32 Best Road Trip Car Activities for Toddlers (1, 2, & 3 Year Olds)

Traveling with a toddler can be exhausting, frustrating, and just downright hard. However, I’m a firm believer that if you can be overprepared, things can go pretty smoothly. Well, as smoothly as things go with kids, ya know!

There are several resources you can have at your disposal, you just have to take advantage of them. There are family activities, printables, and even electronics that can help you on your road trip with toddlers. They don’t have to be extravagant, messy, or take up a lot of your time either.

So, let’s get started reviewing the top car activities for toddlers!

Are There Fun Activities My Toddler Can Do In the Car?

Absolutely yes! You might think that your toddler is too little to be entertained in the car, but that is not so! There are several things at your disposal that are simple.

That’s exactly why I am sharing a huge list of car activities for toddlers. Read on to learn what they are and pick the ones that work best for your family.

Do I Need Electronics As an Activity To Entertain a Toddler In The Car?

No, this is totally up to you. You can have your toddler do as little or as much electronics as you want in your car. If you’re fed up, and just need some peace, maybe you do more electronics than usual.

However, if you’re feeling strong, or have strong feelings about your child doing electronics, then there are other ideas to help keep them busy. We don’t let our kids be on electronics the whole time. We kind of rotate.

They will usually do about 30-40 minutes, but then they have to get off and play a game, do an activity, or listen to music. If I let my kids play on electronics the whole time, I find they quickly get super crabby.

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The Best Road Trip Car Activities for Toddlers

There are several road trip car activities for toddlers that are not electronic, not super expensive, and don’t take much planning on your part. Let’s review the list I have put together for this type of activity.

Painting With Water

Have you seen those books where you can “paint”, but you only use water? They are super fun for kids and not messy for the grown-ups. There are several on Amazon, or you can even find them at some bookstores.

This one is our favorite because it comes with a pen that you can store water in. And if they spill, who cares? It’s just water.

Dollar Store

The Dollar Store is my favorite. You can find all kinds of knick-knacks that are perfect to bring on a trip. Dollar Tree toys are always exciting to little kids, at least for a little while, but even getting 15-20 minutes out of a toy is worth it.

These fun surprise toys are always fun, these fun sticky hands, or this fun water sensory toy make great car toys. The best thing to do is go to your local Dollar Store and just see what you think your little one would enjoy that is easy to pack. Then spread your items out during your trip.

Gifts

Something that I’ve done with my kids before is wrapped some of the things I got from the Dollar Store. So every hour or so, I’d have them unwrap a gift. It made it a little more exciting for them to open something, and look forward to the next one.

Books

Bring some books you know your kids love, or buy some new coloring books. They might have some already, but just hit up the Dollar Store and buy a new one.

Every kid loves to color in a new coloring book, and I always add in a new set a crayons. Plus, they go through them so fast.

Drawing Boards

These are fun to entertain kids just about anywhere they might need to sit still. These cute drawing boards are simple and fun. They have all kinds of different ones ranging from cheap to expensive. I just bought some for my kids for our airplane trip.

Sticker Books

My kids love sticker books, and there are sticker books for all levels. Amazon has this cute and easy first animal sticker book, but they also have learning sticker books and dress-up sticker books.

Music

Have a dance party to your kids favorite music. Sing along with them and have fun with them. You can make a playlist before you go, so you have it handy. Or just pick some as you go.

I Spy

A classic game, but my kids still love it. Even if they don’t necessarily play the game right, even toddlers enjoy this game. You can simplify it to their level.

Window Clings

These are super fun, and we’ve done these with our kids before. However, if your child can’t quite reach the window while in their seat, this activity just might frustrate them. So keep that in mind.

Buy some fun window stickers and just have them play with them on their window. There are usually some fun scene stickers that you can move around and play with, like this farm set. Sometimes you can find them at the Dollar Store.

Magnetic Sets

Magnetic sets are perfect for travel because they usually come in a fun portable case and they’re easy to play with while in the car. You can find just about any character set, like this Minions set. They usually come with scene sheets too.

Finger Puppets

These are so fun for little kids. You can buy a pack of them for a good price. You might also find these at the Dollar Store sometimes.

Busy Books

Busy books are becoming so popular. You can find them in just about any store.

You can also download them as a printable (you will see it listed below too). There are a ton of different ones on Amazon too. Just find the one you think your child will enjoy the most.

Suction Toys

These are underrated toys. They can be so fun for kids. Although, this is another one you have to keep in mind if your child can reach the window or has the strength to suction them on.

You could always bring something for them to suction it to. You can also find bath toys that suction. They might have a few more options.

Fidget Toys

These have also become very popular, but can really come in handy. You can buy a pack of them on Amazon for a decent price.

If you space them out, you could probably make this pack last the whole trip. Another great thing to wrap in little gifts. You could also look at the Dollar Store for fidget toys.

Printable Car Activities For 1, 2, & 3-Year-Olds 

When in doubt, you can always count on a printable to come through for you. Printables are easy to print out and take with you on any trip. They become an instant activity, and can easily be spread out throughout the trip.

Let’s review my list of the best printable car activities for toddlers. I have so many to choose from at my store too!

Coloring and Color By Number

You can’t go wrong with coloring sheets, which sometimes can be better than coloring books depending on what your child likes. Here are some of the coloring pages I have. You might want to select them based on when you travel because you might opt for a holiday-themed coloring page.

• Caticorn Pages
• Bunny Pages
• FREE Sombrero Coloring Pages
• FREE 4TH of July Coloring Pages
• FREE Mustache Printable
• Thanksgiving Coloring Page
• Thanksgiving Placemat
• Easter Coloring Placemat
• Valentine’s Coloring Placemat
• Christmas Coloring Placemat
• Halloween Coloring Pages
• Easter Egg Coloring Sheets
• Color By Letter – a fun way to learn letters

Dot To Dot

Dot-to-dots are easy for toddlers and can help with fine motor skills.

Scavenger Hunt

Who doesn’t love a good car scavenger hunt? These ones have pictures, so they are easy for toddlers to find. They are perfect for a road trip.

These are even fun for the older kids and the whole family. Turn it into a friendly competition.

Printable Busy Packet

The printable form of a busy book. This printable has coloring, cutting, gluing, mazes, and more. It’s perfect for toddlers.

Tracing Pages

My toddlers have always loved tracing pages. You can do ABCs or shapes and lines, which are great when they’re first starting to learn to write.

Mazes

These simple mazes are easy enough for toddlers and preschoolers to do. As a bonus, you can even download these mazes for toddlers and preschoolers for FREE.

Dot Sticker Craft

These are so fun and easy. You just need those dot stickers, which you can get at the Dollar Store. Or, you can also use dot markers depending on how brave you are!

You can download some Pokémon dot sticker templates, or these fun everyday item sticker templates.

Cut and Paste

This is a fun and educational activity, and you just need scissors and glue. This activity will depend on your toddler’s skills, but could be a fun one for the car.

Dress Up People

Dress up the girls and boys in different clothes according to the weather. A fun dress-up game printable that doesn’t require cutting on your part, but could be fun for your little one.

Paper Puzzles

Cut up some simple paper puzzles and keep them in baggies. Have your toddler put the puzzles together.

They are super simple for toddlers. I have Pokemon puzzles and dinosaur puzzles available.

Animal Finger Puppets

Instead of buying animal puppets, you can color and make your own cute little animal puppets with this printable. These are flat and might be a little easier to travel with.

Travel Pack

I have this fun printables travel pack, which is great if you also have older kids traveling with you. The pack includes something for all ages, but if you only have a toddler, it probably wouldn’t work best for you.

Electronic Car Activities For Toddlers 

If you do decide to have electronics as a car activity for your toddler in the car, then you should come fully prepared with the right things. There are good devices to have, and great apps to download. Let’s review them!

Tablet

You do not need a fancy tablet in order for your toddler to have a good time. We bought this little Kindle Fire from Amazon, and it worked great! We also paired it with this tablet case, cause you know, kids.

My friend also has this one, that she really likes. Sometimes your phone company might be running a sale on tablets, so that is worth looking into as well. We’ve gotten one for free before.

Phone

Another option that is not so convenient for parents is to download apps and movies to your phone. You can let your toddler use your phone throughout the trip.

Educational Games

Now you need some apps you can download onto the tablet. Fun games are always good, but you can also download some fun educational games.

• ABC Mouse– My son loved ABC mouse. It does cost money.
• PBS Kids– Lots of fun games to choose from and it’s free.
• Monkey Preschool Lunchbox– You learn and have fun while helping monkey pack lunch.
• 2-3.com Baby Games– Great for 2-4 year olds. 15 different educational games and it is free.
• Hungry Caterpillar Play School– This is geared toward getting kids school-ready. It has songs, lessons, play, and all kinds of activities. It does cost money.
• Goodness Shapes– A collection of mini games that help toddlers learn shapes, colors, matching, and sorting.

The list above are just the ones that I have heard of or used. You can find more educational game options here.

Download Stream Service

Do you have a streaming service like Netflix or Disney+? If you do, you can download some of your toddler’s favorite shows to watch. Once downloaded, you don’t even have to have access to WIFI.

Seat Tablet Holder

One thing you can get is a car seat tablet holder. This way, your toddler doesn’t have to hold the tablet. This is especially helpful if you have other kids in the car, so that they can watch too. It just mounts the tablet to the back of the front seats.

DVD Player

If you don’t want to get a tablet and don’t have anything to watch in your car, you could go old school and buy a portable DVD player. I have friends who still have these and they swear by it.

So then, you got to get you some DVDs. A good place to start is the thrift store.

What Else Do You Need To Keep a Toddler Happy On a Road Trip?

Besides all the car activities for toddlers you now know about, you also need other items to make your road trip go as smoothly as possible. Let’s review what those things are.

Snacks

Snacks are a must on any road trip. Be sure to bring ones that your kids don’t get all the time, but love. You can also get some foods that take longer to eat.

Here are some of our favorite snack ideas:

• Trail mix
• Chips
• Veggie straws
• Goldfish
• Chex mix
• Peanut butter balls
• Veggies: carrots, celery sticks, etc.
• Fruit: strawberries, cuties, blueberries, etc.
• Cereal
• Granola bars (I don’t like taking these because they don’t take very long to eat)
• Pretzels
• Popcorn
• Crackers

Change of Clothes

You know, toddlers can have an accident at any time!

Baggies or Trash Bags

I find that these always come in handy for dirty clothes, wet things, gross things, etc.

Towels

Towels always seem to come in handy.

Wipes

You probably already have wipes handy. But if your kids are no longer in diapers, wipes still come in handy A LOT!

Breaks

Make sure you take ample breaks during your trip. Remember that kids strapped in a car seat don’t have a lot of wiggle room. We try to stay ahead of them getting frustrated and stop at least every 3 hours, sometimes 2.

We take our time at the gas station and let them walk around. It has always seemed to help. You can click the link to find some more details on our travel routine and road trip hacks.

Set Right Expectations

Make sure you are setting the right expectations. Toddlers are not trying to make your day sucky, they just aren’t having the best time. Make sure you prepare by bringing things to do, stuff to eat, and be prepared to stop.

Car Tray

Something that I LOVE having, is a car tray. The kids can do so much on it. They can color, eat, play on their tablet, and do all the other activities and keep it (kinda) contained.

There are all kinds of different ones, and they can get pretty pricey. But you also get what you pay for. Here is one that we’ve been eyeing.

Now you have a wealth of ideas for car activities for toddlers when you go on a road trip – happy travels!

Traveling with a toddler does not have to be as bad as it sounds. Make sure you are prepared with the proper activities. Download all the apps and movies beforehand for their electronic time.

Bring activities that they can do, so they aren’t on the screen the whole time. This can be with printables or toys for them to play with. And of course, don’t forget the snacks. You can never have too many of those.

I hope you have fantastic travels, and try not to stress too much!