Travel Activities for Kids: Journey Games and Free Activity Pack
Travel activities for kids when journeys feel very, very long
Travel activities for kids are worth having ready before anyone says, “Are we nearly there yet?”
Especially when you left the house twelve minutes ago.
Whether you’re driving to the seaside, waiting at the airport, sitting in a café, heading to grandparents’ house or trying to get through a long train journey, it helps to have a few ideas ready.
These travel activities for kids do not need loads of preparation, extra luggage or a parent with unlimited patience. Some work in the car, some are better for trains, airports, restaurants or holiday downtime, and some are perfect for using once you arrive.
Pick one, adapt it to your child’s age and see if it buys you a calmer ten minutes.
In this guide:
- Download our free children’s travel activity pack
- Give children a journey job
- Play “fortunately, unfortunately”
- Invent a mischievous travel mascot
- Try a travel spotting challenge
- Learn five holiday words
- More travel activities for kids with Busy Things
1. Download the free children’s travel activity pack
Want something ready to print?
Our free children’s travel activity pack is full of simple games and puzzles to help keep children busy on journeys, holidays, days out and long waits.
Inside, you’ll find printable travel puzzles and games, including wordsearches, mazes, spot the difference, journey sights bingo, car colour games and more.
Download the free children’s travel activity pack
2. Give children a journey job
Long journeys can feel easier when children have something to be in charge of.
Not a huge responsibility. Just a small job that makes them feel involved instead of like they are simply waiting to arrive.
Try giving them one of these roles:
The route checker – Show them the route on a paper map or Google Maps before you leave. Older children can look out for place names, motorway signs, service stations or how far is left.
For longer journeys, you might also find the National Highways travel updates useful before you set off.
The snack boss – They help decide when snacks come out, hand things round or tick off what has been eaten. This is very important work, obviously.
The family photographer – If they are old enough, ask them to take a few photos of the journey: bags by the door, everyone getting in the car, the view from the window, funny service-station moments, the first glimpse of the sea or the “we made it!” photo. These can become part of a holiday scrapbook later.
The journey reporter – Do you remember that Friends episode where Phoebe collects material for her novel? This is that! Give your child the job of recording all the funny, odd or dramatic details of the journey…
- Dad ate five biscuits.
- We stopped at a service station with extremely weird carpet.
- My sister took ages in the toilet.
- We saw a dog wearing a jumper.
- Everyone argued about the playlist.
- I dropped a crisp and nobody knows where it went.
This is much more fun than a formal diary, and it gives them brilliant material for a postcard, comic strip or scrapbook later.
The entertainment manager – They choose the next car game, song, story starter or activity from the travel pack. This works especially well for older children who like being in charge.
Suddenly, they are not just waiting to arrive. They have a job.
Try it on Busy Things: Children could use Busy Publisher to turn their journey notes into a funny travel report or holiday memory page. They can add text, images, captions and little details from the journey.
3. Play “fortunately, unfortunately”
This is a brilliant no-equipment storytelling game.
One person starts a story:
“Fortunately, we found a magic suitcase.”
The next person adds a problem:
“Unfortunately, it was full of angry bees.”
Then you keep taking turns:
“Fortunately, the bees were wearing tiny sunglasses.”
“Unfortunately, they were late for a bee wedding.”
“Fortunately, we knew the way…”
It gets silly very quickly, which is the point.
It works well in the car, on trains, in cafés or while waiting for food. Younger children can join in with short ideas, and older children can make the story more dramatic, ridiculous or complicated.
Try it on Busy Things: If they enjoy making up silly stories, they could use Comic Creator on Busy Things to turn their “fortunately, unfortunately” adventure into a comic strip, with characters, speech bubbles and ridiculous plot twists.
4. Invent a mischievous travel mascot
This one can start as a quick drawing, or just a character you invent out loud together.
Ask your child to create a tiny mascot who is coming on the journey with you, one with a bit of personality!
It could be:
- a suitcase monster
- a very serious seagull
- a beach-loving alien
- a pebble who thinks they are in charge
- a snack-obsessed dragon
Give it a name, then bring it back whenever boredom hits.
Ask things like:
- What is it most excited to see?
- What would it pack in its tiny suitcase?
- What would it think of this service station?
- What would it choose for lunch?
- What trouble would it get into on holiday?
The fun is that it becomes a running joke for the trip.
“Sandwich Steve would definitely want another packet of crisps.”
“The suitcase monster would not approve of this traffic jam.”
“Our tiny seagull would 100% steal that chip.”
Once you arrive, children can draw the mascot properly, make a postcard from them, add them to a holiday scrapbook or write a tiny travel diary from their point of view.
Try it on Busy Things: Children could use the Design a Monster activity on Busy Things to create their travel mascot properly. Give it a name, decide what it would pack, then bring it back later as a running joke for the trip.
5. Try a travel spotting challenge
Give children five things to spot during the journey or while you are waiting.
Keep it simple for younger children:
- something yellow
- a dog
- a bridge
- a funny hat
- the number 7
- a red car
- a suitcase
- a bird
Make it more interesting for older children:
- a place name beginning with B
- a sign with two different colours
- a vehicle from another country
- something that would make a good story setting
- the weirdest thing you can see
- the most dramatic cloud
- a building that looks like it belongs in a film
It works best if everyone helps complete the list, rather than turning it into a competition.
You can also use our free children’s travel activity pack for ready-made spotting games, including journey sights bingo and car colour chase.
6. Learn five holiday words
If you are travelling abroad, airport waits and quiet holiday moments are a great time to learn a few useful words together.
Keep it very simple. You are not trying to become fluent before boarding gate 17 opens.
Choose five words or phrases your child might actually enjoy using, such as:
- hello
- thank you
- please
- ice cream
- beach
- swimming pool
- toilet
- goodbye
- yes
- no
Can they spot any of them on a sign, menu or poster when you arrive?
Older children might enjoy making a tiny phrase card to keep in a bag or pocket. Younger children can simply practise saying one or two words and use them when they get the chance.
Try it on Busy Things: Children could try the French or Spanish activities on Busy Things, including interactive worksheets and flashcards to help learn a few useful words, such as numbers, colours, drinks, food and travel words.
Practise a few together, then see if they can spot or use any of them when you arrive.
More travel activities for kids with Busy Things
Busy Things is full of playful activities for children aged 3-11, including creative tools, quizzes, games, printables and activities that are useful before you travel, during airport waits, in holiday downtime or once you have WiFi.
For a limited time, families can get 2 months of Busy Things for the price of 1, giving you more ideas ready for summer holidays, rainy afternoons and those “what shall we do now?” moments.
Busy Things works best on a tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
More travel activities for kids and holiday ideas
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More Busy Summer guides
This post is part of Busy Summer, our collection of simple activity guides for real summer holiday moments.
Try another guide:
- “I’m bored!”
Boredom-busters for when everyone has run out of ideas. - “What can I make?”
Making, drawing and craft ideas that do not need a huge set-up. - “The weather’s had other ideas”
Rainy day or heatwave ideas for when outdoor plans are off. - “Can you just play nicely for five minutes?”
Ideas to help children play together with a bit less refereeing. - “I just need ten minutes”
Independent activities for when you need a short breather.