good apps for road trips games

20+ Entertaining Road Trip Games to Play in the Car

This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I (The Winding Road Tripper) earn from qualifying purchases.  Read more . 

Road trips are not just about getting to your destination. It’s also about all the fun you can have on your journey to your next stop.

These road trip games will bring laughter and excitement to your next road trip.

Let’s dive into some of our favorites.

Alright, we know this is one of those classic games to play on a road trip that everyone has heard of, but have you ever really dug into it? 

I Spy has a lot of versatility. It’s not just that one-dimensional game you remember from your childhood. This is a game that you can mix up and cut loose with. Try adding time limits, creating I Spy themes, or just killing some time with a class road game. 

You probably know the rules, but all you need to do to play this game is pick something you and your friends can see and have them guess until they get it right. You’ll say, “I spy something that…” and add a clever clue that gives a subtle hint about what you’re looking at. 

The key to playing this game as an adult is to focus on those clever hints. That’s where the fun is!

20 Questions 

 20 Questions is one of those games that has plenty of versatility. Let’s look at a few ways to enjoy this game while on a road trip.

You play 20 Questions by assigning one person to be “it.” That person thinks of a person, place, or thing, and everyone else has 20 questions to narrow down their guess and get it right.

You can spice up 20 Questions by making it themed, personal, or romantic. It all depends on who you’re traveling with. 

Like many road games, this game is best played in short bursts. You want to mix up these classic road trip games, so you don’t burn out on any one game. 

Would You Rather

Would You Rather is another excellent game to play while on a road trip. 

The goal of this game is to give someone a ridiculous and near-impossible choice between two options. You can ask them to pick between their favorite hobbies, a million dollars or perfect health, or anything else you can think of!

This is also a great game for getting to know someone new. It’s the perfect icebreaker for couples and helps you explore topics that matter to the people you travel with. 

Mini Board Games 

Mini magnetic board games are fun games to play in the car, but they are also adorable. 

You and your travel companions can enjoy Scrabble, chess, checkers, or mini Monopoly.

There are travel-sized versions of just about every board game out there. Throw one of these in your bag, and you’ll hardly notice the extra space it takes up. Besides, it will generate way more fun than you might expect. 

Travel Scavenger Hunt 

One of the most fun things you can do when heading out on your road trip is to set up a scavenger hunt .

You need to do some planning ahead of time for this game. Think about some interesting or challenging items you and your travel companions can hunt down or see on the road together. 

These can be wrappers from regional snacks, landmarks, road signs, or anything you can find along your road trip route. 

Here’s a tip for setting up a scavenger hunt. Come up with a low-stakes prize for the winner, which could be anything from a Starbucks gift card to a coupon for a free back massage. 

Trivia Apps! 

Playing trivia games on the road used to mean taking several decks of cards with questions and answers on them. However, your phone is full of game apps to keep you entertained on your road trip.

There are trivia apps like Popcorn Trivia, SongPop, and countless others. These let you play trivia games based on movies, music, and even history with your travel buddies. 

Don’t get caught thinking these games are trivial; they are some of the most fun games to play on a road trip!

Related Post: Best Road Trip Game Apps

Travel Bingo

Here’s another exciting game that takes a little preparation before you hit the road.

You can set up a travel bingo gam e for everyone you will be on the road with. This bingo game can be full of fun inside jokes, sites along the way, and all the ups and downs of a long car ride.

Travel bingo is a great way to add a little lightheartedness to some of the challenges of taking a road trip. Why not lean into these awkward moments and add a square on your travel bingo card for awkward smells or getting stuck in traffic?

The winner of travel bingo can get a little prize, but there’s no prize more fabulous than the satisfaction of being the travel bingo champion.  Related Post: Free Downloadable Road Trip Bingo Cards

Gas Station Stop Gourmet 

There are plenty of travel games about embracing the unique and sometimes weird cuisine you can find while on the road.

The goal of this game is to make the most of the limited culinary options you have at your average gas station. Players should be given a budget and are challenged to come up with the most exciting meal they can think of.

Imagine you’re on a Food Network competition show, but all you can do is create a fine dining experience using a convenience store and a few fast food diners.

This is a great game to help people think outside the box and not get stuck snacking on the same pre-packaged chips for the entire ride. 

Fictionary  

Fictionary started hundreds of years ago with the Victorians in England. 

This word game is all about obscure words and the definitions that they “should” have. Play works like this. 

One player picks an obscure word that few people know, like “mycorrhizal” or “sozzled.” Everyone else writes down their made-up definitions. Whoever gets the most laughs wins!

More Road Trip Entertainment: Best Attention-Grabbing Audio Books for a Road Trip Boredom-Busting Podcasts for a Road Trip Road Trip Questions for Couples

Six Degrees of Separation

Here’s another road trip classic, especially for movie buffs. 

Six Degrees of Separation got a second wind when it became an iconic meme in the early days of the internet known as Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. 

The point of the game is straightforward. One player names two actors, and the other must connect them in six degrees of separation or less.

Here’s a classic example using Kevin Bacon.

“Kevin Bacon and William Shatner.”

William Shatner was in Festival in Cannes with Maximilian Schell, who starred in Telling Lies in America with Kevin Bacon.

There’s even a website called The Oracle of Bacon that can generate these degrees of separation if you two get stuck!

Fictional Road Trip Families

One of the most fun things about a road trip is the people you will meet on the way. 

However, some people you “meet” drive past you on the road at 60 miles an hour. While you need more time to meet them adequately, you can still tell a fun story about their lives.

The next time an interesting-looking car drives past you, collaborate on a fictional story about the family inside that vehicle. Take turns adding story elements and see where it will lead you.

The Movie Game

Here is another one for film buffs.

This game starts with one person naming a movie and another person naming an actor who starred in that film. The next person then picks another actor from that movie and a different movie that the actor starred in. The second player then repeats the process, and play continues until no one can name a new movie.

For a twist on this game, players can go back and forth naming actors, writers and directors, and production staff on movies until they cannot name anyone else involved with a given film.

Human Jukebox

Here’s a game for the musically inclined pair on a road trip.

Human Jukebox starts with one player singing a line from a song. Then the other player uses the last word of that line to connect it to a brand-new song.

Here’s an example:

Player 1 starts with a line from Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody: “So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye. So you think you can love me and leave me to die. Oh, baby, can’t do this to me, baby .”

Player 2 connects it with Britney Spears’s classic “… Baby One More Time.” When I’m not with you, I lose my mind. Give me a sign. Hit me, baby, one more time.”

And the song goes on!

Two Truths and a Lie

Two Truths and a Lie is more than a fun game. It’s a great way to get to know your travel companions.

Here’s how the game works:

Name two truths about yourself and one lie. For example, you could say, “I used to have blue hair, I once designed a video game, and my aunt is a world record holder for women’s rodeo.” 

Your traveling companions will then have to guess which is the lie and which is the truth. And the fun part is that you can make your truth and lies as straightforward or as challenging to guess as you’d like. 

This game is a fun way to explore your traveling companion’s personal history and discover unique and fun details about their life.

Fortunately Unfortunately

Fortunately Unfortunately is a game that can get weird pretty quickly. Therefore, it’s a great game if someone in the car has their crabby pants on. 

It starts with one player saying something that starts with “fortunately: that’s positive, and then the next saying something negative about that same event starting with “unfortunately.”

“Fortunately, we got time off of work for this road trip.”

“Unfortunately, your boss got replaced by a zombie.”

“Fortunately, all those George Romero movies I watch have prepared me for this day.”

Continue this back and forth until you are ready to move on to the next game. 

The Road Trip Memory Game

Here’s a fun game to test your memory skills.

The game starts with the first player saying, “I’m going on a road trip, and I’m bringing…” 

They can name any person, place, or thing they want to bring on this road trip. Let’s say they said, “my guitar.”

The next player continues the game by saying, “I’m going on a road trip, and I’m bringing my guitar and…” and adding their own item.

The game continues until someone forgets items on the list. Consider this game as a safe way to forget what you need to bring on your next road trip!

Radio Roulette

Radio Roulette can be an exciting way to find new music you love or a challenging endurance test.

All you need to do is turn on the local radio stations and pick one randomly. You have to keep this station on for an unbroken 10 minutes to complete a round of the game. After 10 minutes, you switch to the next radio station and keep playing.

You might find yourself in love with some local Polka you would have never thought to listen to. Or you might be battling through 10 minutes of local talk radio.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

In the mood to win $1,000,000? Well, there might not be a stack of hundreds on the table, but you can have fun playing along.

The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire app is a great way to play a game with just two players on your next ride. One player gets to be the host of this iconic game show, while the other gets to be in the hot seat with a shot at a cool million dollars.

Bad Film Plots

Usually, when you play a game, you want to do everything right. However, Bad Film Plots has you intentionally doing everything wrong.

This game aims to explain a movie’s plot as badly but as accurately as possible. The other players must guess the film you’re talking about correctly.

Let’s say you wanted to badly explain the plot of Terminator II: Judgement Day. You could say: “A down-on-her-luck working single mother makes an unlikely friendship as her son discovers a father figure.” 

That may be tricky, but that’s the whole point of the game. 

Local Trivia Night

One of the most significant advantages you have when taking road trips today is that you’ve got the whole internet by your side while you’re on the road.

Use that to your advantage and do a local trivia game while traveling. 

One player gets to be the trivia master asking questions about the state you’re driving through.

Try Out Some Nintendo Switch Games! 

Some of the best games to play on a road trip take advantage of today’s technology. 

The Nintendo Switch offers plenty of variety, including two-player puzzle games, action, and RPGs with compelling stories. You can even download classic Super Nintendo video games and enjoy nostalgia while on the road. The Switch has games for kids and adults, so you don’t have to worry about not finding the right game for you. 

Name That Tune

No list of road trip games would be complete without a game designed for music lovers, as singing and enjoying new tunes is one of the best parts of a good road trip. 

And SongPop 3 is one of the best game apps for long car rides for music lovers. This app plays a song clip and has you guess what you’re hearing.

These are real clips from actual songs. And you’ll hear everything from Cardi B to Queen. You can even play in dedicated music genres to focus on your favorites.

You can spice things up a little by trying to sing the next lyrics in the song. 

Words With Friends

Words With Friends is one of, if not the, most popular word game app. The secret to this app’s success is that it is Scrabble but for the smartphone age. Being a digital Scrabble allows Words With Friends to give you more options to play while traveling.

You and your traveling partners can play together using your own devices or challenge friends and family back home. Since it’s basically Scrabble, you know what you’re getting into with this app.

License Plate Game

The L icense Plate Game aims to find as many license plates from the 50 States + the District of Columbia as you can during your road trip. 

The best thing about the License Plate Game is you can make the rules to fit your road trip needs. Plus, you can make it enjoyable by finding prizes for the winners or an award for the first passenger to spot a license plate from Mexico or Canada.

You can make a list of all 50+ states, or there are phone apps to help you keep track. Our favorite is PlateSpot . 

Related Post: License Plate Game: 3-Ways to Play on Your Next Road Trip

A Reinvented Mom

The Top 15 Free Apps for Long Car Rides

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. When you click on a link and/or make a purchase, I may be paid a small commission at no additional cost to you. Additionally, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my Disclosure page for more information.

• Pinterest 14

Let technology help you on your next family road trip with these incredible free apps for long car rides . Keep the family entertained and have all the local insights right at your fingertips with these fun apps.

This guide to the best free road trip apps gives you the tools you need to make the most of your road adventure . Be sure to download these fun apps before you hit the road.

About this Guide to Free Apps for Long Car Rides

In this guide to fun apps for road trips, I’m bringing you an awesome lineup of apps to enhance your vacay. This guide covers the best apps for everything from navigation to fun-filled road trip games for teens.

These apps are all available for free, although some may offer paid subscriptions or ad-free options. Each one of these apps is designed to help families make the most of their epic, all-American road trip.

RELATED: Plan an Amazing Road Trip with Teens and Tweens

1. Stay Found with Google Maps

Although Waze is a great option for avoiding traffic, Google Maps is one of the best free travel apps for navigation. This is largely due to the ability to download regions and maps, so you can navigate even if you don’t have any cell phone service.

2. Get Inspired with Roadtrippers

Plan your family road trip with the Roadtrippers App. You can upload your itinerary and the app will alert you to cool stops nearby.

It’s run by fellow travelers, relying on reviews and input from other people passing through. Feel free to contribute to the platform if you find the perfect roadside stop.

3. Stay Clean with Flush Toilet Finder

One of the best apps for long car rides helps you find clean toilets in a jiffy. Flush Toilet Finder is a free app that rates roadside restrooms.

The app shows you over 200,000 paid and free public toilets worldwide and lets you know how clean they are and if they require your own toilet paper. It even integrates with Google Maps for pin-point directions.

4. Get the Heads Up with iExit

Need to re-supply on road trip snacks for your teens? Then use iExit to get information on what services and amenities are on the horizon. You can plan breaks as well as find interesting stops with this road trip app.

RELATED: Road Trip Food List & Must-Have Snacks

5. Jam Your Favorite Spotify Playlist

Spotify is one of the must-bring essentials for any road trip . Let your family alternate their favorite playlists and take turns playing car DJ.

Although there is a free version of this app, the paid subscription allows you to download playlists in advance so you don’t drain data.

6. Have an Adventure with Findery

Findery is a user-based free app that shows you interesting stops along the road. As one of the most fun apps for road trips, you can participate by adding your photos and reviews if you find any fun and funky stops along the road.

7. Listen to Your Favorite Reads with Audible

One of the best free apps for long car rides is Audible . Download family-friendly audiobooks before hitting the road for hours of entertainment. You can take advantage of a free trial of up to 2 free books before your next road trip.

8. Get Parking with SpotAngels

If you plan on heading to a large city on your road trip, then download SpotAngels. This app helps you find the best parking spots (paid and free) in virtually any city.

9. Play Along with Trivia Crack 2

Get the whole family involved with fun trivia game suitable for all ages. Trivia Crack 2 is a great way to enjoy a long road trip with teens and tweens . Play as a family to pass the time along big stretches of the open road.

10. Save Money with GasBuddy

GasBuddy is a classic free app for long car rides that helps you find the best deal on roadside fill-ups. Use the app to find the cheapest prices at the pump and save a few bucks on fuel.

11. Get Good Eats with Yelp!

You likely use the Yelp! app to find new places to eat at home, so take the app on the road. Discover local hot spots in a new location by searching for virtually any type of food on Yelp.

12. Catch the Constellations with GoSky Watch

Planning to drive at night? Then you’ve got to download GoSkyWatch. This free app shows you the secrets of the night sky. You’ll learn all about the planets and stars in the skies on your journey with this night sky app.

13. Binge on Podcasts with Stitcher

Podcasts offer up a great way to break up the monotony of a long car ride. Download all of your favorite podcasts for hours of entertainment with Stitcher.

14. Plan Toll Routes with TollGuru

TollGuru is the free app that shows you the cheapest way to manage the tolls. Great for road trips that require going through tolled areas.

15. Curl Up with Your Favorite Book on Kindle

Everyone needs downtime on the road, and that’s where Kindle comes in. Get some you-time with your favorite book . The app is free, but you may need to pay for books.

These must-have apps for long car rides will not only help you and your family stay entertained, but they also enable you to find the best secret spots and save a little money on the road.

More Road Trip Posts You May Enjoy

• Ultimate Road Trip Packing List
• Boredom Busting Road Trip Games for Teens and Tweens
• The Top 15 FREE Apps for Long Car Rides

Grab the free Road Trip Packing Checklist & hit the road without a hitch.

**save free road trip apps for later**.

Similar Posts

26 Fun-Filled, Productive Things to Do When Bored at Home

70+ Easy Halloween Party Recipes & Decorations

How to Throw a Killer Taco Bar Party (Easy Party Idea)

Road Trip Food List (Must-Have Snacks)

2017 Reader Favorite Recipes

20 Things to Declutter Before Christmas

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

30 Road Trip Trivia Games for Long Car Rides

Whether you’re heading to an amusement park with the family, spending the weekend at the lake with your friends, or traveling with coworkers on a much-dreaded work trip, you’re going to have a few lengthy car rides in front of you. Long car rides can either be a serious drag, or an opportunity for lots of fun.

How can you turn a long car ride into a fun and exciting time for everyone? By playing games! While it’s fun to come up with your own games on the fly, it’s always helpful to have a list of games you can pull from to always switch it up and keep things exciting.

Today, we’re going to cover 30 of the most fun road trip trivia games for long car rides and show you how you and your friends or family can play them on your next trip. From classics like 21 Questions and I Spy to new games that are sure to become instant favorites, you’ll find something for everyone on this road trip trivia list.

Best Road Trip Trivia Apps

It’s safe to assume there’s at least one smartphone among the people in the car, and that phone is a huge asset when it comes to road trip trivia. Here are some of the best trivia apps to check out on your next getaway.

Jeopardy! World Tour

World Tour is the latest mobile app from one of the greatest trivia games of all time. This is our favorite road trip trivia app because there’s an offline mode that you can enjoy even if your phone loses service along the way.

This app features a multiple-choice question format and various difficulty levels, making it a great road trip trivia for families option and easy to adapt to play with the other people in the car.

Plus, you can also play by yourself if the rest of the car isn’t up for another trivia round. If you’re armed with an encyclopedia of fun facts for car rides, you’ll want to try your luck at this fun and addicting trivia game.

This app is perfect for the car because it has an uncluttered interface with text that’s large enough for everyone to read. There are tons of categories and questions in the app, which can provide you with hours of road trip trivia fun.

Psych is a play on classic party games like Balderdash! Where you must come up with the craziest answers to your friend’s questions to score points. If everyone in the car has a smartphone, you can all connect and play this hilarious game that will keep you entertained for hours.

Unfortunately, since everyone needs to use a smartphone to play the game, the driver can’t get in on the fun. That may be a good thing, since they’ll be able to focus on the road instead.

Guess The Song

This app is similar to SongPop 2, which is one of the most popular “name that tune” apps for Android and iOS, but where SongPop2 is more about online multiplayer competition, Guess The Song has a single-player mode which is easy to adapt so everyone in the car can play.

You can play together, or take turns to see who can name songs the fastest. There are plenty of playlists to choose from, with music ranging from the 60s to today.

Popcorn Trivia

If you’re in a car full of movie buffs, Popcorn Trivia is the perfect road trip trivia questions game for you. The game is free to play, and it features a vast library of different movie trivia questions from several different genres. You can compete against each other or together, and you can unlock new trivia packs from popular movies and TV shows with the points you earn in the game.

Road Trip Trivia Games

The trivia apps above are lots of fun, but you may not always have access to a smartphone with a strong signal during your road trip. Thankfully, road trip trivia has been around a lot longer than smartphones, so there are some great games you can play without the help of your phone.

We’ve assembled a list of some of the best and most fun classic road trip games for you and your squad to play as you’re making your way across the country.

Two Truths and a Lie

This fun-for-everyone game is always entertaining, and it’s a great way to get to know your fellow road trippers better. Two Truths and a Lie is perfect for playing with co-workers, friends, and family. All you need to do to win is separate fact from fiction.

Here’s How to Play

• Pick which passenger will start the game
• That passenger tells the car three statements. Two are true, and one is a lie
• The rest of the car tries to determine which statement is false
• Once the round is over, it’s the next passengers turn to tell Two Truths and a Lie

Would You Rather

Hands down one of the most fun games for the entire group is Would You Rather. This game is fun for the whole family, but it can be a real blast when the adults are playing. This game is one of our favorite road trip quizzes for couples since it’s a great way to get to know your partner while also passing the time while driving.

• Each question much follow the Would You Rather format
• Make sure that each question you ask presents a serious dilemma

Here are some Would You Rather road trip questions to get started with:

• Would you rather eat chicken every day for a year, or not be able to eat chicken at all?
• Would you rather be 10 minutes late everywhere you go, or 20 minutes early?
• Would you rather absolute freedom or absolute safety?
• When you die, if you could be reborn, would you rather exist in the future or the past?
• Would you rather spend a year in prison or a year in a hospital?
• Would you rather be the most gullible person in the world or lose the ability to tell a lie?
• Would you rather go to the past to meet your ancestors, or to the future to meet your future relatives?

Would You Rather can also be a silly and fun game if you’re traveling with children. If there are kids in the car, here’s some Would You Rather questions that are perfect for them:

21 Questions

From young kids to grandparents, 21 Questions is a classic game everyone can enjoy. This game of deduction requires passengers to guess the person, place, or thing that the player is thinking of, using a maximum of 21 questions to figure it out.

Here’s how to Play

• The first player thinks of a person, place, or thing
• The rest of the players can ask up to 21 questions to figure out what the first player is thinking of
• The first player responds with yes or no answers to each question they’re asked
• If the rest of the car can’t figure out the answer in 21 questions, player one wins
• If someone correctly guesses the answer within 21 questions, that person becomes the next to choose a person, place, or thing

Name That Tune

If you’re traveling with a bunch of music enthusiasts, Name That Tune can be one of the most fun games to play. All you’ll need is an app like Spotify or Apple Music (or someone in the car with an extensive music library.)

Here’s How To Play

• Appoint one person in the car as the host for that round
• That person finds a popular playlist and plays a song
• The other passengers try and guess the song as quickly as possible
• If a passenger says “pass,” the host moves on to the next song
• Whoever guesses correctly first gets the point

The Bad Movie Plot Game

This hilarious game is perfect for a car full of movie buffs, and it’s a great way to pass the time during long car rides. The premise is simple: you must guess the name of the movie based on an incredibly poor plot description from the host.

• The host of the game thinks of a movie
• The host describes the plot of the movie correctly, but in the worst way possible
• The rest of the car tries to guess the correct movie
• Whoever guesses correctly becomes the host of the next round

Here are a few examples:

• Talking gremlin convinces a son to murder his father (Star Wars Episode V)
• Family abandons their troublemaker son on Christmas vacation in hopes robbers will abduct him (Home Alone)

The Movie Game

This game is another one that’s tons of fun for movie buffs. In The Movie Game, participants take turns naming movies and actors until one of the participants is stumped.

• The first player starts the game by naming a popular movie, such as Titanic
• The next player names an actor from the movie, like Leonardo DiCaprio
• The next player must name another movie that the actor was in, for example, Wolf of Wall Street
• The game continues until someone is stumped. If you can’t think of a movie or actor, you’re eliminated!
• The last remaining player is the winner of the round

Questions, Questions, Questions

Is there a lull in conversation? This game is a great way to get the juices flowing and get some more energy in the car. Playing Questions, Questions, Questions is as simple as asking fun and intriguing questions to the other people in the car. This game is a great way to get to know your crew even better than you do now.

Here are a few great examples to get the conversation going again:

• What is the most interesting thing you saw online this week?
• If you were a gifted scientist with unlimited resources, what would you study and why?
• What person, alive or dead, would you like to have dinner with and why?

Smurfing is a great way to get everybody laughing while passing the time on a long car ride. In this game, the player will need to guess the action that the rest of the car has come up with as quickly as possible by asking a series of questions.

• The player must cover their ears while the rest of the car comes up with an action
• Once the car has come up with an action, the player must try to guess that action by asking questions. In the questions, “smurf” is the stand-in for the action.
• Ex. When is the best time to smurf? Does smurfing make you sweat? Do you smurf inside or outside?
• The player must guess the action in as few questions as possible

Fortunately, Unfortunately

This fun game requires a bit of imagination, so it’s perfect for playing with the kids. It’s an easy game to keep going for hours, and the more crazy and imaginative you are, the more fun it is to play.

• The first player begins with a statement that starts with “Fortunately…”
• The next player follows up that statement with a statement beginning with “Unfortunately…”
• Each additional player adds a statement following the fortunately/unfortunately format

Here’s an example:

• ortunately, I brought delicious cookies for everybody
• Unfortunately, every fifth cookie in the box will give you gas
• Fortunately, you won’t be able to hear it
• Unfortunately, everyone else within a five-mile radius will

This game is a fun variation on 21 Questions, and it’s fun to play with friends, family, or the kids. With a little bit of logic and some deductive questioning, contestants must identify the famous person the rest of the car is thinking of.

• The contestant must cover their ears or listen to music while the rest of the car decides on a famous person
• The contestant then asks yes or no questions to figure out who the famous person is

Truth or Dare

One of the most classic games to cure boredom on long car rides, Truth or Dare, is especially fun to play with your friends. This classic game is about as simple as it gets.

• The first contestant is asked to choose either truth or dare
• If the contestant selects truth, they’ll be forced to answer any question truthfully
• If the contestant selects dare, they must complete a dare posed by one of the other contestants
• The game continues on to the next contestant

The Counting Game

This silly game is perfect for families, and it’s a great way to pass the time during long road trips. The purpose of the game is to get to the highest number possible without any two players saying the same number at once.

• The game begins when a player says the number one
• The remaining players have five seconds to say number two
• If more than one person says the next number at the same time, the game ends, and you restart from one

The Song Lyric Game

This fun game is a great way for music buffs to stay entertained on a road trip. Face off with your fellow road trippers in a lyric battle for the right to control the stereo.

• Players must sing the lyrics to the current song on the stereo for one minute
• The first player to successfully nail every lyric in the song for a minute straight can control the stereo
• Once another player is able to sing a minute’s worth of lyrics to whatever song is on, they gain control of the stereo

Do you have the best taste in music in the car? Put your style to the test against your friends or family in this fun battle game. In order to play, you’ll need at least three people, so this game is perfect for families and groups of friends.

• First, appoint someone in the car as the judge
• The judge picks a music category i.e., pop, hip hop, rock, etc.
• The remaining people in the car take turns playing the “best” song from that category
• The judge awards a point to whichever person plays the best song

Did You Know?

A favorite road trip trivia game for couples and friends, this one is a great way to get to know the people you’re with even better than you do now.

To play the game, each person in the car takes turns sharing an interesting (and unknown) fact about themselves. Each player must begin by saying, “Did you know that I…” and then adding a fun factoid the others in the car don’t know about them

The Rhyming Game

Are you a wordsmith? The Rhyming Game is your time to shine! All you’ll need to do is start with a word, and then everyone must come up with a rhyming word before time expires.

• The first player begins by choosing any word they like
• The next player must say a word that rhymes with the first word
• Each additional player must do the same
• Players have fifteen seconds to come up with a rhyming word, or they’re eliminated

The Spelling Bee

Are you the best speller in the car? Test your knowledge against your friends and family with a spelling bee game. Use Google to find a list of difficult to spell words, and host a spelling bee in the car!

• One person in the car must be appointed The Word Master
• The Word Master selects a word for the first player to spell
• If the player spells their word correctly, the Word Master selects a word for the next player
• The game continues until there is only one super speller left

Backward Sentences Game

It may seem easy, but this game is harder than you may think! Can you say a sentence backward?

• The first player says a sentence
• The next player must repeat the sentence backward
• Each player gets the point for every correct backward sentence
• The player with the most points after five minutes wins the game

If you’re surrounded by people with great imaginations, this game is bound to be loads of fun. Each person in the car adds a new sentence to the story, and before you know it, you and your crew will have weaved a crazy tale that’s sure to get everyone laughing and having fun.

• The first player begins by telling the first sentence of a story
• Each subsequent player adds a sentence to the story
• See how long you can keep the story going

Truth or a Lie?

Are you a good liar? If so, you’ll love playing this game, which will put your detective skills to the test as you root out which of your friends is telling the truth and who is spinning an elaborate lie.

• The first player tells an elaborate story about their past
• The story can be true or false
• The remaining players must decide if the story is real or fake
• The first player to guess correctly receives a point
• The next player tells a story and the game repeats

Sorry I’m Late

This fun game adds a spin to the bad movie plot game we mentioned earlier. Can you guess which movie they’re thinking of from a single sentence?

• The first player explains why they were late by describing the plot of a movie in a single sentence
• Ex. “Sorry I’m late, I was saving the world from an alien invasion on the Fourth of July” (Independence Day)
• The remaining players take turns guessing which movie the first player was talking about
• Whoever answers correctly becomes the next contestant in the game

The Going on Vacation Game

How good is your memory? This game is a great way to see which member of your party is the best at remembering fine details, and it’s lots of fun to play. Each player adds a new item to the list when it’s their turn, and it’s up to the next player to remember everything on the list, in order.

• The first player starts by saying “I’m going on vacation and I’m bringing…” and adds an item
• I.E., I’m going on vacation, and I’m bringing a T-shirt
• The next player must repeat the sentence, the first item, and then add an additional item
• The game continues until a player can’t remember all of the other items on the list

This classic game is fun for the whole family, and it’s one that practically everyone already knows how to play.

• The first player selects an object from the car or countryside
• The player then says “I spy with my eye something beginning with the letter [first letter of object]
• The other players take turns guessing what the item is
• Each correct guess earns a point
• The player with the most points at the end of the game wins

Silence is golden, and that’s especially true for parents who are trying to find some peace from their kids during a road trip. This game couldn’t be any easier to play. The object is to remain quiet for as long as possible. Whoever goes the longest without making a sound wins!

What Are You Waiting For?

We just provided you with 30 of the most fun road trip trivia and other games around, which should give you and your fellow passengers hours of entertainment on your trip. Keep this list of games handy, so you and your crew will always have something to keep you occupied during your road trip.

What are some of your favorite road trip trivia games? How do you like to pass the time on a long ride? Let us know in the comments!

About The Author

Ayesha Holloman

Subscribe to outdoorish.

The best apps for road trips with kids: Map apps, entertainment apps, even restroom finder apps!

by Caroline Siegrist | Nov 12, 2021 | Best Apps | 0 comments

I’m grateful for this list of the best apps for road trips with kids, because it turns out, I’m not allowed to put my kids in a hilarious sidecar by themselves during long drives. So I’ve been prepping my phone and the kids’ iPad for the long interstate hours ahead, in hope that there will be less screaming-out-of-boredom, and fewer gross public bathroom stops.

(Yes, these apps can help with that too!)

So download these, our picks for the best apps for road trips for the kids, whether you’re in need of entertainment, food, gas, restroom breaks — and did I mention entertainment? Because this mama has played all the I Spy she can for one lifetime.

– This post has been updated for 2021 – Top image © Caroline Crawford for Cool Mom Tech

Related: 5 must-have apps for holiday dinner planning 

The best apps for road trips with kids

Google Maps app  to get you where you’re going

Of course I couldn’t leave this OG driving app off my list of the best apps for road trips with the kids. Thanks to plentiful updates over the years, I still rarely use anything else besides the Google Maps app to navigate. I love the intuitive design, the warnings when a turn is approaching, and the feature that allows you to search for gas stations and restaurants to add easily to your drive — without exiting the navigation screen.

Waze app  for up-to-the-second roadside alerts

Yes, two map apps!

While I usually rely on Google Maps for driving, I still pull out Waze when a traffic jam arises.  Waze crowdsources traffic data in real-time, and it’s scrappier and more creative than Google Maps at coming up with workarounds for accidents and letting you know about them nearly immediately.

Plus, I still like that Waze warns you about speed traps, hidden police cars, and stalled-out cars and other hazards on the side of the road, making it an essential road trip app for lots of us.

Apple Maps app … especially for Apple Watch

Shall we go for three map apps? Apple Maps has made some outstanding updates in recent years, and a lot of people prefer it for an interface that’s large, and easy to read without taking your eyes off the road. Speaking of which, the connectivity with your Apple Watch is a fabulous benefit — getting that haptic vibration when it’s time to get off the exit or make a sharp left, is incredibly helpful. Especially if you’e got a noisy crowd in the back seat.

Note that you can even use the “Listen for Directions” mode to combine tones and haptic feedback. And it’s kind of nice just to occasionally say “Hey Siri, how long will it take me to get home?”

The GasBuddy app  for saving you bucks when you fill up

Especially these days, we love the GasBuddy app which lets you track the least expensive gas station en route — and yes, it really works! I like that it can also help me figure out exactly at what point I’ll need a refill, so I can try to plan around my kids’ nap and snack schedules. Can’t make a list of the best road trip apps — for families or not — without this money-saving option.

Roadtrippers app  for leg-stretching breaks

The Roadtrippers app can not only help you navigate to your destination, it can help you find colorful roadside attractions along the way. Like, I hadn’t ever realized how close we were coming to Graceland on our yearly pilgrimage to see my grandmother in Mississippi before I started using the app — which, hey, why not?

It also shows you all the nature walks and hikes along a route, so that you can let kids get their wiggles out on a longer journey.

The Flush app  for finding the nearest restroom

No, it’s not the sexiest road trip app you’ll download this holiday, but Flush comes in handy right when you need it so of course it’s on our list of the best roadtrip apps.  It displays available nearby bathrooms so you’re never left to the elements so to speak. Bonus:  each one is conveniently tagged with whether or not they’re disability-friendly.

iExit app  for a little bit of everything pitstop-related

If you want to save storage space on your phone, grab a great multitasker app like iExit . This app is a real-time, go-to list of the nearest restaurants, rest stops, hotels and more on every upcoming exit on your route. While not as specific as Gas Buddy, Flush, and Roadtripper, it’s got enough info help you find the basics without having to download three new apps.

Netflix app  for backseat entertainment

Maybe this seems like a “duh,” inclusion as one of the best roadtrip apps, but I appreciate how  Netflix makes it so easy to download favorite episodes through the Netflix app before you start driving, so you don’t have to panic if you lose WiFi. I also like that Netflix has become less strict over the years about which shows and movies can be downloaded for offline viewing, so that we can all pick our favorites.

Besides, it doesn’t just have to be a movie “for the kids” — there’s probably something there you wouldn’t mind listening to from the front seat.

Audible app for family story time

If you’d rather listen to something with the kids, instead of handing over the video apps, you can’t go wrong with any of these 5 audiobook apps  that we’ve recommended in the past. Audible of course is the biggest and most used, but also check out Libro.fm which supports indie bookstores with your audiobook purchase; and Hoopla, which lets you borrow the books from your library. Free.

Related: 15 awesome podcasts for kids that you’ll enjoy, too, parents

Pinna app  for kid-friendly podcasts

We’ve been fans of this just-for-kids podcasts app for years, and their content keeps getting better and better, if you ask me. The app mainly features podcasts, but they’ve expanded to audiobooks recently, and you can search either by age and interest. It’s subscription-based, which is a drawback since there are so many free kids’ podcasts in the world, but for me, it’s worth it to have a bunch of well-vetted, family-friendly podcasts all in one place.

Related:  These 4 excellent mindfulness podcasts for kids help soothe the scaries of the world

Amazon Alexa  for road trip games with the kids

Car fax app …just in case.

While I sincerely hope you don’t break down on your next road trip (or ever), I know it  happens. And I’ve been there! Which is why I recommend having a car maintenance and repair app like Carfax on your phone. It keeps track of when you had your last oil change, when you need to update your registration, and where you can find local repair shops if you’re a long way from home when the alternator (that’s a thing, right?) dies.

Check out more road trip planning tips and apps in the  Cool Mom Tech archives . Happy Thanksgiving, and safe travels! 

Written by Caroline Siegrist

Caroline Siegrist is a brand new mom, a proud aunt of 5, and a writer and hospital chaplain based in Nashville. She has a fondness for children's literature, female-led indie rock bands, cooking international cuisine, and encouraging her nieces' and son's growing obsession with Star Wars. Bio Twitter Instagram

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Creating Secure Passwords: The Easy, Step-by-Step Guide

44 Cool Alexa Skills to Know

Talking to Kids About the Ethics of ChatGPT

Join the most helpful community for tech-positive parenting

The Spawned Parenting Podcast. (It’s won awards and everything!)

31 Best Games for Road Trips for Adults to Beat the Boredom

Road-tripping is our absolute favorite way of traveling . Not only are you able to get off the beaten path to find some hidden treasures, but also have a rewarding time with your travel partner to make ever-lasting memories. Especially when you pass the time with some fun games for road trips for adults.

But even the greatest road trip can have its downside with never-ending drives to the next destination to listening to the same playlist on repeat. Luckily, we are here to help with all of that with a list of road trip games.

On our two cross-country road trips through the USA, we tested so many different ways of being entertained while on the road. Our favorite thing to beat the boredom is playing some fun car games.

Here are our top 31 games for road trips for adults . Some you might already know, some you might find too crazy, some you might need an app for, and some will make you want to continue driving, even though you’re already at your destination. Feel free to change them the way they suit you best!

Before you head out on the road, do you have the right vehicle for your trip? You may want to think about renting a car or getting into an RV .

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps us create free content for you to enjoy. Learn more about our disclaimer  here . Thanks for your support!

Our Other Resources for Road Trips

45 useful gifts for road trips you didn’t know you needed, 100+ tested road trip pack list essentials you will not want to forget.

• 90+ Road Trip Quotes to Excite You to Hit the Road

Helpful Resources for Road Trips

Gas: When going on a road trip, money for gas can quickly disappear. Find the cheapest gas prices and more perks like a trip cost calculator with the GasBuddy app. l GasBuddy

Rental Car: Get out on the road and explore your destination with a rental car at the best price with Discover Cars. l Discover Cars 

Campervan: Our favorite way to explore the US National Parks is by campervan. Go to the world’s largest peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace and find your perfect van. l RVshare

Accommodations: After a day full of adventures, you deserve a good night’s rest. Whether it is a hotel room or a vacation home find a cozy accommodation that will make you feel at home. l Hotels.com  l  Vrbo

Travel Insurance: Feel safe on all your adventures around the world with simple and flexible travel insurance for all occasions. l World Nomad

Experiences: Make unforgettable experiences on your next trip with Get Your Guide, the best company to compare and book Sedona activities, and fun tours. l Get Your Guide

What to Pack: 100+ Tested Road Trip Pack List Essentials You Will Not Want to Forget

What Road Trip Games Can You Play while Driving?

Road trip classics.

Who doesn’t enjoy the good, old traditional road trip games? Even though they are around for a while and everyone knows them, they are still a lot of fun and don’t require anything fancy.

Road Trip Trivia

Goal: Learn the history of the area you are visiting.

Why Play this Game: Who doesn’t love a good trivia game? Now, you can design it yourself. Not only will you see and experience the area that you are traveling through, but you can also learn a little about it!

How to Play:

• Designate one person to host the road trip trivia game.
• The host will ask the passengers specific questions related to the country, state, area, or city you are road-tripping through. As a host, you can also use wifi to find some tricky questions for your fellow travelers.
• For every correct answer, the passenger will receive 1 point.
• The passenger with the most points is the winner for that round.

The Quiet Game

Goal: To stay quiet the longest.

Why Play this Game: If you are looking for some quiet to enjoy your ride, this is the game for you! It is ideal to play when you are traveling with small children or even an annoying road-trip partner who keeps asking, “Are we there yet?”

• Start a timer and then stay quiet. 2. If you speak, you are out. 3. The person who stays the quietest the longest, wins!

The License Plate Game

Goal: To be the first to find as many different state or country license plates as possible.

Why Play this Game: Isn’t it fun finding a new license plate? Especially when it is one you have never seen before. We all do it, so why not make it a game. You can learn the states, maybe even a little geography, and have some fun while on your road trip.

• Look out for different license plates before someone else finds them. 2. Check off or mark each license plate that you see. 3. Award yourself 1 point for each license plate (a point is only awarded to the first person to find the license plate). 4. Player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Variations:

1. Decide on how long the game will be played.

For example: for the duration of the trip or for a specific time frame.

2. Change the way of scoring points.

For example , Certain license plates, e.g. harder to find license plates can equal 2 points.

3. Work in teams instead of alone.

Goal: To be the first person to find the object from the clue.

Why Play this Game: This classic road trip game will keep you and your passengers guessing and guessing what other people can see. You will never get bored because there is always something new and interesting to find along the way. Who will be the I Spy champion?

• One person has to find an object by looking out the window.
• Then provide a clue for the other passengers to try and guess the object.
• The passenger who correctly identifies the object wins.
• Now it is the winner’s turn to find a new object.

Goal: Be the last one left in the game by not missing a category

Why Play this Game: How many different objects of a category can you name? There are endless possibilities for different category topics which makes it a perfect game to play over and over again. All you have to do is choose a new category. Get creative and challenge your road trip partners to a fun car game of categories. Who will be the last one standing?

• Pick a category (cars, songs, movies, colors, countries, etc). 2. Each person takes turns naming something in the category. If you are stumped, you are out. 3. The last one left without being stumped is the winner.

1. Players have to name things in alphabetical order.

For example, The category is songs. The first player would have to start by naming a song that starts with “A.” Then B, C, D, and so on.”

2. The next player’s answer has to start with the last letter of the answer from the previous player.

For example, The category is songs. The answer is “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The next player would have to name a song that starts with the letter “S.”

3. Decide on how long a player has to respond before the time is up.

For example, Each player has 10 seconds to give an answer.

Goal: Be the first person to get BINGO.

Why Play this Game: Turn the classic, old lady game, Bingo into a fun, exciting road trip car games that will entertain and excite everyone. This game needs a little preparation because you have to create a variety of Bingo cards before you start your trip.

• Give each passenger a Bingo card and something to write with.
• Each passenger will mark off their card until they have Bingo (5 covered squares in a row).
• The first-person with Bingo wins.

1. Choose a different BINGO pattern in order to win.

For example: Instead of having 5 squares in a row, you have to get a small square, a large square, an X, or even the full card to win.

2. Create different BINGO cards with different topics.

For example, Street signs, types of cards, fast food restaurants, songs, etc.

Price is Right

Goal: Try and guess the gas price to the nearest tenth in the area you are traveling through.

Why Play this Game: One thing that adds up quickly on a road trip is gas. Anytime we are on the road, we try to find the cheapest gas possible to save a little money. So why not make a game of it to pass the time?

• Each passenger will take a chance at guessing the gas price in the certain area you are traveling through.
• The person with the guess that is farthest away from the actual price has to pay for the next fill-up or a little treat at the next gas station ;-).

Music Car Games for Road Trips for Adults

Listening to music is the number one activity to be entertained on a road trip. But hearing the same playlist over and over again can get a little boring after a while. Why not try something new and get more involved with the artists and songs. Here are 5 fun games to play in the car with adults that make you enjoy music in a different, fun way .

Name that Song

Goal: Be the first one to name the song that is playing.

Why Play this Game: What is a road trip without great music, right? Now you can have fun testing your musical knowledge against your road trip partner to see who knows more song titles. Try putting on a local radio station to discover new music.

But what happens when no one knows the song? Use the Shazam app to find out the name.

• Turn on music from the radio, Sirius XM, or a Music App. 2. Listen to a song. 3. Guess the name of the song. 4. The first one to say the correct title, wins.

1. Naming song titles is too easy? Try to figure out the artist.

For example , Take It Easy by The Eagles

2. Maybe your music knowledge is so good that you can even name the genre.

For example , Take It Easy by The Eagles – Genre: Rock

Hum that Tune

Goal: Be the first person to correctly guess the tune that is being hummed.

Why Play this Game: Humming a tune may not be as easy as you thought. This car game will definitely have everyone laughing. It is time to put your musical skills to the test on your next road trip adventure.

• One person starts off the game by humming the beat of a song.
• The rest of the passengers will try to guess the name of the tune.
• The first passenger to guess correctly wins the game.
• Winners then get to hum a tune.

Song Lyric Game

Goal: Guess the name of the song by hearing a lyric of the song.

Why Play this Game: This game is an excellent way to be introduced to new music or reminisce about the good old times with some oldies. Have fun trying to stump your road trip partner with a variety of songs. See how many songs you really know.

• One passenger will start by saying a lyric from a song.
• Other passengers will have to try and guess the song from the lyrics.
• If a passenger guesses correctly, it is now their turn to pick a song lyric.

Radio Roulette

Goal: Find new songs or rediscover the music you haven’t heard in a while, as you shuffle through the radio on your road trip.

Why Play this Game: Sometimes tuning in to the same playlist or radio station can get a little boring. Why not listen to a variety of music? Radio Roulette is a great car game for road trips for adults that will keep the tunes changing and the time passing.

• Designate a certain time frame (ex: every 30 minutes).
• After the designated time, hit search on the radio.
• Whatever radio station it lands on will be your music choice for the next 30 minutes, or whatever time you set.
• See if you find any new songs, artists, or genres of music that you didn’t know you liked before.

Music Battle

Goal: Pick a song for a specific category and let the judge decide who had the best choice.

Why Play this Game: Do you think your music knowledge is unbeatable? When you have at least 3 road trip passengers of all ages, take on the challenge and find the best songs for a category. This game will have you laughing, smiling, and forgetting about how much longer until you arrive.

• Designate a music judge.
• The judge will then have to name a specific category.
• Participants have to think of a song that goes with that specific category.
• Once all songs have been entered, the judge will pick the best song for the category.

Word Associated Car Games for Road Trips for Adults

Time to encounter some new words, you have never heard before, with these fantastic word-associated adult car games.

The Alphabet Game

Goal: Find something that starts with every letter in the alphabet.

Why Play this Game: It is a non-competitive game that keeps everyone happy and working together. Since there are 26 letters in the alphabet, it will take up a lot of time when you have a long drive between destinations, especially when you get to the harder letters at the end of the alphabet.

• The first player has to find something visible that starts with the letter “A” 2. Next player has to find something visible starting with the letter “B” 3. Game continues until you reach the end of the alphabet.

The Rhyming Game

Goal: Find as many rhyming words as possible.

Why Play this Game: This is a great game for everyone from couples to families, who love to use their brains and have a good time laughing.

• One person starts by picking a word.  For example , Time
• Then everyone has to go around in order and say a word that rhymes with the chosen word. For example , dime, crime, climb, etc.
• If you get stumped or repeat a word, you are out.
•  Last one left wins.

Don’t Say That

Goal: Refrain from saying designated specific words.

Why Play this Game: Make your next road trip conversation a little more challenging with this fun car game for road trips for adults. Who will be the one who can’t stop saying those “Don’t Say That” words?

• Pick 5 commonly used words that people use when traveling.
• Identify the specific consequences for saying the “Don’t Say That” word.
• Test your memory skills to see who says the most “Don’t Say That” words during the road trip.

Spelling Bee

Goal: Correctly spell the words.

Why Play this Game: A fun way to test out each other’s spelling skills. Now, it is your time to prove you are the master speller!

Note: This car game for road trips for adults may work better with a group.

• Designate a passenger to be the host of the Spelling Bee.
• Other passengers will be the Spelling Bee participants.
• The host will look up challenging words to spell and ask one participant to spell the word.
• The one with the most words spelled correctly is the winner.

Movie-Based Car Games for Road Trips for Adults

As a real movie fan, Dana’s Hollywood knowledge isn’t bad but these games definitely reached her limit. When you love movies as much as we do, get ready for the challenge. Just be aware that there will be a lot of movies on your to-watch list when you’re done playing.

The Movie Game

Goal: See how many different actors or actresses and movies they have starred in you can name.

Why Play this Game: Ready to boost your movie knowledge? Team up with your road trip partner(s) and see how good your movie, actors, and actress’ memory is. Maybe you will find out that it is time to start watching more movies.

• One passenger starts the game by naming an actor or actress.
• Another passenger has to name a movie that the actor or actress has starred in.
• Then, either another passenger or the starting passenger will have to name another actor or actress that plays in that movie.
• The next passenger will then name a movie that the newly named actor or actress has starred in.
• The rotation continues until someone is no longer able to name an actor or actress or a movie.

Guess the Quote

Goal: Correctly guess who said the quote, what movie or show it is from, or what song it is in.

Why Play this Game: Road trips can be long and tiring. When the boredom sets in, pass the time and play Guess the Quote. This game will instantly have you forgetting about the time and how many more miles there are to go.

• One passenger starts by saying a quote from a movie, tv show, or song.
• It is the job of the other passengers to try and guess who said it, or where the quote is from.
• The passenger that guesses correctly, gets to pick the next quote.

Conversational Car Games for Road Trips for Adults

On the road for hours and have nothing left to chat about? Break the silence with these games which will keep you talking and talking. Not only will it give you something great to do, but these fun games in the car will also make sure you will get to know your road trip partners inside and out.

While You Were Sleeping

Goal: Create a story that happened while one road trip passenger was snoozing away.

Why Play this Game: This game only works when a passenger is taking a nap during the road trip. For all the passengers that are awake, it is time to have a little fun. Be creative and stay in character.

• Work together to create an unforgettable, unbelievable, unimaginable story that occurred while your road trip partner was sleeping.
• Everyone in the car will need to mesmerize the same story.
• When your road trip partner wakes up, it is time to start acting. Share the unimaginable series of events that happened while they were sleeping.
• Do your best without breaking character. See how long it will take for them to find out everything was made up.

Goal: Work together to create a personal story.

Why Play this Game: Bring out your creative side on your next family or friends’ road trip. Have you always wanted to be a writer or storyteller? How will your story end?

• The first person will start the story off by saying a word or a phrase.
• Taking turns, each road trip passenger will add on one word at a time to complete the sentence.
• Keep going until your story is complete.

Never Have I Ever

Goal: To eliminate everyone by asking “Never have I ever…” questions.

Why Play this Game: This is a perfect game to get to know more about your road trip partner(s), whether they are friends, family, or your significant other.

• Everyone starts with 5 points.
• Take turns saying something you have never done. For example: Never have I ever… been to Canada.
• If you have done it before, you minus a point. For example: If you have been to Canada, you would be minus a point.
•  Once you have lost all your points, you are out.
• The last one with points wins.

1. You can use up to 10 points.

2. If only 1 person has done whatever the question was, then it’s storytime. They have to explain how it happened.

Would You Rather?

Goal: Create the craziest questions to stump the other players.

Why Play this Game: Are you sure you really know the other passengers in the car? During this amusing game, you will definitely find out some new facts, or maybe even secrets about the other players…

• Think of fun questions for the other passengers.
• Ask the questions by saying, “Would you rather “this” or “that”?  For example: Would you rather go relax on a beach or climb a mountain?
• Everyone can answer which one they would rather do.
• Players can alternate asking questions.

The Hot Seat

Goal: Find out the hidden secrets of your road trip partner.

Why Play this Game: Want to get to know your road trip partner a little more but have not found the right time to ask the questions? Well, now you have the chance. On your next road trip consider playing the fun car game, The Hot Seat, and ask all those questions people usually do not want to answer.

• Each road trip passenger takes a chance at being in the Hot Seat.
• While in the Hot Seat, you will have to answer 5 questions that your road trip partner asks.
• After 5 questions switch roles.

21 Questions

Goal: You have 21 questions to try and guess what someone is thinking.

Why Play this Game: Test your skills and see how quickly you can guess what your road trip partner is thinking. This game can keep you occupied for a few minutes or even hours, depending on how good you are at guessing and asking questions. It is easily played by anyone because you can make it as hard or as easy as you want.

• One player thinks of something.
• Then, the rest of the players in the car start asking questions about this thought.
•  They only have 21 questions to figure it out.
• A question cannot be repeated.
• You can guess the player’s thoughts at any point. If you guess correctly, you get to start the next round. Congratulations on being the best guesser in the car.

Most Likely to Game

Goal: Identify the road trip partner you think is “most likely to” (whatever the topic is).

Why Play this Game: Didn’t win a class superlative back in High School? Now, it is your chance to see what your road trip partners think about you. Have fun laughing and joking, and expect some surprises with these road trip car games.

• Each player will take a turn and say a statement like, “most likely to be on TV.”
• All passengers will then point or name the person in the car who they think is the best fit for that statement.
• Add a twist, and then explain why you think this person best fits the statement.

Road Trip Apps: Car Games for Road Trips for Adults

Lean back and let your phone be the host. There are so many great fun car game apps out there that offer a huge variety of playing experiences and are not even expensive.

NOTE: Just keep in mind, that they require a charged phone and most of the time wifi. When you’re out in the backcountry, you have to play the more conventional car games for road trips for adults.

Drivetime (Drive.fm)

Drivetime is a one-of-a-kind app that uses interactive voice audio to entertain you safely while on the road. Once the app is opened, say play, and you will be able to control everything with your voice, so your hands can stay on the wheel. It is actually the only hands-free app with such an interactive entertainment experience. There is no need to even look at your screen again.

The app features a variety of content, mostly quizzes: from the popular Daily Trivia Show to Superfan Movie questions, and Jeopardy with Alex Trebek. You can also name the songs on Tune Time, or answer laughable questions in Would you Rather.

We used this app on our road trip last year and were overly surprised. Drivetime has a lot of different options for what to play, whereas other apps just concentrate on one topic.

The Drive.fm app is free to download in Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Want unlimited access to all of Drivetime entertainment? Purchase a subscription for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year.

Popcorn Trivia

The Popcorn Trivia app brings the movies to you. Instead of just watching the movies, this app is more interactive and has more than 14,000,000 questions for you to answer. You can put your skills and knowledge to the test by challenging a friend, or a road trip partner, and you can even host your own movie game show.

It is time to brush up on your favorite movies.

The app is free to download in Apple’s App Store or Google Play.

Trivia Crack 2

Are you ready for a little trivia competition? Trivia Crack 2 has thousands of challenging trivia questions to see just how smart you are.

Want to be a trivia expert? Try and answer questions in all 6 categories. (Art, Science, History, Entertainment, Sports, and Geography).

The app is free to download in Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Want to play ad-free? Subscriptions start at $4.99 a month, 3 months at $11.99, and $39.99 a year.

An easy-to-use, free trivia quiz game right on your phone which makes it easy to play anywhere. Start playing on your next road trip and see where you rank on the leaderboards. The entertainment and challenges are never-ending with the variety of categories available in the app.

A cool feature of this app is that you are able to choose up to 12 different languages to play in.

This app is free to download in Apple’s App Store or Google Play.

Jeopardy! World Tour

Love watching Jeopardy on TV? It is even more fun to play it yourself on your phone, anywhere you want. Find out who will be the next Jeopardy World Tour champion on your next road trip by competing in thousands of unique categories.

Road trips are great for listening to music. When you love our music games, take it up a notch by downloading Song Pop 2 , the world’s biggest music trivia game. Compete to see who has better music knowledge with more than 100,000 music clips from popular artists.

Need to step up your music game, before you are ready to compete? Start in practice mode and improve your skills.

TOP TIP: If you like this POP game, you might also like TravelPop, a captivating photo trivia game that makes you dream of foreign places.

The app is free to download in Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Monthly VIP subscriptions to remove the ads start at $4.99.

Which car games entertained you the most? Did we forget any of your favorite games for road trips for adults?

Share your experiences with us or drop a question in the comments below!

You May Also Like:

• Road Trip: Explore Utahs National Parks in One Unforgettable Road Trip
• Road Trip: Road Trip Across the United States: 9 Week Itinerary
• Road Trip: Plan a Trip from Zion to Bryce Canyon: 2 Utah National Parks
• Road Trip: 100+ Tested Road Trip Pack List Essentials You Will Not Want to Forget
• Road Trip: 45 Useful Gifts for Road Trips You Didn’t Know You Needed
• National Parks: 16 Best East Coast National Parks You Need to Visit
• National Parks: 34 Best West Coast National Parks + Western U.S. Parks that Will Blow Your Mind
• National Parks: First Hand Ranking of National Parks in the U.S. from Best to Worst

 Save this Post for later on Pinterest!

Did you like this post?  Subscribe to our newsletter and we’ll send you more unique travel tips, updates, and even FREE content!

Similar Posts

Road Trip Across the United States: 9 Week Itinerary

Share via: More In our quest to travel to all 50 states and see all the National Parks in the U.S., we decided to build our DIY campervan. We wanted to be as independent and free as possible when we took off for our 9-week road trip across the United States! We traveled from coast…

Share via: More Road trips are our preferred way of traveling. We always get super excited when we get gifts for road trips. There is nothing better than the independence you have when you drive your vehicle on the open road and being able to stop to explore the stunning landscapes whenever you feel like…

Share via: More Do you love exploring a country on a road trip in a vehicle of your choice, but sometimes have a hard time knowing exactly what to pack? This post will help you create the perfect road trip pack list for your needs. Dana and I have spent at least 22,000 miles road-tripping…

Explore Utahs National Parks: How to Visit the Mighty 5

Share via: More Utah is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S., having not just one or two, but 5 exceptional national parks in close proximity to each other. Did you know that it is the state with the third-highest amount of national parks in the U.S.? That makes it a perfect place…

Plan a Trip from Zion to Bryce Canyon: 4 Day Utah National Park Itinerary

Share via: More You have probably found your way here because you are planning a trip from Zion to Bryce Canyon. If that is the case, you are in the right place!  Zion is one of the top 10 national parks in the United States. Its captivating landscape is an outdoor enthusiast’s dream: From hiking…

40 Perfect Road Trips from New York City to Take

Share via: More We might be a little biased but for us, New York is one of the most versatile states in the USA. Its location along the east coast makes it a perfect basis for road trips from NYC to not only explore the apple state itself but also the neighboring states in the…

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

30 Best Road Trip Games That Will Make Your Drive Go By in No Time

Your crew won't ever want to get out of the car!

Every item on this page was chosen by a The Pioneer Woman editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

Road trip games are one of the easiest ways to make the miles fly by in the blink of an eye, and if you used to take road trips when you were little, you likely have several car games that you still love today. Perhaps you’re heading out with your whole family in tow or going somewhere fun with a group of gals or your main squeeze (talk about a cute summer date idea !). No matter what type of trip you’re taking, road trip games are a must. The nice thing about road trip games is that they don’t require a ton of items to bring along—just your brains, a few rules to follow, and plenty of giggles. If you’d like to tuck away those smartphones and kick it old-school, turn to these 30 boredom-busting road trip games.

Here are some destination ideas for your next road trip:

• How to Visit Ree's Hometown in Pawhuska
• Head to Any of the Stunning 'Virgin River' Filming Locations
• This Western-Themed Resort Is Perfect for Your Next Weekend Getaway

Just one round of the map game is enough to keep the crew busy. Have the driver think of a a few specific locations on a map. Afterward, the driver gives the non-driving passengers hints to what the location is by describing other points on the map near it. The participating passengers then stick a pin into the location they think is right and the driver confirms the accuracy of the pins at the end of the drive.

Guess Who Said It

This one is simple, but oh-so fun! One person will look up quotes from famous speeches and/or lines from popular movies and songs. This person then recites the chosen quote, and the other participating members must guess who said it. For example, the one who chose the quote could say this notorious line from The Hunger Games : "I volunteer as tribute!" If the players guessed "Katniss Everdeen / Jennifer Lawrence from The Hunger Games, " they would get a point!

Who's Most Likely to...?

Each person in the car takes turns proposing different questions in the style of "who in this car is most likely to do XYZ?" The blank is filled in with a random scenario. Then, the group takes turns offering their opinion on who they think in the car would be the most likely to do the proposed action. This one is fun, and you'll really get to know what your family and friends think of you!

Guess the Time

This one works if your road trip is especially long. Take a look at your route, and jot down a list of cities and towns you're sure to pass through along the way. Then, have everyone guess the specific times they think they'll drive through each city. The player who is closest each time wins!

A game of Mad Libs is more than likely to solicit some laughter. You'll need a printable that has a wacky story written out with some blanks in between sentences that call for nouns and verbs of the crew's choice. Once those blanks are filled out, read it aloud for a hilarious personalized story!

SHOP MAD LIBS TEMPLATES

While You Were Sleeping

It’s not just a favorite movie from the ‘90s! For this game, one person will be asleep (which happens pretty frequently on road trips). Once they’re asleep for at least five minutes, the ones who are awake will start making up a story, and each person will take turns adding to that story. After the person wakes up, the group’s job is to make them believe that it’s a true story. If someone starts giggling, they’ll lose a point. But if each one tricks the sleeper into believing the story, every person gets three points.

The Singing Game

This is for the family and pals who love to bust out a tune! One person in the car will start singing a song. The next person will pick up a lyric from that song and will link it up with another song (i.e. “Should I stay or should I go…” can link to “…your own way, go your own way.”) The words can connect to one another going round and round until someone can’t think of a new lyric or sings the incorrect words.

This might be one of the most classic car games of all time. You know the rules: someone in the car will spot something by the road and say, “I spy with my little eye, something that is…” and then will give a hint, whether it’s a color or general direction. The other players will ask questions until someone discovers what it is.

20 Questions

One person will choose a noun (a person, place, or thing) and the other players will get 20 questions to find out what it is. Simple and fun!

License Plate Game

A game that’s always a favorite! The aim of this game is to spy all 50 states on license plates throughout your journey. You can keep track on a piece of paper, a phone, or you can use a board with markers for each state.

SHOP LICENSE PLATE GAMES

Scavenger Hunt

Similar to “I Spy,” a road trip scavenger hunt involves bringing along a list of items that are typically seen along the road. Your pals or little ones will spot the items, like stop signs or blue cars, and check them off the list. The first one to check them all off wins.

Two Truths and a Lie

For this, one player will make three statements, and one of them will be false. The other players will try to guess which one is the untrue one. It’s a great way to discover new things about a friend or family member!

This game is great for older kids and adults. Focusing on compound words, each person will link to the previous word and keep going around until someone can’t come up with anything. For example, notebook, bookstore, store-bought, etc.

Never Have I Ever

Each player will start a statement by saying, “Never have I ever…” Then they’ll finish the statement by saying something like, “Fallen asleep in class,” or “Flown on an airplane.” The rest of the crew has to decide if it’s a true statement or not.

Road Trip Bingo

It’s just like the bingo you play at home, except this game has a road-trip spin. Bring along some bingo cards (you can even purchase ones that are road trip-themed) and look for all the items on the board. The first one to get BINGO wins!

SHOP ROAD TRIP BINGO CARDS

The Name Game

This game is all about naming as many “names” as you can, but you’ll each only have three seconds to answer! There are lots of ways to play: focus on first letters, go with last names only, etc. Or change the category to dog breeds, books, types of flowers, or anything else you can come up with.

Story Starter

Here’s a classic game. One person will start a story but won’t finish the sentence. The next player will finish that sentence, but won’t finish it, and so on. By the end, you’ll probably have a pretty funny story going!

Alphabet Game

This is a game to play when you know there will be a lot of signs and billboards along the way. Starting with “A” and so on, players will find words on the route that start with each letter of the alphabet. You can play with the letters in order, or you can cross them off as you see them.

The Grocery Game

The first player will come up with an item they would buy at the grocery store. Without telling anyone, the rest of the car will take turns asking questions to discover what it is. Is it red? Can it be found in the produce department? It’s an apple!

Name That Tune

This one goes out to the music lovers out there! For this game, someone will start playing music on the radio or on a smartphone. In only five seconds, you have to guess what song it is. The first person to answer gets a point!

SHOP SMARTPHONE SPEAKERS

.css-l114lb:before{background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:contain;background-size:contain;content:'';display:block;margin:auto auto 0.25rem;}.loaded .css-l114lb:before{background-image:url('/_assets/design-tokens/thepioneerwoman/static/images/butterfly.svg');}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-l114lb:before{width:2.039rem;height:1.616rem;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-l114lb:before{width:2.5rem;height:1.9rem;}} Fun

These Iconic Costumes for Redheads Are Easy to DIY

6 Beth Dutton Costumes for 'Yellowstone' Fans

How to Make a Funnel Cake, No State Fair Required

What Do Butterflies Symbolize?

Can You Find the Sheep Among the Many Goats?

The Campari Spritz Is the Drink of Summer 2024

You're 'Kenough' in These DIY Halloween Costumes

80 Father’s Day Puns That Will Make Him Laugh

Hi Barbie! Let's Dress Up for Halloween Again

200 Dad Jokes to Keep in Your Back Pocket

25 Playful Pool Party Ideas to Dive Into

• Microsoft's Promise of Easy AI
• Walmart's Killer Tech Deals This Week

The 10 Best Road Trip Planner Apps for 2024

Save time, money, and energy with these apps so you can focus on the fun instead

• University of Ontario
• George Brown College
• Payment Services

We love road trips! Planning them can be fun but, let's be honest, also stressful. The right road trip planner apps can take some of that stress away by helping you plan, organize, and manage travel before and during your trip. We've researched and tested these apps to help give you peace of mind so that you can spend more time enjoying your trip.

The Ultimate Map App for Planning Your Route: Roadtrippers

Access to free and convenient travel guides.

Share-ability so friends can join in on the planning process and suggest places to visit.

The app can use up the battery life of your device quickly. Take a car USB charger with you.

Built for travelers, Roadtrippers helps you create your route while allowing you to discover great places as you plan it out. Add a new place to your itinerary to work it into your trip.

The app features an easy-to-use interface. In addition to covering the U.S., it also covers Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Download For:

Automate Your Trip Planning and Organization: Google Travel

Automatic trip organization via Gmail integration. 

Offline access so you can see your trip information even when you don't have an internet connection.

Limitations with customizing some day trips exactly the way you want.

You can count on Google to make your trip planning a breeze. Pre-constructed day plans are available for hundreds of the world's most popular destinations, which you can customize to your liking.

It's one of the most versatile travel planner apps out there, giving you one convenient place to see your hotel, rental car, and restaurant bookings.

Find and Book a Last-Minute Place to Stay: Hotels.com

A fast, easy-to-use booking feature.

For every 10 nights you book through Hotels.com, you get one night free, provided it's the average daily rate of those 10 nights.

No option to easily cancel if you change your mind.

Whether your road trip itinerary changed, or you haven't decided on a place to stay yet, Hotels.com can help you find a place and book it when you're on the go, even when it's super last-minute. You can sort and filter hotels, see the amenities they have to offer, compare prices, and catch a glimpse of how many rooms are available.

This is the app you'll want to have handy if you want to see in-depth hotel details at a glance and need to find a place to crash ASAP without breaking the bank.

Find Local Restaurants, Read Reviews, and Make Reservations: OpenTable

Lots of great filter options and suggestions.

Access to gorgeous, high-quality images of menu items and informative reviews from other users.

Reported problems and inconveniences with their built-in reward system.

Searching for specific restaurants is more difficult than simply looking at what's around in the area.

Deciding on a place to eat in a new area is quick and hassle-free with OpenTable. See what's nearby, filter restaurants by cuisine, see photos of what's on the menu, make reservations, and get personalized recommendations based on your preferences.

OpenTable is known to be one of the top  location-based food apps  available, so you know you can trust its information when you're dying for something to eat.

Navigate Like a Local: Waze

Hands-free navigation with voice commands.

Alerts-only mode for road hazards and police.

Share up-to-date ETA with friends.

Spotify and Apple Music widgets get in the way.

Cluttered maps can be confusing.

Higher battery usage than Google Maps.

Waze  is a community-driven travel app that shows you the shortest possible route to your destination. Like Google Maps, Waze makes real-time adjustments for traffic jams and other obstacles—but Waze is often more accurate since it caters specifically to drivers.

The app syncs with your Google Calendar and can tell you when you should leave for appointments based on traffic. There's also a cool option to record your own voice and use it for directions .

Know Exactly When and Where to Make a Pit Stop: iExit Interstate Exit Guide

Access to detailed summaries of what's at the next exit (including gas prices at nearby gas stations).

Search for the next 100 exits from your location.

The app can only be used on major U.S. exit-based highways.

No offline access, so you'll use your data plan while you're on the road.

Making a pit stop for food, gas, or a bathroom break is easy when you have the iExit app. Using your device's GPS, the app offers helpful suggestions for when and where to stop based on your location along the highway.

Whether you're looking for well-known franchises like Starbucks and Walmart to convenient amenities like free Wi-Fi and truck or trailer parking, this app has you covered.

Find the Cheapest Fuel Nearby: GasBuddy

An in-app gas payment feature.

Opportunity to save 10 cents per gallon on your first fill-up and five cents per gallon on every fill-up after.

The app can take up a lot of data and battery life as it runs in the background.

GasBuddy is an app specifically designed to find nearby gas stations and save money on gas. Use it to find the cheapest gas in your area and filter gas stations by amenities like car washes, restaurants, and bathrooms.

It's the app you want to have if you're serious about finding the cheapest gas around. Information comes from users like you, so you have the most up-to-date prices.

Download For :

Never Forget an Item: PackPoint Premium Packing List

Access to a built-in library of items to pack with the ability to add or remove items as needed. 

An elegant, intuitive app interface.

Can't input multiple destinations for a single trip.

Not a free app.

PackPoint helps you make sure you have everything you need based on where you're going and what you're doing. In addition, the app takes into consideration the length of your trip and the expected weather conditions. Perhaps best of all, this app turns a mundane chore into something that's actually quite fun.

Find Out Where to Park and How Much It Will Cost: Inrix ParkMe

ParkMe is the only app that also includes street parking and parking meter rates where available, in addition to parking lots.

Real-time updates on available parking spots.

Rates and hours may be inaccurate in some areas.

ParkMe claims to be the world's largest and most accurate parking database. It allows you to purchase your parking spot through the app and compare prices across parking providers to help you save more money.

If you're road tripping around major cities in the U.S., Canada, or Europe, this app can be a huge help. You can even compare parking options and prices so that you always get the best deal.

Automate Your Itinerary: TripIt

Automatically creates itineraries from your inbox.

Widget displays trip details on your home screen.

Annoying amount of alerts by default.

If you're planning a trip, you'll likely have a lot of confirmation emails for hotels, appointments, restaurants, and attractions. TripIt syncs with your inbox and uses that information to compile an itinerary so that you don't have to scramble for it.

The free version is fine for road trips, but if you ever fly, the premium version gives you the option to upgrade seats and track reward miles.

In addition to your phone, laptop, and tablet, other travel tech essentials include chargers, headphones, travel adapters, cameras, luggage trackers, and off-grid communications

Yes. You can use Google Maps as a trip planner through the “Places” and “My Maps” features. Both the Google Maps website and app let you save locations to lists and get directions.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

• The 9 Best Travel Planner Apps of 2024
• The 5 Best Ways to Use Google Maps Trip Planner
• Top 5 Social Travel Sites
• The 5 Best Motorcycle Apps of 2024
• The 10 Best Car Apps of 2024
• The 10 Best Road Trip Podcasts of 2024
• The 9 Best Travel Apps for 2024
• The 13 Best Android Auto Apps of 2024
• The 6 Best Hiking GPS Apps
• The 9 Best Summer Apps of 2024
• The 7 Best Emergency Alert Apps of 2024
• The 10 Best Workout Log Apps of 2024
• The 20 Best Free iPhone Apps of 2024
• The 10 Best Apps for Your High-Schooler
• The 7 Best Google Maps Alternatives of 2024
• The 7 Best Traffic Apps of 2024

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes
• Travel Tips
• Mobile Apps

The Best Road Trip Apps That Help You Find Cheap Gas, Avoid Traffic, and More

Download these before you hit the highway.

Elizabeth Rhodes is a special projects editor at Travel + Leisure , covering everything from luxury hotels to theme parks to must-pack travel products. Originally from South Carolina, Elizabeth moved to New York City from London, where she started her career as a travel blogger and writer.

Carmen Martínez Torrón/Getty Images

Technology has revolutionized the way we travel in countless ways. Paper maps and GPS navigation systems have been replaced by Google and Apple Maps, old-school CDs by music streaming services, and guidebooks by apps that can notify road-trippers of roadside attractions in real time. One thing is certain: the smartphone has made road trips infinitely easier and, arguably, cheaper.

Whether you need a digital road trip planner to map out your next journey or something to help you avoid traffic jams, here are 11 of the best road trip apps to download ahead of your next adventure.

Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers is one of the most practical and popular road trip planning apps out there. Maybe you want to see national parks or the quirkiest roadside attractions. Perhaps you want to stop for the night at an iconic or underrated hotel. You can plan your stops right in the app, adding up to three waypoints for free or 150 with a Roadtrippers Premium account. There are also Basic and Pro memberships that allot you 20 and 50 waypoints per trip, respectively. The higher-tier memberships allow you to collaborate with friends and family and use navigation. The app features lodging, sights, outdoorsy destinations, restaurants, activities, shopping, fuel, and more all around the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The app is free, but you have to upgrade to a membership plan to enjoy all the bells and whistles. The Basic plan costs $40 a year, the Pro plan $50 a year, and the Premium $60 a year. It's available on iOS and Android .

Google Maps

Every road-tripper needs a trusty navigation app in their arsenal, and Google Maps is consistently one of the most — if not the most — downloaded in the U.S. every year. Its dominance can be attributed to how comprehensive its data is, which allows it to generate the very best directions based on distance, road conditions, and traffic patterns.

Google Maps gives you route options and provides accurate estimates of how long it takes to get from A to B. Plus, you can plot several waypoints along your route — be it a mid-morning coffee stop or a hotel for overnighting (you can see reviews right in the app).

Google Maps is free and available on iOS and Android .

Waze is another one of the top navigation apps. With real-time updates that help you avoid traffic jams, construction, and more, it will have you navigating new cities and unfamiliar streets like a seasoned local. It's perhaps a little more proactive than Google Maps in changing up a route when problems arise, and that means Waze users should prepare for their drive to be a little unpredictable.

No one wants to spend hours sitting in traffic instead of exploring, so the fact that Waze collects data from other drivers to streamline the driving experience is a huge help. The app is free and available on iOS and Android .

Paying for fuel can eat up a good chunk of your road trip budget, but GasBuddy can save you a few bucks. The app crowdsources up-to-date fuel prices for more than 150,000 gas stations around the U.S. and Canada. The app also tells you how recent the submission is so you know whether it's outdated.

GasBuddy is not just helpful for finding cheap gas but also for finding gas stations in general (and parking), which can be difficult in foreign territory. The app is free and can be downloaded on iOS and Android . While using it, be a good road-tripper and submit gas prices you see as you travel.

Roadside America

Barry Winiker/Getty Images

The offbeat and kitschy roadside attractions you can find throughout the U.S. are often some of the most delightful parts of a road trip. The Roadside America app helps you find the most unique attractions worth stopping for, like the large sculpture of a cartoon mouse holding a cheese platter in Plain, Wisconsin — where else? — or the decidedly odd larger-than-life-sized three-way electrical plug that rests on a lawn in Philadelphia. The app features museums, murals, tours, quirky restaurants, and photo ops.

Roadside America costs $3 to download, which gets you access to one region in the app. You can purchase more regions for $2 or get access to all of the U.S. and Canada for an extra $7. The app is available only on iOS .

iExit Interstate Exit Guide

Knowing where to stop for road trip snacks, a drive-through latte, or a public restroom can be challenging with all the exit signs whizzing by at 70 mph, but iExit Interstate Exit Guide takes the guesswork out of it. The app will list which exits are coming up on your route, what's there, and what they offer — including food, lodging, fuel, and even hospitals. It pulls fuel prices from OPIS (the Oil Price Information Service) and displays Yelp reviews for businesses.

The app is free to download. Find it on both iOS and Android .

HotelTonight

Even if you've planned out all your stops ahead of time, you might find that you need to pull over for a night unexpectedly. Driving is tiring, and unplanned naps can be life-saving. HotelTonight can help you find accommodations in a pinch. The app offers day-of deals on unsold rooms, and the user-friendly interface means you can book a discounted room in minutes. There are well over 1,000 properties to choose from in cities all over the world, from Mexico City to Jakarta (in case you happen to take your road-tripping global).

It's free to download and available on iOS and Android .

If staying in a tucked-away A-frame cabin, a yurt, or a private guest house in someone's garden is more your travel style than bouncing between hotels, then Airbnb is the ticket. On the Airbnb app, you can search properties (millions in the U.S. alone) on a map and read reviews before you book, which you can do in advance or at the last minute.

The app features not just vacation homes but also activities, so if you're keen to experience a city like a local you can do so via a pottery class or a guided walking tour, for example.

The Airbnb app is free. You can download it on iOS or Android .

Patchareeporn Sakoolchai/Getty Images

Travelers who dream of camping out under the stars should download The Dyrt , a free app that helps you find tent, RV, and cabin sites across the U.S. One of the top camping apps on iOS and Android , it has more than a million registered users who submit reviews, pictures, and tips. On The Dyrt, you get real intel on campsites and a built-in community that makes camping on a road trip especially fun and safe. You can even book some of the campsites right on app.

The app is free, but there's a premium version for $36 a year that allows you to plan trips and search campsites while offline — convenient for remote regions.

What is a road trip without a perfect playlist? Whether you're keen to create a soundtrack of nostalgic singalongs, modern pop songs, or music inspired by your destination, you'll find even the most obscure tunes on Spotify , a catalog of more than 100 million tracks. When you tire of Taylor Swift, you can turn to podcasts or an audiobook to keep you company. Road trips are a great opportunity to delve into a docuseries like "Serial," an all-time favorite.

Spotify is free to download and listen to, but the ad breaks are annoying and streaming can chew through your phone data. A better option is to purchase a premium membership for $11 a month. It's ad-free and you can download music to listen to offline. The Spotify app is available on iOS and Android .

Electric vehicles are increasingly commonplace and great for more environmentally friendly road-tripping. The problem is often finding charging stations, as most EVs can go 100 to 300 miles before they need to be plugged in. PlugShare lists 700,000 charging stations across North America, Europe, and beyond. Users share their reviews of the stations, helping to guide EV drivers to the best, fastest, and most reliable charging spots.

PlugShare is free and available to download on iOS and Android .

Related Articles

The Best Apps for Planning a Road Trip

This arsenal of apps will upgrade any road trip. easily find hotels, restaurants, secret swimming holes, day spas, restrooms, and gas stations so you can fully enjoy the freedom of the open road..

• Copy Link copied

Paper maps are classic, but with these apps, you can plan your best road trip yet.

Courtesy of Unsplash.com

Remember when planning a road trip meant busting out your best paper maps and highlighting various routes with multicolored pens? Today, road trips still bring out the old-school adventurer in all of us—whether it’s a winter or fall foliage trip or a cross-country or EV-charged drive—but planning them has certainly become more streamlined. Thanks to these travel apps, there are more ways than ever to maximize planning for your next long drive.

1. Google Maps

• Download : Apple App Store | Google Play

Let’s begin with the free Google Maps app. It’s the most multifunctional road trip map app out there, whether you’re looking for directions, the quickest route, a nearby hotel or restaurant, grocery stores, pharmacies, ATMs, gas stations, or EV charging stations. You can type or talk a term in the search bar, or filter by the categories just underneath that field (scroll over to the “More” button to see dozens of additional options).

Once you’ve put in your search term, additional filters are offered. For example, to find a place to eat, you can narrow your search using options such as cozy restaurants, group-friendly dining, new restaurants, and cheap eats. When you search for nearby gas stations, the app will tell you how much gas costs at each place, allowing you to select the cheapest fuel. And when you search for EV charging stations, the app will tell you how many chargers each has, how fast they are, and if they’re compatible with your car. (Pro tip: Learn these other secrets to using Google Maps for travel too.)

Google Maps gives you so much more than directions.

Photo by AngieYeoh/Shutterstock.com

But while Google Maps is incredibly convenient, it doesn’t do everything. Add these fun, functional, and free road trip planning apps to your collection for your best road trip yet.

2. Drive Weather

Weather can make or break your road trip adventure. While you can’t control Mother Nature, you can stay safe by downloading the Drive Weather app to anticipate when and where inclement weather is expected to strike and adjust your plans accordingly—whether that means planning to stop for a few hours until a storm abates or altering your route. The free version of the app allows you to compare weather forecasts along different routes and offers up to two days of National Weather Service forecasts, so you can plan for snow, rain, thunderstorms, haze, and other natural phenomena that could affect road conditions. Upgrade to the paid pro version for up to seven days of forecasts and an icy pavement indicator.

3. Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers is a do-it-all, know-it-all website and app that asks you to enter your destinations and calculates the best route. It shows you everything you can see and do along the way, including parks, restaurants, and hotels. Essentially, this road trip planner deals in logistics—making it a perfect option for those who need a plan but hate doing the legwork.

4. GasBuddy

• Download: Apple App Store | Google Play

Gas prices inevitably spike every summer as travel demand increases. Fortunately, GasBuddy is a great way to stay on top of your road trip budget and take advantage of the best gasoline deals in your area, wherever you might be. The app provides real-time price information for more than 150,000 gas stations in the United States and Canada. GasBuddy also has a function that allows you to estimate how much gas you’ll need on your travels based on your planned destination and make and model of your car, making it one of the most convenient and practical road trip gas calculators out there.

5. PlugShare

If you’re cruising around in an electric vehicle, you know all too well that finding a charging station can be a source of stress. Eliminate the uncertainty by downloading the PlugShare app, which displays public charging stations across North America and Europe that are compatible with your car brand and model. Use this free app ahead of your departure to identify charging stations along your expected route, or reference it during your trip to locate nearby stations. PlugShare’s filter allows you to tailor your search results based on criteria such as connector type and charging speed, as well as additional amenities like food or bathroom availability.

This is the traffic app to beat all traffic apps. While other route-planning apps like Apple Maps and Google Maps can tell you when traffic is about to get bad, the community-sourced Waze provides more of-the-moment information. Users give and receive real-time updates on accidents, speed limits, hidden police cars, and road conditions. The app also provides a variety of navigation routes, which can be especially handy when you need to take back roads to avoid a brutal traffic jam.

7. HotelTonight

If, after a long day of driving, you suddenly hit a (figurative) wall and need to stop and rest, this is the service for you. HotelTonight specializes in same-day booking at quality boutique hotels. You can reserve rooms in advance, but because hotel prices often drop as it gets closer to your stay, you’ll likely end up saving money when you book at the last minute. If you use the app instead of the website, you’ll save even more with exclusive mobile deals.

8. Flush Toilet Finder

As any seasoned traveler knows, a good, clean restroom can be hard to find on the road. But with a database of more than 200,000 bathroom options across the world, the Flush app can take some of the edge off of the nail-biting urgency of finding a toilet in an unfamiliar place. Flush also makes it easy to see whether restrooms are accessible to people with disabilities, require a fee to use, or need a key to access. Simply open the app and Flush will search for nearby restrooms using GPS, providing directions using Apple Maps or Google Maps. Users can also add newly discovered toilets to the app and rate washrooms they come across on their travels.

9. The Dyrt: Tent and RV Camping

As anyone who’s tried to orchestrate a camping trip knows, finding a decent place to camp can be one of the most difficult parts to plan. The Dyrt app gives campers a way to research potential campgrounds in depth without the guesswork of solely using traditional park websites, all from the comfort and convenience of a phone. You can browse reviews of potential campgrounds you’d like to visit, use the app’s “near me” function to find nearby places to hunker down when you’re on the go, or even connect with other campers for tips and feedback on campgrounds you’re thinking of visiting. Though the app is available to download for free, the premium version ($35.99 per year) will also give you access to downloadable maps, a trip planner, and big discounts on gear and campgrounds.

The Outbound app allows road trippers to find outdoor activities along their route.

Courtesy of Outbound

10. The Outbound: Hike, Camp, Roadtrip

Being cooped up in a car for hours on end can often be the worst part of a road trip. One solution? Consult this GPS-based, crowd-sourced app that gives local recommendations for nearby outdoorsy activities. The app will point you to national parks , good hiking trails , secret swimming holes , and more—and the user reviews are fact checked by the Outbound Collective staff, so you can trust the advice (especially important if you’re hiking in an area you don’t know well).

11. DayPass

Similar to the Outbound, DayPass helps you find activities when you absolutely can’t be in the car any longer. However, it’s not a hiking app —instead, DayPass focuses on pools, beach clubs, gyms, and spas at hotels and resorts around the world. Just type in the destination (or let the app pull up a current location based on your GPS), and you can see all of the hotels and gyms that offer day passes to their facilities. Some properties don’t allow booking through the app, so you may have to call instead.

12. Psych! Outwit Your Friends

Can you even call a road trip a road trip if you don’t spend hours playing pointless games ? From the creators of Ellen DeGeneres’s popular Heads Up! , this game app tests your ability to pick real answers to trivia questions—and avoid the fake answers made up by the other players. There are four styles of play: the word game “Word Up!” the classic trivia game “Is That a Fact?,” the truth-telling game “The Truth Comes Out,” and the movie trivia game “Movie Bluff!”

Part of the fun is trying to guess who wrote which answer based on everyone’s sense of humor. There’s even an option to “play with Ellen,” which means an Ellen bot will also contribute hilarious answers. The game requires some screen time, so it’s not driver friendly—but if you read the questions and answers out loud, whoever is behind the wheel can certainly join in on the laughs. (It’s another reason to regularly rotate drivers, too.)

13. Magic Hour

• Download : Apple App Store

One perk of a road trip is that you can pull over somewhere beautiful for Magic Hour, or Golden Hour: the term professional photographers use to describe the hour after sunrise or before sunset when the light is at its prettiest for taking pictures or video. This app lets you know exactly when Magic Hour begins and ends each day based on your location, helping you time your stop—and your cinematography—just right. If you pay $0.99, you can add locations, allowing you to plan for future Magic Hours, too. (Magic Hour is only available for Apple devices, but Google Play offers similar apps for Android users.)

14. SoundHound

Although there are many ways to find and stream new music, turning on the radio during a road trip adds an element of fun. Not only is it nostalgic, but listening to what the local DJ has to say and play also helps you get a feel for the local culture. When you hear a song you like but don’t know, open up SoundHound, hit the orange circle, and the app will tell you its name. Bonus: The app keeps a dated history of the tunes you identify.

If you have Spotify or Apple Music, you can even sync your accounts with SoundHound, and all of your discoveries will automatically show up in a playlist called “SoundHound.” By the end of the trip—especially if it’s a road trip to a famed music destination —you’ll have a curated playlist of your song discoveries that you can enjoy long after you’ve returned home.

Mr. D’s Diner, an old Route 66 staple that has been open since 1978, serves homey American cuisine.

Photo by Heidi Kaden on Unsplash

15. Roadside America

Sometimes the best part of a road trip isn’t even the final destination but the stops made along the way. The Roadside America app can help you find all of the kitschy highway attractions the country has to offer. Giant statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Ox? Sure, why not. The world’s largest garden gnome or a museum dedicated entirely to hammers? Yes, please. A clown motel in Nevada ? Well…maybe. Available on the Apple App Store (starting at $2.99), the app points users to hundreds of quirky locations across the United States and Canada organized by city, state, or province. Users can plot their route in the Roadside America app to learn about all the fun stops that might be worthy of a pit stop on their journey.

16. Star Walk

To catch some truly spectacular, au natural nocturnal sights, download the free Star Walk app. The Star Walk app gives users an easy way to see what constellations will make an appearance whenever and wherever they are. This astronomy program is simple to use—just point your phone at the sky and see which stars, constellations, and planets drift above you.

This story was originally published in 2019 and was most recently updated on April 30, 2024, with new information. Mae Hamilton and Nathalie Alonso contributed original reporting.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Taking a Road Trip With Kids

Planning a Solo Road Trip

How to Plan a Camping Road Trip

Planning a Stargazing Road Trip

10 Helpful Budget Tips

Calculating the Cost of Gas

Budget for a 3-Day Road Trip

Best Road Trip Route By Interest

Mississippi River Road Trip

Atlantic Coast Road Trip

Southern US Road Trip

Northern US Road Trip

Pacific Coast Road Trip

US Route 12

Northeastern US Routes

Rocky Mountain Destinations

Warm-Weather Road Trip

The Longest Highway in the US

Car Rental Companies

Best Audio Books

Must-Have Emergency Supplies

Family Road Trip Toys and Games

Car Bike Racks

Getting Your Car Ready

Preparing for the Weather

8 Helpful Apps for a Road Trip

9 Best Travel Apps for a Great American Road Trip

BROOK PIFER / Getty Images 

Remember the days of embarking on a road trip with a big fold-out map and maybe a Michelin Guide for a directory of places to stay and eat? Thanks to smartphones, road trippers today have an infinite number of resources to help plan the perfect road trip (or at least provide some guidance for those who prefer not to plan ahead). Several apps are designed specifically to assist travelers who go by car—many of them free—so you can focus on enjoying the journey without getting bogged down by the details.

Roadtrippers

One of the most essential apps for any road trip, Roadtrippers is the ultimate travel planning resource for anyone embarking on a driving vacation. It's especially useful for travelers who have a clear starting point and ending point, but aren't quite sure what routes to take, what cities to stop in, and what to see along the way. You just punch in point A and point B, and Roadtrippers will give you all of the best options for getting from one to the other along with recommendations of hotels, restaurants, bars, and can't-miss points of interest. It's completely free to download and use, although a premium version is available with even more features.

HotelTonight

Road trips mean you don't always know exactly where you'll be sleeping every night of the trip. You may have a general itinerary of where you're going and when, but spontaneous plans, last-minute changes, or car trouble can throw a wrench at that. When you suddenly need a place to crash, open up HotelTonight . This free app works best for same-day reservations by finding nearby deals for rooms that would otherwise be empty. The options range from luxury resorts to boutique bed and breakfasts, so after a long day behind the wheel, you can make a pitstop exactly where you want to.

If you want to score the best deals on your trip, Groupon is the place to see what's available at a discounted price. Groupon collects deals for all types of services and products that would be useful to road trippers, such as hotel rooms, car rentals, restaurants, excursions, oil changes, and much more. The app is totally free to use and you can organize your results based on category or the city you're traveling to. It's great not just for finding new activities you may not have known existed, but also for finding deals on something that was already a part of your plan.

Tripit is a free and easy-to-use travel planning and itinerary organizing app typically used more by frequent fliers. But road trippers can use the Tripit app or website to plan a trip complete with hotel, dining, and shopping stops. Whenever you book a hotel, dinner reservation, car rental, or some type of transit, just forward the confirmation email to Tripit and it will automatically be stored inside the app, so your entire itinerary is easily accessible in one location. Tripit even lets you share your travel agenda to social media or with other friends on Tripit. Plus, it's an easy way to go back later and remember all of the travel details of your trip.

Google Maps

A navigation app isn't a revolutionary idea for a road trip and there's a good chance you already have one downloaded on your phone. And even though Google Maps is by far the most popular one, it's worth calling out as a necessity for your journey. You can filter directions by the fastest route, traffic conditions, avoiding tolls, or intermediary stops. You can also download entire areas to be used offline, which is essential for stretches of road that are outside of coverage zones. If you want to plan out when you'll stop for food, gas, coffee, or a supermarket, Google Maps will find places along the route, each one accompanied by all of the reviews of other Google users.

A road trip across the U.S. sometimes involves countless hours of driving at night in the middle of nowhere. Or, it could mean a camping trip under the stars. Either way, you're going to need to make a night-time pit stop, so why not use the break to take in those twinkling stars? The free Star Walk app is an easy-to-use astronomy program that lets you point your phone at the sky and discover which stars, planets, and constellations are above you. Which of those dots is actually the North Star? Can I see my birth sign constellation? Is that glowing red orb Mars? With Star Walk, all of these answers and more are at your fingertips.

Roadside America

What's a road trip without stops at the quirky attractions along the way? Roadside America enhances your road trip by mapping out all of the kitsch, bizarre, and one-of-a-kind points of interest along the route. The app costs $2.99 for a designated region of the U.S. or Canada and additional regions have to be purchased within the app, but it includes full field reports of hundreds of attractions organized by city, state, province, or category so you can actually learn about what you're seeing. Don't miss out on a weird museum, famous gravesite, Muffler Man, or another peculiarity that could be just a short detour away.

If you've ever been on a road trip, you already know the story: You've been driving for hours, you're in an unfamiliar area miles away from a big city, and you suddenly realize the gas indicator is dangerously close to "E." Do you veer off to the first rest stop you see? Or wait it out and hope for something less expensive a few miles ahead? Thanks to Gas Buddy , you can make a decision without any internal dilemma. This free app searches all nearby gas stations for the best prices, so you can easily choose and not risk paying more than necessary—or worse, running out of gas in the middle of nowhere.

Some of the best road trip memories likely involve turning the music up and rocking out to your favorite music with the open road in front of you. Rather than getting stuck with what's playing on the radio, download the Spotify app to find your favorite artists or music genre and create playlists with the tap of your finger. The app is free to download and use if you don't mind the occasional ad, but you can also upgrade to a premium version for uninterrupted tunes.

How to Estimate Cost of Gas for a Road Trip

The 4 Best Luggage Trackers of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

Best Online Travel Agencies

The Best Free Apps for Keeping in Touch With Friends Worldwide

Use a Trip Planner Website or App for Budget Travel

Driving in Aruba

Planning a Road Trip: The Complete Guide

Plan Your Stargazing Road Trip

9 Tips for Maximizing RV Gas Mileage

The Top Services to Find Road Trip Stopover Spots

Getting Around Detroit: Guide to Public Transportation

The Good and Bad of Pokemon Go for Travelers

How to Plan for the Weather During Your Road Trip

Cell Phone Apps Every RVer Needs on the Road

11 Useful Travel Apps That Work Just Fine Offline

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Guide

Pocket-lint

8 android apps for gamers on the go.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Key Takeaways

• Google Play Games offers a wide selection of online and offline games for on-the-go play.
• Steam's app lets you view stats, chat with friends, and stay updated on gaming news while away.
• Build Your First Game educates users on game development using Unity and offers various difficulty levels.

Mobile gaming on your Android phone or tablet is one of the best ways to pass the time while on a bus or train or taking it easy on the beach. Countless online and offline titles are available, so you don't need to worry about missing out on the fun when your phone is in airplane mode or if you're in an area with no Wi-Fi .

With this in mind, we decided to list the best apps for gamers on the go. These apps are perfect for when you're away from your PC or console and can help you find the best titles, check your stats, improve connectivity, and more to enhance your gaming experience.

How to turn your Android tablet into a retro gaming console

Play Nintendo, Sega, and Playstation games on your Android tablet with these easy steps. No console required.

1 Google Play Games

A built-in game library on android phones, google play games.

Google Play Games is baked into Android and is one of the easiest ways to access games when you're on the road. It's an intuitive alternative to the Play Store with a similar layout and a specialized content list. It disregards general-purpose apps and sticks to games only. Speaking of content lists, Google Play Games has one of the widest title selections, so you can play anything from basic games like Sweet Cookie to advanced shooters like Call of Duty.

Wi-Fi and mobile data signals can be erratic when traveling, so Google Play Games offers online and offline games for every type of player. It's the best app for gamers on the go because of the sheer number of titles in the catalogue, which has something for everyone.

Manage your PC account on your phone

PC players wanting to check in with friends and view their stats on the road can try the Steam app. Steam doesn't allow you to play titles from your library on your mobile device, but it gives you access to all your titles and achievements to see where you need to improve. You can also chat with friends and other community members to set up your next playing sessions.

Another advantage of Steam is that it keeps you up-to-date with the latest gaming news and deals, so you won't miss out while you're away. The app makes it easy to buy discounted games while you're on vacation, and they'll be ready for you to play in your library when you return.

8 Samsung Galaxy phone apps you can just go ahead and uninstall already

Remove these unnecessary Samsung Galaxy apps to reduce clutter and free space.

3 Build your First Game

Make your own game with easy tools, build your first game.

Build Your First Game is an educational app that teaches how to make games using Unity and other courses like Java, Python, and Ethical Hacking. The app is for players who dream of creating their own game while doing something they love and making money in a growing industry.

You don't need to be an expert, and Build Your First Game offers various difficulty levels to accommodate anyone, from coding pros to beginners just getting started in the industry. Lessons vary between five and twenty minutes daily, so you can choose how much time you'd like to commit. The step-by-step guides with voice instructions make the lessons easy to understand and allow you to learn something useful while traveling.

4 PlayStation app

Access your console anywhere, playstation app.

The PlayStation app links your Android phone to your profile on your console so you can view your friend requests, messages, and other notifications. You can also keep up with the latest PlayStation news and releases to find the best deals wherever you are and download it to your console remotely.

Once you've paired your console to your Android phone, managing it becomes easy. You can also change your storage, privacy, and voice chat settings via the PlayStation app while killing time in transit so you can relax and play when you get home.

7 Android apps I love for stress-free journeys

Whether you're on a work trip or two-week vacation, these apps will help you make the most of your next adventure abroad.

5 Steam Link

Play your pc game on your phone.

The Steam Link app allows you to stream your PC games to enjoy them while lounging by the pool or relaxing in the sun rather than sitting at your desk. It doesn't work over long distances, and you'll need to be on the same Wi-Fi connection, but it opens your phone to titles that aren't available on mobile platforms.

Linking your laptop or PC to your Android phone via Steam Link is easy. Once set, it will store your connection and controller settings and make shortcuts for recently played games so they are easily accessible. If touchscreen controls are challenging for certain games, you can always use a compatible controller for an arcade-like experience.

6 Samsung Gaming Hub

A massive gaming library for galaxy devices, samsung gaming hub.

Samsung's Gaming Hub is an alternative to Google Play Games on Galaxy phones, offering a vast title selection. You can choose between popular categories like puzzle, arcade, dexterity, and one or two-handed titles.

Many games on the Samsung Gaming Hub use Instant Play tech and stream instantly without downloading. These titles offer a fun experience on your phone without wasting space and creating clutter, but they require an internet connection, which might not be available in certain areas.

How to update Android apps

If you're wondering how to stay up to date, here's how to update apps on Android

7 Game Booster

Optimize your speed for the best performance, game booster.

Wi-Fi quality fluctuates in busy airports and stations, so it's worth having an app like Game Booster to manage your connection when you're playing online games like Call of Duty or PUBG. The app can check your phone's memory to see how much space it has for apps and provides a real-time ping analysis to show you how fast your connection is.

Once you add a game to the boosted list, the app will free up background memory and optimize the connection and game settings for the best performance. It also has a GFX tool with convenient sliders to optimize your game's resolution, FPS, and other graphics features.

8 PlayStation Remote Play app

Bring your console games to android, ps remote play.

The PS Remote Play app is similar to Steam Link and enables you to play your console games on your phone, so you don't need to sit in front of the TV and can play outside. As its name suggests, the app only works on Sony consoles, but alternatives are available for Xbox and Nintendo users, so nobody's left out.

One of the best things about the PS Remote Play app is that there's no quality reduction, and your games will look and play just as smoothly on your Android phone as on your console. Playing in landscape mode to get the best image quality makes sense, but you can also try portrait mode if you prefer using one hand and don't mind a smaller playing area.

9 apps I install immediately on any new Galaxy phone

From WhatsApp and Microsoft 365 to Fiton and Steam Link, the must-have apps for your new Samsung Galaxy phone.

Q: How do you download a game on Android?

Downloading games on Android is easy from Google Play Games, the Google Play Store, or the Samsung Gaming Hub.

Q: Can you play PC or console games on Android?

It's possible to stream games from your PC or console to Android phones and tablets with apps like Steam Link and PlayStation Remote Play.

Q: Do Android phones support online or offline games?

Online and offline games are available for Android via Google Play Games.

Chris Brown's Bulge Goes Viral After Fans Spot Huge Imprint at Concert

Dive Into Devon Windsor's Bikini Photoshoot In The Bahamas!

Crazy Town Lead Singer Shifty Shellshock Dead at 49

Guess Who This Funny Kid Turned Into!

Bhad Bhabie Livin' Best New Mama Life, Twerking on Yacht, Partying

Road trip games for the whole family, are we there yet roadtrip time killers ... games for the whole family.

TMZ may collect a share of sales or other compensation from links on this page.

Are we there yet? I'm bored. I wanna go out!

Any of the above sound familiar? Well, we may have a few solutions for you.

Check out these road trip games ... suitable for kids and childlike adults.

Carpool Chaos

Carpool Chaos ... ironically is intended to reduce the chaos in your carpool.

According to the product description, the game is ideal for road trip activities for kids ages 4 and up ... and comes with "160 large action-packed cards inside a sturdy steering wheel-shaped box that fits perfectly in the seat back pocket or door for easy storage."

"We bought this for our 16 hour car ride with 6 kids and 2 adults," read one five star review on Amazon. "It was a blast when everyone participated. One question had my wife in tears because of someone's answers. There's enough cards that we didnt run out after an hour and a few suggestive ones could be skipped only because we had a few under 10. (Most families probably wouldn't have an issue with them.) This game was our favorite part of the roadtrip. Highly recommend."

Shotgun Road Trip Game

Shotgun ... brought to you by What Do You Meme? ... is for kids 12+ and requires at least 2 players.

The group has to nominate "someone to be the card reader (person sitting shotgun, we’re lookin’ at you)," reads the product description, "if the car setup allows, you can rotate the reader. Read the card and play based on the prompt! Play until you reach your destination or until you stop for fast food."

The game contains 200 cards, 1 drawstring pouch and instructions.

"We had so many laughs on our road trip because if this game. Great for people over 10 I would say," wrote one satisfied Amazon customer.

Games On The Go!

GAMES ON THE GO is a collection of 50 games and activities that can be played anywhere at any time ... and is suitable for all ages.

This collection includes "silly guessing games, perplexing word games, mind bending memory challenges, wacky trivia questions, searching games and much, much more."

Games on the Go is a portable game collection that can be clipped to the back of a seat in a car or easily stored in a pouch, handbag, or glovebox.

"I bought this because my family spends a lot of time in the car and I have a wide range of kid ages. I keep these in my purse, and we actually play outside of the car, too. Some of the games are great for waiting in restaurants or doctor’s offices. We have even used them while waiting in between heats at my oldest’s swim meets," read one five star Amazon review. "The cards are very sturdy, too. They literally just get tossed into my purse without any special consideration and have held up perfectly. I definitely recommend these if you spend any length of time in the car or waiting around for things."

Guess In 10 Disney

Guess In 10 Disney is sure to be a hit for the princesses and princes in your backseat.

How it works: "Divide yourselves up in teams, or play one on one, and ask up to 10 questions to guess the Disney character on the Game Card! Is the character an animal? Does this character wear a blue gown? Be the first player to win 7 Game Cards!"

It comes with "52 Game Cards, 6 Clue Cards, 1 Card Holder, an instruction manual and a handy box to store it all." The box is travel-friendly and highly portable. Suitable for ages 6 and up.

There are also Marvel and space trivia options available.

"I teach 6-8 grade special education. I’ve been using guess in 10 as my morning ice breaker all year and the kids LOVE it. It gets them engaged and asking questions. It also helps them with their social skills and is a great tool to teach them to come up with new and different questions to ask depending on the topics. It’s also educational! Sometimes they’ve never heard of the word, animal, or place on the topic card before so it gives them the opportunity to learn about something new! 5+ stars!" wrote one Amazon customer.

Oh I Knew That

Oh I Knew That is a word card game with a "twist of fate, just like Russian roulette, where every draw could lead to laughter, anticipation, and victory."

The game comes with 83 playing cards and 74 categories ... and promises "a collection of easy, amusing questions that inject competitive spirit and curiosity into the game, ensuring lively word matching battles during parties or game nights."

Retro Handheld Game Console with 500 Classic FC Games

Retro Handheld Game Console with 500 Classic FC Games is sure to be a delight for kids ... and the nostalgia driven adult.

Either way ... this is a great option for killing time on a long road trip.

"Elevator action, ikaria warriors, nes metal gear solid, bubble bubble, and a few other games that make this an awesome buy. Games are old and outdated but good. The price is good No problems. I have not tried hooking it up to the t.v. Yet it’s light weight. Wish it had a battery life indicator. Feels flimsy but you get what you pay for. Over all, I would purchase this item again," wrote one five star reviewer on Amazon.

My Arcade Atari Pocket Player Pro

My Arcade Atari Pocket Player Pro features officially licensed Atari titles and bonus games.

The player comes with 100 video games ... titles include Asteroids, Centipede, Millipede, Breakout, Missile Command, Tempest and many more.

"I love this thing. I have a bunch of retro game consoles and also a portable Atari flashback from a few years ago (the wood panel version)," read one five star Amazon review. "This is actually better quality than the AtGames flashback portables. It's a bit heavier and the sound is much better. It just feels like better quality. The only thing the older AtGames version has over this is the SD card slot that lets you add roms so you can basically play any game you want on it (atari 2600 games, that is). If this had the SD slot, it would be perfect. Aside from that, it's great for the price."

• Share on Facebook

Old news is old news! Be First!

• skip to Main Content

Go RVing uses cookies on gorving.com in accordance with our privacy policy . By using this site, you consent to the use of cookies. We use cookies for the following purposes: To enable certain functions of the service, to provide analytics, to store your preferences, and to enable advertisements delivery, including behavioral advertising.

• Your Basecamp
• For the Family
• Furry Friends
• All the Amenities
• Working from the Road
• Versatile Vacations
• A Fit for Any Budget
• See All Benefits BENEFITS
• Active Lifestyle
• On the Water
• Winter Sports
• The Great Outdoors
• A Weekend Getaway
• Explore a New City
• Go Glamping
• Foodie Adventures
• Seasonal Camping
• See All Activities ACTIVITIES

• Travel Trailers
• Expandable Trailers
• 5th Wheel Trailers
• Pop-Up Campers
• Teardrop Trailers
• Sport Utility RVs
• Truck Campers
• Learn About Towables TOW IT
• Class A Motorhomes
• Class B Motorhomes
• Class C Motorhomes
• Learn About Motorized RVs DRIVE IT

OTHER RV MODELS

• Park Model RVs
• Horse Trailers
• Ice Fish Houses

EXPLORE RVs

• Learn More EXPLORE RVs

• RV How-to's

Expert Advice

• Recipes for the Road
• On the Road with RVers
• Trip Planning
• Budget Tips
• Meet Our Contributors
• Become a Contributor
• See All EXPLORE

Ryan's Story

Highlining in Moab

Ryan Robinson takes you for a ride in the passenger seat of his RV, off the grid, deep among the dramatic rock formations of the Utah Desert. Robinson and friends chill by the fire, tell stories, and of course, rig a one of a kind highline over the Looking Glass Arch in Moab, UT.

START YOUR JOURNEY

• Buying an RV
• Renting an RV
• Find a Campground
• First-Timers Tool Kit
• RV Shows & Events
• Explore Models & Manufacturers
• Find Services & Parts
• Sign up for RV Information
• Visit our Booth
• Get Started START YOUR JOURNEY

YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

• Inspiring Trips
• RV Parks & Campgrounds
• National Parks
• Scenic Byways

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Send us your email to get helpful tips and useful information from our partners.

The 8 Best RV Navigation Apps For A Smooth And Safe Road Trip

These eight robust RV navigation apps offer additional features that can make your drive smoother and safer.

Share this experience

When setting out on an RV road trip, the journey should be part of the fun! Thankfully there are many high-quality, useful apps that will help you enjoy a smooth, stress-free drive to your destination.

While you can hop in your car for a traditional road trip without much planning, it’s better to do some navigation research in advance for an RV trip, especially if you’re a new RVer . Your route might include roads, bridges, and tunnels with height and weight restrictions. Additionally, some bridges and tunnels have regulations regarding onboard propane. 

RELATED:  Tips For First Time RVers

It’s also important to note that getting gas, food, and other supplies may be more challenging while towing or driving an RV. Some parking lots won’t accommodate larger vehicles. The larger your rig, the more advance planning is recommended. Some RVers prefer to stop at truck stops or certain chain gas stations, thanks to the larger lots. RV navigation apps can help you see what options are along your planned route.

Without a good RV navigation app, you might find yourself in a sticky situation. Many RVers have gotten themselves in jams that can be time-consuming, scary, or potentially dangerous. At best, you’ll simply have to turn around or reroute. At worst, you could damage your RV. Advance planning and useful apps can truly save the day.

Leave the spiral-bound truckers’ atlas behind and use one of these seven recommended RV navigation apps:

Best for Easy-to-Use Navigation: Google Maps

GOOGLE MAPS may be the most familiar app for most travelers. That familiarity makes it a good choice because you won’t have to spend any time learning a new app. Also, many other apps and websites feature the ability to open routing in Google Maps with a single click. Another bonus? It’s free. 

The downside is that Google Maps doesn’t take your RV dimensions into account when mapping a route and can lead you to restricted or difficult-to-navigate roads. You’ll be on your own to watch for low-clearance bridges, weight and length limits, and propane restrictions while driving. Google Maps also assumes you’ll be driving the speed limit when calculating arrival time, while many RVers find they drive more slowly. Some RVers use Google Maps for basic routing suggestions, but then double check that route using height, weight, and propane restrictions found in the other RV navigation apps found in this article. 

Best For Awesome Roadside Attractions: Roadtrippers

ROADTRIPPERS  has long been a favorite for travelers looking for amazing roadside attractions. The website has cultivated a collection of the best cultural, historic, and natural sites, each with colorful descriptions. The app offers navigation and allows you to also search for campgrounds and a variety of RV service locations. Upgrading to the Pro version gets you extra features, including the ability to save maps offline, collaboratively plan trips and avoid ad pop ups.

Best For Customized RV Routes: RV LIFE Trip Wizard And RV LIFE RV Safe GPS

RV LIFE TRIP WIZARD and RV LIFE RV SAFE GPS allow you to customize your route based on your RV’s restrictions. RV LIFE Trip Wizard is web-based, and it works hand-in-hand with the RV LIFE RV Safe GPS app. You can also download your route to navigate in Google Maps, which is convenient for those who prefer using a familiar app. 

The suite of RV LIFE tools offers additional trip-planning features, including campground searches and trip budgeting. If you’re a member of any camping clubs (such as KOA or Good Sam), you can prioritize those options when searching for an RV park. The RV LIFE Pro subscription costs $65 per year after your 7-day free trial and includes access to a suite of features. There’s a monthly subscription option that’s also available for $19.99, but doesn’t include a free trial. 

RELATED:  10 Tips for Saving Money On RV Trips

Best For Different Map Styles: CoPilot GPS

COPILOT GPS features an app specifically designed for RV navigation. Simply input information about your rig, and CoPilot will find an appropriate route for your RV weight and height. Maps are available in both 2D and 3D versions and include detailed information about road signs and turn lanes. Clear, simple audio navigation and speed limit indicators make it easy to safely use CoPilot while driving without looking at the screen. Note that the current lack of CarPlay integration is a downside for some subscribers.

You can store offline maps on your device, meaning you’ll never go without a map, even when driving in remote areas. You can also easily search for and add roadside stops to your route. A 14-day free trial is available, and an annual subscription costs $29.99. You can subscribe to the app in the App Store or Google Play. 

Best For White-Knuckle Drivers: inRoute

INROUTE shares many features with other RV navigation apps, but it has one unique feature RVers might especially appreciate: This app allows you to devise a route based on various options, including curviness and elevation. So travelers to mountainous regions will especially appreciate this to avoid white-knuckle drives.

inRoute also checks the weather, giving you a heads up about severe weather ahead. You can plan a trip with up to eight stops for free or test out a free 7-day trial for access to all features. A subscription costs $39.99 per year or $4.99 per month. The app is currently only available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. CarPlay integration is available for iOS users.

Best For Finding RV-Friendly Amenities: AllStays

Though the name “AllStays” sounds as though it focuses on places to stay, the ALLSTAYS CAMP & RV app includes so much more. In addition to 37,000 campgrounds, the app lets users search for big box stores, parking, truck stops (with fuel prices listed), rest areas, and RV stores. The dump station filter is particularly helpful for boondockers and dry campers who need to find locations to empty their tanks.

As you drive, the map continually refreshes to show locations that fall within your filters, making it easy to plan on the go. Then, simply click a button for turn-by-turn directions to your selected destination. You can also check for weather and driving conditions. Expect to pay $34.95 for an annual subscription that renews at $32.95 per year. Note: AllStays isn’t currently available on Android devices.

Best For Finding Gas Stops: GasBuddy

While GASBUDDY can’t be used to plan your whole route, it shines in helping you find one of the most important things you need while driving – gas. Pull up the app to find gas stations within a range of your current location, and easily find nearby options. As an added bonus, GasBuddy displays fuel prices, helping you to find the most affordable station on your route. 

RELATED:  5 Areas to Control Your Costs When Planning a Budget RV Trip

GasBuddy can also help you save money by earning “GasBack” whenever you use the app to pay for purchases. This app is free to download, but a premium subscription costs $9.99 and adds benefits like gas station deals and roadside assistance.

Best For Planning Pit Stops: iExit

Available for both iOS and Android platforms, iExit is a user-friendly app that enhances your road trip experience by providing real-time information about services and amenities at upcoming highway exits.

The app's intuitive interface allows you to easily browse through a comprehensive list of services such as gas stations, restaurants, hotels, and more, all conveniently organized by exit number. What sets iExit apart is its ability to display these amenities well in advance, giving you ample time to plan your stops and make informed decisions on where to refuel, grab a bite, or take a break.

iExit is compatible with CarPlay and free to download, making it an affordable and valuable companion for any road trip. Whether you're on the open road or navigating through unfamiliar territory, iExit will prove to be an invaluable tool for maximizing convenience.

Before your next big road trip, download and explore any app of interest in advance, taking advantage of available free trials. That way, you — and your copilot — can get a feel for the app’s functions, strengths, and limitations before you drive or tow your RV. When it’s time to hit the open road, you’ll be confident that your navigation won’t lead you astray.

Author and co-host of the RV Atlas podcast

Jeremy Puglisi is the co-host of the RV Atlas podcast and the co-author of See You at the Campground: A Guide to Discovering Community, Connection, and a Happier Family in the Great Outdoors , and Where Should We Camp Next: A 50 State Guide to Amazing Campgrounds and other Unique Outdoor Accommodations. He loves nothing more than hitching up and heading out to the next campground with his family.

More Related Articles

The Right Stuff For Multigenerational Camping

Go Seasonal Camping in an RV

Outdoor decoration in the forest

8 Tips for Getting the Most Out of an RV Show

Jayco Class C at an RV show

Get More News & Inspiration!

Submit your email to get helpful tips and inspiration from Go RVing as well as information from our dealer partners on making your RV dream a reality.

* Indicates the field is required.

Rickwood Field road trip -- Part III

• Facebook Share

Birmingham’s Rickwood Field – the oldest professional baseball stadium in America, standing since 1910, and the former home of the Negro American League’s Birmingham Black Barons – hosted Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball games this week, and on the way to the hallowed ground, MLB Pipeline took a

Birmingham’s Rickwood Field – the oldest professional baseball stadium in America, standing since 1910, and the former home of the Negro American League’s Birmingham Black Barons – hosted Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball games this week, and on the way to the hallowed ground, MLB Pipeline took a road trip through Florida and Alabama in search of more stories that tell the history of Black baseball in the South. Part I of that trip, covering stops in Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, is available to read here . Part II, covering Mobile and Montgomery, is here .

BIRMINGHAM, NEGRO SOUTHERN LEAGUE MUSEUM

Opened in August 2015, the Negro Southern League Museum sits one block north of Double-A Birmingham’s home ballpark Regions Field, making baseball squarely a focus of the city’s Southside neighborhood.

The museum works as a joint effort by the Center for Negro League Baseball Research (headed by Dr. Layton Revel), which provides most of the artifacts on display, and the City of Birmingham. While the city isn’t in the official name itself, it might as well be with the way the entire experience tells the story of Birmingham baseball from the Industrial League of the 19th century through the Negro Southern League’s Birmingham Black Barons to modern times with local Black athletes like Bo Jackson and Ron “Papa Jack” Jackson.

“If I had to choose one location in the United States, it would be Birmingham, Alabama for the following reasons,” Revel said. “Number one, the Birmingham Black Barons played more Negro League baseball games than any other team that played in the Negro Leagues. Secondly, we have Rickwood Field here, of course. From 1910 to 1963, it was the home field to the Birmingham Black Barons, and it's still here. Third reason is we had the Birmingham Industrial League here. The Birmingham Industrial League was started in the early 1890s, and it sent more players to the Negro Leagues than any other organizations in the country.”

Visitors can stand inches away from the signatures of legends like Hank Aaron, Buck O’Neil and Jackie Robinson. They can gawk at a game-used uniform from Satchel Paige, and feet away from that, they can use a light-based pitching simulator that shows just how fast the right-hander threw his hurry-up ball, hesitation pitch, wobbly ball and midnight rider. An exhibit on women in the Negro Leagues houses a game-used hat, game-used glove and Indianapolis Clowns jersey from Toni Stone. Another highlights the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons – arguably the best in team history that made that year’s Negro League World Series.

There is one corner that will catch a lot of attention this week – the one devoted to Rickwood Field itself. There’s even a broadside advertising the stadium’s first matchup from Aug. 18, 1910 between the Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Climbers.

“It's just a great time to start looking back and try to reclaim some of this history and forge a new path,” said director Anthony C. Williams. “Because we can't really explain why there was a Negro League and a regular league. How do we tell that story to our kids? But it's the truth. So I think now is the time to look back and try to make sense of and to recognize these players who may have gotten left out and to really tell their stories.”

In truth, interest in the Negro Leagues is hitting a 21st-century high.

The “MLB: The Show” video game series has brought new, interactive attention to that period in the game’s history, allowing fans young and old to play as the legends they may have read about or seen in old pictures. Stone, for instance, took on a new level of fame when she was included alongside Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard and Aaron (whom she replaced on the Indianapolis Clowns in 1953) in “Storylines 2.” Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has expanded to have a national presence, and its president Bob Kendrick served as players’ guide through history in this year’s edition of the game.

Between the Rickwood games and the growing popularity elsewhere, the National Southern League Museum is ready to take its place in the conversation at every level.

“As long as I’m here, my pursuit will be to get this information to as many as possible,” Williams said. “To invite youth organizations, schools, tours, whatever it may be – youth baseball organizations especially – to be able to know these stories. I think once people learn just how important baseball was to this region and how rich the history is, I think the youth will have a different idea of their area. … I think they’ll walk with their heads a little bit higher.”

Those raised heads might pick up one more detail, a quote from Ted Williams about one other local legend and former Black Baron.

“They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays."

BIRMINGHAM, RICKWOOD FIELD

Rickwood Field is a cathedral, a museum and a big, beautiful baseball diamond rolled into one.

Tuesday’s MiLB at Rickwood game between Birmingham and Montgomery – the first Minor League contest held at the historic park since 2019 – served as a table-setter for the big week to come. But make no bones about it, it was not simply a dress rehearsal for the MLB game between the Cardinals and Giants two days later.

Rather, it was Rickwood’s first opportunity to show off the improvements that made this whole week possible. A new playing surface that brought it up to MLB standards. A shorter backstop. Improved dugouts over the previous editions that, as Friends of Rickwood chairman and executive director Gerald Watkins, could “fit 12 people on a good day.” New outfield dimensions, most notably bringing in center field from 478 feet to 400. New foul poles. Different lighting.

For this week’s events alone, Major League Baseball installed a Fan Plaza, adorned with signs and graphics celebrating Negro League stars like Cool Papa Bell and Rube Foster.

But one thing that never needed replacing was the aura.

A popular picture spot for fans was in front of the green facade at the original main entrance into the park, throngs wanting to prove they stood on the same grounds as so many of the game’s greats. By one count, 181 Hall of Famers have appeared in games at Rickwood Field, whether it be as Minor Leaguers, Negro Leaguers, barnstormers, Major Leaguers making their way north from Spring Training, etc.

This was where, legend has it, Babe Ruth homered onto a train headed for Atlanta. It’s where Reggie Jackson may have gone even deeper (if we don’t account for locomotive travel). It’s where Fairfield, Alabama’s own Willie Mays suited up for the Birmingham Black Barons. In a statement earlier this week, the 24-time All-Star said, “The first big thing I ever put my mind to was to play at Rickwood Field.”

On Thursday – just before the MLB game – Jackson, speaking on FOX’s pregame show , reminded the audience that baseball in Birmingham doesn’t have as rosy a history as its Rickwood all-time roster would indicate. The first integrated team in Alabama history didn’t play in Rickwood until 1964. Three years later while playing for Birmingham A’s, Jackson was still being told he couldn’t eat in certain restaurants or stay at certain hotels because of the color of his skin.

By 1988, the Southern League club moved to the suburb in Hoover, and while Rickwood was falling into disrepair, production on the 1994 movie “Cobb”, which wanted to use the site for filming, injected new life into the ballpark. High-school and college games became regular affairs, and Minor League Baseball returned for one-off contests called the Rickwood Classic from 1996-2019.

But with the latest effort, locals have been hopeful that Rickwood’s latest revitalization can uplift the entire region.

“For the city of Birmingham, this is like a TV commercial or documentary about the city,” Watkins said. “Citizens past and present, we couldn’t afford to by the attention we’re getting. Not only are people going to be coming to Birmingham, they’re going to coming to grips with Rickwood Field and other sites as well. It’s going to say a lot and do a lot to show how this city changed from the image it had in the ‘60s.”

As for the game itself, it served as the opener in MLB’s Tribute to the Negro Leagues with Montgomery and Birmingham wearing Gray Sox and Black Barons uniforms, respectively. Birmingham natives and Negro League alumni Clinton Forge, Alphonse Holt, Joseph Marbury and Ferdinand Rutledge met with players from both sides and threw out ceremonial first pitches.

The Rays and White Sox prospects weren’t just reading about the history of the game’s oldest professional ballpark; they were direct participants.

“I had to take a couple laps around the field just to see the atmosphere,” said Montgomery center fielder Chandler Simpson, “feel the energy, just to be in the presence of all those greats that came before me.”

The moment was especially not lost on Tampa Bay’s No. 10 prospect, the son of two Atlanta-area educators who had told him about the Negro Leagues beginning when he was around eight years old. His father, Dr. Ralph Simpson, traveled the two hours from Atlanta to Birmingham to witness his son leading off for Montgomery, thus becoming the first official batter in Rickwood’s new-look state.

“We’re all just here to support it,” said the elder Simpson. “He’s embracing what all of this means but knows and understands that he has to go out and produce. A lot of kids, not just African-Americans, are going to follow him because some of those same kids have aspirations and may have a similar-type game. They want to look at him and know that their game will translate.”

Simpson’s game, referenced by his father, is one of a slap-and-dash -- get on base with dinks and dunks into the outfield and keep the pressure on the defense with blazing speed. True to form, the outfielder, who spent two years in Birmingham at UAB before transferring to Georgia Tech, singled to right on the game’s second pitch and stole second and third within the next at-bat. He’d finish the night 3-for-4 with three stolen bases before being lifted for a minor calf injury, pushing his average to .375 and his SB total to 51 – both tops in the full-season Minors.

With Mays being talked about all week as the game’s quintessential five-tool player, Simpson showing off his elite hitting and running skills was no mistake.

“I was sleeping on that last night, and I was dreaming about that and visualizing that today,” he said. “When I got that first hit, I knew I was going to take off no matter what, and I was going to take third.”

Many remained locked into the old-school feel of the Rickwood opener for much of the evening, but murmurs began to spread around the later innings. Mays – the all-time great who roamed this very outfield as a teenager nearly seven decades earlier – had died at 93. An announcement on the newly built electronic scoreboard in right-center confirmed it to those who hadn’t heard.

But instead of giving a Giant of the pastime a moment of silence, the crowd organically turned to what he had more typically heard during his Rickwood days instead – back when folks arrived at the ballpark straight from church in their Sunday best to catch an afternoon game, when Mays and his fellow ’48 Black Barons earned bigger crowds than their white counterparts. They clapped. They cheered. They tipped their hats toward the field.

Willie’s field.

“He was definitely here in spirit throughout the whole game,” Simpson said.

“It definitely hits you a little bit,” Birmingham manager Sergio Santos said. “I think it gives you feedback on what an honor it is not only to wear the jersey but to participate in a game like today. Obviously, baseball is big, but life and death is something bigger. Willie Mays, what a legacy we’re all trying to fulfill and play the game the way he played.”

And so the teams played on, Montgomery holding off a late Birmingham charge to win 6-5. A “Barnstorm Birmingham” celebrity softball game on Wednesday and the Cardinals’ own 6-5 victory over the Giants on Thursday kept the Rickwood festivities going, but our trip ended with the Tuesday opener.

A three-day journey through Florida and Alabama – with stops relating to Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, the Major Leagues, the Minor Leagues, the Negro Leagues, the history of the game, the present of the game, the future of the game – came to an end. It was always culminating in the longtime home of baseball in Birmingham, but Magic City made sure that diamond sparkled for all to see.

“This whole week,” Watkins said, “has made Rickwood Field the center of the baseball universe.”

Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB .

• Birmingham Barons
• Rickwood Field
• Black History

back to articles | June 21, 2024 | Greg Thibodeau

Categories: Lifestyle

16 Road Tripping Apps to Download Before Your Next Adventure

Whether you're using a navigation app to find your way through unfamiliar territories or a music streaming app to keep you entertained, travel apps can make your journey smoother and more enjoyable.

Road trips are exciting adventures, and having the right travel apps can enhance your experience. Whether you're using a navigation app to find your way through unfamiliar territories or a music streaming app to keep you entertained, technology can make your journey smoother and more enjoyable. With the right apps at your fingertips, your road trip is sure to be memorable.

1. Google Maps

This essential navigation app is reliable and easy to use. It provides real-time route options, traffic updates, and even offline map downloads. Travelers can easily find nearby attractions, restaurants, and gas stations. This travel app allows users to download maps for offline use.

This community-driven navigation app has real-time traffic updates and alerts about accidents, road closures, and speed camera warnings. It allows users to coordinate their trips with friends and see each other's locations in real-time. This travel app also offers an "avoid dirt roads" feature.

This great offline map app lets you download detailed maps for use without cell service. It offers walking, cycling, and driving directions, as well as information on points of interest like restaurants, hotels, and attractions. Users can bookmark their favorite locations and create custom routes for their travels.

4. PackPoint

This travel app helps you pack efficiently by generating a customized packing list based on your trip details. Users simply input their destination, travel dates, length of stay, and planned activities, and PackPoint will create a list of items to pack. The app takes into account the weather forecast for the location and suggests essentials like clothing, toiletries, and accessories.

This travel app ensures you don't forget any essentials. Users can input their destination, travel dates, and the type of trip they are going on (business, leisure, etc.), and Packr will generate a packing list tailored to their specific needs. The app also allows users to add custom items to the list and check off items as they pack them.

6. PackKing

Streamline your packing process with this travel app. Users can create packing lists based on their destination and type of trip, ensuring they have all the necessary items for their journey. The app also allows users to share their packing lists with others, making it easy to coordinate packing with travel companions.

More than 100 million tracks at your fingertips are sure to make any road trip more enjoyable. With Spotify, users can create personalized playlists for their journey, ensuring they have the perfect soundtrack for every moment. The app also offers curated playlists based on mood or genre, making it easy to discover new music along the way.

8. GasBuddy

Find the cheapest gas prices along your route and save money on fuel with this travel app. Users can search for gas stations by amenities like restrooms, food, and car washes. It even offers rewards and discounts for users who report gas prices in their area.

This travel app provides information about upcoming exits on highways. It includes gas stations, restaurants, and rest areas, making it easy for travelers to plan their stops ahead of time. Users can also filter results based on their preferences, such as the type of food they want to eat or the amenities they need.

10. Roadtrippers

Find attractions and discover hidden gems along your route with Roadtrippers. This travel app allows users to create custom routes, add multiple stops, and even book accommodations directly from the app. It also provides information on local events, outdoor activities, and scenic drives to make your road trip experience unforgettable.

11. Roadside America

This travel app can help you find the most unique attractions and quirky landmarks. Users can explore offbeat museums, bizarre roadside oddities, and one-of-a-kind attractions that are sure to make for memorable stops along the way. Whether you're interested in giant sculptures, haunted houses, or historical sites with a twist, Roadside America will help you discover the most unusual and interesting destinations worth stopping for.

12. Wanderlog

This excellent trip planner helps organize your route, accommodations, and activities. Wanderlog allows you to input your destinations and activities, then helps you create a detailed itinerary to keep your trip running smoothly. Whether you're into hiking, sightseeing, or trying out local cuisine, this travel app can help you plan every aspect of your journey.

13. Guides by Lonely Planet

Find curated travel guides and recommendations for various destinations around the world with Guides by Lonely Planet. This app offers insider tips and suggestions for things to do, see, and eat in different cities and countries. From must-see landmarks to off-the-beaten-path adventures, Guides by Lonely Planet is a valuable resource for any traveler seeking a well-rounded and memorable trip.

14. HotelTonight

For last-minute hotel bookings at discounted rates, HotelTonight is the perfect app to have on hand. This app features a variety of options for accommodations in major cities, allowing you to find a place to stay on short notice without breaking the bank. With easy booking and great deals, HotelTonight is a convenient tool for spontaneous travelers.

This travel app provides a unique and personalized alternative to traditional hotels by offering a wide range of accommodations, including apartments, houses, and even treehouses. With Airbnb, travelers can immerse themselves in the local culture and experience a destination like a true local.

16. The Dyrt

Whether you prefer camping in a tent, parking your RV, or staying in a cozy cabin, The Dyrt has you covered with its extensive database of campgrounds. Users can read reviews, view photos, and get detailed information on amenities and activities available at each site, making it easy to plan the perfect outdoor adventure.

These innovative platforms have revolutionized the way people travel and experience new destinations. So next time you're planning a getaway, consider using one of these travel apps to enhance your travel experience and create memories that will last a lifetime.

The only thing you need now is a car to take you on your adventure. myAutoloan can help you connect with lenders to find affordable financing for your next set of wheels.

Fun Car Games for Kids for Road Trips & Other Boring Backseat Moments

These car games for kids are completely free and imaginative road trip games that keep kids happy and entertained while parents concentrate on the road!

If Mom and Dad's ideas for vacation involve hopping in the car and getting out of Dodge, games to play in the car make everything easier. Our fond childhood memories of family road trips with our own parents sometimes gloss over how boring the backseat can be. If you're looking for a solution that doesn't involve screens, try some of these car games for kids of all ages—from those strapped in a car seat to tweenagers.

For everything your family needs to plan the perfect road trip, from road trip essentials to things you can pack to keep kids entertained , head to this Ultimate Road Trip Guide for Families . Want to get out of town, but you need some suggestions for where to go? Check out our Guide to Weekend Getaways and Day Trips near you.

Best Car Games for Kids

1. the name game.

My son and his friends enjoy this one so much that they often want to keep playing after the drive is over. Someone says a name (e.g. Ted), and the next person has to say a name that begins with the last letter of that name (in this case D, so maybe Daphne). The third person picks a name that begins with the last letter of the second person's choice, and so on. No duplicates allowed, and they must all be real names. A more challenging version for older kids is names of places with the same rules.

This one only works if you're driving through rural areas, but it's great for long drives. When driving past a farm with cows, the first person to spot them calls out "My Cows!" and makes a quick count/guesstimate of how many he or she got. The object, of course, is to "collect" the most cows. If the car passes over a bridge, whoever spots it first gets to erase another player's cows. The "erase" landscape object doesn't need to be a bridge; it can be a graveyard or anything else you might pass periodically on a road trip replete with cows.

3. Punch Buggy

There may still be people out there who don't know the Punch Buggy game, so we'd better include it. Volkswagen Beetles are Punch Buggies. The first person to spot one calls out the color with the instruction, "Orange Punch Buggy—no punch backs!" and is allowed to gently punch everyone within arm's reach. The "no punch backs" part is important for obvious reasons. So is "gently."

4. 20 Questions

An old standby for any dull moment: One person thinks of something, and everyone else has 20 yes or no questions to try to guess what it is. If someone guesses correctly before the 20th question, that person is the winner and goes next. If no one figures it out, the person answering has won and goes again.

This is essentially the same as 20 Questions, but the chosen object must be within sight—at least at the outset of the game. The person starts with the phrase, "I spy with my little eye something beginning with..." and says the first letter of the object he or she sees. The rest follows like 20 questions, either with a set number of questions, or until someone guesses correctly, as preferred.

6. Name That Tune

Here's where the radio comes in handy as more than just a dial to fight over. Turn it on, move the dial until you hear a song, and see who can name the tune first. Repeat as much as you'd like. Kids can also just put Spotify on shuffle. Here are some of our favorite free playlists you can use.

7. Add-on Storytelling

One person starts a story, with just a line or two, then stops mid-sentence. The next person picks up the tale and keeps building. No one can negate someone else's idea, only build on it. The stories always go in crazy directions that are usually good for a group giggle!

8. License Plate Poker

The rules are similar to real poker, which makes this one more of an older kid game. A passing license plate is used as a complete hand of poker. Each player chooses a plate and keeps the best five "cards" (e.g. a plate that reads 4PPU999 could be a full house with a pair of Ps and three 9s as the five-card hand). If everyone in the car has smartphones or cameras, players can even snap photos of their hands; otherwise, everyone can write down the cards—or just trust each other to be honest about what they were "dealt." For simplicity, card value can go in order numerically and alphabetically (e.g. a pair of 9s beats a pair of 2s). People who already know how to play poker can apply more complicated game rules if they prefer.

9. License Plate Initials

This one is pure silliness, and easier for kids who can't master the rules of poker! Look at the letters on a license plate and make up what they might stand for—PSG means Pretty Silly Game! Everyone in the car comes up with an answer before moving on to the next letter combination. This generally brings lots of laughs once everyone warms up.

10. Pig Latin

Not so much a game as a passing of the torch: Isn't it time your kids learned to speak Pig Latin? So few kids these days study the classics. A long car journey is the perfect opportunity to have all backseat riders uent-flay before they get ome-hay.

11. Would You Rather

The premise is simple: One person presents two scenarios, and you have to pick the “best” one. For example, Would you rather stay your whole life as a child and live with your parents forever, or grow up overnight and immediately be on your own? Check out our list of 100 Would You Rather Questions to keep the game going.

12. Car-Ride Karaoke

Take a page from the popular James Corden show and host your own car-ride karaoke. Before your trip, line up a playlist of songs that will get the whole car singing along. Or use one of our favorite playlists for kids .

13. A My Name Is Alice

This is another one of those classic games to play in the car that the entire family can play. Players go through the letters of the alphabet while adding a feminine name, a masculine name, a geographical location, and an item that all start with that letter. For example, “A my name is Alice and my husband’s name is Al. We come from Alabama and we sell apples.”

Originally published August 2014

Panthers vs. Oilers recap, winners, losers: Edmonton ties Stanley Cup Final with Game 6 win

The unthinkable is happening and the Edmonton Oilers have tied the Stanley Cup Final after losing the first three games, matching a feat last done during World War II.

The Oilers, once among many teams stymied by the Florida Panthers ’ forechecking, have cracked the code and scored three goals off the rush for a 5-1 victory on Friday night in Edmonton. And they won without a point or shot on goal from red-hot Connor McDavid .

A key was Edmonton's successful challenge of a goal by Aleksander Barkov 10 seconds after Adam Henrique had made it 2-0 Oilers early in the second period. After a lengthy review, it was ruled that Sam Reinhart was offside before the goal.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said the play was clearly offside when he saw the video.

"The only hesitation was maybe it wasn’t the right video," he told reporters.

The disallowed goal was a huge momentum shift in the game.

Said Panthers coach Paul Maurice: “The linesperson informed me that it was the last clip that they got where they made the decision that shows it’s offside. I don’t have those."

The two teams now will take the 2,540-mile trip to Sunrise, Florida, for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Monday (8 p.m. ET, ABC).

The Oilers will try to become the fifth NHL team to win a series it had trailed 3-0 and will try to match the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only one to do it in the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers will try to match the 1945 Maple Leafs in winning Game 7 of the Final after blowing a 3-0 series lead.

Edmonton got goals from Warren Foegele, Henrique and Zach Hyman. Barkov scored in the third period for Florida, and the Oilers added two empty-net goals.

A closer look at Game 6:

Game 6 winners and losers

Oilers video coaches: Head coach Kris Knoblauch and his video crew decided to challenge Aleksander Barkov's second-period goal for offsides. Sam Reinhart was barely offsides and Edmonton would have been penalized if the call had not gone its way. But it did and it was a huge momentum shift to have the Florida goal disallowed 10 seconds after Edmonton had gone up 2-0.

Leon Draisaitl, Oilers: He said during his pregame availability that he wasn't happy with his play and he did something about it. Nice assist on the Warren Foegele goal, had three shots and drew a penalty.

Stuart Skinner, Oilers: He came up big again as the Panthers pressed down the stretch. Plus he was awarded an assist on Darnell Nurse's empty-net goal.

Another slow start for Panthers: They haven't started well in their three consecutive losses. It happened again in the first period when they had only two shots on goal.

Panthers' team defense: The Oilers are getting too many chances on the rush and now they're capitalizing on them. The Panthers are making too many mistakes.

Panthers' power play: The Panthers didn't give up a short-handed goal, which is good, but their futility continued, even with Oliver Ekman-Larsson moved to the top unit.

Which NHL teams won a playoff series after trailing 3-0?

It has been done four times in NHL h istory :

• 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings (during Stanley Cup Final)
• 1975 New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
• 2010 Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins
• 2014 Los Angeles Kings vs. San Jose Sharks

In MLB, the 2004 Boston Red Sox did it against the New York Yankees. It never has been done in the NBA.

Game 6 highlights

Game 6 recap, oilers 5, panthers 1: darnell nurse scores.

Stuart Skinner makes a big save and the Oilers get another empty-net goal. Darnell Nurse gets the goal and Skinner gets the assist.

Oilers 4, Panthers 1: Ryan McLeod scores

He gets an empty-netter after Florida pulled Sergei Bobrovsky for an extra skater.

Oilers go on power play

Kevin Stenlund called for interference on Leon Draisaitl. Panthers kill it off.

Panthers go on power play

Edmonton's Derek Ryan is called for high-sticking Nick Cousins. The Oilers kill it off. Florida falls to 1-for-19 in the Final.

Oilers 3, Panthers 1: Aleksander Barkov scores

He takes a feed from Carter Verhaeghe, walks around Oilers defenders and beats Stuart Skinner. This goal will count. Verhaeghe ends a four-game point drought with his second point of the series.

Third period underway

Edmonton 20 minutes away from forcing Game 7.

Oilers 3, Panthers 0: End of second period

Once again, the Oilers connect on odd-man rushes: Adam Henrique on a 2-on-1 break and Zach Hyman on a breakaway. The Oilers have a big momentum-changer when Aleksander Barkov's goal just 10 seconds after Henrique's score is overturned after a challenge for offsides. The margin was very thin, but the Oilers win the challenge. Stuart Skinner wasn't tested early, but he has looked good as the Panthers start to press.

Oilers 3, Panthers 0: Zach Hyman scores

Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling's shot is blocked and Zach Hyman picks up the loose puck and beats Sergei Bobrovsky on a breakaway. It's his 16th goal of the playoffs.

Stuart Skinner robs Aleksander Barkov

Panthers up to 11 shots, but Stuart Skinner makes a leg save on Aleksander Barkov.

Connor McDavid is in the penalty box after hauling down Aleksander Barkov. Florida's first power play was disjointed. They get another chance and look better, but Edmonton keeps Florida off the board.

Panthers get another shot

A harmless one from Gustav Forsling. They're up to five, all from their defensemen.

Oilers defense continues to shine

Panthers have only two shots on goal in the first five minutes of the second period and four for the game.

Panthers goal disallowed

Aleksander Barkov scores 10 seconds later but Kris Knoblauch challenges for offsides and wins the challenge. Sam Reinhart barely offside. Still 2-0 Edmonton.

Oilers 2, Panthers 0: Adam Henrique scores

The Oilers get an odd-man rush and the third line scores for the third game in a row. Edmonton doubles its lead 46 seconds into the period.

Second period underway

Panthers need to find a way to generate more chances.

Oilers 1, Panthers 0: End of first period

Oilers were dominant in the first period and Florida had trouble generating anything. Their two shots were their fewest in a period all season. But Sergei Bobrovsky looks like he did earlier in the playoffs and has kept the score tight. Leon Draisaitl is looking better in this game and sets up Warren Foegele's goal.

Not long after the Panthers get their second shot of the game, Eetu Luostarinen is called for slashing. Edmonton has three power-play goals in the last two games. Oilers move the puck around quickly and Sergei Bobrovsky stops a Leon Draisaitl one-timer. Panthers kill it off.

Oilers have big lead in shots

They lead 10-1 with six minutes left in the first period. Sergei Bobrovsky makes a couple more good saves.

Mattias Janmark is called for slashing. The Panthers' power play has had a tough go this series. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is on the top unit now. Oilers kill it off. No Florida shots.

Oilers 1, Panthers 0: Warren Foegele scores

Moving Warren Foegele back to the Leon Draisaitl line pays off. Draisaitl makes a nice pass through Aleksander Barkov on the goal. Sergei Bobrovsky has no chance.

Oilers carrying play early

Shots are 5-1 Oilers about seven minutes into the game. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky looking good early. He stops Evan Bouchard, who skated in from the point.

Oilers line changes

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is back with the Connor McDavid line. Warren Foegele goes to the Leon Draisaitl line.

Game 6 underway

Last game of the season in Edmonton, regardless of what happens.

Starting lineup analysis

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch has put out this lineup first the last two games and it makes sense to start with it again. It has contributed three goals.

Matthew Tkachuk was the Panthers' best player in Game 5 and goes out first. This is a physical line that can set the tone.

Florida Panthers' starting lineup

F – Sam Bennett

F – Matthew Tkachuk

F – Evan Rodrigues

D – Aaron Ekblad

D – Gustav Forslund

G – Sergei Bobrovsky

Edmonton Oilers' starting lineup

F – Adam Henrique

F – Mattias Janmark

F – Connor Brown

D – Evan Bouchard

D – Mattias Ekholm

G – Stuart Skinner

What time is Stanley Cup Final Game 6?

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local) on Friday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.

How to watch Stanley Cup Final Game 6

Game 6 will be shown nationally on ABC in the United States. It will be shown on Sportsnet and CBC in Canada.

How to stream Stanley Cup Final Game 6

Game 6 can be streamed on ESPN+ and  Fubo .

Lineup change for Game 6

Nick Cousins is slotting onto the Panthers' fourth line after seven games out. Kyle Okposo is coming out of the lineup. Cousins is an energy player who ranked sixth on the team in hits during the regular season. He has one assist in 11 playoff games.

According to ESPN, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is expected to move up the Panthers' No. 1 power unit in place of Brandon Montour. Montour's pass was intercepted in Game 5, leading to an Oilers short-handed goal.

Injured Oilers forward Evander Kane, who was considered a game-time decision, isn't playing.

Connor McDavid approaching NHL playoff records

Connor McDavid has 11 points in the final, leaving him two points behind Wayne Gretzky’s 1988 record. He already has passed Gretzky’s record for assists in a postseason with 34. McDavid’s 42 playoff points place him fourth all-time behind Gretzky (47, 1985), Mario Lemieux (41, 1991) and Gretzky (43, 1988).

Leon Draisaitl seeking first goal of final

Oilers star Leon Draisaitl is still looking for his first goal of the Stanley Cup Final.

'I’ve always been able to come back from stretches where I maybe haven’t been my best,” he told reporters on Friday. "It’s just myself being better. I hold myself to extremely high standards. If I don’t get to that, obviously I’m not happy."

Stanley Cup Final Game 6 keys to victory

Oilers: Continue to be aggressive on special teams. The Oilers have scored two short-handed goals and three power-play goals in the last two games.

Panthers: Play like they did after falling behind 4-1 in Game 5. But do it earlier. Score early and try to take the crowd out of the game.

Read more keys to victory for Game 6

What is the projected goaltending matchup?

Oilers' Stuart Skinner (13-8, 2.53 goals-against average, .898 save percentage) vs. Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky (15-7, 2.35, .906)

Stanley Cup Final Game 6 betting odds

Game 6 odds,  via BetMGM :

Moneyline:  Oilers -120; Panthers +100

Spread:  Oilers -1.5 (+215); Panthers +1.5 (+215)

Over/under:  5.5 (over -115; under -105)

Florida Panthers’ Game 6 record this postseason

They are 2-0, beating the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers . They beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.

Edmonton Oilers’ Game 6 record this postseason

They are 2-0, beating the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars . They beat the Los Angeles Kings in five games.

Which teams forced Game 7 after losing first three games of Stanley Cup Final?

The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs did it against the Detroit Red Wings and won Game 7. The 1945 Red Wings did it against the Maple Leafs and lost Game 7. The 2012 New Jersey Devils got to a Game 6 against the Kings but lost 6-1.

Florida Panthers' record in potential clinching games this postseason

They are 3-4, losing their first opportunity against the Lightning and Bruins and their first two chances against the Oilers. They won their second chance against the Lightning and Bruins and beat the Rangers on their first opportunity.

Edmonton Oilers' record in potential elimination games this postseason

They are 4-0, winning in Games 6 and 7 against the Canucks in the second round and in Games 4 and 5 against the Panthers.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.