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36 Fun Road Trip Games and Activities for Teens, Tweens and Kids

Summer road trips with teens, tweens & kids can be a lot of fun as long as you have some games & activities planned! Here are 36 great ideas to keep everyone entertained on the long drive.

No matter how old your kids are a road trip can be a fun and bonding experience for every family member! If you plan ahead and are prepared for some inevitable boredom along the way. Planning a road trip ahead of time is crucial! Teens, Tweens and kids can all enjoy these road trip activities and games below.

Without games and activities, a long road trip can be extremely boring. This is especially true for kids, who may not be able to read or watch movies for hours on end.

Making sure to bring along a variety of travel games and amazing road trip activities to keep the whole family occupied and happy will save you from any headaches on a long trip!

Whether your road trip is hours long or kinda short these games and activities will work for you. Each game can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour long. Using a point system or setting a number of rounds to be played will help lengthen the time.

To help make the most of your next family vacation, I have put together a list of fun road trip games and activities that will keep everyone entertained.

Planning a road trip just got easier!

Best Games for Younger Children

This classic game is perfect for little ones on a long family road trip. One person starts by saying “I spy with my little eye something that is (color, shape, etc.)” and then everyone takes turns trying to guess what it is.

The License Plate Game:

See how many different license plates from different states you can spot on your road trip. You can also make it a competition to see who can spot the most.

The ABC Game:

Start with A and take turns naming things in alphabetical order. This is a great way to help little ones learn their ABCs and see fun things while on the road.

Once Upon a Time:

One person starts by saying “Once upon a time there was a…” and then the next person has to continue the story. This is a great way to spark your child’s imagination and get them telling stories on the long drive. This will make your family road trip a lot more interesting!

Name that Tune:

Young kids have a great time playing this game! One person hums a tune and the others have to guess what song it is. If you children are much younger you could even hum nursery rhymes they might be familiar with. Plus, you now have music on your road trip!

I’m going on a picnic:

This game is great for kids of all ages. One person starts by saying “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing…” and then the next person has to name something that begins with the last letter of the previous item. For example, if someone says “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing an apple,” the next person could say “I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing an egg.”

The Rhyming Game:

This game is perfect for kids who are just learning to read or are starting to learn about rhyming words. One person starts by saying a word and the next person has to say a word that rhymes with it.

The Animal Game:

This game is perfect for kids who love animals. One person starts by saying the name of an animal and the next person has to name an animal that begins with the last letter of the previous animal. For example, if someone says “lion,” the next person could say “narwhal.”

The Counting Game:

This game is great for kids who are just learning to count. One person starts by saying a number and the next person has to say the next number in sequence. This is a perfect way to get your kids learning on a road trip without them even knowing it!

Classic Telephone Game:

The first player starts by whispering a phrase or sentence into the next player’s ear. The next person then whispers what they heard to the next person and so on. The last person then says out loud what they heard, which is usually very different from the original phrase or sentence. This game always guarantees a great time!

Find that Place:

This road trip game is lots of fun! One person starts by saying “I’m looking for a place that is…” and then the next person has to name a place that meets the criteria. For example, if someone says “I’m looking for a place that is cold,” the next person could say “Antarctica.”

Fast Food Find:

Each person names a fast food restaurant chain before you begin. Once you say start you will look or the fast food place you chose and each person gets 1 point for every time they see it on the drive. Winner is the one that has the most points at the end of road trip. This is great for a long car trip.

Best Car Games for Older Children/Teens Road Trip Tips

20 Questions:

One person thinks of an object, person, place, or thing and the others take turns asking up to 20 questions to try and figure out what it is.

Two Truths and a Lie:

Each person takes a turn telling three stories about themselves, two of which are true and one of which is a lie. The others then have to guess which story is the lie.

See how many different license plates from different states you can spot on your road trip.

The Scavenger Hunt Game:

One person makes a list of things to look for along the way and everyone tries to spot them. The first person to find all the items on the list wins. Here are some pre made scavenger hunts for the road too!

The Countdown Game:

Choose a category (ie. animals, countries, brands, etc.) and then take turns naming something from that category in alphabetical order. For example, if the category is animals, the first person could say “ant,” the next person could say “bird,” and so on. The first person to get to the end of the alphabet wins.

The Orderly Alphabet Game:

Take turns naming something from a chosen category in alphabetical order. For example, if the category is animals, the first person could say “ant,” the next person could say “bird,” and so on. The first person to get to the end of the alphabet wins.

The Would You Rather Game:

This is a fun way to get everyone to bond by getting to know each other more on your road trip. choose two random things and then ask people which one they would rather do. For example, would you rather eat a bug or drink a glass of milk?

The Never Have I Ever Game:

Everyone starts with some set amount of money. Oftentimes using pennies is enough to make the game fun. Next, take turns making statements about things you have never done. For example, “never have I ever been to Europe.” If someone has done the thing you say, they have to give you one penny. once you lose your money you are out. Winner takes all the money

The Car Bingo Game:

Each person has a bingo card with different objects, people, or things that can be seen on a road trip. For example, a license plate from Texas, a truck, a cow, etc. The first person to get bingo wins.

The Word Association Game:

One person says a word and the next person has to say a word in response that is associated with the first word. For example, if the first word is “summer,” the next person could say “vacation.” Keep going until someone can not think of a word. Set a time limit for answering like 10 seconds.

Punch Bug (or Slap Bug):

Every time you see a VW Beetle, you punch the person next to you. Loser is the person who gets punched the most. Before playing this you need to be certain your teens are old enough to punch lightly as to not start a fight or any whining and complaining.

I Went to the Store:

One person starts by saying “I went to the store and bought a (item).” The next person then has to say “I went to the store and bought a (item)” and so on, adding on to the list of items. The first person to mess up or take too long loses.

Fun Things & Activities Your Kids Will Enjoy on a Road Trip

Telling jokes

Joke books are a great way to keep everyone entertained on a road trip. They are filled with hilarious jokes that are sure to get a laugh from the entire family, and they can be easily carried around so you can pull them out whenever you need a laugh.

Plus, they’re perfect for when you’re stuck in traffic and need a distraction.

Listening to audio books, podcasts or music

There are a ton of great audio books for kids available, and it can be tough to know which ones to choose. This is great for the long car trip where you are spending hours in the car waiting to get to point b.

Here are some of my favorite audio books for kids when on a road trip:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Podcasts for Teens on Road Trip

Podcasts are also great for those long car rides.

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

Wow in the World

NPR: Tiny Desk Concerts

The Mortified Podcast

The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

Thats the way I heard it with Mike Rowe

Who Would Win

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Stuff You Should Know

Whats Good Games

Watching movies or shows on the car trip

When it comes to good movies for kids, there are a ton of great options to choose from. Especially if you have a backseat entertainment system.

Here are some of my favorites:

The Lion King

The Incredibles

Kung Fu Panda

The Lego Movie

The Secret Life of Pets

Finding Nemo

How to Train Your Dragon

Despicable Me

Keep Your Teens Busy With These Fun Activities

Some of the best fun activities for teens include watching movies. They might enjoy watching some good entertainment while on the open road.

Some of our favorites are:

80’s Movies

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Legend of Korra

Steven Universe

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Star Wars Rebels

Phineas and Ferb

Gravity Falls

Adventure Time

Regular Show

Total Drama Island

Drawing or Coloring

One way to keep kids entertained is to have them do some drawing and coloring. This can help them learn how to focus and stay on task, and it also helps with their creativity and imagination. For younger children this will help develop their fine motor skills by using colored pencils. Also, their are some GREAT adult coloring books that are available!

Playing Card Games or Handheld Games

There are a ton of great card games for kids that can keep them entertained for hours on end.

Crazy Eights

Card Games Road Trip Tip to Keeping Teens and Tweens Entertained

They can be played with just a few cards, so they’re perfect for when you’re stuck in traffic and need a distraction. Plus, they’re perfect for when you’re stuck in a hotel room and want something to do.

Some of our favorite card games for teens are:

– Apples to Apples

– Phase 10

– Set

– 6 Nimmt!

– Blokus

– Boss Monster

– Carcassonne

– Dominion

– Munchkin

Handheld Games for Road Tripping

Some of our favorite handheld games for teens and Tweens are:

– Pokemon Go

– Super Mario Run

– Monument Valley

– Lara Croft GO

– Hitman GO

– The Room

– LIMBO

– Minecraft: Pocket Edition

– Terraria

Teens and Tweens keeping a journal of their road trip

Keeping a journal of all the memories and experiences from your trip can be a great way to keep kids entertained. It’s also a great way to document all the interesting stops you saw along the way. This can be a great thing to look back on later to remember your travel experience.

A journal entry could look like this,

“My road trip is going great! I’ve been playing a ton of card games with my brothers and sisters, and we’ve been listening to a lot of music and audiobooks. We’ve also seen some amazing sights along the way. Yesterday, we saw this huge waterfall, and today we’re in the middle of this huge desert.”

Teens and Tweens taking photos or making videos of their road trip

Since a road trip is all about seeing new sights and experiencing new things, older kids can capture all of that in a video. They could film themselves driving down the highway, or they could film themselves exploring a new city.

They could also film themselves playing games or just hanging out with friends and family. No matter what they choose to film, it’ll be a great way to document their trip.

Teens and Tweens listening to music on the road trip

Listening to their own music is a great way to keep kids entertained on a road trip. It’s also a great way to pass the time, and it can help kids relax and fall asleep.

So, whether you are on a road trip to the beach or on a long journey across the country, make sure to pack some of these fun games and activities. This is sure to make for a successful road trip! With a little advance planning these road trip essentials and road trip tips will keep your family entertained for hours on end and create memories that will last a lifetime.

And who knows? You may even find yourself enjoying one of these games as much as your kids do!

P.S Don’t forget road trip snacks for your family travel!

If you need more activities for your Teens, Tweens and kids this summer check out my other blog post’s for more fun ideas here!

Please leave me a comment and tell me about any family road trips you have planned?

24 Road Trip Games Everyone Will Love

Family road trips are so fun, and it’s fantastic to hit the road and check out the scenery as you go, but if you’re going on a long drive make sure you have some road trip games to keep everyone happy and entertained.

I remember playing games with my sister in the backseat of our car, and for the most part, we had fun. It was around the 4-hour mark that we started to go squirrely. I wish we had prepared ourselves with this epic list of fun road trip games. It would have made road trips stress-free and fun!

Road Trip Games for the Entire Family

“I spy with my little eye…something that is….” I think this is a classic that we all love to play when we’re hitting the road. Everyone takes turns saying, “I spy with my little eye, something that is…” and you say the color of something you see. Everyone can take turns guessing what you’ve picked based on the color you say.

Whoever picks the proper object gets to choose an object next.

2. 20 Questions

Take turns picking something in a category like Type of Bird – Blue Jay. Don’t tell anyone, and everyone goes around and asks you a question about what you’ve chosen. They get to ask you 20 questions combined, and then they need to guess what you picked. They need to ask questions with a yes or no answer.

3. Alphabet

Pick a topic like Tv Shows, or Songs and everyone goes around taking turns saying one thing in that category that starts with the letters of the alphabet in order.

4. Quiet Time

Who can be quiet the longest? Kids and adults can use this time to read, go on electronics or have a nap, and whoever can go the longest, being quiet wins! Mad libs are also great for quiet time.

5. License Plate Game

Everyone keeps track of the different license plates from other states. Whoever can find the most from different states win! You could also put together a scorning system beforehand based on how far the states are.

6. I’m Going on an Adventure Memory Game

Everyone takes turns adding one thing that they’re taking on an adventure, and the next person needs to remember what was said beforehand and then add their item. The first person starts by saying something like, “I’m going on an adventure, and this is what I pack. A backpack. “

The next player says the same but add their item to the end. Keep going until someone make a mistake. If you make a mistake, you’re out. Last person to complete the sentence with everyone’s things wins!

7. Would You Rather

Take turns saying statements like, “would you rather kiss a frog or kiss a mouse.” Anything goes. Take turns going around to see what everyone picks. Take turns asking the would you rather question.

8. Categories

Pick a category and take turns naming things from that category. An example would be. Dogs. Golden retriever, poodle, etc. Keep going until someone can’t name anything else.

9. Truth or Dare

This feels like a classic. Take turns asking someone if they pick truth or dare and then ask them a question if they choose truth or give them a fun dare if they decide dare.

10. Story Time

One person starts by adding to the story. Add a word at a time, but you can’t forget the words there were added before yours. Repeat the story that was said before your turn, and then add your word. Whoever messes up the order of the words first is out. Last person to recite the story without making a mistake wins.

11. Scavenger Hunt

This game might take some preparation before you hit the road, but it will be fun for everyone. Before you go on your trip, make a list of things to find on a piece of paper. While you’re on the road, give the list to everyone so they can check off the items as they see them.

The first person to find all the items wins! Hopefully, by the end of the trip, everyone will have all the things checked off.

12. Rhyming Game

Everyone gets a chance to pick a word to start with; then, the second person has to say a word that rhymes with the first person’s word. Keep going until you can’t think of any more rhyming words.

13. Name the Song

Take turns humming a song until someone can guess the song’s name. If you want to make it a bit more challenging, guess the singer’s name too!

14. Never Have I Ever

“Never have I ever kissed a frog.” Take turns going around to each person so they can say their own never have I ever statement. Anyone who has also never done what’s said in the statement puts their hands up. It’s a fun game to get to know everyone and a great icebreaker.

15. Rock Paper Scissors

Two people face off in rock, paper scissors. Take turns picking rock, paper, or scissors and whoever wins gets the point.

16. Thumb Wars

One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war. Play mini-games by trying to trap your opponent’s thumb under your own. A fun game to play for all ages.

17. Spelling Game

Have a spelling bee in the car. One person can ask for the words to be spelled out, and every correct spelled word is a point. Whoever has the most points after a particular time or amount of words wins.

18. Reading Game

Everyone can bring a book or a few mini books and take turns reading for everyone. It’s a great way to connect by seeing what type of books everyone likes to read.

19. Connection

This one is fun because it can be tricky. Pick two people or two things and try to find three ways they can connect. Everyone can take turns picking, and everyone else has to try to find ways to connect.

20. First to See

Someone picks something to look out for, and the first person to see it wins a point. You can choose a specific license plate, an airplane, a tall building, anything works!

21. Mini Car Games for Kids

You can find some fun mini car games like tic tac toe, chess, checkers that are super fun to play for all ages. You can sometimes even find fun board games like monopoly and sorry in mini-sized games for the car.

22. Games on Apps

You can download some great multiplayer games on your electronics like headbands, minute to win it, sudoku, ping pong, and some fun strategy or math games. These are all super fun and could even be used for a family games night.

You can download some great trivia games on your phone and ask questions. You can play one-on-one or with everyone in the car.

Download a poker app and get others to join you. You can play at a table together or at different tables and have fun collecting points. You could also try with a deck of cards if you have a travel tray for the car.

Have the best road trip ever with these fun car games. Prepare for your family vacation or road trip with a list of fun games everyone can play, and you’re sure to have a great time. Don’t forget you can also download some great books and games to keep kids entertained like Martha Speaks , Curious George .

This post originally appeared on Savoteur .

Victoria Cornell is the founder of Motherhood Life Balance. She helps busy moms find peace in the midst of the chaos, transform their mindset, get organized, and find the fuel to live their best life. You can find her at https://motherhoodlifebalance.com/

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8 Road Trip Games to Keep Everyone Entertained, No Matter Their Age

Whether you’ve got a car full of kids, adults, friends, or family, these road trip games will make sure everyone has a good time—no equipment required..

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Lots of road trip games are free and you don’t need to pack anything other than your brain and a sense of humor.

Courtesy of Getty/Unsplash

Road trips are as much about the journey as the destination. But even though a car gives you flexibility and allows for more spontaneity than a plane, train, or bus, boredom is bound to set in. That’s where games come in.

Whether you are hitting the road with a party of 2 or 10—or with kids or adults—here are appealing games that can help pass the time and keep the “are we there yet?” chorus at bay.

20 Questions

In this classic parlor game that transitions easily into the car, one player thinks of a random person, place, or thing and the other participants take turns asking up to 20 yes-or-no questions to figure out the answer through a process of elimination. Whoever gets the answer first starts the new round.

The License Plate Game

The goal of this quintessential road trip game is to spot at least one license plate from each of the 50 states. Participants can write down the states as they see them or check them off of a list. Have kids in tow? Print out a blank map of the United States for each tot and have them color in the states whenever they see a corresponding license plate.

Build a Story

You might not write the next great American novel on your road trip, but you can create a hilarious tale collaboratively. The first player invents an opening line and then everyone takes turns adding a sentence to the story. Keep it going for as long as you need to, whether it’s the next rest stop or your final destination.

In this game, players take turns choosing letters to create a valid word (so no picking “Z” after someone says “X”). But the catch is that you don’t want to be the person to complete the word. Any player who does complete a word is penalized by receiving a letter from the word GHOST: “G” for the first penalty, “H” for the second, and so forth. Players who receive five penalties—and therefore spell out the word “GHOST”—are eliminated until one winner remains.

Scavenger Hunt

A game that involves spotting specific objects during the trip might not be ideal for the driver, but the rest of the travel party can have a blast. Simply create a list of objects to look for beforehand and distribute it to each traveler. Make the game easy or challenging by choosing items that are really common or very rare. To add some randomness to the game, create a unique list for each participant. As with any scavenger hunt, whoever finds the most items wins.

Alphabet Game

A good choice for families traveling with children, the alphabet game is another road trip classic that involves looking for words on signs and billboards that start with each letter of the alphabet, beginning with the letter “A” until reaching “Z.” Players can simply yell out the word when they see it, and the whole group moves on to the next letter. Whoever spots the most words wins.

Interactive Podcasts

You may not be able to convince a game show host to join your road trip adventure, but your entire travel party can put their smarts to the test by pressing play on a trivia or brain teaser podcast like Good Job, Brain! or Road Trip Riddles .

Name the Passenger

As you make your way along the open road, keep an eye on passengers in the other vehicles around you. (Unless you are driving, of course.) Pick some passengers at random and have a discussion about what name you would assign to them and why. Some laughs are guaranteed.

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Free Printable Road Trip Games

Road trip games + Mom’s car kit…the ultimate guide to helping you be prepared for your next road trip with kids.

Going on a road trip is always on our summer bucket list . The family always has such a great time and there are so many fun memories that are made.

Road trips are one of my favorite things to do. If I could travel somewhere new with my family every month I totally would. Recently we traveled to VA beach to visit my husband’s family and had such a blast there. It was about an 11 hour drive, so with 3 young kids, I had to come up with lots of road trip games and the ultimate mom car kit.

The key to a successful road trip is to be prepared. Below I’m sharing the main things we do to try and make sure we are covered.

Road trip games for kids

One of my kids’ favorite things to do on road trips is to make up different games or play some of the classics. Here are a few of my family’s favorites:

• I spy with my little eye – something that is ___ (then you name a color and everyone guesses)
• The license plate game – basically all you do is have each person participating write down as many different states that they can. Whoever sees the most states wins!
• 21 questions – guess what a person is thinking in less than 21 questions.
• The counting game – see how high you can collectively count as a group, one person each taking a turn.
• The alphabet game – try to go through the whole alphabet by finding letters on signs
• Battle of the bands – singing your favorite songs and matching the lyrics

Free printable kids’ activity worksheets

I also love to bring along a binder for each kid with rainbow coloring pages and activity worksheets. These would even be good to have on hand for the next time your kids tell your they’re bored this summer too. 😉

• summer word explorer
• summer sudoku
• tic tac toe
• connect the dots
• reading chart
• draw & write sheet
• summer fun list
• sort the words

Download these FREE activity sheets for your next road trip!

The ultimate Mom’s road trip car kit

One thing I love to keep in the car for road trips is a dedicated “car kit.” I don’t know about you, but when our van is packed, it is packed to the brim. So if someone needs something out of their suit case, it’s going to be a process to find it. So recently I have started putting all of our essentials and things we might need into this kit that is easily accessible. Here’s a few things we keep inside:

• Towel or blanket
• Paper towels
• Hand sanitizer
• Insect repellent
• Grocery sack or trash bag
• First aid kit
• Extra diapers (if traveling with a baby)
• Flash light
• Extra water bottles
• Extra change of clothes

I’d love to hear what tips you have on road trips. What are your favorite road trip games?

More fun activities for kids:

• Alphabet activities for preschoolers
• Don’t Eat Pete Game
• Easy butterfly craft for kids
• Glitter slime

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19 Comments

Great idea, I need this in my car all the time!

I love your car kit! I keep a few essentials (quilts, paper towels, water) but I absolutely need to organize it and add a few more — especially the OFF! spray (which is the brand we use, too!). So many times while out we stumble upon a random park and want to adventure, but the kids are worried about bug bites.

Love this idea! My kiddos LOVE playing tic tac toe, and I’m printing these “OFF” as we speak! 😉 Love the car kit too! XOXO

I love these! I subscribed, but I’m still lost on how to download the files. Is there a link that I’m not seeing?

Just emailed you! 🙂

I’m not seeing how to print these worksheets. Am I missing a link? Sorry!

Hi Kelli! Once you subscribe and confirm your email you should receive a code to access all of our printables! 🙂

I just signed up to try and download the road trip games for kids, but its not letting me! Help!

Hi Amanda! I’m sorry you are having difficulty getting the printables. If you could send us an email at [email protected] we can try and send them to you via email. 🙂

Help! 🙂 I have subscribed but I still cant find the link to download these worksheets.

Hi Erica! I’m sorry you are having difficulty getting the printables. If you could send us an email at [email protected] we can try and send them to you via email. 🙂

I subscribed and entered my info but I can’t seem to find the link to print the road trip games and info…

Hi Valerie! I’m sorry you are having difficulty getting the printables. If you could send us an email at [email protected] we can try and send them to you via email. 🙂

any idea how I can get to the printables link?

I subscribed but I still can’t download this. Please help!

Hi Tara! Once you subscribe and confirm your email you should receive a code to access all of our printables! 🙂 If you are still having troubles, you can send us an email at [email protected] and we can try and email them to you.

I subscribed got one email but that’s all… no cose was sent to me …no clue how to download the road trip games…help please

Hi Kathy! You should get 1 email to confirm and then another email with a code. Try one more time and if you are still having a problem with it, go ahead and send me an email at [email protected]

Thank You for all you do !! Great ideas!!

40 Free Printable Road Trip Games & Activities

By: Author Jacquie Fisher

Posted on Published: May 19, 2023

Categories Travel Fun

Grab these free printable road trip games & activities for your next car trip and keep the kids busy!

We are gearing up for a HUGE family car trip this summer and I’m on the look-out for some road trip activities to keep the kids off their phones & busy en route 😉

40 Free Road Trip Activities & Games for Kids

Since we love to travel, I’ll be sharing a handful of posts over the next few months with lots of tips & ideas for family travel!  We’re also sharing many of our favorite travel items along with affiliate links to each so you can see if they’re a good fit for your family too. (Be sure to see our 40+ Road Trip Essentials & Car Organization Items too!)

Here are a few of the ways we get ready for a trip:

• Keep the car organized with these 27 Track Hacks & Road Trip Tips
• If your kids enjoy audio books, movies or educational apps, be sure to sign up for the Amazon FreeTime Unlimited FREE Trial before you go!!
• Have ad-free on-demand music for your trip: Try the Amazon Music Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial
• Grab this FREE Printable Road Trip Planner: 10 Things to do Before Your Next Road Trip
• And check out these NEW ideas — 15 Road Trip Printable Games & Travel Activities !!

The trip is going to be much longer than we thought — 10 days through 11 states covering 2600 miles!!

I know – crazy!  But we’re really looking forward to it — we believe that family travel is a great way for kids to learn all kinds of things.

It’s going to be a monster of a trip with lots of overnight stops and quite a few hours in the car.

Soooo …. time to start planning on how to keep everyone busy, happy and fed 😉

How Do You Entertain Kids on a Road Trip?

It’s the age-old question — how to keep kids busy and engaged on long car rides?!  The first thing I always tackle is putting together a binder for the trip that’s chocked full of fun (& free) printable activities.

I’m telling you — this little binder has been a huge help on our trips!

The fact that our kids have had something to look forward to each morning when we load up the car is incentive enough for them to not drag their feet when we have to pack up.  And it’s been wonderful to have a way to keep them writing and reading using fun activities on our trips.

I’ve included links below for each of the resources we’ve found including affiliate links for items that will help you put together your own road trip binder.

Tips for Making a Road Trip Binder

I have three goals when I create a car trip binder for kids, tweens or teens:

1.  Include surprise activities they can do both on their own & with others in the car

2.  Find fun things that will keep them off the tech for a while

3.  Get the kids interested in the places we’re visiting on our trip — because that’s one of the reasons we travel, right?!

First, print off a variety of travel games & activities!

I search for games they really enjoy (for example, Mad Libs are a big hit with us right now) and fun pages like coloring or design printables.

We also play the license plate game as a family every summer so that’s a big one for us too!

I look for maps & activities that highlight places on our travel route, worksheets that share fun facts about the states we visit and anything that gets them writing — like some fun travel journal pages.

Printable Road Trip Games for Kids, Tweens & Teens

Here’s a huge selection of printable road trip games & activities to make things easier for you!

Just choose the ones that fit your child’s age and ability! Or if your short on time, check out the 15 printable road trip games & travel activities in our Road Trip Pack!

• All for the Boys has some wonderful car activities — 12 pages of mini games & puzzles the kids will love!!
• Enjoy some fun family discussions with this free set of 20 Questions to play with your kids !
• I love this Travel Battleship game from Mothers Home!
• Play the License Plate Game with this free printable state map.
• Salt and Pepper Moms has a fun printable car game sheet and a travel journal page too.
• FreePuzzles.net has 6 printable car games including mazes, hangman and car bingo.
• Enjoy these 5 printable car games from In the Playroom (for US & UK travel).
• I Heart Organzing has some wonderfully colorful Road Trip BINGO and Alphabet I-Spy to keep the kids entertained.
• And you know how much we adore Scavenger Hunts!  Here are a few gems:
• Road Trip “Find It” for Tweens from Carla Schauer
• City, Suburb & Rural Scavenger Hunts from Mom’s Minivan
• Make & Takes has a fun coloring scavenger hunt too

If you need more ideas, browse all the Printable Road Trip Activities and Games on Etsy too!!

And if you happen to be heading to Disney World or Disneyland, check out this set of printable Disney Games & Activities for your trip!!

Road Trip Activities & Travel Printables to do in the Car

Try these Kids’ Travel Journal pages that are perfect for encouraging a little writing & recording the trip while on the road!

For some great state-by-state learning, visit Education.com and print out the State Puzzle Sheets for each state on your trip.

I like to include a Kids’ Road Atlas or map with the binder too.  We get ours free with our AAA membership and it’s a great for kids to learn map reading skills!

Activity Idea: Have your kids highlight the route you’re taking in the atlas and they can follow along as you drive.

Younger kids might enjoy driving a Hot Wheels car along the route as you travel.  Older kids will be intrigued to see what interesting places you might be passing en route.

More Kids Activities for a Road Trip

If your kids have a cell phone or camera, print this FREE Photo Scavenger Hunt for them to complete on the trip!

Enjoy this Hotel Scavenger Hunt from Moms & Munchkins if you’re spending the night on the road.

Picklebums has these cute and open-ended Road Trip Drawing Prompts.

Doodle Art Alley has a set of Summer Coloring pages that can be used individual or as a family coloring activity.

How to Organize Car Games & Activities in a Binder

Next, I organize all the printables into a Road Trip binder!

One thing that works well for us is to sort the pages by travel day. This way, I know that each morning of our trip there will be new activities for our kids to do!

I separate the printables using manila folders (which is great in case we want to pull out the items for one day).  Then I use a 3 Hole Punch with all the printables & manila folders and insert them into the binder.  Each set is labeled with the date so it’s easy to see.

In addition, I include a 3-Ring Pencil Pouch with the following items:

• a nice set of Colored Pencils ,
• a regular pencil & pencil sharpener,
• and an eraser.

We don’t bring markers in the car ( I learned why the hard way ).  And crayons tend to melt in the summer heat. So when we travel, we’ve found that a set of colored pencils is the way to go 😉

We also love to have these Storage Folding Lap Desks so the kids have an easy place to read/write during our trips!

I also put their summer reading logs (see all the FREE Summer Reading programs here!) in the back of the binder. We do a lot of reading & audio books in the car ( grab a copy of this free Summer Reading Log to use on the trip !).

Last, I created a fun cover for the binder along with an autograph page for the back of the binder. It’s fun to have when you’re visiting a lot of family so everyone can sign a fun note.

Here’s a front & back cover for the road trip binder you can download for FREE!

There you go — step 1 in preparing for the Ultimate Summer Road Trip!

More Road Trip Ideas:

15 Printable Road Trip Activities & Travel Journal for Kids & Tweens

The Ultimate Road Trip Guide: Why Getting There is Half the Fun

10 Things to do Before Your Next Road Trip {with free printable checklist!}

More Summer Ideas:

20 Amazing Summer Scavenger Hunts

105 Activities that Make Awesome Summer Memories

31 Best Road Trip Games for Kids: Definitely Bookmark This

Are you planning a road trip and looking for the best road trip games for kids? We totally understand that doing long car rides with kids can be hard and stressful, especially when not using any screens.

“Are we there yet?” “I’m hungry!” “It’s too long”

Does that sound familiar?

Family road trips can be stressful for parents and long for kids, so it’s better to be prepared with some ideas. That’s why we listed 31 of our favorite games to play in the car on a road trip to pass the time. They are all fun games for kids (but also for the entire family, from toddlers to older kids and adults).

And the cool thing is that most of them don’t require much and can also be played at the destination.

Disclaimer: Just a heads up, this free article contains affiliate links . If you purchase after clicking one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost . Also, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Your support helps me continue to provide helpful and free content for you .

Get Your Road Trip Activity Book Journal (Only $9.99)

Our TOP 5 Road Trip Games for Kids

We do a lot of road trips as a family, short and long car rides . We even took the kids on two cross-country road trips (for the first one the boys were 18 months old and 3.5 years old). We had to get creative with road trip activities, especially that we don’t really allow the kids to watch TV in the car.

Here are our favorite road trip games for the family and the kids:

• License plate game : I love this game, especially when we travel to the USA where we see many different license plates. This is a perfect game for older kids since they need to be able to see outside the windows, but it’s a lot of fun and doesn’t require any material.
• Audiobook & Stories : We have a Spotify account and download many kids’ stories. We don’t have them on for the entire trip, but we put a few stories occasionally when we all need some quiet time.
• Smart Games : The kids received some Smart Games for Christmas this year and we are hooked. They are easy to pack for a road trip and kids can play alone. We have the Smart Games Jump In and the Smart Games Ghost Hunters .
• Drawings & Coloring: We always pack coloring books or sketchbooks, and the kids love drawings when we drive.

💡 PRO-TIP There are so many different kids’ car activities that can played by simply using everyone’s imagination skills . Of course, all those travel games for kids may require the parent’s participation (at least a little if your kids are the youngest, but older kids should be able to play alone).

1. Activity Booklets

There are TONS of activity books with mind games, riddles, and puzzles for your kids.

The hard part is that they don’t always keep the kids interested for as long as we want. Sometimes we can get a solid 45 minutes out of these booklets, but other times we get a few seconds of peace.

You might find that one of your kids naturally likes one type of activity (sudoku, crosswords, etc.) and your other kid likes another. Try to find the activity that matches your kids’ interests to pique their interest.

2. I (Eye?) Spy

I Spy is a classic for a reason (and I still think it makes just as much sense to spell it “eye spy,” for the record). There are no simpler games to play on a road trip than the I Spy game . This game also helps to hone your kids’ powers of observation.

How to play I Spy:

• The person choosing the object chants, “ I spy with my little eye, something beginning with… ” and then gives the first letter of the word they are thinking of.
• Everyone else tries to guess and the person who guesses correctly first takes their turn choosing an object.

How to adapt this road trip game for toddlers: Naming the color of the object instead of (or as well as) the first letter.

If you happen to be driving through an area with lots of wildlife, you could also try “ I hear with my little ear ” and crack out your best animal impressions, a great hit with toddlers.

👉 You can also purchase a I Spy travel card game to help your little ones with the game.

3. Rock Papers Scissors

Rock Papers Scissors is one of those fun games that your kids should be able to play together (and alone) as long as they sit relatively close .

How to play Rock-Papers-Scissors: The game is pretty simple. Each player will simultaneously do one of the three shapes (rock, paper, or scissors) with one of their hands.

• Paper beats rock
• Rock beats scissors
• Scissors beats paper

There are many other versions that can be played by adding a few extra shapes.

4. “I’m Going to a Picnic”

This game is another great fun car game for kids that requires no material .

How to play I’m Going to a Picnic : Whoever is starting gives a short list of things they are taking on their picnic, and everyone else tries to guess the rule that connects these objects .

Here’s a simple example. If I say, “I ’m going to a picnic and I am going to take some eggs, some earplugs, and an éclair, you’d probably be able to guess pretty quickly that I’m only taking objects that begin with an “e”.

Of course, you can get creative with your rules. Perhaps every object at your picnic is round or has four letters in the word, or rhymes with a cat.

Players can also ask if an object would be allowed on the picnic to help them figure out the rule. Or the person in charge can give some examples of things that aren’t allowed.

Adapt the difficulty of the rules depending on the age of your kids.

5. Make Up Stories 

You don’t have to be a master storyteller to keep the kids entertained with some inventive tales . Some of the best stories come when you take turns adding bits and embellishing the details.

How to play Make Up Stories : You could try one-word stories , where each person says just one word, and you build the story together—the same works with single sentences too.

If the kids struggle to get inventive, you can handle the bulk of the storytelling but still leave plenty of opportunities for their input. Start with “ once upon a time there was a giant… ” and let the children fill in the gaps. Who knows where your imagination might take you?

6. Twenty Questions

Most of us have played this family classic game at one time or another, and it is an easy travel game for kids.

How to play Twenty Questions:

• One person thinks of an object, person, animal, or plant. It must be something everyone is likely to know about.
• Then, the others ask questions to help them determine what the person is thinking.
• The person can only respond with “yes” or “no”. The goal is for the others to guess the word correctly before they ask more than 20 questions.

In some versions of the game, the person specifies whether they are thinking of an animal, a plant, or a mineral (an inanimate object) before they start.

You can increase or remove the question limit if your kids get too frustrated or struggle to guess the word within the 20 questions.

7. Quiz Time

Quizzes are fun road trip activities for kids and are also a great way to slip a little learning into your trip.

We like to call them pop quizzes .

For the 2-6 age group, this works best if you give multiple-choice options and take it in turns to be the quiz master. Keep the questions age-appropriate – you want to stretch your kids but still make it fun by sticking to questions they will likely know the answers to.

If you are feeling organized, you can prepare some questions before you go so that you have them already to hand when boredom sets in on the road and the nagging for the iPad starts. There are also quiz cards available to buy if you need some help thinking of questions. This kid’s car activity is also a great way to start road schooling lessons .

8. Categories

This wordplay game is one the whole family can join in with and is a fun option for road trips. Your kids can pick a category and see how many things you can name within that category. Categories can be :

• types of fruit,
• colors, … – you can keep going for hours.

If you want to make it more challenging, set a time limit. Or you could go competitive and make each family member take a solo turn to see how many items they can name.

9. License Plate Game

This is an old-time favorite that you’ve likely played with your parents in the past. I won’t lie, it’s one of my favorite travel games to play. This one works best in the United States, though it could work through the Canadian provinces, too (it’ll just be a lot shorter).

The game is simple : look for license plates from states other than the ones you’re either currently in or coming from.

At any rate, everyone in the car should try to find as many license plates as possible until someone gets all 50. You can also play collectively if you have young kids since it will be harder for them to compete.

💡 PRO-TIP You can use this travel games for kids to start teaching your little ones about geography and teach them a little history about how modern North America is laid out (aaaaand from there, you can go into the history of the continent in whichever way you feel most comfortable).

10. Grocery Store

This is a twist on the classic “Alphabet Game. ” In this version, you say you’re going to the grocery store and buying ingredients. You need to list out what you’re going to buy starting with the letter “A.” For example, the first person would say, “I’m going to buy an Apple.”

The next person repeats what was said and adds a new item with the next letter. In this case, it would be B. For example, the second person would say, “I’m going to the store. I’m going to buy an Apple and a Banana.”

And this memory game continues throughout the entire alphabet.

11. Would You Rather

You likely played this game in college, so you’ll want to make it more tame (and since you’re driving, probably without the beer). The game is easy to play: you give two terrible scenarios and ask someone to decide which one they would rather do.

For example, would you rather wear wet socks or a diaper for an entire week?

This game can get as silly as you’d like it to be.

💡 PRO-TIP : Set a number of questions each person will ask per “round.” So you can say, “everyone is going to give 3 scenarios we all have to answer.” Then, when the 3 turns are up, you can choose to start over or play another game.

12. Can You Name the Most

This is a fun road trip game even toddlers can play . Plus, it will help them build vocabulary and word associations. Have one person in the car choose a category. For this example, let’s say “superheroes.”

Now go around the car and everyone has to say a word related to superheroes in under 5 seconds. The first person who can no longer think of words closely associated with the category is eliminated.

The last person standing wins!

Remember, you don’t need to say exact superhero names. Instead, you can use words associated with heroes, like:

• Super speed
• And so on…

The goal is to have fun, so don’t get too “nit-picky.”

💡 PRO-TIP Make one parent and official judge for this game, as siblings will probably fight over what counts as “closely associated.”

13. Movie/Song Quotes

In this game, everyone will think of their favorite quote from a movie or song. Start easy and make sure these are things your kids are familiar with. That said, you can get more advanced to try and trick your road partner, too.

For example, you would think of a quote like, “Man… there are just no jobs in this town. Yeah… unless you wanna’ work 40 hours a week !”

Which, of course, comes from the great cinematic masterpiece, Dumb & Dumber .

You’ll need to adjust the quotes you use depending on the age of your kids.

14. Fortunately/Unfortunately

I like to think of these travel games for kids as the “home stretch” activity . It’s when you have a stop coming up and your kids start feeling “antsy.” In this game, one person begins by saying, “Fortunately…” and describing a hypothetical situation that was really good.

For example, you could say, “Fortunately, there was a mistake at the factory, and all the broccoli in the world is going to turn into marshmallows.”

Then, the next person continues the story with “unfortunately.” In this case, they could say, “Unfortunately, these marshmallows also shrink you to 3 inches tall.

And you continue with the “fortunately/unfortunately” structure until everyone has had a few turns.

💡 PRO-TIP : When you reach the end, you can discuss your hypothetical situation and pose more questions. In this example, the ultimate question would be, “Would you still eat the marshmallows?”

15. The Rhyme Game

Here’s an easy one: someone in the car thinks up a word, and everyone has a maximum of 5 seconds to think of a word that rhymes when it’s their turn.

If someone gives duplicates or a word that doesn’t rhyme, they’ll be eliminated.

Again, this game is perfect for those awkward 10 minutes before reaching your destination or a quick distraction if one of your kids is starting to go into crisis mode.

16. New Rule

This is a great game for the oldest sibling and young kids who like the taste of power. Everyone in the car gets to think up a “new rule.” It can be anything (appropriate) and would be something like, “Every time we pass a Wal-Mart, you need to burp.”

I like to make this game the prize of another fun game.

So when a kid wins at another game we play, they get to invent a “new rule” that will last until we reach the final destination.

17. Yellow Car

Yellow car is a game that’s a classic twist on the old “Punch Buggie” or “Slug Bug.” Basically, you get to punch someone else in the car whenever you see a yellow car.

This game is fun because some places tend to have way more yellow cars than others. Emilie and I played while driving through Quebec , and I only got punched once or twice.

Then we played in California , and my arm looked like it had seen the wrong end of a fight with Mike Tyson.

18. Spelling Bee

You can recycle activities your kids do at school for the car. This one is great for helping your kids learn to spell .

Work from a list of age-appropriate words for your kids to spell. Have them take turns and see how many they can spell correctly.

Here’s a good list of spelling bee words around the kindergarten age-level that you can use if you need help thinking up words.

19. Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is a great way to keep kids occupied during a road trip. It’s another game that gets your kids paying attention to their surroundings while in the car.

This works best if you have a list prepared before you go. Combine things you are guaranteed to see, like a speed limit sign, with some that are less common, such as a specific make and color for a car.

You can use types of vehicles, buildings, and natural features in your list. Give each kid a copy – illustrate it with pictures so pre-readers can still join in. Leave space for each player to tick off objects as they see them.

If you like, you can turn it into a version of bingo and race to see who can complete their list first.

For those who don’t have time to make their own scavenger hunt, there are plenty of printable options available online . We’ve created a printable road trip game package that includes a scavenger hunt

20. Hangman

Another classic game, hangman , helps new readers practice new letters of the alphabet and spelling in a fun (and competitive) way.

All you need is a piece of paper and a pen. However, everyone playing will need to see the paper, so the driver will want to sit this one out.

How to play Hangman:

• The first person acts as the host. They think of a word and then mark out blank spaces for each letter.
• The players take it in turn to guess letters. If they get one right, the host fills in the letter wherever it appears in the word. If they get it wrong, the host marks the letter at the top of the paper and then draws one piece of the scaffold.
• The game continues until the players guess the full word or the host draws the full scaffold and the stick man hanging from it.

Of course, you may want to avoid images of death in a kids’ game, even if it is a stick man. You can make the game more child-friendly by drawing a snowman or a rocket blasting into space. Or you could draw a line of balloons and have one pop each time someone makes an incorrect guess.

You can increase or remove the question limit if you find your kids get too frustrated or struggle to guess the word within the 20 questions.

❤️  You may also like to read: The Best Road Trip Snacks

21. Squares

Best played with two people, this is an easy travel game to teach your kids and all you need is a piece of paper and a pencil or pen.

The object of the game is to make as many squares as possible . Start by drawing a dotted grid on your piece of paper. You can choose how big you make the grid – begin with three by three when you first teach the kids and it can grow from there.

The two players take turns to join two dots together by drawing a straight line between them. You can’t go diagonally.

When someone completes a square, they write their initials inside it and get a bonus go. The game ends when the whole grid is joined up. Then you count the number of squares each person has claimed to determine the winner.

22. Build a Cootie Catcher

I remember learning how to do this in second or third grade. It was never as popular for the boys in our class (though maybe that’s changed), but it did keep me busy on long car rides with my brothers, who were busy playing Yellow Car with me.

Typing out all the directions would do two things:

• Help exactly 0% of the people reading this

Instead, here’s a great video tutorial 🙂 :

23. Make a Comic Book

I’ve noticed that my oldest son is super addicted to certain TV shows. But I realized it wasn’t necessarily the show he was in love with… it was the story .

He LOVES stories, and lately, we’ve been trying to encourage him to come up with his own. The car ride is a great time for kids to think up their own superheroes and draw their very own comic books.

You can stab some scrap pieces of paper together in advance or just have the kids work from individual pages. The comics will probably be silly, but they stretch the kids’ imaginations. Our son, for example, made a comic about aliens on a different planet at a park with slides that go “up” instead of “down.”

24. Draw What You See

The name pretty much says it all on this one! For long stretches of road around mountains, forests, rivers, oceans, lakes… anything… have the kids draw the landscapes they see as you go.

This doesn’t always work, but when kids get into the drawings, it can make a great coffee break for the parents.

25. Pictionary

This isn’t a game that the driver will be able to participate in, but you’re probably familiar with how it works.

One person draws something and the other must guess what it is. This works if you’re driving with more than one child or if one parent can participate safely.

👉 You can also purchase a Pictionary game to help your little ones with the game.

26. Audiobooks or Stories on Spotify

Reading their favorite stories aloud is a sure way to keep children entertained on a road trip.

Unlike watching videos or playing games on screen, listening to an audiobook allows their imagination to run wild as they picture all the scenes in the story. There’s a huge amount of choice out there for kids – search “stories for kids” on Spotify, and you’ll have plenty of options.

If your kids are a little older, they might also enjoy a factual podcast. There are several podcasts and audiobooks aimed at kids of kindergarten age that are both educational and entertaining. And you may be able to find some that are related to your road trip.

💡 PRO-TIP Don’t forget to download some stories before you head off in case you hit any areas without an internet connection during your journey, especially if you are planning to visit some national parks .

27. Drawing & Coloring

Drawing and coloring are great screen-free road trip activities  for kids at any time. There is no reason you can’t embrace them while you are on your road trip as well.

Pack plenty of coloring pencils, crayons, paper, and coloring books to keep the children entertained in the car. If you are worried about the mess, choose pencils instead of pens and steer clear of paint, glue, and glitter.

It helps to get some trays and organizers so that the kids have somewhere to keep their art supplies while you are traveling. Plenty of inexpensive options and the tray is also useful if you are eating meals on the road.

We bought some craft trays from IKEA , and they work perfectly. For crayons, we opted for the twistable Crayola one, which is more robust and less messy.

28. Sticker Books

When you need a bit of peace and quiet, sticker books are brilliant for keeping kids occupied in the car. You can even get reusable ones that can be brought out repeatedly.

It is worth laying down some ground rules before you hand stickers over – they get stuck to the book, not the car, their siblings, or the family dog.

For younger kids, look out for stickers that are large enough that little fingers can peel the backs off without help from an adult. Some sticker books involve fragile or fiddly shapes, which will only lead to frustration when they inevitably rip.

👉 There are many sticker books options, but we love the Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pad .

29. Mazes and Puzzle Books

Mazes and puzzle books are easy to find and are an inexpensive way of keeping kids entertained on the road without resorting to screens.

Make sure you choose options suitable for your children’s ages, like this one from Amazon if for 4-8 years old . Word searches and verbal reasoning puzzles are great for those already reading, while pre-readers might like ones that ask them to join the dots, follow a wiggly line, or match pictures.

Again, there are also plenty of free printables available online, which you can print off before you get in the car. If you are feeling especially organized, you can laminate them and have your kids complete them with a wipeable marker so they can be reused.

👉 Buy Mazes and Puzzle Books on Amazon

Never underestimate the power of a good book. Long car journeys are the perfect time to encourage your kids in their love of reading . 

Have plenty of engaging, age-appropriate books available for your journey. Even pre-readers can get involved by “reading” familiar picture books to themselves. Or enlist older siblings to read to them – this gives them a chance to hone their own reading skills while keeping their younger brothers or sisters entertained.

31. Mad Libs

This can be something you can prepare in advance or just buy a booklet for . Mad Libs aren’t only fun, but they also teach your kids about grammar and sentence construction.

If you’ve never played the game before, it’s easy. There’s a pre-written story with a few keywords missing. People in the car must supply the word based on its function in the sentence (noun, adjective, adverb, etc.).

You fill in the words with random selections and read the story when it’s over.

Here’s a great resource for building Mad Libs with your kids .

Final Thoughts on Fun Road Trip Games for Kids

This ends how the list of kids car activities. I hope it gave you enough ideas to feel ready to pack the car and leave on a road trip with your little ones. If you end up on the road using one of our road trip activities with your kids, please share your pictures on Instagram and tag us @lovelife_abroad .

I’ll be honest here, we don’t always entertain the kids in the car. We do lots of the fun games above, but we also ask them to entertain themselves a little along the way.

Emilie is the founder of Love Life Abroad. She helps moms plan epic road trips and outdoor adventures with their families. Because who said adventuring had to stop once we have kids? She's based in the Canadian Rockies and shares her love for the region as well as other unique places in Canada & USA. She works with tourism boards and outdoor brands to inspire families to experience new unique destinations and outdoor activities.

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Printable Road Trip Games

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Hey guys! Summer is almost upon us, and today I wanted to share some super fun printable road trip games you can print and take along to pass the time with your family. These are so much fun, and include a scavenger hunt, an A-Z search, as well as a really fun map you can color of all the states you’ve visited, and some fun family conversation starters for the car! I also had to go back in and add one of my favorite things to look for on trips- license plates we pass from every state!

We have family that lives all over the US, from Alabama to West Virginia, and even all the way over to Texas! This makes for some pretty long car rides that I took as a kid, and now I take with my own kids. Flying can be so expensive, so we drive pretty much any time we want to take a trip or visit far away family. I’ve survived many road trips as a kid myself, and have done them now with toddlers, and my now older kids, too. I have a lot of tips to share, and I just thought these printables were so much fun. To download them, sign up for my email list below!

More Ways to Pass the Time in the Car

There are so many great ways to pass the time when you are stuck in the car on a long trip. Obviously, electronics today make it super easy, but it is important to always have plenty of chargers. We love these multi-usb port chargers for the car, and these chargers that are compatible with multiple types of devices can come in so handy!

If you want a device for your little ones in the car, but don’t want to risk handing them an expensive iPad, we love Amazon’s fire kids tablet with the kid proof case . For the Amazon fire kid’s tablet, you can get A mazon Kids + , which was our favorite when our kiddos were younger so that they could safely access age appropriate games, videos, and books! What we would do when ours were younger, is bring activities, toys, and things like that for them to do, and save the electronics for closer to the end of the trip when they were really getting antsy and tired of being in the car. It worked great.

Of course, once your older kiddos have phones and other devices, they probably have all the entertainment they need, right at their fingertips.

For mom and dad, whoever is not driving, we love listening to podcasts, reading with our kindle unlimited, or listening to audio books with audible .

Crossword puzzles and other games are also a great idea to pass the time. There are even similar options for kids, we love these fun highlights hidden pictures books to keep them busy for a bit.

Then, of course our printable road trip games are a great idea to print before hand and stash away in the car, just to break up the monotony. Sign up below to download them!

Must Have Road Trip Supplies

Now, when it comes to going on a trip, you know you have to pack all the things for once you’ve arrived there like clothes and toiletries, but what about supplies for the actual trip. Here are some great things to have on hand-

• Grocery bags for garbage
• Extra cash for rest stop vending machines, or toll booths
• Paper towels
• Baby wipes for cleaning hands
• Gum, or sunflower seeds
• Snacks and drinks for the ride – our kids love easy to eat things like applesauce pouches, slim jims, etc… plus, drinks that can be re-sealed for kiddos for sure
• Anti-nausea medicines, just in case. Dramamine was my best friend as a kid riding through winding roads in West Virginia
• Neck pillows for napping
• Headphones for electronic devices

What else would you add? Let us know in the comments!

Car Friendly Games and Activities

Now, things have come a long way since I was a kid, and there are so many great options of things to do while you are riding in the car, like car-adapted games, etc… here are some really handy ideas we’ve found.

• Trivia games
• Dry erase games for 1-2 players
• For toddlers, a lap activity book is so helpful
• You’ll definitely remember these fun handheld aqua rings games
• Another great license plate scavenger hunt idea , and with this game, kids can compete!
• Hangman is always a fun game with this one that is perfect for the car.
• Road trip bingo!

You might find that these car backseat organizers really help you stay organized with all of your activities on your road trip.

Need inspiration for where to go? Check out these 11 road trip ideas for families.

Hopefully this gave you some great ideas for keeping kids entertained on road trips this Summer! Don’t forget to also leave your tips in the comments below, and I hope you enjoy our road trip printable games! Next time, we’ll talk about easy make-ahead snacks for the road!

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10 Free Road Trip Games for Couples (That Families and Kids Can Play Too)

Road trip games for couples have been essential in keeping us entertained on countless road trips. Playing games in the car makes any length of driving quickly pass. It's great to be able to dig into an arsenal of games to play together.

Our personal favorite is listed below – but it got us thinking about what road trip games for couples other travel writers play. What resulted is a fabulous list of creative road trip car games.

And if you love games, be sure to also check out our recommendations for travel games for adults that are portable and worthwhile.

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post, which means we may earn a small commission if you click the link and proceed with a purchase, at no cost to you . We truly only recommend hotels, products, and services we personally use. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Our Personal Road Trip Game for Couples: My Cows

This is a great fun free car game for road trips if you're driving through any rural stretch of land with livestock farms. Or if there is a chance wild cows will be off in the hills or mountains on your road trip.

We pack our cars with our luggage (including our Cabin Zero backpacks , which we adore) and hope for pastures where we can count cows!

Here is how to play: whoever spots a cow (a group of cows or even a single cow) first while driving says, “MY COWS!” You get a point! Once you claim the spotting of cow(s) no one else can until the next cow sighting occurs.

The catch is if you pass a cemetery. If you do and it's on the side of the car you're sitting on you lose all your points and need to start again.

When you reach your destination the person with the most “My Cows” points wins. This game is perfect when we're driving in western New York, including Buffalo . Or even when we're in a rural part of North Carolina, like driving to Ocracoke .

From Dan + Mikkel, of Sometimes Home and Sometimes Sailing

Don't Get Me Started

Considering my usual group of road trip companions is made up entirely of New Yorkers, it's usually difficult enough to get us to stop talking.

Nevertheless, we still always play a round of “Don't Get Me Started” to pass the time at least once per trip.

The rules are easy: call on one of your friends, followed by a topic you know may get them so temporarily riled they go off on a mini-rant. This could be intense, such as “Mike, don't get me started on (insert politician)”; or light and humorous like, “Tina, don't get me started on men with man buns.”

The results are hilarious; you'd be surprised how fun it can be listening to your friends go off on a tangent about their biggest pet peeves. But it's also just one of those games that makes the time fly by so much faster.

From Jasmine, of A Great Big Hunk of World

Song Predictor

This is one of the fun road trip games for couples that involves music.

When we're in a country we pick a few artists we may hear on the radio. When that singer or band's song comes on the radio you get a point. (My wife picked ABBA in Sweden and whooped my ass!) The person with the most points at the end of the trip wins.

From Romeo, of Travel the World

Three Words

I really enjoy a  game  I call, “Three Words.” You alternate taking turns making up a story with three words each. For example, one person may start with, “While walking on…” and the next person adds, “the beach I…” and then, “saw the strangest…”

It's a lot of fun to see where a story is going to go, especially because you only have half the little control of it!

From Cristal of Tofu Traveler

Word Boggler

One of the road trip games for couples my husband and I play is a word game.

Here's how it works: start with a small three to four-letter word. Then see how many words you can make out of it. If you're more than two people, let's say with four people in the car, it gets really competitive. Since it doesn't involve searching for something outside of the car, the driver can play too.

The first person selects the base word. For example, “corn” or “art.” The second person would choose a word that includes the base word, like “corny” or “start.”

The more rounds that pass, the more complicated the words get. You may start with “art,” but near the end have “spartan.” We set a time limit of two minutes to give an answer. If the person doesn't answer within the time limit, he or she is out of the round. Proper nouns are acceptable.

It's incredible how heated the game can get and how much thinking ahead you have to do to make sure that your word isn't used before your turn. It is really fun and makes time fly!

By Jaime, of Jaime Says

Movie Twist

Since my family and my in-laws both live several states away, my husband and I have taken a lot of road trips. Ten to twelve hours in the car with an extroverted husband means I've been coaxed into many road trip games for couples.

When we got tired of playing 20 Questions, we began making up our own games. We started with a simple song game, where we take turns saying the lyrics to one line of a song, and the other person has to guess what song it is.

This eventually evolved into what has become our favorite road trip game, in which we remove a letter from a movie title so it completely changes the meaning.

Dude, Where's My Car becomes Dude, Here's My Car! (A Sequel)

Jungle Book becomes Jungle Boo

Finding Emo, Harry Otter, Jurassic Ark, and Ma on Fire are just a few of our favorites.

From Naomi, of Roaming the Americas

Our favorite road trip game is to turn control of the music over to our kids! We connect their iPhones to our radio and they take charge. We let them deejay and quiz us on whether we can name the song title and artist. (While this is more of a family game for us, it can be a road trip game for couples, too.)

Our girls pit me against my husband…and the competition gets fierce! As long as they are in control and listening to their favorite music, our kids are willing to play this for HOURS. If you and your partner are music lovers, this is the fun road trip car game for you!

From Lisa , of Hilton Mom Voyage

Would You Rather

This is a simple game that mostly everyone knows: would you rather do this or that? For example, “Would you rather go to Morocco or Chiang Mai?” Or “Would you rather fly 5 hours to get to a destination, or drive for 24 but see lots of sites along the way?”

There are a ton of “Would you rather” questions for kids and of course, lots for adults-only. We recommend The Gottman Institute App for your phone for adult relationship-appropriate questions.

From Mikkel, Sometimes Home

The Story Game

I read books in the car growing up, around town, and on road trips. I was an only child and books were my constant companion. Now, as an adult, books are still a constant companion of mine. My husband is too. Listening to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts in the car can get old after a while on a road trip.

He and I like to play the story game. Here's how to play: one person names an object or two; or perhaps an object and a problem. Then the storyteller gets two minutes to tell a story using the given object/problem.

If you have more than two people (and we do when my kids are involved), a new person is deemed the storyteller after the story ends and we repeat the process. Sometimes we change the rules and the next story has to build on the previous one, which gets silly and out of hand really fast. It’s a great game to play with the kids and is great for conditioning your storytelling and improv skills.

From Jillian, of Greenawalts Travel

My younger sister and I used to play “My  Car ” on road trips. It's best played on country roads and highways that don't have many cars. (Road trip games for couples doesn't have to be a love interest – you and your sister can be a pair!)

You and any passenger each pick a car color  that's dedicated to you.  The next car of that color that passes is “my  car ” and you get a point. I would usually pick red and she would pick green. All the green cars in the 1980's were huge crappy beaters from the 1970s so we'd have a good laugh!

When you reach your destination, the person with the most points wins.

From Lisa, of The Hotflash Packer

Car Cricket

We used to play ‘ car  cricket' when we were kids, traveling in the car. Cricket is really popular in New Zealand but the rules might not be as familiar to people from other countries. But  car  cricket is fairly simple and one of the great fun free road trip games for couples.

Each person has an inning. When it's your turn to ‘bat' every  car  that passes earns you ‘runs.” You can choose your own colors or take inspiration from what we used:

ALL OTHER COLORS: 1

This is best played on long, quiet stretches of road so you have time to do the math! It works really well in parts of New Zealand but we've also given it a go on our recent road trip through the Balkans in Europe. You can add your scores together from each inning and decide on a ‘first to X-number' or just play a certain amount of innings.

From Rohan of Travels of a Bookpacker

Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post, which means we may earn a small commission if you click the link and proceed with a purchase, at no cost to you . We truly only recommend products or services we personally use. 

For additional fun travel tips and ideas check out:

• Travel Games for Adults that are Portable and Worthwhile
• Who Has the Highest Quality Photo Books for Travel Memories?
• nodpod Sleep Mask Review: 10 Reasons We Always Travel with this Weighted, Black-Out Eye Mask

Have a great car game? Let us know in the comments! And PIN the image below for future reference.

Great topic! Who knew there were this many car games and probably many more to play. I look forward to reading about more games your viewers might have to post and share.

I didn’t realize either! I had fun putting together this post.

Love this, we have a few other games we play with the kids so these will be great to add to our list

So happy they’ll be great additions to the games you play! If you want to share any other games not listed here please feel free to do so!

This is wonderful! I’ve written these down for our next road trip!! Thanks for including me! 🙂

So many great ideas! I have a road trip coming up so now I have even more games to try 😀

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Drivers offer advice for summer road trips

BENTON, Mo. (KFVS) - Vacation time is here and folks at Boomland in Benton are getting started.

“The main thing I usually do is for one, I make sure I have everything that I need, whether there be food, water, cash,” said Rodmetrice Turner.

He is one of the dozens of drivers filling up their tanks and grabbing grub.

Vacation experts with The Vacationer , say at least 75 percent of American adults intend to take a road trip this summer.

Turner had this to say if you’re traveling to a new city.

“Some areas might be a little unsafe than others So it’s just all about being prepared and ready for whatever the circumstance may bring,” he said.

Brothers William and Ivory Webb are on their way to Memphis. William advises folks to be aware of other drivers while on the road.

“Be safe out there and drive carefully because there’s a lot of crazy people because they’ve zipped past me. And carry some extra water,” said William Webb.

Ivory had the same message.

“Drive for you and the other person that you’re passing on the road, that’s where you do that,” said Ivory Webb.

“I try to make sure that I have emergency meds. I try to make sure that I pack up stock up on water and a few snacks for the road,” said Shawanda Johnson.

Before Johnson heads back home to Hernando, Mississippi, she encouraged travelers to be well-rested before they hit the road.

“If you feel yourself getting tired, pull over at a rest station. Take a break. Don’t follow the same vehicle for too long, because sometimes you can lose focus, but other than that, just stay safe,” Johnson said.

For more tips ahead of your Summer road trip, you can check out the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration .

Copyright 2024 KFVS. All rights reserved.

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