Creative Ways to Keep Kids Busy During Long Trips

Are you putting off family travel because you’re worried about your kids complaining of boredom in the car, plane, or train?

Just like most obstacles in parenting, a little training and creativity can get you a long way. 

With some practice and the right activities, you can keep kids entertained on long trips and avoid restlessness, no matter how far away your travel destination is. 

Preparing an Entertainment Kit for Each Child

The first order of business is to make an entertainment bag for each child, especially if you’ll be stuck in a small place (i.e., airplane) for several hours. 

Choosing age-appropriate items

For younger kids, expect to pack more hands-on items, such as sticker books, pop-it toys, and watercolor books.

School-aged children will enjoy activity books with mazes and Sudoku, travel art kits for drawing, and travel MAGNA-TILES. 

Older kids and teens can entertain themselves with reading, solo strategy games, or craft kits without a lot of pieces, such as the Woobles crochet kits.  

No matter the child’s age, it’s a good idea to pack things that are new to them (if you’re on a budget, thrift stores often have treasures) and to pace the items throughout the travel time. 

For example, if I packed my preschooler, say, five activities for a three-hour plane ride, I might encourage her to stick with an activity for longer than usual or wait quietly for 10 to 15 minutes before she’s allowed to see the next activity. 

This stretches your entertainment kit so you don’t burn through everything in the first hour of the trip. 

Using compact and lightweight items

Items in your entertainment kit need to be lightweight and all fit into your child’s carry-on. 

Look for items that are travel-sized or just reduce the amount of an item you bring. For example, don’t bring your child’s 64-count box of crayons. Just pack a small bag of them instead. 

Ideally, your child will carry their own bag so you aren’t stuck with extra things to manage as you fly. For long road trips, you have a little more flexibility as to how much you can pack. 

Organizing kits for easy access

My golden rule for keeping things organized is “bags within bags.”

These clear, mesh bags can organize pencils and art supplies, game pieces, snacks, and more. Use bigger mesh bags to separate out activities, and encourage your child to pull out one bag at a time. 

This also keeps your travel bag organized so you aren’t scrambling to put the whole thing back in order when the plane lands. 

Tech-Based Entertainment Options

Technology is useful for keeping kids busy on long travel days, but use it strategically. 

When my family travels, I tell my kids that we won’t pull out our devices until we’re an hour into the trip. For longer trips, I also implement a one-hour break after an hour and a half of screen time. 

This helps prevent restlessness and keeps my kids from getting grumpy from too much screen time. 

Tablets and apps for kids

There are lots of fun apps for kids, and many that encourage learning at the same time. Look for apps that don’t rely on an internet connection to work, such as Sago Mini games, Dr. Panda games, Thinkrolls, Cut the Rope, and Minecraft. 

Don’t forget a comfortable pair of noise-cancelling headphones, too. Wired headphones can be more convenient since you don’t have to charge them — just make sure your tablet has a headphone jack or use a dongle. 

Audiobooks and podcasts

Audiobooks and podcasts also help travel time go faster. 

Some books are fun for the whole family, like the Harry Potter series or the Henry Huggins series. However, listening as a family is easiest when you’re driving together or have downtime at the hotel. 

Here are a few great audiobook choices for solo listening — use a free trial from Audible to get a book for free:

• Toddlers and preschoolers: Winnie the Pooh series, Frog and Toad collection, Beatrix Potter collection  
• Early elementary: Green Ember series, Charlotte’s Web, Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon
• Upper elementary: Chronicles of Narnia, My Side of the Mountain, The Wild Robot
• Middle schoolers: A Wrinkle in Time, Echo, Bomb
• High schoolers: Hunger Games, Boys in the Boat, Ender’s Game

Podcasts are good options for older kids, too:

• Wow in the World: Fun, science-based podcast answering the odd questions of the world, such as why certain sounds trigger some of us, or why do you get a brain freeze? 
• Story Pirates: This podcast takes stories written by kids and turns them into comedy sketches and songs. It has several celebrity guest appearances. 
• Anytime Now: From the creators of Honest History magazines, this podcast features fun and unique history stories you won’t find in textbooks. 

Portable video players or streaming services

Depending on which streaming service you have, you might be able to download shows and movies to your app for offline viewing. 

Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime, and Youtube all allow downloading for certain shows with paid memberships. 

Hands-On Activities for Travel

When you don’t want to rely on screens, pack travel-sized activities that store easily in your child’s carry on. 

Ideally, these should be items they don’t play with regularly or are new to them, keeping them engaged longer. 

Travel-sized games and puzzles

Any magnetic game or puzzle keeps small pieces from getting lost or moving around too much. Hasbro makes magnetic game versions of Sorry!, Guess Who?, Trouble, and Connect 4.

For younger children who should stay away from magnets, try activity boards that allow small hands to safely drag and drop the magnets within an enclosed board. 

Small logic puzzle games are also enjoyable for a wide-range of ages.

Coloring books and activity pads

Art supplies are fun for most kids and creativity can calm them during stressful travel days.

While older children can enjoy a drawing book and colored pencils, younger ones will need mess-free options. Crayola makes mess-free coloring sets and Melissa and Doug have several reusable sticker pads options and paint with water books. 

DIY crafts and creative kits

Craft kits are another way to keep hands busy, but they often come with many pieces. 

Look for small kits from craft stores that contain everything you need for one project. Avoid kits with glue, sequins, beads, or other tiny pieces. 

Older children and teens can enjoy their hand at origami, crocheting, or knitting. You can also try using online tutorials to help them. 

Interactive Family Games

Make some memories and prioritize family time in the car or while waiting at the airport.

Classic road trip games

Easy road trip games anyone can play are 20 Questions, I Spy, Would You Rather, and the License Plate game. You can even print a travel Bingo card for everyone beforehand, adding fun things like “a dog sticking its head out the window,” or “Dad stopping at every rest stop.”

Trivia and storytelling

Another fun idea for the whole family is a list of age-appropriate trivia questions. You might base it off the place you’re traveling to, or just fun facts you think your kids should know. Up the ante by offering small candy rewards.

Additionally, you can pass time with collaborative storytelling. Have each person in the car add a line to the story. Encourage everyone to go with the flow, no matter how crazy the story gets!

Music playlists and singalongs

Create a playlist before you go with a mix of everyone’s favorite songs. Don’t forget the classics your family loves to belt together — the Lion King soundtrack is always a favorite for our family.

Strategies for Managing Restlessness

No matter how many fun things you plan to distract from the long travel time, there’s bound to be some restlessness. Here’s how to manage and minimize it. 

Scheduling frequent breaks

If you’re driving, look up parks along the way where you can get some energy out. For flights, try booking your trip to include a layover rather than a solid block of flying time. 

Snacks as entertainment

Pack a variety of snacks, both healthy and fun, to break up the monotony of the trip. For long travel days, I like finding interesting snacks and drinks that I wouldn’t normally have around the house. 

Rotating activities

It’s important not to pull out all of your activities and snacks at once. Instead, help your child pace through them. I try to get at least 45 minutes out of each activity, if not longer.

READ MORE: Packing Tips for Stress-Free Family Travel

Entertainment Tips for Different Ages

It might take a few trips to develop your family’s personalized, stress-free travel plan and to feel confident in knowing the best items to bring.

In general, the younger the child, the more hands-on activities you should plan to pack. 

Toddlers and preschoolers

Yes, this age group needs the most tactile activities to keep them busy. But on the flip side, they’re also the most impressed by simple items or toys. 

Pack items like stacking toys, pop-it fidgets, or allow them to draw on a package of sticky notes or make characters out of their snack trash.

School-aged kids

For our trip to Washington, D.C., we bought our girls a stuffed animal and journal. They kept a travel diary as if they were their stuffed animal. 

Hand-held puzzles and trivia cards, like the ones from Brain Quest, will keep their minds engaged without needing to rely on you or tech.

Tweens and teens

Tweens and teens should be able to keep themselves busy with e-books and music, but if you want to help them make the most of their time, give them a notebook with journaling or drawing prompts. 

You might also try a photography challenge they can complete with a phone or a digital camera. 

FAQs About Entertaining Kids on Long Trips

How do I keep toddlers entertained on a long flight without screens?

It is possible to keep toddlers entertained on a long flight without screens, but you’ll need to be prepared to be their entertainment for a good portion of the trip. 

It’s also a good idea to train them before the trip to be less reliant on screens — i.e. limit screen time to 30 minutes a day or less. 

While you’re waiting for your flight, walk with them around the airport or have them do squats and jumping jacks with you to burn some energy. 

What are the best games for siblings to play together during a road trip?

Some good games for siblings include I Spy and the Alphabet Game: Either finding different letters on billboards and license plates, or by naming items in order from A to Z for different categories like fruit, towns, or cars.

How do I manage screen time limits during long journeys?

The best way to manage screen time on travel days is by not starting your trip with screens, then setting timers when you break them out.

I like to set a threshold for when the screens come out, usually at least an hour or more into the trip. I let my children know ahead of time that screens will not come out until a certain time, and they are responsible for keeping themselves busy until then. 

What are some quiet activities to keep kids occupied on trains or buses?

Most kids love to draw, color, or do activity books. Older kids can read or do mess-free crafts such as crocheting, finger knitting, or origami. 

Kids can also be encouraged to rest their eyes or nap, which can help make the travel time go faster. 

Bottom Line: Planning for Long Trips

Long trips can be challenging when you’re trying to stay on schedule while also keeping children entertained and comfortable. Planning ahead can save you a lot of stress. 

Remember — the more practice you and your kids have at traveling, the better everyone gets at it. If your first vacation doesn’t go smoothly, don’t count out vacations for good! 

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