Looking for travel gifts for kids that are fun and useful? Get inspired by our list of tried and tested travel gifts ideas for toddlers, school age kids and teenagers: cool travel themed gifts for kids!
Kids travel gifts are a wonderful idea, if you are looking for a present that is not just cool but also useful and fun.
A travel toy or new piece of travel gear can become a cherished companion on adventures near and far and it will feature in many travel photos: it is therefore important that you get it right!
I have two kids who love travel and travel gifts, both travel toys and travel gear, are among my favorite to buy.
This is my list of best travel gifts for kids! The include:
Best travel toys for toddlers and preschoolers, best travel gift for kids of school age and best gift ideas for teenagers who travel.
These are my favorite gifts for traveling kids for world adventures (and a weekends at nana’s!)
Please note: for this travel gift list, we have chosen gift ideas that are versatile and that make great presents for home as well as the road so kids can start using them straigh away! We hope they have fun and, if they are traveling now, will help take away some of the stress of being on the move!
Table of Contents
The best travel gifts for kids: toddlers to teen gift ideas
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The best travel gifts for toddlers and preschoolers
If you are buying for small children, these are our top gift ideas for toddlers and preschoolers
Trunki ride-on luggage: a versatile cool travel gifts for toddlers
We gave Trunki bags to our kids when they were tiny and they are, to date, the most successful present they have received.
Trunkis are excellent on travel (see our Trunki review for more detail), they double up as an easy toy storage option at home and they are cute and super fun.
Our kids got up onto them straight away and spent Christmas day chasing each other around the house on a Trunki race!
Fun, sensible and cute (see it here), this is probably my favorite travel gift idea for toddlers and it is a fabulous travel gift idea for small kids if you want something that is useful fun and super cute.
A toddler backpack – perfect travel gifts for toddlers outdoor adventures
Another nice idea for a kids travel gift is a backpack that is just for them.
To make is special and present-worth, pick a good quality one that looks cute but is also safe for their delicate backs: our tops pick and a fabulous piece of travel gear my kids love is their Kikki Deuter backpack (our review here).
Small yet of excellent quality, Kikki is a good quality backpack for toddlers and small children that they can use both on travels and to playschool and goes down a treat thanks to its super cute design: the backpack looks like a cute teddy (or birds, there are a few choices)!
My children have one each and the first thing they did when they got them was to give them a hug!
Luggage for kids doesn’t have to be boring and considering how versatile this backpack is, this is a gift they can use for ages!
If you are buying for older kids, we have also found some lovely backpacks for older kids.
A great travel toy for toddlers
Toys are always a good gift ideas when buying for small ones and if you are buying for a toddler who travel, you can match fun and convenience getting a good travel toy.
Some toddler travel gift ideas are:
Grasping toys: great gift idea that is fun, cute, portable and helps their development.
These make great plane toys for toddlers and will go down a treat with mom and dad too as they are quiet and easy to use.
You can opt for a soft grasp ball with different textures and colors (good for car trips) or an easier to clean and sanitize plastic or wooden version such as this one. A perfect travel gift for a a year old!
Travel doodle kit: a great gift idea for a 1 year old and up, this is a portable, mess free travel toy for toddlers to keep them entertained and foster their creativity perfect for car rides and plane travel. Check it out here.
Magnetic Travel Maze: the travel friendly puzzle, check it out here!
I love this as a travel toy as it offers similar fun than a traditional puzzle but doesn’t have pieces that can fall and get lost while on the move. This is a gear rtavel gift for a 2 year old and up.
Best travel gifts for kids of school age, tweens and teens
These gift ideas are suitable for school age kids and teenagers as they come in several models and style that will please different age rangea and taste.
Our best gift idea for older kids who love travel are:
Kids hydration backpack – great travel gift for tweens and teenagers
This is THE best travel gift for kids if you have children who like hiking or to make hiking easier for children who don’t!
My daughter was the worst hiker in history until we got one of these (check it out here) and she got hooked!
The backpack keeps them hydrated, gives them a distraction and makes them feel kitted out for the trip: nothing like a piece of gear to feel the part!
They come in several colors and are a great travel gift idea that they can use also on family days out – cool, useful and versatile, they are a great present for kids from primary school age to tween and teens.
Kids travel pillow
If you are looking for a cute, useful and portable gift for kids who fly often, then a kids’ travel pillow can be just the ticket.
Useful and easy to carry, travel pillows come in many shapes and sizes and some are designed just for kids, with cute colors and sometimes even in animal shapes.
This can be a useful budget-friendly gift and if the child in question is about to go on a holiday trip somewhere, it can be one that makes them think of you while on the go!
You can choose a cute animal shaped travel pillow for little ones or go for more classic colors and shapes like this one if buying for a teenager .
Children headphones – great travel gift for teenagers too
Kids’ headphones are useful on travel and make an impressive gift for kids.
They come in at different price points so they suit most budgets (you can find our kids headphones top picks here), they are portable and children can use them over and over again not just on travel but back home.
They can be a great gift on their own or a great gadget to add to a more expensive purchase, by you or other members of the family, such as a kids’ tablet.
Depending on the age of the child you are buying for, you can opt for colored cute headphones but, for tech-oriented and music loving teenagers, you also have the choice of wonderful cool looking models
Kids binoculars
A great way to get kids to engage with their inner explorer is by gifting them a pair of binoculars.
Binoculars are portable, fun and can be used in the most varied settings: vast landscapes of course but also the garden, the park, the car.
My son even used them to spy his sister when she does her karate practice!
Binoculars are a fun, educational gift that is not a toy but very much doubles up as one and one of my favorite gifts for kids who like to travel.
Like others on this list, you can choose a kid model such as this one or a more professional model for older kids or teenagers like this one
Buying for a child who loves to play outside? Find our gift ideas for outdoorsy kids here
A kids camera
Another way to get children to engage with the world around them is by giving them their own camera.
Depending on age, ability and budget, you can get a simple point and shoot, a proper full-on camera or a kiddie one.
My children this year have asked for the v-tech one that also makes videos and has fun filters but older kids and teenager may like something like a proper GoPro.
If a GoPro style camera is something you would consider, these are the models I shortlisted when I looked into the best GoPro for kids
This is a wonderful travel gift for teenagers that will encourage them to be active while also adding the cool factor of a great gadget and the option to learn video editing skills.
A kids travel journal
Kids travel journals are fun for kids while they are on the go and a great keepsake: imagine the fun when, in many years, they will fin again their thoughts and adventures from when they were kids!
A globe lamp
I came across this lamp the other day and it would go down so well with my son I now have it on my own gift list for him!
You can use the globe as a lamp (I love the night mode!) or as an educational tool and it is a long-lasting, non-intrusive great travel-inspired, gift for kids who may not be on the go right now but are curious about the world.
Travel games
Family travels are a great opportunity for family games and many are fun for all ages and easy to carry.
Old favorites are
But you can also find portable versions of traditional games such as Monopoli, connect 4 or magnetic chess.
Coloring Maps – best travel themed gift for all ages!
One of my favorite travel gifts for kids of all are the Omy coloring maps and posters.
They are high-quality coloring maps with several locations around the world and you can use them while on travels, as a pastime or to mark what you have actually seen, or back home to reinforce memories and make the vacation last a little longer (you can see how we used our Omy coloring roll of LA here)
If you add a nice set of felt pens, this makes a lovely travel inspired gift for children.
Luggage tags
If you are looking for a good stocking stuffer, luggage tags can be cute and useful.
They can use them on travel but also in school or for their sports bag and make it stand out from the rest!
Kids GPS tracker
Kids’ GPS trackers can be a great present but something you want to discuss with the parents first, should you be buying them for anyone but your own kids.
They come in several shapes and the most fun for kids are in the form of a watch that they can also use to send sos calls and (limited) text messages.
A portable telescope
Stargazing is one of our favorite activities while away and it is made more fun by the use of a portable telescope.
Some kids telescopes are made specifically for travel and they are a fun and educational gift space-loving kids will cherish.
The one in the image below is pretty elaborate but you can find several simpler models as well (you can find our portable telescope shortlist here)
An exciting experience
I am closing this list with what is probably the best travel gift for kids of all, a travel experience!
I like to give experiences to our kids and accompany them with a tiny gift as a teaser: a headlamp can be a teaser for a camping trip, a Disney luggage tag for a trip to Mouseland and a fluffy scarf can be a clue for a trip to the snow.
After all, what can be better than time together?
I hope you enjoyed this list of travel gifts for traveling kids and it helped you get your shopping started. Safe travels (and happy holidays!)