Best toys for the car and long journeys

by Joost Nusselder Updated on: November 4, 2023

We're almost there, we're almost there but not quite yet...

A car holiday can be one of the best trips to take with your children. But it is important that as a parent you are sufficiently prepared for the long car journeys.

To avoid backseat whining and arguing, entertaining pastime is essential!

An easy option for the road trip is to take an iPad or other tablet with you. But what if you suddenly run out of battery? Or maybe you would prefer to reduce your offspring's screen time (especially during the holidays).

We looked for the nicest, most travel-friendly and creative games and toys to take with you traveling and listed them here for you.

The very best toys for on the road is without a doubt this Wikki Stix creative bundle. Especially for children from 4 to 6 years old (although the manufacturer says from 3 years, but perhaps a little too difficult). Gosh, they can be sweet with that for a while :)

There are of course many more options for long car journeys.

Let's take a quick look at the cutest ones! After that, I'll go into more detail about the different options:

Best creative building toys for car

Wikki StixTraveler

A large set of Wikki Stix works very well on a hard surface or even in the hand in the car, for example.

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8.1

Toy score

Toys for the car	Images
Overall best game for in the car: Car Bingo	(view more images)
Best for your baby in the car seat: Lamaze Captain Calamari	(view more images)
Best car toys for toddler 2 years: Kenley activity board	view more images
Best for brother and sister together: Melissa & Doug classic kids games hangman on a trip	(view more images)
Best car seat organizer: Tsumbay car seat back bag for children	(view more images)
Excellent toys in the car for toddlers 3 to 5 years:Crayola Wonder Markers and color blocks	(view more images)
Excellent toys in the car for ages 4 to 6 years: Janod Magnetibook	(view more images)
Excellent toys in the car for ages 5 to 7 years: Melissa & Doug Travel Memory Game	(view more images)
Best car stickers: Eyelike reusable stickers	(view more variants)
nicest auto resistant puzzle: Hape Magnetic maze Bugs	(view more images)

From toddler to toddler activity book collection

Educational games and coloring pages for 3 to 6 years

Your toddler and preschooler will love this e-book, along with the accompanying printables. He or she can play with it at every stage of development, together with mom and dad.

Buy at Bol.com

Have fun on the go! What should you pay attention to?

Toys Of course, traveling must first of all be fun and also keep your kids busy for a (long) time.

You also want to toys which is not too noisy, messy or large. It must be compact and portable, so that you can easily take it with you during your driving holiday.

A real bonus is if the games appeal to children of different ages! Then you can play together with the whole family and that immediately sets a cozy tone at the start of the holiday.

Best in-car toys reviewed

Depending on your kids' ages and interests, you may need to pack a few different items to please everyone.

But you're sure to find some fun and stimulating options on this list of the best toys and games for the car.

Best creative building toys for car

Wikki Stix Traveler

8.1

Toy score

Portability

4.1

Replayability

4.8

Sustainability

3.2

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Best for

• Get creative without clutter
• Lots of different things to do

Less good

• Many children need some help on their way

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Wikki Stix are bendable sticks made of yarn and wax. Your kids can mold them into flat or 3D creations and let their imagination run wild.

Younger children can use them to learn to make basic shapes, letters and numbers, while older children can be creative and create more complicated designs.

They're perfect for road trip art in the car and we don't just say that:

• The stix don't cause a mess
• No parental help is required
• They are suitable for children from three years and older
• Contains no toxins, latex, gluten or allergens
• They are endlessly reusable
• Compact and easy to carry craft package

As you can see in this video you can do a lot with it:

For the long car journeys, there is even a special travel edition of Wikki Stix, with stix in six different colors.

When kids are done crafting, you can simply put the Wikki Stix in the resealable package and stick it in the chair pocket or throw some in your handbag.

Overall best car game: Auto Bingo

Kids of all ages love bingo, so these Travel Bingo Cards are perfect if you're looking for a fun, affordable, and travel-friendly game for all the family.

The miles fly by as children study the landscape while trying to win a round.

When they recognize different items such as a truck, stop sign or letterbox, they simply mark the object on the bingo card.

The first person to get five objects in a row wins. If a child wants to play alone, he can create challenges for himself, such as attempts to fill the entire board.

Overall this is the best car game because:

• It encourages interactivity. This way you can have a nice chat with each other.
• Fun for kids of different age groups
• The game itself makes no noise.
• Play together or alone.
• It has a good mix of urban and rural items, so this game is perfect for anywhere your family is heading to by car.

The set comes with markers and enough bingo cards to use it for a long time.

I did read a review on bol.com that it is also very nice for younger children, for example from 3 years, but with a little help from the parents (or a very sweet bigger brother). The supplied markers apparently run out very quickly and on a longer trip an extra set of markers is a good idea.

Best for your baby in the car seat: Lamaze Captain Calamari

One of the best car seat toys of all time is the Lamaze Captain Calamari Octopus.

This is not random toys for the road, this is a pirate octopus! So he has no fewer than 8 legs, each with their own play activity. He is unique, with his cute eye patch and little hook on one of his tentacles.

A very handy design as it has a large ring on its head so it can be hung wherever you want. For example in the box, but also perfect on a car seat.

The different legs stimulate hand-eye coordination and reward baby with a nice sound or texture. Your baby may discover the following during your car journey:

• A rattle. This one is great for babies to grab while playing.
• A beautiful crispy hat, when baby gets hold of it, it immediately catches attention with its funny noise.
• Two blue teethers. Perfect for babies who are already teething. If they're having a bad day, it will soothe their gums because of the textured, bumpy rings.
• At its bottom is a round shiny mirror that often impresses the little ones.

awesome toys which is also good for your little one's sensory development.

Also watch this nice video of dream factory:

One aspect of Captain Calamari that I think could be improved is the tentacles.

I think the designers could have experimented a bit more with different materials and textures.

They are beautiful and colorful, with a cute little button on the end, but they all feel the same.

Maybe a nice embossed material or a corduroy tentacle would make this Captain Calamari a little more interesting for babies to play with.

Overall a really great toy and good for a lot of fun playing and exploring.

Best Car Toys for Toddler 2 Years: Kenley Activity Board

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Kids can learn the basics of dressing and develop motor skills while playing with this Montessori-inspired preschool busy board!

Here too we have listed the advantages for you:

• The board has 9 buckles, straps and buttons for hands-on learning
• Promotes fine motor development
• Super easy to take with you in the car (or even the plane). The soft felt wool board measures 30 x 25.5 x 1.5 cm and weighs only 129 grams.
• Doesn't make noise
• Have fun playing alone

This toys would be an excellent idea for toddlers in the car, but also for toddlers and older children, whose buckle shape is suitable for different levels of difficulty

Check the latest prices and availability here

Best for brother and sister together: Melissa & Doug classic kids games hangman on the road

Go old school with these classic kids games in magnetic and reusable travel variant.

Siblings can play drafts, hangman, and tic-tac-toe together in the backseat. It's really nice that you can continue the fun with the whole family once you have arrived at your destination.

• Three different games to choose from, so plenty of fun!
• Magnetic pieces that stick to the board, so no worries about stray pieces.
• Have fun playing together
• The small travel variants fit easily in your child's suitcase or in your handbag and of course in the back pocket of the car seat.

Melissa & Doug's hangman game is my favorite and has easy-to-erase markers for lasting fun with the same card:

(view more images)

These games are recommended for ages five and up.

Best car seat organizer: Tsumbay car seat back bag for kids

Okay, obviously this isn't one of the best toys items for the car, but certainly indispensable for a longer car holiday.

A good car seat storage bag for you toys has enough compartments to fit everything, especially if you take a number of different games with you like above.

I find this car seat storage bag from Tsumbay very practical toys in the car, because it has different sized pockets and is not too expensive.

Best in-car toys for preschoolers 3-5 years old: Crayola Wonder Markers and Color Blocks

Most kids love to get creative with markers, but parents sometimes worry about staining their skin, clothes, or car upholstery fabric.

That's why these Crayola Color Wonder Markers and color blocks are the perfect in-car markers!

The markers only work on the special Color Wonder paper, so you don't have to worry about children smearing the upholstery when they are coloring in the back seat.

The durable storage box doubles as a lap seat, so it's easy for your little ones to color in the car. It's just as easy to put it away again and take the markers and paper to a roadside restaurant when you stop for a break.

There is here a wide variety of coloring book themes to choose from so kids won't get bored.

Best toy in the car for ages 4 to 6: Janod Magnetibook

Very handy for those long car journeys. It is a game, book and puzzle in one and works with magnets to keep everything together.

(view more images)

Your child can make fun faces themselves by sticking the Janod magnets to the face on the inside of the book, or can take on challenges by trying to copy one of the many playing cards.

Handy to take with you because it is like a kind of briefcase; this means there is less chance of parts getting lost. It has a handy tray and nothing gets lost because of the magnets.

Check prices and availability here

Best travel game for the car: Melissa & Doug Travel Memory Game

Melissa & Doug, known for their creative and well-crafted toys, offers a smart way for kids to play the classic memory game on the go.

This sturdy Travel Memory Game is provided with 24 wooden cards, which are attached to the board with stretchy cords. Even when the game is collapsed, the wooden cards will remain stuck.

Children can choose from fourteen different fun themes, slide one of the laminated cards into the board and then flip up the tiles to find pictures.

They can play alone or challenge another. The built-in numbered scoreboard lets them keep track of their matches.

There are no loose pieces and everything is conveniently stored in the board, so this is one of the games that are perfect for in the car.

Best car stickers: Eyelike reusable stickers

Then fun for on the road, and especially this first set in a car theme: the reusable stickers from Eyelike.

Stickers are the perfect way for toddlers to express their creativity and develop their imaginations, but removing them afterward is no fun for parents.

Replace regular stickers with these reusable stickers that are the perfect travel toy for toddlers.

Children can put the stickers on different pictures in the book, then remove them and start all over again.

Plus, with 400 stickers, they're unlikely to run out halfway through, even if your toddlers ruin a few.

Most fun car resistant puzzle: HapeMagnetic Maze Bugs

For preschoolers with a little more eye-hand coordination, this magnetic puzzle from Hape presents a new challenge: successfully navigating the beads through the maze.

Dragging the pieces with the magnetic rod is a bit more difficult than putting together the average puzzle, but it is much more interesting and it is autoproof. In many other puzzles you lose the pieces between the seats.

This toys is a great travel companion: it is durable, thanks to its sturdy wooden construction. But it is still light enough, so parents don't have to lug around heavy bags.

How do car toys differ from other travel toys?

Car toys are specifically designed for use during road trips and have some unique features. It is often compact, can be attached to car seats or windows and can withstand shock and movement. This type of toy is designed to keep children occupied and provide distraction during long drives, allowing parents to concentrate on driving.

Other travel toys, on the other hand, can be suitable for a variety of travel situations, such as plane trips or hotel stays. It can include: portable board games, activity sets, and craft supplies. This travel toys are more versatile and can be used in different travel destinations. The main difference lies in the mobility and ability to keep children occupied in the specific context of a road trip versus other types of travel.

Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.