Fidget Toys for Long Car Journeys, Trains and Flights

Why quiet fidgets are best for the car

We make a lot of clickers and we love them. We'd still not hand one to a bored eight-year-old behind the driver's seat on the M6. In a small space a click that's satisfying for the person pressing it gets very old for everyone else, very quickly.

So for the car, pick fidgets that move without much sound. A flexi animal that bends and wiggles, a linkloop chain to loop and twist, or a textured grip fidget to run fingers over. Our noise levels guide sorts our range from quiet to loud if you want to check before you pack.

Spinners are fine on a train table or a hotel bed but less good on a moving lap, where they tend to get knocked out of a hand.

What makes a good travel fidget

• It stays put. Anything round or very small ends up under a seat, and in a car nobody can reach it until the next services. Chunkier fidgets, or ones that link together, are easier to keep hold of.
• It needs no batteries or screen. A fidget works in a tunnel, on a dead phone and with no signal.
• It works one-handed. On a plane or a crowded train there isn't much elbow room.
• It's quiet. Fellow passengers will thank you, especially on a night flight.

Take a small zip pouch for them. It saves hunting round the footwell at the end of the trip, and it makes the fidgets feel like a special travel kit rather than toys from the toy box.

The one-new-fidget-per-leg trick

A new toy holds attention far longer than an old one. Rather than handing everything over at the start, keep a few fidgets back and bring out one at each stage: leaving the house, the first stop, after lunch, the last hour. On a long-haul flight you can do the same at take-off, after the meal and before landing.

Multipacks and trios make this cheaper, because you can split one pack across the whole journey. If you're travelling to see family at Christmas, a couple of fidgets saved for the drive can double as a small stocking extra. Our Christmas fidget gift guide has more ideas.

Fidgets for trains and coaches

Trains give you more room than a car, and usually a table. That makes them the best place for a spinner or an infinity cube, which need a bit of space to fold and flip. It's also somewhere adults reach for a fidget, on a commute or a long trip home for the holidays.

The quiet carriage is the exception. If you're sitting in one, stick to silent fidgets and leave the clickers in the bag. Long-distance coaches are similar: the seats are close together and the person in front will hear everything, so the same rule as the car applies.

Older children travelling with a phone or tablet still benefit from a fidget for the times the battery runs out or signal drops. It's often the thing that gets them through the last half hour.

Fidgets for nervous flyers

Plenty of adults and children find take-off, landing or a bumpy patch hard going. Having something to hold and turn over can give restless hands something to do while you wait for it to pass. A smooth worry-stone style fidget is easy to keep in a palm, makes no noise and fits through security in a pocket or bag.

It won't stop the nerves, and if fear of flying is properly getting in the way of travelling, it's worth talking to your GP well before the trip. Our guide to fidget toys for anxiety covers this in more depth.

Before you set off

1. Check the ages in the car. Our toys aren't suitable for children under 36 months because they contain small parts. If there's a toddler in a car seat, keep fidgets with the older children and pack something else for the little one.
2. Order in good time. Most orders are dispatched within 1 working day, but allow time for the post. Our shipping page has current delivery times, and delivery is free on UK orders over £25.
3. Agree a rule for the driver. Quiet fidgets only while moving. Clickers can come out at the services.

All our fidgets are made from PLA, a plant-based polymer, carry the UKCA mark and are made to the UK toy safety standard, BS EN 71. The quiet ones below are the ones we'd put in a travel pouch.