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Ferry activity pack
Free printable ferry activities for children aged 4 to 11: I-spy, spot-it-at-sea bingo, design your own ship, a route map to draw on, a boat word search and a journey diary. Print one page or the whole pack, in a younger or an older version.
Ferry days out with children
The family behind Travels with Five have taken the car on the ferry from Dover to Calais twice, and from Newhaven to Dieppe. Here is what a car ferry trip was like for them, in short.
Queueing in the car
You drive on board, and the queues happen with everyone in the car, even passport control. Children can keep drawing or playing in their seats.
Walking about on board
On board you can leave the car and walk around: there’s a shop, a café, a bar and the deck.
A cabin for the crossing
On one trip they booked a cabin. It had two sets of bunk beds, a table and chair, and a toilet: a quiet base to come back to.
Arrive in good time
Check-in closed 30 minutes before the ferry left, and they once missed a sailing because they got there too late. Check the times on your own booking.
Driving off
At the other end you drive off the ferry. There’s no waiting for suitcases.
How long you are on board depends on the route. [TODO crossing times, if the owners want them]
Read Travels with Five’s guide to travelling by ferry with kids
This section is from Travels with Five, a family travel blog by the same family. [TODO confirm wording]
What’s in the pack
Ferry I-spyPictures to tick off on the way, from a lifebuoy to a lighthouse.
Spot it at sea bingoTwo different cards on each sheet. Roll for new ones.
Design your own shipFinish and colour a ferry, give it a name and a flag.
Route mapTwo coasts and the sea between. Add your ports and draw the route.
Boat word searchSea and ferry words, with an answer page.
Journey diaryThe weather, what we saw, what we ate and the best bit.
Make the pack
Choose a page or the whole pack, and the younger or older version. Add your child’s name and your ports if you like, then print.
Tips for parents
- Print it before you go. You may not be near a printer once you’re away, so print the whole pack at home.
- Pack a clipboard and pencils. A clipboard gives a firm surface in the car or on a ferry seat, and pencils and crayons in a zip bag are easy to keep together.
- Keep a few sheets for the queue at the port. The word search and the route map work well sitting in the car.
- Save the I-spy and bingo for on board. They give children a reason to look around on deck and in the café.
- Finish with the diary. Filling it in at the end of the day, or the next morning, makes a keepsake of the trip.
- One each for brothers and sisters. Print the younger version for little ones and the older one for confident readers. Bingo cards are different every roll.
Questions parents ask
- What age is the ferry activity pack for?
- Ages 4 to 11, from Reception to Year 6. The younger version (ages 4–7) has bigger pictures, faces to circle and less writing. The older version (ages 7–11) has more to find, more lines to write on and a bigger word search with diagonal words.
- Do I need to know which ports we’re sailing from?
- No. The ports are optional. Type them in to print them on the route map and the diary, or leave them blank and write them by hand. The route map isn’t a real map, so it works for any crossing.
- Are the word search answers included?
- Yes. Choose Sheet + answers and the answer page shades every hidden word in red. In the whole pack it comes last, so you can keep it back.
- Will the bingo cards be different?
- Yes. Each sheet has two cards with different pictures, and Roll a new sheet makes new ones, so each child can have their own.
- How many pages is the whole pack?
- Seven A4 pages: I-spy, bingo, design your own ship, the route map, the word search, the journey diary and the word search answers. Choose Sheet only for six pages without the answers.