow! Colouring Books

If you’ve never used one of these, they are genuine game changers. The water pen reveals hidden colours on the pages, and when the page dries your toddler can start all over again. No crayons, no markers, no mess. Small, flat and endlessly repeatable.

I usually bring two and rotate them so Freddy doesn’t get bored too quickly.

3. Magnetic Play Sets

Magnets are brilliant for travel because they don’t slide around or fall off tray tables. Sets with magnetic dress-up dolls, vehicles or storyboards let kids get creative without pieces scattering everywhere. One of the most stress-free options in the bag.

4. Interactive Books

Lift-the-flap books and touch-and-feel stories keep toddlers engaged longer than standard picture books. Pick small, lightweight favourites and rotate them so they feel new during the trip — even a book they’ve seen before becomes fresh again when it appears mid-flight.

5. Fidget Toys and Busy Boards

Toddlers love repetition — snapping buckles, zipping zippers, spinning gears. A compact busy board or even a single fidget toy gives their hands something purposeful to do during long stretches of sitting. Worth its weight.

6. Snacks as Entertainment

This one is seriously underrated. Snacks can become an activity. A small bento box with different compartments turns snack time into a game of discovery. Stringing Cheerios onto a shoelace makes a snack necklace that buys you at least twenty minutes. Even passing one cracker at a time stretches the entertainment factor considerably.

7. Travel-Friendly Games

For older toddlers, matching cards or wipe-clean activity cards are a hit — compact and reusable. And don’t underestimate the classics. I Spy, Simon Says and the alphabet game don’t require packing anything extra and can be lifesavers when waiting in long airport queues.

8. Screen Time — Used Strategically

Let’s be honest: sometimes the easiest thing on a long flight is a downloaded episode of their favourite show. I always download a few options in advance and bring child-safe headphones. The trick is to save screen time for when you genuinely need it — like the last two hours of a long-haul when all else has failed. Use it too early and you’ve burned your best card.

Even the best toys won’t help if you overpack or bring things that are too complicated to manage mid-journey. These are the rules I follow:

• Rotate activities. Don’t pull everything out at once. Introduce one toy at a time and keep a couple hidden for emergencies.
• Keep it compact. Go for flat, lightweight items over bulky toys every time.
• Think multi-use. A scarf can double as a blanket, a peek-a-boo game, or a pillow. The less single-purpose the item, the better.
• Use the surprise factor. Save a brand-new toy or book for the hardest part of the trip — mid-flight or the customs queue. Novelty buys you time.
• Pack in pouches. Small zip bags or packing cubes let you grab something quickly without digging through your whole bag at 35,000 feet.

Long-haul flying with a toddler deserves its own section. These are my go-to strategies:

• Walk the aisles. When it’s safe, take little strolls to break up the sitting. Even five minutes standing at the galley resets a restless toddler.
• Window stickers. Gel window clings stick to airplane windows and peel off easily. Toddlers love rearranging them — cheap, lightweight, genuinely brilliant.
• Practise headphones before you go. Get your toddler comfortable wearing kid-sized headphones at home before the trip so they’re not a battle at 30,000 feet.
• Bring their sleep setup. A familiar blanket, stuffed animal or small pillow from home makes sleeping on the plane significantly more likely.

Road trips with toddlers come with a different set of challenges. Here’s what works best:

• Spill-proof snack containers. A non-negotiable. Snack cups that don’t tip save your sanity and your car seats.
• Sing-alongs. Simple nursery rhymes or a solid playlist can keep them engaged for ages and costs nothing.
• Toy rotation bag. Keep a bag of small toys within reach and swap them out every hour or so. Novelty is everything.
• Activity tray. A travel tray that straps to a car seat makes colouring, stickers and magnetic play manageable in the car.

It’s not just planes and cars — sometimes the hardest part is waiting for food at a restaurant or standing in a long queue. My non-negotiables for these moments:

• Mini colouring pad with crayons. Small enough to live permanently at the bottom of the bag. Earns you the time you need for food to arrive.
• A fidget toy. One small, quiet, hand-held toy goes a long way in a restaurant.
• A snack. Because food always takes forever when you’re two and hunger arrives without warning.

Even a few pipe cleaners or a tiny toy car can buy you precious minutes of calm. Never underestimate the small stuff.

Through trial and error — mostly error — I’ve learned some toys are better left at home entirely:

• Anything with lots of tiny pieces. They will disappear within minutes and you will spend the rest of the flight looking for them.
• Messy supplies. Markers, glue and Play-Doh in confined spaces is a disaster waiting to happen. Leave them at home.
• Noisy toys. Your fellow passengers will not forgive you. And frankly, neither will you after hour three.
• Too many bulky items. They just weigh you down and take up space you need for the things that actually work.