Top 10 Great Toddler Travel Toys

We’ve been sticking close to home since the birth of our second child in December.  That doesn’t mean we’ve actually been at home.  Naturally, we’ve been eating out at restaurants, wine tasting and have gone away for a few weekends.  Our toddler’s kept busy with some great toddler travel toys.

Staying close to home ended recently, when we spent 10 days visiting family.  It was our first trip back with two kids, and the first time our daughter’s flown in almost 8 months.  So, in preparation for our recent trip "home" to Canada we bought several new toys.  Our trip started with an hour and a half drive to the airport, followed by a 5 hour flight.  During the week we spent in Canada we also drove from Toronto to Ottawa and then back again – about 250 miles (452 km).  Needless to say, that’s a lot of sitting for a toddler!  (Don’t worry, we kept our son entertained too, with some great baby travel toys.

Enter the toys that made all that travel possible and even (gasp!) fun!  Great toddler travel toys are light weight, have few if any pieces to lose or drop, don’t make a mess and are entertaining enough to keep your toddler busy for hours.  And hours…

Here are the toys that kept us sane and our toddler happy!

1. Wiki Stix Rainbow Pak – Made from yarn coated with wax, this great toddler travel toy is safe, non-toxic and requires no batteries.  Lightweight and inexpensive, these are easy to pack and won’t break the bank if they get left behind on the plane or at the restaurant.  Bend and twist to make a myriad of shapes, then straighten them out and start all over again!  Make sure to have some wipes handy, as your child’s hands will be somewhat sticky afterward, but we’ve never had them damage anything.

2. Aquadoodle Travel N’ Doodle – Fill the little "pen" with water, then color to your heart’s content.  When the water dries, the drawing disappears, making this great travel toy endlessly re-useable.  It’s extremely light weight and non-toxic, making it a great toddler travel toy – if they can wrestle it away from their older siblings!

3. Scribble Board Books – Toddlers love to color, but their quick scribbling can mean a traditional coloring book lasts mere minutes.  Scribble books are coloring board books whose pages can be erased for endless hours of coloring fun.  This great toddler travel toy is sturdy enough to withstand some serious toddler love and entertaining enough to buy you some much needed peace out for dinner at a restaurant.

4. Animal ABC’s Ring Flash Cards – These sturdy cards are just an ABC book in a smaller, more portable, travel friendly format.  Bright, interesting illustrations keep toddler entertained and a plastic ring keeps all the cards together and allows you to attach it using a [link to toy link things] – making this a great toddler stroller toy!

5. Buckle Toy "Buster" – Does your toddler love to do up buckles? This great toddler travel toy has multiple different buckles to do up, all in a small, lightweight travel friendly format.  Your toddler will have very busy hands and you will be very happy you bought this great toddler travel toy.

6. 10 pc Animal Finger Puppet Set Titta Ikea – Lightweight and inexpensive, this great toddler travel toy will foster your child’s imagination and provide endless hours of in-flight entertainment.  They fit fine on our little girl’s fingers, but also accommodate mom and dad’s as well.  They had our baby mesmerized, too!

7. Giddy-up Thomas Water Wow Activity Book – This is paint with water at its best.  Fill up the little "pen" (especially easy given the pen’s eyedropper like design) and color to your heart’s content.  Vibrant colors appear when wet, then disappear when dry for endless play.  This great toddler travel toy comes in a variety of characters, so you can choose the one your child likes best.

8. Pocket Etch A Sketch – Even smaller than the one billed as a "Travel Etch-a-Sketch", this one is still big enough for lots of restaurant/car/plane fun.  It’s small size and light weight make it a perfect travel toy.  It’s no mess fun and no pieces to lose make it a perfect toddler travel toy.  Classic fun!

9. Coloring book and Crayola Beginnings: Washable Triangular Crayons – Coloring books are wonderful – until Junior decides to color their clothes, the tray table on the airplane, or the table at the restaurant.  Save yourself some stress by buying Crayola washable crayons.  These are impressively easy to wipe off solid surfaces and wash out of clothes.  The triangular shape keeps them from rolling off plane trays, making these larger sized crayons the perfect toddler travel toy.

10. B. Hellophone – Ok, it’s an electronic toy and it makes noise.  But it’s not so loud that it would drive you crazy on a long road trip or sitting in the stroller during the day or playing at the hotel at the end of the day.  It’s handy built in loop makes it easy to attach, so you won’t be spending your travel time searching for it.  Best of all, you can record your own voice, for a fun twist on this standard toddler toy.  These great features and it’s light weight and lack of pieces to lose make it a great toddler travel toy.

Looking for more helpful travel tips to make travel with kids easier?  Check out other great toddler travel toys, find travel tips and great toddler travel toys to help you travel with a toddler, and find out why we recommend the

The UppaBaby G-Lite Umbrella Stroller.  Need a place for your little ones to sleep while you travel?  Check out our review of the Phil & Ted’s Travel Cot – we now own two!