7 Fun Travel Games and Activities

 If you’re always stuck for things to do to help keep kids amused and entertained when travelling, here are some great travel games ideas to help make everyone happy when on the go!  A top tip is to take a sheet of stickers, or have plenty of loose change, a bag of small candies, or some small party favours in your bag to be used as little prizes for some of the games.

I-Spy

An absolute classic that can be played any time and any place and also helps children to be more aware of their surroundings, I-Spy can be played with just you and your child (if travelling with one kid only) or can include multiple people.  It’s so versatile and requires absolutely no pre-planning or equipment at all!

Find here game instructions

Fill a Matchbox

This is great for park visits and when spending time in forests, on beaches, and pretty much anywhere that is outdoors.  Give each child a matchbox or another similar small container.  The aim is for kids to fill the box with as many different items as they can.  For example a coin, a small pebble, a shell, a leaf … it will really make them hunt around for the smallest things they can find!  You could either set a time limit on the activity or give them until you leave the place.  Count each child’s number of items at the end of the game.  Make sure you have wet wipes and antibacterial hand gel too!

Bingo / Car Bingo

You can play a basic game of bingo with little more than some paper and pens / pencils.  Have kids choose their own set of numbers, say, any 6 numbers between 1 and 30.  You can then read numbers at random and they mark them off.  The first child to mark off all their numbers wins the round.  You can repeat several times, maybe alternating the caller.  It helps if the caller writes all the numbers down and crosses them off themselves as shouted to prevent confusion!

If you are going to be spending a fair amount of time in a car / bus / train you can plan ahead a little and print some sheets for “car bingo”.  Combine pictures and words (depending on the age of your children) and kids must mark off the things when they see them.  The first one to complete their sheet wins for the day.  If you laminate your pages and use wipeable pens you can reuse these every time you take transport.

Active Fun

Kids can get quite restless when travelling – they have so much excess energy that needs to be burnt off!  Make sure that, when self-driving, you plan plenty of stops.  When travelling by bus you are a lot more restricted, so make sure that you make full use of the rest stops.   Pack a small soft ball, frisbee, skipping rope, or any other sports equipment that can be easily used and doesn’t take up a lot of space.  On rest stops your kids can have a quick game of catch, kick the ball around, play with the frisbee, or even take turns holding the rope for a little skipping competition!  There are many possibilities; the aim is to get kids moving a bit and to let them have fun.  These pieces of equipment can also be fab when on the beach or in a park.

Magnetic Board Games

Board games can help children have fun whilst playing together for quite some time!  Having a couple of small travel board games can be great at any time.  The magnetic ones mean that pieces don’t easily get lost.

Hangman

Another simple but effective way of keeping kids occupied when on the go is to have a few games of hangman.  This is also perfect for helping kids with their literacy.  All you need is paper and a pen / pencil.

FlyingKids’ Travel Guides

Check out the Kids’ Travel Guide full catalog here – Packed full of interesting information, top tips, fascinating facts, lovely pictures, diary entries, and numerous tasks, quizzes, games, puzzles, and other activities, your kids can spend time getting to know more about the place they are visiting and completing any daily activities from that day or the previous day.

There are so many ways to keep kids happy on the go – sometimes, you just need a little imagination and a few basic items and you’re all good to go!