Fun Travel Activities

Uncover the most popular and fun travel activities for the whole family! I’ll show you the most popular travel activities for toddlers, kids, teens, and adults, ensuring that everyone has something to look forward to during your trips.

So whether you’re trying to keep the family entertained during a long car drive or looking for ways to pass the time at the airport, read on for a fantastic selection of options that will make your travel experiences even more enjoyable and memorable.

Keeping a toddler engaged during a long day of travel can be challenging, especially when relying solely on screen time and naps. Discover the most popular toddler travel activities to make your little one’s journey more enjoyable.

This travel game is great for kids during a long car or train ride. Or even while out exploring a new city! I love that it gets kids engaging with the world and new sights around them. Plus, it gets a bit competitive with siblings too, or even parents that can’t help but join in. And if you’re tight on space, a hack is to take pictures of each of the cards before the trip so you can still use them when the chance comes up.

This adorable owl sensory puzzle is like a brain teaser toy mixed with a stuffed animal for toddlers. The variety of buckles, clasps, zippers and buttons is great at keeping kids about 1 year old to 3 years old busy and content on travel days. For added motivation to finish all the buckles, I like to add a small treat to the front pocket that they only get if it’s done. Always works!

When you want to keep your toddler busy with an activity while traveling, but also want them engaged and learning, this is a great option! I love workbooks as a travel activity. Especially like this one from Scholastic that has a lot of different types of activities at the right skill level to keep your toddler wanting to do more.

Ensuring your child stays occupied while traveling is a common concern for parents. Explore these top travel activities for kids, and enjoy some much-needed respite from chasing them around the airport.

This is one of my favorite travel activities to bring along for kids because it is so versatile! It’s perfect for drawing, learning, and playing games, but without the mess of paper and markers everywhere. And the bright LCD display, and fun colors make it an instant hit with kids.

Highlights has really perfected keeping kids entertained with their puzzles, word searches, Sudoku, logic games and more over the years. And this activity book proves it! The activities are unique and entertaining, and you can expect your kids to be glued to this book for hours if they enjoy solving puzzles (who doesn’t!). Also, it makes a great travel activity for kids since it packs up nicely and only need to bring along a pencil.

I love Spot It!, it is such a fun game that the whole family can enjoy. But it is also a great travel activity because it comes in a small tin that can easily fit in a backpack pocket. And this Junior Animals version makes it easier for for younger kids to spot the difference, which is a great. Another plus with this game is that there are different variations of the game you can switch between so you don’t get bored.

While most teens gravitate towards their phones to pass the time during lengthy travel days, there are plenty of alternative travel activities to keep them entertained. Browse through our list of the best travel activities for teens and provide them with engaging alternatives.

It’s hard for me to think of a game my teen likes more than trivia. This fun trivia card game makes a great travel activity for teens, as it packs away easily. Plus, with more than 400 questions, this will keep your teens (and adults!) busy for any car or plane ride. The only drawback is that because it is a game, they will need someone to play with, so you’ll need to likely get your trivia skills up to speed to!

Use a long travel day to learn or improve a skill, like drawing! This book makes a great travel activity for teens because it is smaller (64 pages) and even comes in a Kindle format option if you’re very tight on space. This way it is super easy to throw in a backpack with a pencil and go. I also love the way the author breaks down the shape of each animal, which makes it really easy to follow and replicate.

This is one of my favorite books of all time, and I read it for the first time while traveling as a teen. It’s an entertaining and easy read which makes it a great vacation activity for a teen. Plus, this version comes with fun illustrations throughout, which helps bring the story to life even more. And honestly, what better travel activity is there than a good book?

For adults seeking a variety of ways to spend their travel time, whether it’s keeping your mind sharp, catching up on reading, or playing a game with your travel group, be sure to check out our selection of travel activity ideas tailored to your interests.

I already mentioned my love of reading as the ultimate travel activity. But having a Kindle to read on is just a whole other level of luxury reading. For example, it can hold enough books for you to bring along any possible type of book that you may be in the mood to read. Also, the battery life is great, so you won’t need to worry about charging it constantly. And the screen and fonts can easily shift for whatever lighting you are in with no glare, or extra big fonts if you forgot your reading glasses. My kindle travels with me everywhere.

I recently went on a cruise, and this is the only game I brought. It’s easy to learn, and it’s fast-paced (unlike the original!) and fun. Plus, it’s a small deck of cards, which makes it super easy to pack. I honestly bring this on most trips, whether it’s to the beach or camping, or longer adventures. The drawback is that you need a table to play on and lay out your cards. So not the best for in cars or planes. Although we have played in airports.

When you’re out of wifi range, or just sick of staring at a screen while traveling, this puzzle book a great break! Every time you solve a puzzle it’s an accomplishment and you feel like you’re dusting out any cobwebs in the corner of your brain. I love the variety of puzzles, and that some of them are easier for me than others. So it’s a good balance, and helps time fly, but also not feel like your idle travel time has been wasted.

Traveling can be a really fun and exciting as you explore new surroundings, but it can also have those duller moments. In those moments, like while on a long car or train ride, waiting in line for a museum, or hanging out in an airport, you can still keep the fun going with a fun travel activity.

Whether it’s playing card games, reading books, or solving puzzles, these travel activities can make your trip even more enjoyable. Playing card games like Spot it! or Monopoly Deal can be a great way to entertain your whole travel group or pass the time during long trips. Books can take you away to different places before your plane has even taken off. And puzzles can be a good way to challenge yourself and make those long hours in the car go by in a flash.

If you do these fun travel activities during your trip, you can easily pass the time and enjoy every moment of your travels (even those normally dull moments).