27 boredom-busting ideas for travelling with kids

We've got great ideas to keep the 'Are we there yet?' calls at bay. Check out these ideas for car activities for kids, along with ones for planes, trains and every other way you're travelling with kids.

While it’s lovely to go on holiday with your kids, the journey there can be pretty stressful. Not to mention expensive, as you come screeching to a halt at the nearest pit stop and buy whatever comes to hand in order to keep the peace on the back seat.

But long journeys, whether by car, train, boat or plane, needn’t blow the budget – or put you off travelling altogether, either ...

Wait! Before you scroll to the next idea, don't underestimate the power of this good old word game.

I Spy can keep young and old alike entertained on a long journey. Sure, you'll have to accept the kids might choose something they spotted 20 miles back, or that starts with a different letter, but that's half the fun.

And just think of how much you'll be improving their literacy skills.

Reading while on the move can make some children feel queasy, so try popping to your local library to rent a selection of story CDs, or find some bargains on Amazon, instead.

With everything from Kipper to Harry Potter, there's something for all ages. If the kids would prefer to listen to different things, download the audio stories onto a tablet and use headphones.

Very young kids love listening to their parents and siblings, so if you have a toddler and there's someone in the car who isn't driving, they could try reading one of these top books for one year olds and two year olds out loud.

Draw a table of 10 or 20 items to spot from the car or train window, and copy it for each member of the family (except the driver, of course!) to tick off with a pen, crayon or coloured pencil.

For little ones, car bingo can be as simple as a cow, a car, or a road sign. Put your older children to the test by getting them to spot a specific year on a number plate or particular road signs.

The winner is the first one to get a full house of items crossed off and yell BINGO!

Give older children a map before you head off and plan the journey with them. Then get them to give you directions ... trust us!

They'll love the responsibility, it will keep them occupied, plus it will also teach them valuable spacial awareness and leadership skills.

It might be a good idea to subtly keep track of the general direction yourself though, just in case.

Supermarkets and pound stores often have bumper activity books, so buy a few and slot them into the car seat pockets for future journeys. That way, you know you've always got something to hand to keep the kids entertained.

They'll be much cheaper than ones you can find in airports and service stations, and probably a better variety, too.

Kids will obviously need pens and crayons to colour in those activity books, but you don't need to break the bank on an arts and crafts kit. Try making a cheap art pack from an old DVD case, instead.

Remove the DVD attachment and replace with a pocket for pens and crayons. You can even use the brochure clips to fasten a supply of paper. Keep it in the back of the driver's seat for easy access and voila! You've got a boredom-busting hack.

Take a look at some instructions here.

After a long journey, you'll probably be looking for a pub stop anyway, but this game gets the whole family to keep an eye out.

See who can be the first to spot 20 legs – The Eight Bells has none; the White Hart has four; the Cricketers will end your game pretty quickly. Or, who can get a whole 'body' (arms, head and legs) first?

To make it more advanced, get the kids to jot down whereabouts they saw each sign, which they'll know from following the route on a map ...

Silence cries of 'Are we nearly there yet?' with a simple map stuck inside the roof of the car or on the back of a front seat.

Add a few landmarks to spot along the way – as your journey progresses, the children will have an idea of how much further you have to go and won't have to keep asking you over, and over, and OVER again.

Car journeys are made longer by constant stops to fuel hungry children.

Avoid the unnecessary breaks by packing a 'snack bin' for each child. Fill a compartmented box with a selection of snacks (it can be a mix of healthy stuff that will sustain them, and real 'treats' that will keep them happy).

It's up to them when they want to eat it and in what order. Don't pack it with too may drinks, though. Kids will happily sup away when they're not even thirsty and this will only result in even more toilet stops!

LEGO (or Duplo for younger ones) can keep your kids entertained for ages. Create a cheap and cheerful travel pack with an old lunchbox.

Simply stick a LEGO board to the inside or top, then include a small selection of pieces for them to get creative. Just make sure the bag is easily sealed so you don't end up with bits of lego under your bum for the next journey!

Children love hearing stories. It doesn't matter that you can't remember The Gruffalo word for word (although we're pretty sure we could recite it in our sleep after reading it aloud so many times), they'll still enjoy hearing your personalised version of it.

Or recount a favourite tale from your childhood. Why not mix it up a little and create a new story by taking it in turns to add a new line or two to the tale. You'll be surprised how creative the kids can be.

Instead of stopping due to hunger/toilets/fighting in the back, try planning your stops before you've even set off.

It may involve a slight detour off the motorway, but a pit stop at a museum, country park or even a garden centre with an aquatics section can break up the boredom of a journey, as well as to have a good stretch.

Make it even more fun by having your children help decide what the family stops to see!

Set up a simple game of noughts and crosses – or tic tac toe – at a service station, or even on a plane, with plastic knives for the grid and two different types of condiment sachets for the noughts and crosses.

A bit of ketchup and mayonnaise sounds way more interesting than just drawing an X and O.

Would you rather be able to fly or breathe underwater? Would you rather be an astronaut or a queen?

An oldie but a goodie, this game can really get kids thinking. Plus, it might reveal something about other grown ups you're travelling with that you didn't know before.

Be prepared to inevitably go down the gross question road, like whether you'd rather eat a wriggly worm or some sort of animal poo ...

Secure a cleaning caddy or plastic box between the two back seats to create an activity bin. Fill it with games, crayons, water bottles, snacks and anything else your little one is likely to demand en route. Less work for you is always a good thing.

Travel washbags (the kind that unfold and have lots of zipped compartments) also make the perfect storage for travel games and activities. Best of all, they come with hooks that you can hang on the back of your seat or from the car's coat hook.

Mallet's mallet (a word association as it's known to anyone who's not a child of the 1980s) is great fun and one of those games that you might find your children are much better at than you.

Take it in turns to say a word associated with what's been said before, with no pauses or repetition. The first person might say car, the second may then say wheel, and the third might then say Catherine, and so on.

You'll get quite a good insight into how your child's brain works and what's on their mind.

Invest in some window stickers (those that peel off, definitely NOT ones that will leave a sticky residue) and your little ones can use the car window to create their own masterpieces. Anything is more fun than paper, right?

This is an excellent game for older children. Draw a simple grid of eight dots by eight dots. Each player takes it in turns to connect two dots. If you manage to connect all four sides of a box, you put your initial inside.

The aim is to prevent your opponent from creating boxes while connecting as many as possible for yourself. The winner is the person with the most boxes at the end.

Let your kids control the decks as the resident in-car DJs. Picking and perfecting their ideal playlist will actually take longer than you think, and if they're singing along to their favourite tunes, they might get tired out and even take a nap – so you'll eventually get some peace and quiet.

An alternative version, let everyone in the car choose a song in turn, so everyone gets a go.

A bit of family rivalry never hurt anyone, right? Without getting too competitive, you can make your journey into a contest.

Create a point scoring system for good behaviour and fun tasks along the way – whoever gets the most points, gets a treat. This would be a good time to test some times tables!

Remember life before smartphones? Your children don't. Give them a couple of cheap, disposable cameras so they can document the journey in a way they're not used to.

They could take a snap every half an hour of what they think is the best thing they can see. If the little ones have brought a toy along, they could take a photo of it in the different locations. Afterwards, they'll get to keep the photos and the memories.

Letters, photos, numbers and more – you can get a magnet in almost anything. Bring a baking biscuit tray with you or a magnetic board so the kids can create a masterpiece.

And you get to be the judge!

This idea could be a little messy while travelling publicly, but if you're in the car, the kids will be so focussed on making their collage, they won't even notice how long the drive's been.

Bring some old magazines, newspaper and/or coloured paper that can be easily ripped. Your children can then stick them into a scrapbook, making fun words and images.

If you create a paper bin, by hanging a bin bag in the middle seat, it'll make it easier for their little arms to reach.

Whether you've got a huge ream of foil already or need to pick some up cheap from the supermarket, it can be great for moulding, wrapping and squashing.

You could all have a go at moulding a toy or structure out of the tin foil – minus points for the toy that breaks before the return journey!

If you're on a train or plane, try swapping seats every hour or so to give the kids a new partner to play with. They're more likely to get bored quicker if they've been staring at the same thing for hours.

If you're in the car – and there's room – climb into the backseat at the service station stop. Having someone to lean on, play hand games with and talk to face-to-face will make all the difference in their boredom levels.

It's wonderful to think of tech-free ways to entertain the kids but don't feel like you've failed if all they want is to plug themselves into a game for part of the journey.

There's a lot to be said for everyone arriving at a destination feeling happy!

There are loads of free apps available for phones and tablets you can download, suitable for a range of ages. To keep control of it, only download two or three and set specific time limits on them.