I can’t express enough the importance of preparing for an outing with kids. For our family, we prepare whether we are going for something to eat, or going to a friend's house, and even when we go to the in-laws. Having the children pack their own ‘toy bag’ is what has kept Jacob and Zoe away from a phone or iPad.
As long as they choose the activities themselves that they are interested in, I continue to see screens as no issue in our family. We ensure to give them enough time before we leave to do this (normally 5-10 minutes is enough).
If you don’t do this in your family now, just know that it’s never too late to start!