If you are planning a road trip for toddlers, I applaud you. There is nothing easy about spending hours in the car with a toddler!
The amount of times you might hear, “Are we there yet?” or, “I’m bored!” is probably more than you can count (or handle!) Plus, it is super distracting when you are trying to drive (or get some sleep)
Road trips are becoming more and more popular these days, as they are a cheap alternative to flying. Plus, you can see your own country and have a more intimate vacation with your family!
However, when toddlers get involved, you can bet there will be a lot more stress added to your plate!
If you haven’t checked out our road trip essentials list, make sure to do that now! This will give you a good starting point on what you’ll need to pack for your road trip!
This list will cover some road trip for toddlers games and activities to keep them occupied and busy, so you can focus on the road! It will also cover some essentials that will make the road trip experience easier and more enjoyable for everyone in the car!
For more ideas, check out this list of travel essentials for kids – some will be perfect for those long car rides!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Road Trip Bingo!
One of the best road trip for toddlers activities is road trip bingo! These FREE bingo boards are the perfect way to help pass the time during those long car rides!
This pack comes with 4 unique boards, so your children can rotate between the boards, or play together!
All you will need is something to mark each item with. You can even laminate them after you print them out so you can use dry erase markers and use them over and over again!
Each bingo board has simple images on them, and no reading required- making them the perfect game for toddlers!
Scroll to the end of this post to get your FREE bingo boards!
PLUS you will get 2 other road trip games: Road trip word searches, and license plate bingo!
Another one of my favorite essentials for road trip for toddlers is this magnetic puzzle!
Traditional puzzles are not something that is going to be easy to take on a road trip, but magnetic puzzles are!
All the fun of a regular puzzle, without the pieces going flying around the car with every bump and turn.
Gone are the days of puzzle pieces and pieces of toys floating about your car, and your child crying because they can’t find them!
This set has a bunch of different animals that your toddler can easily put together without losing the pieces. The pieces simply stick to the box, so no extra materials are needed!
This is a great educational activity for your child to engage in while on a long car ride, that they will also enjoy playing with!
Don’t forget to grab your road trip planner! Staying organized is KEY to a successful road trip with kids, so make sure you have all the tools necessary! Click here for more information on this affordable road trip planner, or click the image above!
Another one of my favorite things to bring on a road trip for toddlers is this sticker book.
You’ve likely heard of paint by numbers, but have you heard of paint by sticker?
These workbooks actually look so fun I secretly would want to play with them myself!
Kids will need to find the sticker, peel off the sticker, then stick it to the appropriate place. When all stickers are put together, they will have created a fun and cute animal!
This is a great activity for your child to practice matching, as well as engaging in tactile skills like peeling off the stickers and sticking them on the pages within the lines.
Depending on the age of your child, some may need help with this. However, toddlers love stickers in general, so just let them go at it if they are having trouble!
I used to love these types of activities as a kid! They are such a great pretend-play activity, and a great alternative to being on the iPad all of the time!
The book provides a “backdrop” to set the scene, such as a farm. Your child then uses the stickers to make up a story! Your child can move the stickers around the pages to engage in pretend-play!
These games are a fun way to help boost your child’s creativity, all while having fun!
Plus, you won’t need to worry about pieces of things floating all over the place, because the stickers can be used over and over again in the book!
They have tons of different scenes as well, so get a few depending on what your child enjoys! Check them all out here!
I’ve mentioned this item before, but it needs to be on this list as well because it is just so awesome!
This kid’s car seat travel tray is the perfect item on a road trip for toddlers. It has tons of pockets they can put all their toys and belongings, so they don’t get lost in the back seat.
Plus, it gives them a little table so they can draw, play with toys, or eat their favorite snacks, all in one place!
It even has a pocket for a water bottle, and a dry erase surface so they can draw all over it without any worries! This also prevents you from needing paper and markers, since they can just draw right on their lap!
Your child will love having their own little space and their own area to play, draw, use their iPad, and play games!
When you are done using the table, it easily folds up so it will be out of the way when you move on to other activities!
Another amazing item to take on a road trip for toddlers is this snack holder.
Does your toddler have a tendency to spill snacks all over the place (I think we can all answer YES here..)
This snack holder is specifically designed for toddlers to stop spilling all their snacks! Your child can easily put their hand into the bowl, but if the bowl tips over, nothing (or very little) will spill out!
If even comes with a cover so you can easily use it to store snacks once your child is done eating them! This is an easy way to save snacks for later (especially when in the car), to prevent them from spilling and getting stale.
Sounds like a win-win to me! Gone are the days of chips and broken pretzels living on the carpets in your back seat!
Check out this list of road trip snack ideas here!
Depending on the age of your child and if they are in a car seat or not, this seat belt pillow can be a great thing to have on a road trip for toddlers!
Sometimes, the seat belt gets in the way and makes it difficult to sleep. The last thing you want is something making your child uncomfortable and preventing them from sleeping on a road trip!
This seat belt pillow goes right over the seat belt, so your child can rest their head on it without having to hold onto a pillow, or use a bulky neck pillow!
Hey adults– you might want one of these too! They are super easy to use and are really a great way to get some sleep in the car- no more needing to squish your pillow against the window, trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep.
They are a great alternative to neck pillows, both for young children and adults!
Picture this: You JUST passed the rest stop when your toddler says they need to go potty… RIGHT NOW.
Ugh.
What do you do? Grab an empty water bottle? Pull over to the side of the road? Have them have an accident in the back seat? No!
Try this portable potty, made specifically for toddlers if they have an emergency!
It has a cute face making it more enticing for your child to use it, even though it is a bit weird!
It isn’t the best option, but hey- better than peeing in the back seat, right?!
Better to be safe than sorry! You can easily empty it out once you get to the next rest stop, or pull over and dump it out if you need to.
Another item you need on a road trip for toddlers is this car backseat organizer! I have mentioned this item on other lists as well, but it needed another mention because it is so awesome!
These organizers allow your toddler(s) to put all their items in one place, so they have access to all their toys!
This will help prevent you from needing to rummage through all your bags trying to find that *one* toy they so desperately need RIGHT NOW.
It even holds their iPad, so they can watch it without needing to hold onto it!
Before your road trip, load the organizer up with everything they might want: Water bottle, snacks, iPad, toys, and whatever else you think they might want at an arms reach!
If your child loves to draw, this might be the perfect road trip accessory for them! This reusable drawing pad lets your child color and draw all they want. When they are done, simply wipe it off with a wet tissue and they can reuse the pages over and over again!
This is a much better option than having hundreds of papers with little drawings on them scattered throughout the backseat!
This is also a better alternative than dry erase boards, because it has pages! Your child can save some of their drawings if they wish, because they have multiple pages to use up!
The pack comes with its own markers and carrying case so you can keep everything together in one place!
Road Trip Resources
If you are taking a road trip, you might also like these road trip resources and lists for every occasion:
Your FREE Road Trip Games!
Click here or the image above to get your FREE road trip bingo boards – PLUS free license plate bingo and word searches!
Your child will love playing these games, and you will too because they will finally have something to occupy themselves!
Don’t forget, when you sign up to receive these fun road trip games, you will also get access to exclusive travel deals and news! Who knows, there might just be some more freebies in there for you!