In a nutshell
- We travel around the world with our two kids and know which travel games for kids actually help minimize the stress factor.
- Our general take: less is more, and at the destination, kids hardly need any toys. That said, it’s still worth having the right “life-savers” on hand on the plane, train, in the car, or at a restaurant.
- Our top 3: If we had to choose, it would be: Uno Junior, Plus-Plus building blocks, and the Galakto boxes.
Drawing & Stickers: Creative Ways to Beat Boredom
Drawing and sticker supplies are some of our favorite travel games for kids. We sometimes even pick up coloring books once we’ve arrived at our destination.
You can easily bring them along anywhere since they don’t take up much space — on a plane, in the car, or at a restaurant. For us, they’re simply some of the most hassle-free travel activities for kids on the road.
Drawing Pad
These digital drawing boards are genuinely always with us because they take up almost no space. The kids can draw as many pictures as they want without us lugging around stacks of paper.
One press of a button and it’s all gone! We love using them at restaurants for a round of Tic-Tac-Toe or Pictionary while we wait for the food.
Scratch Art Drawing Block
The concept is totally fascinating: you scratch away the black layer with a wooden stylus and bright colors appear underneath. This usually keeps our kids occupied for a really long time on long drives.
But a small fair warning between us: Basti hates the sound! So if scratching noises give you goosebumps too, you might want to have the kids play with this one in the back of the car.
Check out the scratch art drawing block
Wipe-Clean Book
Honestly, we’ve lost count of how many times our kids have worked through these books. The pages are coated so you can wipe everything clean with the special pen and start all over again.
Perfect for little puzzles or tracing exercises — if something goes wrong, it’s no big deal, just wipe it away.
Check out our wipe-clean books
Sticker Books
Stickers are always a winner! Especially for younger kids, peeling and sticking is a great activity that really helps them settle down.
They come in great travel-friendly sizes that fit in any bag. We almost always have one packed as an “emergency joker.”
Paint by Numbers
This is a fantastic pick for kids who like structured drawing or are just starting to get interested in numbers.
It helps them stay patient and gives them a real piece of artwork to show at the end — a wonderful focus activity for rainy days or long waits.
Water Coloring Books
This is the “magical” and above all mess-free way to color. The colors only appear when touched by a wet brush or pen.
Once the page dries, the picture disappears and the fun starts all over again. The huge advantage when traveling: clothes and upholstery on the plane or in the car are guaranteed to stay clean!
Check out our water coloring books
Puzzles & Brain Teasers: Brain Workouts for Little Explorers
Puzzles are our go-to travel activities for kids when they need to wind down on a trip. These compact road trip games for children keep them genuinely busy on a plane or in the car — and they’re quietly training their concentration without even realizing it.
T-Puzzle
A real brain workout for the older ones (ages six and up). With just a few wooden pieces it looks so simple, but it’s a genuine challenge for spatial thinking.
Our son loves it — and honestly, we parents end up puzzling over it just as competitively.
Perplexus
An absolute hit with us! Inside this ball is an entire 3D maze through which you have to maneuver a small marble.
It requires an incredibly steady hand and a lot of patience — and it’s almost addictive because you always want to get a little further than last time.
That said, the ball only makes it onto our kids’ packing list when we’re traveling by car, flying to visit family, or when we won’t be out and about much at our destination. Otherwise, it’s just a bit too bulky for us.
Maze Books
Our son loves these books! Finding the right path through the winding routes is a great concentration exercise.
On a plane or in the car, it’s a wonderfully calm activity where the kids can completely lose themselves in their own little world.
Smart Games
Smart Games have become our top pick for when the kids really want to sit down and work through something on their own.
These little logic games are super compact, making them perfect car games for kids — whether in the car, at a restaurant, or in the hotel.
What we love about them: they keep the kids busy for a long time without us constantly needing to help, and they’re genuinely great brain training at the same time.
Card & Board Games
Small card and board games are our classic vacation standbys. As space-saving travel games for kids, we almost always have one with us no matter where we’re headed — perfect for waiting around, restaurant visits, or evenings at the hotel.
Memory
Memory is one of our all-time favorite travel games for kids. It’s simple, compact, and quick to play. You don’t need much space, the rules are instantly understood, and even younger kids can join in without any trouble.
It was one of the very first games both of our kids ever played. We have two versions: a memory card game and one made of thicker cardboard so the pieces don’t blow away when we want to play outside.
Both fit easily in carry-on luggage and are perfect for planes, trains, or restaurants.
We received both memory games as gifts, but this is the one we love to give:
Charades
When the kids need to burn off a little energy but there’s no room to run around, charades is perfect.
Acting out words using only gestures regularly has our whole family in fits of laughter. And you need absolutely nothing for it except imagination.
Uno
The ultimate classic. We feel like we have Uno in every bag: in the car, in the restaurant bag, in the carry-on.
The Junior version is easy enough for little ones to understand right away, and you can always squeeze in a round no matter where you’re stuck waiting.
Dobble
Dobble is the perfect speed game. You have to find the matching symbol on two cards as fast as possible. It’s sturdy, compactly packaged in its little tin, and is a blast for both adults and kids. Great for training reaction time!
Mensch ärgere dich nicht
We love the travel version because it’s magnetic. That way the pieces stay in place even when the train jolts or the car takes a sharp turn.
And the best part: the die is enclosed in a small clear plastic dome in the center that you simply spin with your finger to roll. Never lose the die again!
We first brought it along on our South Africa road trip. South Africa was our second travel destination on our parental leave trip with a toddler. And since then it’s come along with us to so many countries.
Check out our Mensch-Ärger-Dich-Nicht game
Building & Construction: Creative Worlds in Mini Format
Building sets can also make excellent travel games for kids — as long as they’re compact.
These space-saving picks keep the kids genuinely busy on the road and work great in the car, on a train, or on a plane. For us, they’re truly some of the best travel activities for kids out there.
Magnetic Building Blocks
These blocks are brilliant because the magnets make them almost hold themselves together.
The kids can build amazing 3D houses or towers, and when playtime is over they stack completely flat and pack away in almost no space. Perfect for creative breaks on the road.
Check out our magnetic building set for on the go
Plus-Plus Building Blocks
When we’re traveling with really minimal luggage, Plus-Plus pieces are our first choice.
They’re tiny, feather-light, and you can build both flat and three-dimensionally with them. The possibilities are endless and they spark creativity in the smallest of spaces.
Plus-Plus also comes in a large size for little hands or for when you want to build something bigger. We only bring the large Plus-Plus pieces along when we’re traveling by car, though.
On flights with kids, we only take the small Plus-Plus. Still, we didn’t want to leave it out, because it’s also a fantastic game for at home or a great gift for other kids.
Check out the small Plus-Plus building blocks
Check out the large Plus-Plus building blocks
Interactive Books
Interactive books are a welcome addition during quiet moments on the road. Especially on planes or in the car, they provide relaxed entertainment and are incredibly practical as vacation toys. Particularly for younger kids, they’re a genuine favorite.
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The smart pen is a perennial favorite with us. The kids can keep themselves busy with it forever, because the pen reads stories aloud, makes sounds, or explains games.
There are now also great smaller books that are ideal for travel.
Creativity & Movement: Little Gadgets for Big Explorers
These little travel gadgets for toddlers are often our lifesavers on the road. They fit in any bag and work just about anywhere — perfect when we spontaneously need something to keep the kids busy and are looking for a simple, no-fuss activity on the go.
Post-it's
Super simple hack: pack a set of colorful sticky notes. You can stick faces on the seat backs on the plane, make patterns, or hide little messages.
They peel off without leaving any residue and the kids almost always find it absolutely hilarious.
Stacking Cups
We always had these with us on longer trips — for stacking, playing in the water, building towers, making obstacle courses for toy cars. The kids can get really creative with them, and since they nest inside each other, they take up almost no space.
Small Cars
A classic that never gets old. Our kids get to pick two little cars before every trip.
The tray tables on the plane or the armrests in the car quickly become race tracks.
Music & Audiobooks: Relaxing Entertainment for the Ears
Audio stories are a seriously underrated travel activity for kids — especially in the car or when we’re doing something they don’t find quite as exciting.
That way they have their own entertainment and we can browse through a museum or shop at a relaxed pace. Plus, it’s space-saving entertainment that simply always works.
Galaktobox
The Galaktobox does everything that always bothered us about the Toniebox. Sorry, Toniebox fans. The Galaktobox is much smaller, and for travel it’s even enough to just bring the top part without the speaker portion.
It’s much easier for the kids to operate and comes with really great tokens for music and audio stories. The kids can independently plug their headphones in with a cable all by themselves.
Ever since we started bringing the Galaktoboxes on trips, the kids sit through almost every car ride in their travel car seats with their Galaktoboxes, perfectly happy.
Extra Travel Games with No Equipment: Our Waiting-Time Games
Honestly: not every travel game for kids needs to be packed. These activities work without any materials and still provide genuinely great entertainment on vacation or at the airport. That way we always have something to play — with zero extra luggage.
I Spy: The ultimate classic for in-between moments when nothing else is working. One person secretly picks something out (like a red car or a cloud) and the others have to guess. The best part: you need absolutely nothing for it and it keeps the kids wonderfully distracted on a long drive.
Word Chain: A really fun way to pass the time. One person says a word, for example “apple.” The next word has to start with the last letter — so “elephant” would follow “apple.” It goes on forever and is just as fun for the grown-ups.
Categories (Stadt, Land, Fluss): We loved this one as kids! All you need is paper and a pen. You pick categories (like animals, names, or travel destinations) and whoever finds words starting with the chosen letter fastest wins. Great for school-age kids who love a little competition.
Number Scramble: Perfect when the kids are learning numbers or enjoy drawing. Write the numbers 1 to 20 (or higher) randomly scattered across a piece of paper. Your child then has to connect them in the right order. A great focus activity for quiet moments.
Travel Bingo: This actually gets the kids to look out the window instead of at a screen. Everyone gets a list of things you might spot outside — like a wind turbine, a cow, or a yellow car. Whoever finds and checks off everything first shouts “Bingo!”
Hum That Tune: Time to get musical! One person hums or whistles the melody of a well-known song or kids’ movie theme and the others have to guess what it is. This one almost always puts everyone in a good mood and gets the whole family laughing.
Who Am I? A great guessing game. One person thinks of a person or animal and the others have to figure out who it is by asking yes-or-no questions. “Do you have fur?”, “Can you fly?” It’s amazing how creative the kids get!
Tic-Tac-Toe: The quick head-to-head for any spare moment. Two lines vertical, two horizontal — and you’re off. Whoever gets three circles or crosses in a row first wins. Takes seconds on any small piece of paper or even drawn in the sand.
