Looking for travel gifts for kids that are fun and useful? Get inspired by our list of tried and tested gifts for traveling kids!
Travel gifts for kids can be a wonderful idea but also a difficult one to do right.
You can buy a travel gift with the best intentions, thinking they will be able to carry it around with them and maybe even think about you on their adventures, but how can you make sure they will like your well-intended present?
With kids used to flashy toys, will a travel gift for kids do the trick or go down the wrong way?
I encountered this conundrum several times but I am happy to report I have a solution, of actually 15 of them!
I have two children who love to travel and several friends with traveling kids and over the course of the years I have come up with several very successful gifts that made both parents and children happy.
These are my favorite gifts for traveling kids for world adventures (and a weekends at nana’s!)
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
Travel gifts for kids
Please note: this post contains affiliate links and, should you make a purchase through them, we might make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Trunki ride-on luggage
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, this is probably my favorite travel gift idea for toddlers.
Small backpack
Another fabulous piece of travel gear my kids love is their Kikki Deuter backpack.
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!
Clearly, luggage for kids doesn’t have to be boring! If you are buying for older kids, we have also found some lovely backpacks for older kids.
Kids hydration backpack
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 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!
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!
Children headphones
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.
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.
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 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
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 all the time 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 Uno, Dobble, Flaggy but you can also find portable versions of traditional games such as Monopoli, connect 4 or magnetic chess.
Coloring Maps
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 gifts for traveling kids and it helped you get your shopping started. Safe travels (and happy holidays!)