We love traveling with our kids. Whether it’s a road trip around Utah or a flight to Paris, our kids love to bring their own travel backpacks with a few of their favorite travel toys. They like to feel grown up with their own backpacks and it’s nice that it’s a few less things I have to carry.
Over the years, I have dialed down our favorite travel toys and what keeps my kids entertained the longest, without taking up too much space. I like to change it up so they don’t get bored, and if I put too much in their packs it can get too heavy. Along with that, I have also found the best kids’ travel backpacks. I want backpacks that are small, comfortable for my kids to wear, and also look cute.
I put together 3 of my favorite kids’ travel backpacks as well as my favorite travel toys and entertainment for the kids.
My Favorite Kids’ Travel Backpacks
Walker Goods Mini Arrow Pack
I love everything from Walker Goods. All of their packs are made from a durable 1000d Cordura fabric. This is great for a kids backpack since mine put their stuff through the ringer. My kids are not gentle on their things so I like to buy things that will hold up and that that will clean up easily. This pack has one large compartment, one interior zipped off pocket and one small exterior pocket on the front. The front pocket is the perfect size for a few Yoto cards.
One of my favorite parts of this pack that makes it perfect for kids is the chest clip. This simple feature keeps it from slipping off their little shoulders and makes it more comfortable for them to carry.
My Discount Code is Hailey15 for 15% off
Fjallraven Mini Kanken Pack
I have had this backpack for years. I bought it for myself before I had kids, but when my toddler was able to carry his own backpack, I let him start using it and it became one of my favorite kids’ travel backpacks. It has one large compartment, one interior pocket with no closure, two side pockets with no closures, and an exterior zippered pocket on the front. It also has two handles on the top that snap together. These make it easy to grab, but also perfect if you want to roll a small blanket or towel up and put it on top.
It is very cute, the rectangular shape allows it to hold a lot of stuff, and has a decent sized front pocket.
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Walker Goods Arrow Pack
This is the original kid’s Arrow Pack and a perfect kids’ travel backpacks. Just like all of Walker Goods bags, it’s made with 1000d Cordura fabric that is durable and cleans up easily. We got this for my son when he turned 4 and started wanting to bring a few more things with him. It has great organization, opens completely flat, and is a little larger for growing kids.
Instead of the single large compartment that the Mini Arrow Pack has, it has three compartments with easy pull tabs, 2 pen holders, padded section for an iPad or 13″ laptop and a larger pouch with a buckle closure.
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WHat Travel Toys are In My Kids’ Travel Backpacks
Yoto Player Mini
Our Yoto Mini is hands down my favorite of the activities for flying or driving with toddlers because it keeps my kids entertained the longest. The Yoto is a screen free audio player that you insert cards into to play whatever is on them. They have cards with stories, songs, meditations, nature sounds, and more. there is a headphone jack so you don’t need to worry about it disturbing the people around you. It’s the perfect alternative to a tv show or movie.
You can read my whole Yoto Player review here. And I have my toddler’s favorite Yoto cards listed here.
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Magnetic building blocks
These open-ended mini magnetic blocks are a staple in our travel bag. Not only are they perfect for the airplane but also the airport and Airbnb or hotel. They are very lightweight and easy to keep track of since they are magnetic. My toddler loves making rocket ships or a garages for his cars.
This is the travel case we use to carry the magnets in.
Books
Do not underestimate the hold handful of good books can have on a toddler. Besides a show and our Yoto player, books keep my toddler occupied the longest. I like to bring ones he either hasn’t read in a while or I will pick up a few new ones so I know he will be excited to read them. I also like to get books that have multiple stories in them so we don’t have to keep track of too many.
Toy Cars
Toy cars are fun for kids of all ages and my toddler is no exception. He loves to bring a few in his fanny pack and will just push them on his chair, on the tray table, or on the window. Bring a little roll of tape and you can make a little track for them to follow. My toddler loves the Pixar Cars movie and the mini cars are the perfect size for traveling. We also love the Mac Truck that can hold them all.
Mellissa and Dough Water Wow Coloring Pad
I love the Melissa and Doug Water Wow coloring pads because they are reusable and virtually mess free. You just fill up the drawing pen with water and when brushed onto the pages, the colors appear. Kids can use them over and over and they’re always a hit.
Kid Headphones
A good pair of over the ear headphones are great if you have any travel plans, or you have multiple kids. These have amazing reviews and I know multiple people who’ve had them for years. We got them for our toddler for our plane ride to Europe and they were great! He didn’t mind wearing them at all and they are built well. I like that they have a metal connecting piece.
Headband Headphones
Our two year old doesn’t like to keep on traditional over the ear headphones so I decided to give these headband headphones a try and they worked like a charm. She kept them on and actually enjoyed wearing them. They are bluetooth as well as chorded but I have yet had a chance to test out the bluetooth feature. They are adjustable on the back to fit a range of kid head sizes.
Toddler Digital Camera
My toddler loves taking pictures on his little camera and I love it because he doesn’t ask to take them on my phone. It’s a simple design and he mastered it when he was just 2.5. And the pictures he takes are extremely fun to look back at.
Legos
When my 4 year old showed interest in Legos, it was a beautiful day. He loves creating all different vehicles and animals with his Legos. I just put a couple handfuls in one of these photo boxes or zippered pouches and it keeps him entertained for hours. (That’s an exaggeration, but even 15 minutes for a toddler is pretty good.)
Stuffed Animals
We used to travel with my kid’s favorite stuffed animal, but then we left it in Paris. (You can watch that video here.) We were lucky enough to get it back but we didn’t want to make that mistake again and risk actually losing his very favorite thing in the world. I love these little stuffed animals with clips because I can clip it to my kids backpacks, they love them, and they are small and easy to travel with.
If you enjoyed reading about my favorite Travel Toys and Kids’ Travel Backpacks, make sure to check out these other posts!
