Based on my years of traveling with my toddlers, I can tell you that flying with a toddler can be intimidating. What makes flying with a toddler so scary is that they do not sit still, and there’s no amount of convincing (or pleading) that can get them to.
This is precisely what makes toddlers, over all other ages, so challenging to handle on flights. In my experience flying with toddlers, I can tell you that a little planning goes a long way. It also never hurts to pack these toddler travel essentials along with a selection of my favorite airplane toys for toddlers.
I’ve learned that the key to success on a flight with a toddler is to pack a selection of particularly engaging airplane toys for toddlers. I always tried to pack a variety of small toddler airplane toys in my carry-on bag, so I can easily rotate between them.
Keep reading to learn how a few toddler toys for airplane travel can make all the difference, and get ready to have an amazing vacation with your toddler!
Flying with a Toddler
Although traveling with a toddler may be challenging, you can still have a very successful flight! Before you go, don’t miss my best tips for flying with a toddler.
You may also be interested in my toddler carry-on packing list.
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My Favorite Toddler Toys for Airplanes
When choosing toddler airplane toys for your child, just remember that they need to be light and compact enough to fit in your carry-on bag or your toddlers travel backpack.
The best toddler plane toys are easy to carry, take out and put away quickly, and durable enough to handle the rigors of travel. Bonus points, of course, if they have an educational aspect to them!
I know, it’s a tall order. But don’t worry, because I have distilled my years of family travel experience into a curated list of my favorite toddler toys for airplane travel. When reviewing my list, consider your child’s personality and select a variety of airplane toys which will appeal to your child the most.
- Reusable pages extend play
- Easy to pack
- Great for planes restaurants and hotel downtime
- Widely available themes and bundles
- Pages need drying time between uses
- Water pen can be misplaced without supervision
Once my kids outgrew the Water Wow! books, the Crayola Color Wonder books were a great next step in their creative journey.
- Truly mess free ink
- Built-in storage folder
- Brand trust and easy refills
- Strong character appeal
- Refills use proprietary paper
I once made my son a homemade version of this toy with pipe cleaners and an empty spice jar. It was a hit, but to be honest, these look so much better for inflight entertainment. I really like these toys for airplane travel!
- Truly no mess and reusable
- Tiny pack fits any day bag
- Open ended creativity without screens
- Quiet activity for flights and restaurants
- Can collect lint and need a clean surface
I love the LCD drawing tablets our toddlers have. I’m always amazed at how long my kids will sit and draw new pictures over and over.
These tablets may look like screen toys, but they are completely screen free. The thin, lightweight design fits easily in a carry-on, making it one of my favorite mess-free toddler airplane toys.
- Lightweight and ultra thin for travel
- Large drawing area for toddlers
- One button erase for endless doodling
- Completely screen free and mess free
- Durable enough for flights and restaurants
- Stylus can be lost without a tether
- Soft and foldable for easy packing
- All parts attached for no lost pieces
- Encourages fine motor skills
- Quiet and mess free travel toy
- Durable stitching and quality materials
- A bit heavier than paper activities
Plane rides with toddlers require plenty of snacks! Fill your snack cup with small snacks that require fine motor skills (like Cheerios), and you'll have a happy, well-fed, entertained toddler. Win-win-win!
Our toddler carries his snack cup EVERYWHERE! It's literally in every single family travel photo we have of him as a toddler.
- Keeps snacks contained without spills
- Encourages fine motor skills while eating
- Fits most stroller and car seat cup holders
- Top rack dishwasher safe for easy cleanup
- Budget friendly 2 pack
- Not leakproof for liquids
- Flaps can collect crumbs if not cleaned promptly
It’s the perfect way to prepare your toddler for their first flight while keeping them happily entertained along the journey. Designed by Celine Brewer, from BabyCanTravel.com, a travel-loving parent who knows what works on real trips.
- Eases first flight jitters
- Simple pictures for little hands
- Pairs with crayons and sticker books
- Great gift add-on for trips
- Paper books are not reusable
- Non-roll design is perfect for planes
- Hard plastic resists breaking
- Comes in a travel friendly case
- Age 3 plus per manufacturer
My kids loved playing with Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Books on family trips, but sadly they are too big to qualify for my list of the best toddler airplane toys.
Luckily, Melissa & Doug also makes these smaller puffy sticker activity books which are the ideal size for the airplane. Your toddler will love creating and recreating the scenes.
- Reusable and residue free
- Compact fold-out format
- Strong brand trust
- Engaging themes for travel days
- Loose stickers can drop between seats
- Reusable and residue free
- Perfect for airplane windows
- Compact and lightweight
- Variety of themes available
- Pieces can fall or get lost
- Not ideal on textured surfaces
- Bright colors and soft design appeal to little ones
- Six buckle styles build fine-motor skills
- Clips to bags, car seats, or strollers for on-the-go play
- Durable stitching and quality fabric stand up to travel
- Some buckles may be challenging for younger toddlers
- Surface clean only (no machine wash)
- Very compact and lightweight
- Multiple animals for simple stories
- Soft texture engages curious hands
- Great value as a set
- Small pieces require supervision
- Fabric can pill with heavy use
Small cars and vehicle sets are some of the best travel toys for toddlers. I especially loved them for my two year old, who loved moving Cheerios in the trucks.
This compact 5 pack of 3 inch CAT trucks has free rolling wheels and moving parts, so kids can drive the tractor, dump truck, and bulldozer for imaginative play in hotel rooms, vacation rentals, and rest stops.
- Compact vehicles for small spaces
- Moving parts keep kids engaged
- Great for hotel room pretend play
- Not ideal on airplane trays
- Small parts advisory at age 3 plus
- Compact and lightweight for travel
- Encourages fine motor skill development
- Durable solid wood construction
- Quiet activity for airplanes or restaurants
- Engaging pretend play with caterpillar theme
- Thread can tangle if pulled too tightly
Picture books in general are great toddler travel toys for airplanes. Each board book in this box set has 100 color photographs to look at and talk about, and 100 simple first words to read and learn.
With colorful, engaging pages and lightly padded covers that make them easy to hold, toddlers will enjoy spending time flipping through the colorful pages of these educational books.
- Durable pages for toddlers
- Short attention-span friendly
- Fits easily in small bags
- Teaches words and categories
- Box sleeve can wear out
- Repetitive for older toddlers
Getting Your Toddler to Sleep on a Plane
If your family trip involves a long flight, then keeping your toddler entertained will be only half the story. If you need you child to sleep, don’t miss my tips on getting your toddler to sleep on the plane! A sleeping toddler on a flight is a true gift. Take it from me, having an airplane toddler bed is so helpful for this!
Travel Toys for other age Groups
As there is often similarities between age groups, why not take a moment to read my posts on the best baby travel toys and best travel toys for 2 year olds. You also will find some of our screen-free toddler travel toys make perfect travel toys for two year olds.
Finally, if you want some suggestions for apps for young toddlers, we’ve shared our favorites in our airplane activities for toddlers – don’t forget to practice using toddler headphones before the flight!
Read More
Looking for some family travel inspiration? Don’t miss my list of the best places to travel with a toddler in the US and the best places to travel with a toddler in the world.
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This post was written & edited by:
Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.