Best Travel Games for long journeys with kids
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Table of Contents
Best Travel Games for Kids
Travel Games are an essential item if you’re travelling with kids on a long journey. You need games to keep kids occupied and busy so you can keep your eyes on the road or even relax on your long journey! When it comes to keeping kids entertained on road trips, on ferries, planes or even during the evening in hotel rooms, you need travel games for kids to be engaging but not overly complicated, easy to pack and versatile to play on a variety of surfaces. But travel games don’t just have to be for kids – the best travel games are also fun for adults. There are plenty of amazing travel games for kids that adults will love just as much. These are the best kind of travel games that can be whipped out in a delay at the departure gate or on even at a restaurant on holiday. You can see our other screen free ways to entertain kids on a long journey here and if you’re travelling with babies, the ultimate checklist for flying is a must read!
And there’s lots of Free Fun Printables for kids to do in the car on this page.
Here’s our round up of the Best Travel Games for Long Journeys.
Best Travel Games for Long Journeys Ages 4+
Dino Dump (age 5+)
Dino Dump is currently my kids favourite game! Dino Dump is a small card game so it’s perfect for travel. To win, you must lose all your Dino Cards as fast as possible. Get caught with any in your hand at the end and you’ll have to wear the scratch-n-sniff, dino-poo sticker! As you can imagine, kids find this game totally hilarious – anything to do with poo is a winner for my kids! The only thing is you will need a table surface for this one so it’s better suited to playing on a plane or on a ferry.
OK Play (age 5+)
OK Play is a travel game which is a little like Connect 4 but played flat. There are two things that make OK Play stand out from the crowd. One is its ultra-portability. There is no box and the pieces are carried with a carabiner at the top, so you can easily hang them up. The pieces are hard plastic, meaning that they can be played indoor or out and are washable so be played in any weather. The second is, as it’s small, it can fit in any bag easily! You’ll love this printable passport for kids to keep them occupied on a long journey!
Dobble (age 5+)
Dobble is a card game, easily stored in a tin and on each card are 8 different symbols. All you have to do is be the first to spot and name out loud your matching symbol but it’s sometimes harder than it sounds! There are 5 different suggested games that you can play and it’s designed for kids of all ages which makes it a perfect family game for travel. It’s an observational game where kids can beat adults too which makes them feel super special!
Voxblock Screen Free Audiobook Player
A must-have for kids on long journeys is an audiobook, we love our Voxblock audio player which enables kids to pause or change your audiobook at any time, and return to where you left off the next time you listen. What I loved was that the Voxblock is that it’s screen free and ready to play right out of the box, with no wifi or setup required – there are hundreds of titles and series from Alex Rider to Horrible Histories to classics such as Oliver Twist or Peter Pan. It’s designed for kids, and made to last all the rough and tumble kids can throw at it as it has a sturdy, colourful case to protect it. The voxblock is small enough to carry with you wherever you go, whether that be in the car, on a plane, or a train. Plus, the battery lasts for days with just a single charge. Just pick a audiobook, place it in your player and play. Even the youngest of kids can operate it by themselves which makes it perfect for travel because you don’t have to rely on a grown up to change the audio book. Find out more about the Voxblock here.
Headphones
The JBuddies Studio headphones from JLAB are volume limiting, wired and wireless headphones that are ideal for keeping the kids entertained on long car journeys or flights without having to worry about damaging their ears. Both wireless (and wired – Jbuddies for easy movement) are great for travel, whether kids are watching films, listening to music or gaming, they are comfortable, great quality and also are volume limited for kids hearing protection. What I love about these headphones are how compact they fold up and the protective cases they come in which make them perfect for travel!
Best Travel Games for Long Journeys Ages 4+
Spades (5+)Spades, a classic card game ideal for travel, centers on players forming teams to bid and win tricks by strategically playing cards, with spades as the trump suit. It’s an excellent game for kids to develop skills in strategy, teamwork, and arithmetic. The popular platform Spades.co provides a dynamic and interactive way for kids to play and enjoy this game remotely, making it perfect for travel or at-home entertainment.
Sinco Keychain Games
A perfect travel companion to keep kids entertained on a train, plane or even in the car, these keychain games are family favourites in our house! Sinco Creations have created these Keychain games which clip to any bag or keyrings, making them accessible to play on the go, wherever you are! They feature all the classic favourite family friendly games in a mini hard case to protect the game . If you have a trip planned for ages 6+, these keychain games are the best things we’ve found to keep kids entertained and busy in a long journey.
Sneak Peek (age 4+)
Sneak Peek operates very similarly to ‘Snap’ but you find cards that match by colour, symbol or both. You find a match to keep the cards and the winner is the player who has the most cards. There are two fun and fast ways to play! This is one of the Best Travel games for kids, particularly young kids.
Pointz (age 4+)
Pointz (age 4+)
Pointz can be played by young children as well as older kids too. You have to race against the spinner and complete game challenges that make you move, speak, act, think, look and react to win the point! This a great game to play in a restaurant or at an airport. You do need a variety of things around you to have the most fun so it doesn’t always work to play in a car. It’s one of the best travel games for kids to play at an airport on on a ferry! The player with the most Pointz cards wins!
For older kids or when you’ve got Wi-Fi, these browser-based puzzle games are also great to keep them quietly engaged—with no mess, setup, or downloads needed.
Othello Travel Edition (age 5+)
This is one of our kids favourite travel games and they love the full size version too! Othello On The Move is a foldable, travel version of the internationally acclaimed two-player strategy game that you can now enjoy on the move. Othello’s catchphrase ‘it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master!’ Trap and capture your opponent by placing your disks on the board. This is one of my kids favourite games, they love beating each other! It’s a good travel game for the plane as it’s nice and small and packs up quickly. It works well for mixed age groups playing as well. Buy Travel Othello here.
Rummikub (age 7+)
Rummikub needs very little space to play so it’s a great travel game that can be played almost anywhere! It’s like a more immediate, fast paced, Scrabble. It’s an educational word game – so perfect for keeping kids learning in the holidays. I love how it packs away into it’s retro red case neatly, perfect for travelling! This is our kids favourite game to play on a long summer’s evening on holiday. Buy Rummikub here.
UNO (age 5+)
UNO is a complete classic and a kid’s card game that every family should own! What amuses me about UNO is, although there are set rules for the game – everyone seems to have their own so it’s fun playing with friends! It’s quick and easy to learn and is fast paced so works well for kids of all ages!
Best Screen Free Creative Activities for Kids on a journey
Busy Bots (age 18 months+)
I really love these travel busy bags for kids aged 2-6. They are small, neat and easy to carry around. They have some really inventive ideas to keep little ones busy for ages. We tried Puzzled Shapes for my 5 year old and Bugs in Numbers for my 2 year old – kept them both busy for around 40-60 minutes and they regularly asked for it both at home and during the journey. Busy Bots are educational, small to pack and perfect for occupying kids. l will be definitely be investing in some of these for our next road trip! They have unique ideas that I haven’t seen anywhere else such as ‘Ellie’s Equals’ or ‘Fox Sat on the Mat’.
My Little World (age 4+)
My Little World brings together beautifully drawn characters and scenes to create an exciting new role play world that will spark a child’s creativity and imagination. This is a small, easily packed envelope which opens up into a whole world to cut and stick and create. My daughter particularly loved the Space Station Characters and creating a whole world for them to live in. This was started by my kids on a car journey and then finished off over the holiday until they had a whole Space World. What I love about this set is there are also realistic worlds to create – including Edinburgh Castle and Loch Ness as well as Fairy Villages and worlds focusing on the emergency services!
The Dinosaur Creativity Book and The Princess Creativity Book (age 3+)
These are the ultimate in creative colouring books and, trust me, they keep kids busy for HOURS! These kept my kids busy for 3+ hours on a car journey. They have stencils, stickers, colouring sheets, pull out decorated paper to design a Dinosaur (or Princess world). If you’re going to get an activity book – these are the best ones to get for variety of ideas.
Journey Play Prompts (age 2+)
These are super useful cards for a variety of travel situations. They helped us wile away an hour in a ferry queue!
Each journey playPROMPTS contains 100 fun ideas on how to keep your child entertained on any journey – be it a plane, train, boat or car ride – simply pick out a card at random and see what it suggests… It could be a game, a song, or something to look out for – all designed to keep little minds distracted. These are entertaining for kids of all age – our 10 year old and 2 year old had fun playing these!
Yahtzee (age 5+)
This popular board game is a fun and entertaining way to spend those long hours traveling.
Yahtzee is a classic dice game where players roll five dice to create combinations and earn points. The objective is to score the highest possible total by strategically choosing which combinations to go for and which dice to reroll, making it a thrilling game of luck and decision-making.
The online version of Yahtzee is a perfect alternative to the board game as its playable in car rides and tight spaces. The kids and family will all love it!
Solitaire Bliss (age 7+)
Solitaire Bliss offers a wide range of solitaire games to play online for free. Their collection includes popular variations like Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, and many more, providing a diverse selection to suit different preferences and skill levels. Each game comes with a detailed rulebook making it the perfect choice for kids new to card games, and as they develop their skills, they can try out harder difficulty levels.
Cribbage (age 7+)The fast-paced card game is an excellent choice while traveling. Card games can be messy, so this digital version of the game is perfect for the whole family. The objective of Cribbage is for players to score points through a variety of card combinations, the player who scores 121 points first wins. The online version of Cribbage can be played in single player mode, and is available in easy, standard, and pro modes.
More ideas for kids to do on long journeys
Here’s more great ideas for travel games and toys to keep kids busy when travelling.
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