When traveling with toddlers, entertainment is definitely important and should be at the top of your list when planning for your trip! Nothing is harder than having a tired, or over-tired toddler, with nothing to entertain them with. Enter stage left: my best toys for traveling with toddlers!

Below you’ll find a list of my daughter’s favorite toys for traveling! I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t from our travels with her and I hope this helps you feel prepared!

Disclosure: This post does include affiliate links.

How do we carry all the toys?

You might be wondering, where do we keep it all? Well, we don’t. Ivy carries her own little backpack with most her toys, and she does pretty well with carrying it the whole time. She rarely asks us to carry it. I recommend letting the child help pick out the backpack, (even if it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing choice ;), because they’ll be more willing to carry it! Obviously, babies can’t carry their own pack, but babies also sleep most the time and don’t need a lot of entertaining toys. By the time the child needs more entertainment, they can usually carry most of it themselves, aside from the bigger items!

Toys with Suction Cups

These types of toys are perfect for tray tables and windows, which also helps keep them secure so that they don’t fall underneath the seat (trust me, I’ve been there reaching as far as I can underneath my seat for a small toy haha)! Here are a few options!

Click here to look at suction cup spinners!

Click here to look at Fatbrain suction cup toys!

Water Wow Coloring Books

These are an absolute favorite for my daughter and myself (they’re actually pretty fascinating hah!) and there are so many options for characters/themes! The best part is that they just use water and when they dry, they’re reusable! It’s a win win! I would say these are best for ages 2+ but a 1 year old could also enjoy them! This is definitely one of the best toys for traveling with toddlers in my opinion!

Here’s a three pack option with a farm one, sea animal one and a safari one!

Here’s another option with sports, dinos and construction!

There’s a lot of options, but I love the Melissa and Doug brand!

Cars

I know cars are cliche, but they keep my daughter busy for so long and that’s a big win! Any hotwheels will do, and they’re inexpensive!

Here’s a set for $13.99!

Books

Another great entertainer are books. Books can be hard to pack but it’s always worth squeezing a couple in. Fabric books or the indestructible books are a good option here.

These are geared towards kids under 18 months

These are best for older toddlers and aren’t fabric: Indestructible books

Little board books are a great option for toddlers as well! My daughter loves these puppet ones! Here’s a couple:

Daddy and Me

I am a Tiger

Baby Kitten

Stickers!

My daughter is a sticker lover and stickers are super cheap! Bring a little notebook or something that they can stick them on and it will be a great form of entertainment. This obviously works best if they’re at an age where they can follow directions and know not to stick them on stuff they’re not supposed to 🙂

These puffy sticker kits with backgrounds are reusable and easy for toddler fingers to pull off and use! $7.99 each or 3 for $24!

Coloring/drawing Materials

Kids love to color! Whether its drawing or coloring, depending on the age of the child, it’s always best to pick something that is easy to clean and won’t make a mess! This is why I love the water wow coloring books from above! But if your child wants to color, I would recommend this LCD writing tablet! No mess which is what we want, right?

Other small trinkets!

One final tip which my daughter loves is to have small gifts wrapped for her to have when we go on a roadtrip or airplane! She looks forward to opening them and we use them as rewards when she’s good. It’s great motivation for good behavior!

Things like small animal figurines (farm animals), cars, stickers etc. are great for this!

Screen Time

This is a huge debate among parents, and I get it. I used to be the parent that said my child would never have screen time. But then I became a mom, and that changed. Not because I don’t care, but believe that in moderation it can be a huge help. Screen time on travel days can be a HUGE help and distraction for over-tired kids. I’ve seen the benefit and it can’t be argued in my opinion. Especially when screen time is sparsely used on the every day, it’s super special for the kid on travel days. I definitely recommend giving in and letting them have a bit of time with their favorite show. NO GUILT mama!

In line with screen time, these are the best headphones for kids! My daughter loves them so so much!

One more last idea!

Make sure to sneak in their favorite candy or snack in case you need some last minute entertainment + a dose of happiness haha! Maybe sneak in your favorite candy too, mama! You deserve it!!