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Looking for a gift for the little traveler in your life? We have you covered with this list of the best kids’ travel gifts.
Sometimes it’s hard to find that perfect gift for an adventurous child. What can you get them that they will actually use and enjoy?
Well, if you have a child who likes traveling or is going on a trip soon, there are some great gifts out there that they are sure to love!
Over the years, we’ve had a lot of experience buying travel gifts for our kids, sometimes with more success than others. But through trial and error, we’ve found some amazing gifts that have been a huge hit with our travel-loving children.
In this list, we’ve included gifts for toddlers, preschoolers, and older children.
Some of these gifts are for keeping children entertained during travel, while others are practical gifts that might make a trip a little easier. And we’ve also included a few that will come in handy at home, whether they’re educational travel gifts or gifts for recording and remembering their trips.
Keep reading to learn about some of the best travel gifts for kids!
Best Travel Gifts for Kids
Travel Activities
Travel kids need travel activities! These are activities children will love to use on their next trip. (See this post for more travel activities for toddlers.)
Tablet
A kid’s tablet is a gift that both you and your child will appreciate. Although we like to bring lots of hands-on activities to keep our kids engaged during travel, sometimes the tablet is the best option for keeping kids calm and entertained.
The Amazon Fire comes with a sturdy kid-proof case and a 2-year warranty if you buy it through Amazon. With the Fire, you can stream content through wifi or download content to watch if there’s no internet available.
Wiki Stix
If you’re looking for a fun travel gift for kids, Wiki Stix is a gift that a wide range of children will enjoy! They are flexible wax sticks that can be twisted and squished together for all sorts of fun shapes and activities.
This travel set has 144 Wiki Sticks in 16 different colors. It also comes with a booklet of ideas and activities and a travel case. Our kids love pulling out the Wikki Stix when we are on a trip!
Sticker Books
Sticker books tend to be a huge hit with kids during travel. And they aren’t just for little kids, either! In recent years, they’ve come up with some amazing options for older children as well. All of the sticker books that we’ve listed have been travel favorites of our children over the years.
If you’re traveling with a toddler, they will love working their way through Stickers Early Learning: Colors. This vibrant book lets them practice colors and matching, along with fine motor skills.
Preschoolers will get endless entertainment out of the Melissa and Doug Reusable Puffy Sticker Activity Books. Like the title says, the stickers are reusable. And they really do hold their stick well after multiple uses. Our kids loved making their own scenes with all of the detailed stickers.
And if your traveler happens to be an older child, Paint By Sticker books are a perfect travel activity! Children can create their own pictures by matching up the stickers with the corresponding number or letter. It’s kind of like a puzzle but with stickers. It’s an engaging, mess-free travel gift for kids.
Travel Games
Travel games are a great gift for kids who travel frequently or have an upcoming trip.
The Grab & Go Connect 4 is a miniature version of the classic game, perfect for stashing away in your bag and pulling out to play during a trip. It’s fun two-person game to pass some time while traveling.
SmartGames IQ Puzzler Pro is an engaging brain game that is sure to keep kids entertained. This game comes with 120 challenges in three different playing modes, including 2D and 3D playing options. Due to the various levels of difficulty, this game is ideal for children ages 6 and up (and even adults!). The game also comes in a compact, travel-friendly case.
If you want a gift that will keep your child engaged and laughing, look no further than the Would You Rather Book for Kids. This book has 200 fun and silly “would you rather” questions to get children thinking. It’s ideal for kids ages five and up and is a fun game to play with the whole family!
Look-and-find books
The best travel activities are engaging and reusable, and these look-and-find books fit that bill perfectly!
Our toddlers have loved the Very First Book of Things to Spot. It has large, bright pictures with engaging scenes for young children. There are question prompts you can ask your child on each page or you can make up your own questions.
For older kids, 1001 Things to Spot on Vacation is a perfect choice. It has 13 detailed, engaging vacation scenes filled with items for children to find.
I like this book because many of the pages will relate to things you might see on vacation, so it’s easy for kids to imagine themselves in that scene. This is perfect for an older kid to do independently or a younger child to work on with a little assistance (and a great way to work on counting skills!).
Practical Travel Gifts for Kids
Eye mask
Kids who sleep on the go a lot will appreciate an eye mask to help block out light while they are trying to get some rest.
This set is super soft and has a stretchy elastic band to fit a variety of head sizes. Plus they are adorable. What kid wouldn’t love one of these cute masks?
Travel Pillow
This cute travel pillow is a perfect gift to help kids stay comfortable during travel.
The flat back prevents the child’s head from being pushed forward while the wrap-around design provides extra support to their chin and neck. It also comes with a carrying case which keeps it clean when not in use and makes it easy to pack.
Headphones
Headphones are a must for traveling kids. Whether they’re watching a show or just listening to music or podcasts (a favorite of my kids), they’ll want headphones that are comfortable, adjustable, and easy to use.
This set of headphones is padded, lightweight, and folds up for convenient packing.
Some kids might prefer a pair of headband headphones. These are soft, comfortable, and good at keeping the speakers in place on a child’s head.
Luggage with Wheels
Children will love having a responsibility to carry some of their own belongings with these wheeled luggage sets. It’s the perfect size for children to be able to keep their belongings without being too big to be unmanageable for little hands and bodies.
They come in multiple patterns, allowing you to find the perfect design for your child.
Travel backpack
You can also opt to have your child just carry some of the items you want to be more accessible, such as their travel activities. In that case, they would love to have their own travel backpack to hold their belongings!
This backpack has padded straps and a chest clip for comfortable wearing. The backpack is machine washable and has several pockets that allow your child to organize their gear for easy access. There is also a variety of cute patterns to choose from.
Inflatable footrest
If your child needs to sleep on the plane, this inflatable footrest is the perfect gift to help them rest more easily. You can inflate it to be the height of the seat, giving your child a larger space to stretch out for sleep.
It’s also light and compacts down into a drawstring bag, so it takes up minimal space when you aren’t using it.
Beach Travel Gifts for Kids
If you’re planning a family beach vacation, consider gifting one of these great beach gifts before your trip!
Travel Sand Toys
If you’re taking a beach vacation with young kids, sand toys are a must! This set comes with a collapsible bucket and a mesh bag for storing the toys.
When we gifted these to our kids, they went crazy over them. I thought the novelty would wear off, but I was pleasantly surprised to see our kids play contentedly play with these toys for hours at the beach every day.
Snorkel Mask
Kids will also appreciate their own snorkel set to be able to explore the world under the water.
The Gintenco Kids Snorkel Set is easily adjustable and has a comfortable fit with good suction. It has a one-way inhalation valve and tempered glass lenses.
A full-face mask snorkel set is another great choice for younger kids just starting out snorkeling. The one-piece design is easy to put on and stays in place well for young children.
Our young kids were so excited to use this set the first time they went snorkeling (after practicing many times in the bath before we left on our trip).
Gifts for Recording Travel Memories
Travel Journal
A travel journal is a perfect gift to help a child record and process their trip. It provides a fun activity for them to do during the trip and is also something they can use to look back and remember their travels.
This travel journal has so many fun activities to keep your child entertained on a trip. It includes journal prompts to help them record highlights, new experiences, and significant memories as well as travel games and activities. It also has room for four trips, so it will last them a while!
Scratch Off World Map
This scratch-off world map is a perfect gift for a kid who loves to travel. On this large, detailed map you can scratch off the gold topcoat of the places you’ve visited, revealing the vibrant colors underneath. This is a fun way to visually keep track of the places you’ve traveled.
Also included is a separate map of the US to keep track of the states you’ve visited and (on the world map) 233 small flags you can scratch off when you visit different countries.
Educational Travel Gifts
Along with gifts for children to use during travel, we’ve also included a few options for children to learn more about the world from home! These gifts are perfect for teaching preschool and elementary school kids about the world- and making it fun!
Atlas
Little world explorers will appreciate learning about the world in their very own atlas. This is a great way to learn about the new places you will be visiting before you go on a trip.
The First Atlas is a perfect way to introduce toddlers and preschoolers to the world. Over 20 maps are included in the book as well as a fold-out poster map of the world. The book also describes features of the various world regions, such as landmarks, animals, and fun facts.
For older children, the National Geographic Beginner’s World Atlas has vibrant pictures, interesting facts, and lots of maps to help kids learn where things are in the world.
Illumiated World Globe
Another great gift for kids who love to travel is a globe. Globes are perfect for helping a child to understand where places are in relation to each other. It’s a great way for them to be able to visualize trips and get a better sense of the world as a whole.
This Little Chubby One LED Globe can also be illuminated to be used in the dark or as a night light!
We always like to trace our route on the globe before a trip and we’ll often go back and find the places we’ve been. It’s also a way for kids to dream about places they want to travel to in the future.
i-Poster Interactive World Map
Gift this interactive talking world map to help your child discover the world from home. And one of the best parts is, they can do it independently!
With just a press of their finger, children can learn about countries, capitals, landmarks, flags, languages, and fun facts. The map has over 1000 interesting facts and questions included.
Kids World Activity Box
Make learning geography fun by giving your child this World Activity Box! It includes a world map with reusable stickers, a passport with stamps, a country trump card game, and a travel scrapbook.
Final Thoughts
Whether you have a child who has traveled a lot or who is going on their first trip, these are gifts that children will love to receive! Help them prepare for future trips with some of these awesome travel gifts for kids.
Other posts you might be interested in:
Airplane activities your toddler will love!
Beach Essentials for Toddlers and Babies
