First off, I’m not opposed to screen time for toddlers. I have taken many flights with toddlers and I have always included some screen time on flights to help entertain our toddlers on the airplane. But, I have found that too much screen time can make my toddlers grouchy and difficult to deal with. So, to mix up their travel activities, I always packed a bag of screen-free travel toys for toddlers to use on the flight and during our time traveling at our destination.
In my post on airplane activities for toddlers, I explain how they will quickly cycle through all the toddler travel toys you pack for them.
Based on my experience, my best advice for how to entertain a toddler on a plane is to have a variety of activities that you can present to your toddler throughout the flight.
In this post, I focus exclusively on screen-free activities for toddlers on planes and on road trips. If you are looking to include some screen time in your toddlers travel entertainment, I recommend several apps for toddlers in the post mentioned above. In addition, I give many more screen time ideas in my lists of the best 1 year old travel toys and 2 year old travel toys.
This post contains compensated links.
Best Screen-Free Travel Toys for Toddlers
Based largely on my real-life trials and errors traveling with my toddlers, here are my favorite screen-free toddler travel toys. I’ve also included some fun DIY toddler travel toys for variety later in this post.
Gel Clings
These fun little gel clings always show up on my lists of toddler travel toys. Why? Because toddlers love them! Let them decorate the airplane window or seat back with as many of these mess-free stickers as they please!
Buckle Toy
This outstanding toddler travel toy appears on so many of my toddler travel lists, and for good reason – it’s one of the best screen-free toddler travel toys!
Toddlers just love to play with buckles, which is why this toy is so popular. This buckle toy is bound to keep any toddler busy on a flight – at least for a little while!
Melissa & Doug Water Wow!
My kids just loved their Water Wow activity books! In my opinion, these are one of the best screen-free travel toys for 2 -3 year olds. These make such great airplane activities for a 3 year old, because all you need is to fill the pen with water. They can scribble away as the colors come to life on the page.
When you switch to a new activity, you can let the Water Wow pages dry so they will be ready to color all over again!
My First Flight: A Toddler Airplane Coloring Book
I created My First Flight Coloring Book just for you and your little traveler! This book helps toddlers understand what to expect on travel day – from packing a suitcase to soaring through the sky. It’s the perfect screen-free way to prepare your child for their first flight while keeping them happily entertained along the journey!
If you are bringing it on a plane, trust me and buy these anti-roll crayons – otherwise you’ll spend half your flight on the floor looking for your round crayons!
LCD Drawing Tablets
I love the LCD drawing tablets our toddlers have. I’m always amazed at how long my kids will sit draw new pictures over and over and over.
These LCD drawing tablets make look like a screen toy, but they are not. The tablet surface remains a dull black until it is drawn upon – like a chalkboard.
Buckle Toys Busy Board
With the popularity of the buckle toy, now you can get the buckle toy as a busy board for toddlers. This compact screen-free toddler travel toy is easy to pack and gives some other fun activities for toddlers to try.
I love that it’s foam and has plenty of buckles to master. It also has a zipper, a snap pocket and even laces to try!
Wooden Apple Lacing Toy
Whether you are looking for screen-free airplane or car travel toys, this threading apple travel toy will keep toddlers busy. I love the simplicity of this toy for toddlers. Not only can parents make up fun stories about the caterpillar but toddlers will love threading it through the apple over and over again!
Crayola Color Wonder Books
For all the same reasons as the Water Wow books, my kids and I also loved these Crayola Color Wonder books. The special mess-free Color Wonder markers will not mark anything, except for the pages in the coloring book. I always rest easier knowing my toddler won’t draw on anything!
Magnetic Fishing Game
Felt toys are ideal screen-free airplane travel toys for toddlers, they are soft, small and easy to pack! Your toddler will love a magnetic fishing game, especially this one that has plenty of fun ocean creatures besides just fish!
Parents will love that this toy is quiet and can easily be played on the airplane tray table!
Finger Puppets
My kids loved when I’d (try) to entertain them with finger puppets on our family flights. This cute finger puppet set comes with 14 animals and 6 people. Entertain your toddler on the flight by making up fun stories! Ultra compact, and equally fun, these really are some of the best screen-free travel toys for toddlers!
Quiet Book for Toddlers
Quiet books are full of excellent screen-free activities to keep toddlers busy on a plane. I love that these quiet books are soft and easy to pack.
In addition to the featured quiet book, check out this one from Melissa & Doug.
Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pads
Although they are too big in a carry-on airplane bag, these super-fun reusable Melissa & Doug sticker books accompanied us on many trips! They are good screen-free travel toys for preschoolers and toddlers to play with at the hotel or in an apartment. Plus they are flat, so they pack easily in a suitcase.
Felt Memory Game
The Felt Memory Game is an excellent travel toy for a 3-year-old. This compact set includes 16 soft felt cards featuring easily recognizable images, designed to enhance concentration and short-term memory. Its the perfect quiet and engaging activity during family travel.
My First Hidden Pictures Book
Our toddlers always love hidden picture books! This 4-book set offers engaging seek-and-find puzzles that captivate young minds and enhance concentration.
Each book includes black-and-white and full-color images, word and picture clues, and dozens of stickers, providing hours of screen-free entertainment.
LEGO DUPLO Construction Bulldozer
These Duplo construction sets are a really fun screen-free travel toy for 2-5 year olds. With only 10 pieces, you could easily pull them out on the airplane, since the larger Duplo pieces would be easier to keep track of.
I always tear the Lego sets apart each time we move hotels during a trip. Toddlers can rebuild them each time and play with them the whole time. I typically buy a new Lego set for each trip for each of our kids and they love them.
Mini Animals Toy Set
There’s not many things that my son would drop his Water Wow book for, but plastic animal toys are one of them!
Be prepared for fun imaginative play with your toddler on the flight with these animal figures! No matter where we go, we always have a few little animals with us.
Dinosaur Felt Puzzle
Can you tell I love these felt travel toys?? Puzzles also make good screen-free travel toys for toddlers, but this one has easy-to-grab pieces and won’t take up any space in your toddler’s carry-on! It’s perfect for little dinosaur lovers.
Construction Toy Trucks
My son just loves these little construction trucks. If you have a toddler that also loves construction trucks, then these mini construction trucks make great screen-free travel toys for toddlers. Pack along some pom-poms or Cheerios and get your little construction worker lifting and moving!
Magnet Building Tiles
This Magnetic Building Set is an excellent travel toy for a 3-year-old. These magnetic tiles allow children to construct 2D and 3D structures, fostering creativity and enhancing fine motor skills. Their compact design and magnetic connectivity make them easy to pack and ideal for on-the-go play.
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Why isn’t Play-Doh on my List of Screen-Free Toddler Travel Toys?
Hey – I love Play-Doh as much as the next mom, but to be honest, I’m not a big fan of bringing Play-Doh to entertain toddlers on airplanes. My kitchen floor is always a big mess when the kids play with Play-Doh, and I’d hate to do that to an airplane, but that’s just my opinion.
How to Choose the Best Screen-Free Toddler Travel Toys?
If you are racking your brain trying to think of screen-free ways to entertain toddlers on a flight or on a road trip, I have plenty of ideas for you.
For airplane travel toys for toddlers, look for small toys that are easy to pack and don’t have a lot of small pieces that you will be constantly picking up off the floor.
If you have a long flight and, like me, also don’t like constantly picking up stuff, I recommend a Flyaway Designs inflatable toddler airplane bed. It’s the perfect solution for flying with a toddler, giving your toddler a place to play and sleep. And with the design of this airplane bed for toddlers covering the seat and floor space, all your toddlers screen-free airplane travel toys won’t end up on the floor.
For travel toys for toddlers in the car, you can go with travel toys that are a little bigger and heavier, since you don’t have to pack them in your carry on. I also like this travel tray to help keep your child’s activities together on a road trip with a toddler.
5 DIY Screen-Free Toddler Toys for Travel
If you don’t have time to order new toddler travel toys before your flight or you’d rather not spend extra money on travel toys for a flight, here are some fun DIY screen-free toddler travel toys:
1. Pipe Cleaners in a Spice Jar
This was one of my best mom travel hacks! This cute little screen-free toddler toy was so easy, yet it turned out to be one of the best toddler toys for travel I’ve ever had! Simply clean out an empty plastic spice jar and use it with cut pieces of pipe cleaners. Your toddler will have fun trying to fit the pipe cleaners back into the jar.
2. Cheerios Strung on a Piece of Yarn
Another simple but fun toy I created as a screen-free DIY travel toys for toddlers is a piece of yarn (or those pipe cleaners from above!) that your toddler can string Cheerios onto. My son was such a fan of Cheerios that we always had plenty with us anyways! Don’t forget the snack cup so they don’t end up all over the floor.
3. Use Painters Tape to Make Roads for your Matchbox Cars
It may sound funny, but one of my favorite things to pack while travelling with a toddler is painters tape. It comes in handy for so many reasons – taping curtains shut to keep room dark, making Hot Wheels race tracks on the floor of our Airbnb, etc.
Not only that, but with a little creativity, painters tape can be a great screen-free DIY toddler travel toy! Imagine all the ways to keep toddlers busy on a plane with it! You can use it to make a road across the food tray, use it as stickers, or make a ball out of it… Throw a roll of painters tape into your toddlers suitcase and you’re sure to make good use out of it!
4. Craft Pom Poms for Sorting and Counting
Our toddler LOVED pom poms! He would carry them around all the time and it became one of my favorite easy screen-free airplane activities for our 18 month old! You can have your child sort them into colors, count them or use the construction toys to pick them up! There are so many uses for them that are all non-screen time activities for toddlers on planes!
5. Small Toys from the Dollar Store
This is one of my favorite fast & easy screen-free toddler travel toys. If you have the time and energy, simply run to the dollar store and grab a bunch of small toys that you can wrap individually. These toys should all be small and easy to pack. You can keep your toddler entertained on the flight as you give them a steady stream new gifts to open throughout the flight.
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Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she’s helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.
