road trip activities for 1 year old

Road Trip With a 1 Year Old: A Handy Guide

• Date: July 18, 2022
• Time to read: 5 min.

Traveling in the car is a great way to vacation with a one year old! It can be tricky, but I got all the tips and tricks you need!

Plan to Stop every 2 hours, pack a variety of snacks and travel during nap times to make the trip go as smoothly as possible. Plan stops where babies can walk around and get in some exercise. Pack the essentials in arm’s reach to make stops easier. 

When you are traveling with a 1 year old I like to keep a diaper basket under the seat. Keep diapers, wipes, diaper cream and a changing mat in this basket so that you can quickly grab everything for a diaper change. 

Older babies can enjoy some toys on a road trip as well. Pack some books, small toys and snacks in another basket that is in easy reach. 

Stopping every 2-3 hours is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics to help prevent positional asphyxia. This can happen when babies slouch down in their car seats and stop breathing. 

This happens more often in younger babies, but it can happen in older babies if they get themselves in a weird position and cannot get out of it. 

As a general rule, you should have an adult ride next to the baby to monitor their breathing and their comfort. 

Be careful when offering snacks on the road and be sure that you monitor the baby if they are eating to ensure they are not choking. 

Be sure to slow down and enjoy the trip. Traveling with a baby has it’s own pace and it may take some getting used to, but slowing down will make the trip much less stressful. 

Spend an extra night at the hotel, make an extra bathroom stop, slow down and embrace the trip. 

Packing for a 1 Year Old 

When you are packing for your one year old I recommend that you pack 2 extra outfits per 5 days of your trip , and be sure to have a plan if you need to do laundry. 

Eating habits can change on vacation and that can result in some messy outfits. 

Be sure to pack your regular brand of diapers, wipes and diaper rash cream. This can avoid a painful rash or allergic reaction while away from home. 

Choose engaging toys for travel times when your baby is awake and ready to play.

I have a packing for kids guide that might be helpful when you are making your packing list and organizing all the little outfits. There are some free printable checklists included in the linked post.

Great Road Trip Toys for a 1 Year Old

A 1 year old may be distracted by some well chosen toys on your road trip. 

These are the best, low mess, solutions that have worked for our family on 10+ hour road trips. 

Small board books are a great toy for the car. We love big sets of small books like the linked set, and classics in small board book form. 

Corduroy , We’re Going On a Bear Hunt , and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? have all been winners with my babies. I often find these at local thrift stores. 

Reading these to babies can be a great distraction on a long stretch of driving. 

When you need a sure fire distraction bubbles can be really special in the car. Choose a bottle that fits in the cupholder to keep the mess down. 

If you have responsible older kids this can also be fun for them to blow bubbles for the baby. 

Magnet toys are great for the car and they stay contained very well!

We enjoy magnet blocks like Magna Tiles . Just 2-3 blocks are really fun for a 1 year old. They also rattle when they are shaken, which is fun for a baby as well. 

Light Up Toys 

If you will be traveling at night, a light up toy can be super engaging. 

Simple toys like a small flashlight, a puck light, or glow sticks can be magical in a dark car. 

I know that my kids love traveling at night because it is such a new experience and the light up toys are just magical even for my 7 year old. 

Tips for a Traveling Alone With a Baby

I recommend that you travel with two adults whenever possible, but I know that sometimes you must travel on your own with a baby. 

I love a good adventure and this is what I have learned by traveling alone with my babies. 

Stop Frequently

You should plan to stop every 2 hours or less. This gives you time to check in on the baby and to be sure that they have what they need. 

This also gives you a chance to feed and change the baby. 

Mirrors that allow you to see your baby can be helpful, or a deadly distraction, consult your pediatrician about installing a mirror. 

Pack snacks and drinks for both of you in case you need to change plans suddenly. 

Be sure to pack any special foods that your baby needs, formula, snacks or medicine should be well stocked. Don’t forget mom’s favorites too, pack substantial snacks and cold drinks in the cooler. 

Having everything you need just feels good and makes you feel more secure. 

If you don’t feel comfortable stopping or your baby is sleeping you can choose to keep rolling and eat out of the cooler. 

I always think of my car like Mary Poppins carpet bag, or Herminone’s purse. Full of everything we could possibly need. Magically prepared. 

Be Sure To Rest

Drowsy driving is really dangerous and traveling alone with kids is exhausting. 

Be sure you are getting enough sleep to safely drive. Caffeine can help for a short time, but if you find yourself getting tired, plan to stop. 

The biggest tip I have for you is to go slowly. Do one thing at a time and try to be intentional. 

For example, be sure to put the keys in your pocket before leaving the car to unbuckle the baby, be sure to change diapers at each stop and double check buckles before you start driving. 

There are so many little things to do and check it is easy to forget and become overwhelmed. 

Rushing can make things much more stressful. 

When I travel with my husband he loves to rush and do things quickly, but I have to go slow or we will regret it later. 

Don’t be embarrassed by your pace if you are with a group of kid free companions. Focus on mindfulness and be present in each task. 

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20+ travel toys for a 1-year-old: entertainment for road trips and long flights.

Keeping your infant entertained on your next vacation

I won’t deny that one-year-olds can be one of the most difficult ages to travel with (ok, for parents!) especially flying! They are still so tiny but wriggly and active and unsure of what is happening around them; they are not quite a toddler but beyond a baby .

How on earth do you entertain your one-year-old while you’re travelling?

There are plenty of great one-year-old toys, but for this age group, they are often large, clunky, interactive (i.e. noisy!) and not particularly luggage friendly!  You really do need to consider a separate set of portable plane and travel toys for 1-year-olds. 

Other than our baby travel essentials , here we’re going to talk you through over 20 great ideas on what you should be packing to entertain a 1-year-old while travelling – our big focus is on being road trip and flying friendly toys.

This post is part of our tried and tested travel gear series – don’t forget to also check out our baby travel advice home page

Buckle buster, finger puppets, classic baby beads, cute character snack cup.

• Lamaze Plush Puzzle Toy

Sensory Fidget Toys

Learn to dress monkey, felt quiet books, stacking cups, tissue pouch toy, board books, soft activity book, chunky crayons, magnetic drawing board, fubbles bubbles, sand toy kit, toy safety straps, what 1-year-old toys should i leave at home, more tips for baby travel.

If your child is slightly older, don’t miss our post best travel toy ideas for a 2-year-old . 

As an Amazon Associate, we earn a commission from qualifying purchases made from this page.

The Best Travel Toys for a 1-year-olds

The most difficult thing about this age group is their propensity to want to either a) insert everything they find into their mouth or b) throw it on the floor! 

Therefore, finding travel toys for 1-year-olds that are made for chewing is great, but also look for items that are easy to clean and not too small so you can find them if they fall into a small confined space! 

Here’s our selection of the best travel toys that have stood the test of time with our 1-year-olds.

Buckle Toys Buster is ideal for travel as he folds up quite small and is great for those fine motor skills and problem-solving.

There are six different clasps and buckles, allowing for several different activities. Buster also has many colourful pals these days, some bulkier than others, but all offer great opportunities for your tot to work on their hand-eye coordination while keeping them occupied on the move.

An interactive fun way to play along with kids is  finger puppets .  They definitely fit well into the portable category, much smaller than most soft toys but not too tinee tiny that you will lose them under a plane seat!

These are the best toys for one-year-olds in any situation, as there are plenty of imaginative games you can make up—and worst case, if they simply end up in your tot’s mouth, it’s not the end of the world!

Manhattan Toys Classic Baby Beads  are a baby essential from this maker of unique educational toys ( do check out the  full Manhattan toys range   – we ended up with a toy box full of their stuff we loved them so much! )

The beads are solid wood but portable, and the rattle is fun but not an overpowering noise it won’t annoy your neighbours on a plane. It’s great to see young toddlers through the  teething stage , and also perfect for those fine motor skills.

We all know just how important it is to keep little bellies satisfied, whether it’s at home or on the move. And we all know how quickly kids knock these things over?

Cue the latest generation of infant snack cups from Skip Hop that are not only designed with an (almost) spill-proof lid; they come in some cute and fun designs too that will only add to the enjoyment factor of snack time – hence we include in here amongst our favourite travel toys for 1-year-olds as they have definitely been a saviour in the past for quick and easy toddler entertainment – two birds and all that.

Lamaze Activity Spiral

Have we mentioned before how much we love Lamaze products? Their activity spiral is an absolute beauty and the perfect travel toy for a 1-year-old.

With all the sensory pieces that we love above Lamaze, it is easily attached to your tot’s infant seat, ideal for long road trips.

A reluctant inclusion as I truly hate any baby travel toy that makes an irritating sound – if it’s annoying me, it’s got to be annoying others around me too – but car keys really are one of those wonderful reality toys that infants simply can’t get enough of, perfect for long car rides.

No losing your own keys mid-journey, these B.Toys Funky Toy Keys are super easy to fit into any diaper bag and a sure-fire quick win for teething tots – even if just a little noisy, they are the closest to ‘the real thing’!

These simple plastic contraptions have taken the world by storm! Even since my bubs have grown into tweens , they STILL love these sensory toys .

The small but satisfying pops and different textures are a great way to keep fingers busy in a way that’s non-disruptive to other passengers.

Bonus if you can find a fidget toy with a suction cup , too, for on-the-go; they can easily be placed on windows, an airplane tray table, and even bathing; a sensory toy is perfect for a 1 year old when travelling.

Learn to dress mo n key is a wonderfully loveable teddy that comes with 11 different activities for small hands, from ties to zips and buttons. A guaranteed entertainer and perfect for long flights, he’s pretty loveable and cuddly too.

Also comes in Learn to Dres s Kitty if you are after different designs, a great toy for travel and at home.

Felt Quiet Books are a fabulous baby entertainer and make the perfect travel toy for 1-year-olds in any situation.

Young children can independently explore with a variety of different scenes to choose from. All the parts attach to the quiet book, so no missing spare parts, and no problem if it ends up in their mouth as it’s machine washable.

Such a simple but vital travel toy. We never went anywhere without our stacking cups – in fact, I’d argue these were our favourite travel toys!

Because they so stack away so small, they’re an easy grab-and-go item, and most importantly, we have been able to double these up as a portable bath toy and a baby beach toy on the go, too – these should be in every family travel bag!

Hands up whose infant LOVVVVVVES pulling tissues out of the box? OK, any infant worth their grit in cookie crumbs will work out this is a fake next to the real thing, but the My Tissue Pouch Travel Toy is as close as it can get to the real thing for this super fun baby activity!

With 11 brightly coloured, machine washable and totally reusable ’tissues’, plus a fun character packet to play with, this will surely gain you 5 minutes of peace on long road trips with your 1-year-old, right?!

We will always throw in at least one set of board books traveling with babies and toddlers.

They’re great travel toys as they’re small enough to slip a different one in your diaper bag or carry on each time you leave the house and pretty robust against little fingers and searching teeth!

Another great book option for a one-year-old is a soft activity book.

The MAMMA Kiddie soft activity book is a great travel toy for a 12-month-old as it comes with lots of added extras, including sensory touches that are chewable and bead counters. It’s still super light, so an easy carry-on bag inclusion for your one-year-old.

As your baby transitions to the toddler years, colouring games are great, but finding the right sort of product is tough.

We love the chunky crayons by Honeysticks – completely infant safe made from Beeswax and easy to grip in those sweet chubby little hands, an ideal travel tour for 18 month old.

Is your infant ready for a car seat travel tray? As infants progress to toddlers, they may benefit from having a good surface to eat and play on on long car journeys especially – see all our favourite car seat trays here!

Another super portable toy that’s not too chunky for travel is a magnetic drawing board, best from 18 months+. Always best not to go too cheap in design for these products – and not too many ‘extras’ that can go missing.

We like the design of Fly2Sky Magnetic drawing board as it has a sealed back to prevent scratching, and it’s small enough to still slip into a carry-on.

This one is not for you to hand to your one-year-old unsupervised, but more an emergency piece of kit that every travelling parent should have handy!

Be it making a roadside stop and getting your little one to stretch their legs, or when you’re waiting for rides at an amusement park, a quick bubble blow is an INSTANT crowd pleaser! – be warned, though, other kids will always want to join in!!!

We like Little Kids Fubbles No Spill Bubbles , which are much less messy than larger novelty wands if it’s for travel. (NB, obviously this includes liquid, so not a good one for the plane – but it’s one of our favorite camping toys for toddlers )

This was another reluctant inclusion as we know it can be a little bulky for travel – we’re hardly suggesting this will work for the plane – but no beach vacation with the kids is complete without your very own sandcastle!

From activity moulds to a watering can, you’ll want some sort of beach activity kit if you’ll be travelling anywhere with sand; these are the best travel toys for 1-year-olds on a beach vacation.

We share more beach toy ideas for toddlers over here!

Last but not least, we’d be remiss at this point not to introduce you to the sheer genius of Toy safety straps .

No more dropped pacifiers on the plane floor or sippy cups that have fallen in the seat well at your child’s feet. Anything that you can strap on – do! These work great for all types of toys with a loop that can be locked into any of your 1-year-old travel toys.

These are items that we have either had bad experiences with or, for the sake of safety or commonsense, we do not recommend using as a travel toy for one year olds:

Tablets/iPads – I won’t deny that I’ve let my kids use our devices from a pretty young age. But not all the time, and certainly not on the plane. The main reason is the best younger kids’ apps tend to be noisy, and a one-year-old is not for keeping headphones on. Save the screen time and toddler apps for at least 2+.

Playdoh – there, I said it. I’m going to have some haters shouting NOOOOOO!! But sorry, this one is on my banned travel toy list!! Some love it, but it’s icky, messy and ends up everywhere, but where you want it (mashed under fingernails, smushed into the airplane seat), you get the picture. At your peril.

Reusable Stickers – these are still really a bit too small and chewable for the one-year-old age group and they may not yet have the fine motor skills for peeling, leading to frustration. Felt books are the best alternative for this age.

Musical instruments – no matter how much they love these at home, loud, noise-making toys on a plane or transport with others is a big no-no.

Jigsaws – again, these may be favorite toys at home, but too many items have been lost down the side of a seat over the years. I recommend this as a good travel toy.

Shape sorter – for much the same reason as jigsaws. We love the hand-eye coordination aspect and won’t deny that they’re great toys for 1-year-olds, but with small pieces that can easily get lost, they don’t make our best travel toys list.

Novelty Suitcases – sorry folks, one is waaaay too young for these!! When they reach at least 2, you can start introducing their own cute independent toddler backpacks with a harness , but I would wait until at least 3 or 4 before trying ride on or wheeled luggage for kids.

Leave us a comment below if there are any other one-year-old travelling favourites you think we should add to our list! (or something that should definitely be left off!!)

Search Different Age Groups

Toys for 2-year-olds

Toys for 3-year-olds

Toys for 4-year-olds

Toys for 5-year-olds

Are you new to travelling with a baby , or would you like some more pointers and advice to make your first trip run smoothly? We recommend you also pop over to these pages:

• Our very best baby travel advice
• Safety, essential gear and tips & hacks you will want to know road tripping with a baby
• 10 baby travel essentials for every journey
• How to tackle your very first baby flight
• Are you ready for a camping trip with a baby?
• How to fly with a baby once they no longer fit the baby bassinet
• Do I really need a travelling high chair?
• Best pop-up sunshades for babies and toddlers at the beach
• Best lightweight strollers for travel (that can even fit on the plane)
• The best infant sleep solutions on the go

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2 thoughts on “ 20+ Travel Toys For A 1-Year-Old: Entertainment For Road Trips And Long Flights ”

My 1 year old son loves Melissa & Doug Take-Along Shape Sorter. I gave it to him to keep him busy on his first plane ride. The shapes are of good quality and a good variety. I was worried that it would be too difficult for him in such many shapes, but he caught up in no time. It’s easy to move, overall, he loves it! I would definitely recommend it to others. It is made of excellent quality materials and will keep your child entertained.

So glad you enjoyed it, it’s definitely a winner travel toy.

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45 Road Trip Activities for Toddlers That Will Keep Them Entertained For Hours

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Road trips are a great way to bond as a family during travel but little ones can get antsy sitting for so long.

If you're planning a road trip with your toddler, it's important to be prepared with activities to keep them occupied.

After all, a bored toddler in the backseat is a recipe for disaster! 

To help you out, we've put together a list of road trip activities for toddlers that are both fun and educational.

With these 45 road trip activities for 1-year-olds and 2-year-olds, your little ones will stay busy (and happy) throughout the entire journey.

No time to read? See the shoppable list of our suggested travel toys on Amazon!

Road Trip Activities for 1-year-old Toddlers

My 1-year old absolutely loves pop-its . They are quiet, easy to find, and light to pack – the perfect travel toy!

2 Audiobooks

Playing an engaging audiobook will help distract your toddler. Be sure to choose books with a very animated narrator to catch their attention.

3 Little People

Little People are a hit with toddlers. They love to look at them, hold them and explore them. Consider grabbing a set and offering them to your toddler on the road trip.

4 Bristle Blocks

A few bristle blocks can go a long way on a road trip. Toddlers will love building with them, and they can even teach some basic shapes and colors.

5 Fabric Books

While 1-year-olds aren't the best book handlers, they can still explore soft fabric books . Choosing one with different textures and interactions is a great way to keep them busy.

6 Finger Puppets

A finger puppet set will keep your toddler's hands busy. They'll love putting the puppets on and moving them around.

7 Vtech Remote

There's just something about the remote that is highly fascinating to 1-year-old toddlers. We love the Vtech toddler remote which is complete with functioning buttons and sounds – the perfect road trip activity for toddlers.

8 Chewbeads

If your toddler is in the chewing stage, silicone chew beads should be on your road trip list! These links are not only safe for chewing, but your toddler can bend, fold, and connect them together.

9 Magnatiles 

If you're looking for a more educational road trip activity, consider packing a few Magnatiles . These tiles are great for little ones to stack and build with in the car and at home!

10 Animal Figurines

From dinosaurs to farm animals , your toddler will enjoy handling animal figures on a road trip. Look for lifelike figures with distinct features to grab their attention.

11 Cheerio Bracelet

Snacks are a hit for 1-year-olds on a road trip, but try offering something a little more creative than a snack cup. Look for some flavored cheerios and string them on yarn for a ring of snacks they can see and enjoy eating! Bonus – there's less chance of them throwing them on the floor!

12 Textured Bean Bags

Toddlers love exploring sensory items and these bean bags are one of the best road trip activities for toddlers.  The toys are brightly colored and have interesting textures that will keep toddlers engaged. Come up with some sorting games or ask your toddler to hand you a certain bean bag.

13 Buckle Toy 

This soft pillow buckle toy has plenty of activities to keep your toddler busy. They can zip, lift flaps, and learn to buckle.

14 Hot Wheels Cars

Hot Wheels are a fun toy for you toddlers to bring on a road trip. These are something small they can hold, and you can point to out similar cars on the road.

15 Blocks & Balls

Infantino Balls, Blocks and Buddies set is a something 1-year-olds will love for a car activity. They can touch different surfaces and even chew on them them. Divide them up by type and offer them at separate times for more variety.

16 Baby Dolls

A soft baby doll will not only be a cuddle toy but a great road trip activity for toddlers. They can dress the baby and give her a bottle.

17 Sing-Alongs

One of the best road trip activities for toddlers is music . Sing-alongs are always a hit, and there are plenty of classic kid songs to enjoy. Choose a kid's music channel on your favorite streaming service.

18 Peek-a-Boo

This simple game is one that never gets old. You can play it with a stuffed animal, blanket, or your own hands. Peek-a-boo is sure to get some giggles from your 1-year-old during your trip.

19 Snack Breaks

Snacks are essential for a fun road trip, but they're especially important when you've got little ones in tow. Hunger and thirst can lead to crankiness in even the happiest of toddlers, so make sure to pack plenty of snacks and drinks for the journey. And if you're looking for healthy snack ideas, see our list of road trip food for kids.  

20 Playground Stops

It's important to take breaks often when you're on a road trip with toddlers—both for their sake and for yours! Consider making pit stops at playgrounds along the way – they'll love getting to run around and explore!

Road Trip Activities for 2-year old Toddlers

1 the quiet game.

This is among many parent's favorite road trip activities for toddlers! If your toddler is any good at this game, you'll be enjoying plenty of relaxation on your trip! See who can be quiet the longest and that person wins a special surprise!

2 Paint with Water

Paint with water sets are the perfect toddler road trip activity. Water Wow sets from Melissa & Doug include a fillable pen that holds the water and comes out the brush. Virtually mess-free and very amusing for your little one.

3 Sticker Books

We love sticker books to keep toddlers entertained on a family road trip. They love peeling the stickers which is a great fine motor skill.

4 LCD Drawing Tablet

If your 2-year-old loves to color, LCD drawing tablets are a must. They can color whatever they want and erase it when they want a new canvas. Not only is it mess-free, the tablets are an inexpensive travel toy!

5 This or That

One of our favorite road trip games is one we made up. I played this with my oldest when she needed to be distracted in the car. Say two things and ask which is their favorite. You can use animals, food, or toys for example. It's a great activity to avoid meltdowns when things are going south.

6 Counting Things They See

Keep your toddler learning by counting the things you see. Look out the window and see 3 birds – 1, 2, 3! This is a great activity to help keep them occupied while on a road trip.

7 Squigz Suction Toys

These suction toys are a great road trip activity for toddlers because they will keep them entertained with building and creating new designs. Additionally, the suction cups on the toys will stick to windows and other surfaces, providing an extra level of fun.

8 Magnetic Puzzles

Magnetic puzzles can keep toddlers entertained for hours while on a road trip. The puzzles are easy to carry and keep toddlers busy as they try to move the pieces with the magnetic pen!

9 What Do You See Out the Window

Practice object recognition, colors, and shapes with your 2-year-old by asking them what they see out the window. If they see a tree, ask what color is the tree? Continue the conversation with questions for them to answer.

10 Connectable Fidget Tubes

Fidget tubes can be connected together to create a chain, and your toddler can twist and turn them to their heart's desire. This will keep them occupied and happy, which is essential on long road trips.

11 Lacing Cards 

The repetitive motion of lacing and un-lacing helps to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. We love these small lacing cards as they are portable and offer just enough practice for a 2-year-old.

12 Lego Duplo Blocks

Let their creativity run wild with Lego Duplo Blocks. They can build towers, cars, and other structures with the blocks that come in various size kits.

13 Memory Game Cards

While 2-year-olds may be a little young to play Memory, they will certainly enjoy looking at the picture cards. Memory cards are durable and the perfect small, learning toy to bring along on a road trip.

14 Vtech Laptop

The Vtech laptop is a fun learning game for toddlers. It's not quite screen time, but it is interactive with songs and games that will keep them engaged.

15 Glow Sticks

Road trip activities for toddlers don't have to be limited to just watching movies or looking out the window. A great way to keep them entertained is by bringing out some glow sticks . If you're traveling in the dark these are an ideal way to have some fun when you're almost to your destination.

16 Reusable Sticker Scenes

Reusable stickers are a great car activity because they can easily be moved and manipulated by your toddler. They will enjoy creating stories and using their imagination. Just ask them what they made!

This classic road trip game is perfect for toddlers because it's easy to adapt to their limited attention span. Keep it simple by spying something that's a certain color or shape.  Keep the “spied” objects inside the car to give time for your toddler to find them!

18 Masking Tape

Toddlers love playing with random objects, and masking tape can be used to your advantage. They will enjoy peeling it, balling it up, and making designs on the windows. This is a great way to keep them entertained in exchange for a little cleanup.

19 Mess-Free Coloring

Coloring is a great way to keep toddlers occupied, plus it's a quiet activity that won't disturb other passengers in the car.  Crayola Color Wonder is an amazing gift to parents. The markers only draw on the special paper and leave no other mess. They come in cute sets and are sure to keep your toddler busy.

20 Road Trip Scavenger Hunt

Make a scavenger hunt list of things they can look for outside the car window. Include things like different colors, shapes, and animals.

21 Seek and Find Books

Seek and Find books are excellent road trip activities for toddlers because they can keep them busy and engaged. Bring along a few beginner seek and find books to look at together when they need a break from looking out the window.

Limiting screen time is one thing, but you may need a little more of it on a road trip with toddlers. Download some age-appropriate apps on your phone or tablet for them to play during the drive.

23 Story Time

Reading stories is always a hit with toddlers. Bring along some of their favorite books or download some digital ones before you hit the road.

24 Pack Some Surprises

Save some of your toddler's favorite snacks or toys as “surprises” for later in the trip. This will help break up the monotony and give them something to look forward to. These are also great to take out when things aren't going well (i.e. traffic.) 

A portable DVD player will give your toddler the comfort of their favorite movie. Use movies to wind down before rest time on your road trip.

Road Trip Activities for Toddlers

A road trip with toddlers doesn't have to be stressful—as long as you know how to survive a road trip with kids !

1-year-olds and 2-year-olds have unique needs when it comes to car activities.

They have a shorter attention span and need a larger variety of things to keep them occupied.

However, with these 45 road trip activities for toddlers, you can rest assured that your little ones will stay entertained the whole way!

And who knows, you might even have some fun yourself in the process!

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25 Easy Road Trip Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers

Packed for Life contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my Disclosure policy for more info.

Road tripping with kids? The thought of entertaining  toddlers and preschoolers on long car rides can have even the most laid back of parents reconsidering their trip. Which is why I’ve gathered our tried and true easy and fun road trip activities for toddlers and preschoolers. 

After years of taking road trips for summer holidays, to visit family and to move across the country I have some pretty cool tips, tricks and ideas to make your next road trip more fun, and less stressful for everyone.

Practice and preparation are key. The more you do it, the more your can’t sit still in one place for even 2 minutes toddler or preschooler will know what to expect, and the easier it will become. In our experience, the best kids car activities are easy, mess free and something they can do on their own.

Here are what we think are the best road trip activities for 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and preschoolers 3-5 years old that you can buy, make or do yourself. Plus some road trip tips to make your family’s journey smoother.

  FUN TODDLER ROAD TRIP ACTIVITIES

Don’t forget to grab our Road trip planner so you can stop stressing about trip planning & logistics, and keep everything organized and in one place. Other tips:

• Use a surface to play / color on : You can use a small shallow box, a small metal baking tray or a car seat activity tray like this one . But don’t stress if you don’t have one. We’ve done many family road trips without an activity tray.
• Plan ahead: The trick I’ve found is to plan ahead and have a variety of activities you (and they) can pick and choose from.
• Small, easy age appropriate activities: Toddlers and preschoolers don’t always have long attention spans, so we’ve found that lots of smaller activities can really save the day.
• You know your kids best. Choose one’s you think they’d like.

If you have babies in the family too, these are some of the best travel toys for babies to keep them happy & entertained.

1. Mini Coloring Kits 

Coloring activities were always a favorite for our kids. To manage the likelihood of said toddlers throwing crayons around, keep only a few in a small container they can easily open. 

If you are short on time (who isn’t?), then mini coloring kits like these  were always a hit when our youngest was little. 

Or you can make your own.

• Grab a small empty first aid kit from the Dollar Store or local box store like Target or Walmart.
• Hot glue gun a square post-it pad on the inside (top).
• Put in a couple of crayons, or pencil crayons. Whatever fits.  Learn how here .

2. Mess Free Coloring – Melissa and Doug Wow Books

We’ve loved these WOW books for years. Super handy to keep the kids entertained on long or short car rides, at restaurants, or even much needed quiet time at home.

No mess! Your littles will just paint with the water brush and color appears. 

Melissa and Doug have lots of great products for toddlers and preschoolers. 

3. Best Road Trip Kids Activities: Kids Activity Books

I created these fun kids activity books to help keep your kids (& my own) from saying “are we there yet?!?!?” every 30 seconds.

Sometimes you just have those long stretches of road you need to get through. Plus they are educational, and screen free.

What are their interests? Try one of these kids car activities:

• Dinosaur coloring book with fun dino-facts
• Magical Unicorn Activity Book
• Baby Animal Mazes and Coloring
• Road Trip Activity Pack (perfect for multi-age families)

4. Scavenger Hunt

Your kidlets will be spending lots of time looking out the window. Why not get them to do a scavenger hunt. My youngest always loves doing this, even now that she’s much older.

Or if they are a little older, this  Road Trip Bingo game would be a fun car activity. 

PRO TIP : What always worked well for us is to have a travel backpack for each kid. Inside they can keep all their toys, books, road trip activities & some snacks all in one place. Check out our list of the best travel backpacks for kids and toddlers.

5. Magnetic Puzzles 

Anything magnetic will help reduce tears from having their pieces fall on the floor every 5 seconds where you can’t reach. Just make sure there are no small magnets or pieces for them to swallow. 

Magnetic puzzles or Magnetic dress up kits will keep them busy and entertained for a good long while.  

6. Toddler Busy Books

If you have the time, there are a lot of super cute, and fun DIY busy books you can make out there.

But if you aren’t so crafty, or are short on time, this Montessori busy board is ready for your toddlers to have fun in the car. While they also learn key motor skills to help them dress themselves.

7. Seek and Find Books or Hidden Picture Books

We always used to hit up the library before heading out on a road trip.

Seek and Find Books and My First Hidden Picture books are always a crowd pleaser. One that keeps our kids busy for up to an hour or more some days.

8. Wiki Stixs

Sticky, bendy sticks you can make trains, cars, flowers, bracelets anything your kids can imagine out of. 

Check out this cool Wikki Stixs article for more fun ideas .

9. Magnetic Drawing Board

A no mess road trip activity for toddlers & kids.

The Magnetic Drawing Board can be a great sensory toy, and a relaxing screen free activity for the car. Put on some road trip music, and the kids will have focused fun for a long time.

10. Boogie Board – Reusable Writing Pad

Best gift ever. A Boogie board is an LCD writing tablet that comes with a special pen (stylus) you can draw on and erase over and over again.

You may want to consider grabbing an extra stylus or two, given these tend to get lost or thrown on the floor of the car. Yes, I am speaking form experience.

11. Reusable Sticker Books

Kids love stickers. A reusable sticker book is even better as they can move their stickers around more than once. Plus you don’t have to worry about peeling stickers off car windows, your seats or somebodies hair. Guess how I know?!?!

Melissa and Doug make great ones. Including these super cute make-a-face sticker books .

12. Screen Time – Watch Movies & Play Games

When little Miss S was younger we tried to avoid much screen time if we could. However sometimes you need a little something to distract them when they get antsy. The IPad or a tablet does make an easy kids car activity. 

You can load up some episodes of their favorite tv show, or a toddler / preschooler friendly movie or two. It’s good to have as a back up,  just in case. Give yourself some grace, and a break. Traveling in confined space for 13 hours with young kids is exhausting. 

Grab a subscription to the Family Amazon Prime or Disney Plus for the month. With Prime you get music and movie/ tv streaming.

Some toddler & preschooler friendly apps we loved, or that come highly recommended:

• LEGO Duplo Trains
• Toca Monster or Toca Nature
• Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Daniel Tiger
• Busy Shapes
• Khan Academy Kids
• Epic – Reading App

13. Listen to Podcasts 

Podcasts are a great way to keep young children focused and happy. Now that my daughter is a little older, she still likes listening to them while she draws, cleans her room or for those long travel days by lane or car. Some of our favourites include:

• Wow in the World
• Story Pirates
• What If World

14. Listen to Audiobooks

I almost said books on tape….Showing my age there. Listening to audiobooks is another great way to skip the screens on long car rides and family road trips. And avoid the hoarse raspy voice from having to read Peppa Goes to Ballet Class for the 7 gazillionth time. Ask me how I know!

Grab an Try Audible Plus if you want to listen to adult books too. Or the Epic reading app just for the kids. 

You may also like the Best Walkie Talkies for Road Trips

15. Create a Road Trip Playlist

Think epic 80’s tape mix, but for the 2020’s and the younger crowd. My partner is the DJ in our family. He has an eclectic taste in music; everything from German metal bands to classical music, country, ska and pop.

You don’t have to be stuck to just kids music from Sesame Street (unless you want to be.)

Play Old School Car Games

Sometimes the simplest things are the easiest, and cost the least. Pull out some of those old school games you used to play on road trips when you were a kid.

16. License Plate Game

See if you can spot license plates from all the States (if in the US), or provinces / Territories (if in Canada. Whoever spots it first gets the point. The one with the most points wins at the end. Or skip the points. 

17. Story Time 

Invent a story as a family. Each person takes a turn telling part of the story with a sentence or two. Create your own fairytale…start with once upon a time. You can make a time limit for the story, say 10 minutes, or after each family member has had a chance to say 3-5 sentences. 

If ever there was a game that evokes summer vacations and riding  in the back seat of my childhood car, squished between my brothers to keep them from fighting, it’s I Spy.

One person chooses an object, and the rest of the players have to guess what it is. 

19. Road Trip Questions & Would You Rather

Road trips are a great time to ask your kids about the world and their thoughts. You never know how they  will respond, but there is guaranteed smiles and laughter.

Especially if you start a round of would you rather…… Would you rather have to drink everything from your nose or eat everything with your belly button…. 

Check out our list of road trip questions to ask. 

DIY Road Trip Activities for Kids

When I had more time ( and energy), I made all sorts of DIY travel activities for my youngest when she was a toddler and preschooler. Pinterest has lots of great low-cost DIY ideas , if you are looking for screen free, fun car activities. 

I used to put these in their own individual soft pencil case to keep them organized. If you grab the ones with holes, you can make a travel binder to keep your kids road trip activities all in one spot. 

20. Popsicle Sticks with Velcro

Grab a pack of popsicle sticks (multi colored for more visual interest), and stick-on those velcro circles from a craft store or the dollar store. Stick the velcro circles on each end of the popsicle sticks. Your toddler can then make different shapes with them. Little Miss S loved this one the best out of all the DIY road trip activities I made. 

21. Make A Word Popsicle Sticks

Continuing along the popsicle theme, create sight word popsicle sticks. You will need:

• Metal tin or lunch box or small cookie sheet in a pinch
• Popsicle sticks 
• Roll of magnetic tape
• Sheet of pictures with simple words underneath they can make (optional). 

Attach pieces of magnetic tape to the popsicle. Write letters with a sharpie on each popsicle stick. Have your kids try to make words out of the letters.

Or alternately, you can  use a First Words magnetic poetry kit , or magnetic letters. Just make sure they’re old enough not to swallow anything.

22. Lego Mini Boxes

Make use of all that lego that is underfoot and driving you crazy. You can grab most of the crafting items cheaply at the dollar store. What you’ll need for mini lego boxes:

• Small square plastic lunch container with lid
• Small square thin lego board
• Handful of lego pieces

Glue the base lego board to the lid, put a handful of lego pieces in the plastic container once dry, and there you go. Cheap and easy in car entertainment for kids. 

Or if for some reason you don’t have lego (tell me your secret!) grab this travel lego building case 

23. Rolling, Rolling, Rolling Spools of Ribbon

Unrolling and then rolling back up spools of ribbon can be a fun toddler car activity that can be used again and again. You may just have to be the one that rolls it back up though.

24. Pom Pom Skills Activities

Get those fine motor skills working. Pom Pom tweezer activities can be fun. What you will need:

• Big and small pom poms
• 3-4 small plastic cups ( take out sauce sizes) 
• Kid friendly tweezers

Get your kids to sort by color, or number of pom poms into the empty plastic cups. 

25. Make Cereal Bracelets or Necklaces

Give your kids some cheerios or fruit loops and a pipe cleaner and have them make cheerio bracelets. Bonus, they can have a snack when they get hungry.

But we forewarned – it can be messy.

26. Play with Glow Sticks

If you are driving at night, kids will get a kick out of playing with glow sticks. 

27. Joke Books

Bring out the jokes! Whether you are naturally funny….come on, parent jokes are the best, or need a little help, everyone will be smiling. 

Here’s a great option for kids 3 to 6.  

PREPARING FOR YOUR FAMILY ROAD TRIP

Quick Tips for successful road trips with kids aged 2 to 5

Taking long car rides with kids can be challenging and exhausting. Here are a few of my family’s tips that I use to make our road trips easier:

• Age appropriate road trip entertainment – Make sure your road trip activities are age appropriate and suit your child. 
• Bring a variety of kids road trip activities you can switch out regularly
• Begin your day with some quick & easy road trip breakfast ideas
• Start your day early  – There’s usually a sweet spot where kids are still happy in the mornings. Start earlier, and they may even nap for a bit in the car. 
• Make frequent stops to let the kids run around and use the washroom.
• Prioritize some fun kid friendly stops along the way your children will enjoy. A trip to the zoo, a cool playground,  a short hike or a stop for ice cream.
• Drive less each day if you can.
• Load up on kid friendly road trip meals & snacks – hangry kids are no fun!
• Prepare for the unexpected. Bring a first aid kit, a clean up kit (wet wipes, hand sanitizer, extra clothes, small garbage bucket), and a container in case a kid gets sick.
• Bring a couple of large towels – Clean up unexpected diaper explosions, or use as picnic blankets, rolled up as a pillow and even shade for a back window. 
• Check out our camping with kids hacks – to make camping easier and more enjoyable for everyone.

Conclusion: Kids Car Activities 

You really can have fun family road trips with young kids. We’ve made so many fun memories on road trips with our littles. They often bring up special or funny moments we’ve had long after the road trip is finished.

But if you’re planning a long drive with a toddler or preschooler, make sure you plan some great road trip activities to keep them entertained. You’ll be glad you did.

Preparing for your Road Trip

• Road trip packing list essentials for the family
• Yummy Road trip snacks. Kid (and adult) approved!
• Summer travel tips to stay on budget & maximize family fun
• How to save money on road trips (and not miss out)

Donna Garrison is the founder of Packed for Life, an ever curious traveler with a passion for making memories with her family. With a unique perspective on travelling on a budget gathered over 30 years, 20 countries and 5 continents she gives families the tools & resources they need to experience the joys of travelling more for less through practical solutions. She helps over 20,000 families a month plan & take the family travel, camping and road trip adventures of their dreams in Canada, the USA and around the world. Contact her at: Donna [at] packedforlife.com

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30+ Awesome Road Trip Activities & Hacks for Kids

• Kindergartner
• Preschooler

INSIDE: 30+ Road Trip Activities & Hacks for Kids! Are you heading out on the road with the kids this summer? Check out this list of games, activities, toys, tips and hacks from some of the top kids activity bloggers around! This list of ideas will help make your road trip this summer a bit more bearable!

Road Tripping with Kids

Oh yes! the joys of a long journey on the road with a toddler, preschooler or a kid. We all look forward to it but the reality is often far from what we were hoping or even expecting!

Don’t worry you aren’t alone . And although I can’t promise you a perfectly entertained toddler for your entire journey I can promise you that this list will have you well prepared for your trip! From printable; activities; busy bags and binders; travel organization tips; travel toys to travel hacks and more. This list of ideas will definitely inspire you to organize the best road trip ever for your family!

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are a fun and easy way to keep your child engaged while at the same time capitalizing on the benefits of sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here .

I am so excited to announce that I wrote a book! Super STEAM Activity Book: Launch Learning with Fun Mazes, Dot-to-Dots, Search-the-Page Puzzles, and More!  ! It comes out June 8th. Click here to order it now !

30+ Road Trip Activities for Kids

• Sensory Kits – Happy Toddler Playtime

• Super STEAM Activity Book – Happy Toddler Playtime

• Road Trip Toys – Happy Toddler Playtime

• Would You Rather Questions for Kids – Happy Toddler Playtime

• Toddler Travel Toys – Happy Toddler Playtime
• Portable Lego Kit – The Gingerbread House
• Portable Car Play Kit – Mama Papa Bubba
• Dry Erase Road Trip Activity Book – Glue Sticks and Gum Drops
• EASY Portable Activity Kit for Road Trips – Mama Papa Bubba
• Road Trip Drawing Prompts – Free Printables – Pickle Bums
• Easy DIY Travel Felt Board Tutorial – Mama Smiles
• Take Along Activity Kit – Mama Papa Bubba
• Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Printables – Party Through the USA
• Cereal Box to Foldable Doll’s House DIY (perfect take along house) – Red Ted Art
• String Cheese Road Trip Games with FREE Printables – Arts and Crackers
• DIY Mini Road Trip License Plate Game (with free printable) – Comic Con Family
• Awesome Alphabet Road Trip I Spy Printable – Sunny Day Family
• Pipe Cleaner in a Bottle for Toddlers – The Piri Piri Lexicon
• Yellow Car Game Busy Bag – Adventures and Play
• Lego Suitcase Hack – Stir the Wonder
• Car Trip Game: Are We There Yet – Growing Book by Book
• Road Trip Activities: Travel Bags & Buckets – KCEventures
• Car Yoga for Kids – Sugar Spice and Glitter
• Create a Travel Art Kit to Keep Kids Busy on the Road – Mama Smiles
• Road Trip Kits — Easy Altoids Tin Craft – The Soccer Mom Blog
• Road Trip Bingo for Kids – Only Passionate Curiosity
• DIY Road Trip Activity Kit for Kids – Comic Con Family
• Our favorite road trip games for young kids {12 free and fun ideas} – Playful Notes
• DIY I Spy Bag – Handmade in the Heartland
• How to beat backseat boredom: 5 easy travel games for Roadschooling – Board Games for Learning
• Snack Ideas for Road Trips with Kids – 3 Boys and a Dog

The Best Travel Hacks For Traveling with Toddlers, Preschoolers + Kids

• The Best Toddler Road Trip Ideas – Toddler Approved
• Road Trip with Kids – Days With Grey
• 15 Brilliant DIY Car Organization Ideas That Prevent Clutter And Mess – Crafts on Fire
• Tips for Successfully Traveling with a Preschooler – Thrifty Little Mom

Age Suitability

These activities vary in skill and ability. Depending on the activity they are good for kids 3 years and up. My kids are 3, 3, and 6 year old.

The Best Book of Sensory Bins

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids . Or grab your copy at Amazon .

WILL YOU TRY ANY OF THESE ROAD TRIP ACTIVITIES WITH YOUR KIDS? PIN IT FOR LATER!

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60+ Fun Road Trip Activities for Kids: How to Keep Kids Entertained on a Long Car Trip

Road trips are a time-honored part of the American family summer- from a few days to weeks on the road, they can make memories to last a lifetime. Wondering how to keep kids entertained on a long car ride or even a cross-country road trip? Here are more than 60 road trip activities for kids to keep them occupied and make your family road trip fun!

We’ve spent many hours road-tripping with our two girls- from long cross-country drives to two-week loops through several National Parks. We’ve learned which road trip activities keep the kids engaged for a long stretch of time, and which things make a big mess, and are not worth the clean up.

These road trip activities are traditional activities (no game consoles) geared for kids ages 3 and up, but many of these are fun for adults too!

We’ve divided these up by type of activity- group games, solo games on paper, etc. You can mix these up and modify them to fit the age of your kids. At the bottom of the post, you’ll find our top tips for keeping kids entertained.

This article may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. All our recommendations are independent and are in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.

At the bottom of this post Download your free copy of the License Plate Game! Be sure to print out one copy for each kid before you hit the road!

Don’t miss our post on road trip essentials, we cover everything from safety checks to cleaning supplies.

Lodging: Booking.com Flight Deals: Skyscanner Rental Cars: Discover Cars Airport Transfers: Welcome Pickups

Digital SIM Cards: Airalo eSIM Travel Insurance: SafetyWing

Table of Contents

60+ Best Road Trip Activities for Kids

There are endless activities for kids on a long family road trip, including tablets and other electronics. There are lots of apps that are fun and educational, and we all need to take a movie break once in a while!

However, we do try to limit electronic time in the car (and our iPads only work with WiFi), so here are our suggestions for classic, unplugged activities for the whole family to enjoy on a long road trip.

Classic Road Trip Games

These classic road trip games involve seeing things outside the car as you are driving. There is no limit to how many people can play, you can play as a team or assign prizes to winners.

1. The Alphabet Game

There are two ways to play this, the first involves finding anything outside the car that starts with each letter of the alphabet, in order. You can work together as a team, or see who can complete the alphabet first.

For example, you could see an Airplane, a Bus, and then a Cat on a road sign… be prepared for arguments over what counts, and feel free to make your own family rules.

The second version of this game involves finding each letter printed on something that you pass, in order. It could be a street sign, billboard, store, or the side of a bus. The word must START with the letter. Feel free to make family exceptions for hard letters like X!

2. The License Plate Game

Keep track of how many license plates you can spot from different states! Work together or keep your own tally depending on the ages involved. See if you can spot them all!

Make your own family rules, like whether cars parked in rest stops count, or if they have to be moving.

(psst… there’s a free printable at the bottom of this post to play the License Plate Game!)

3. Road Trip Bingo

This is a game you’ll need to print out before you leave. Download a Road Trip Bingo card and have each kid circle things as they find them along the way! This can also be formatted as a Road Trip Scavenger Hunt and modified to different age groups if needed.

4. The Color Car Game

Each player chooses a color of car, and you agree on how many you must see to “win”. So for example, the number is 10, and child one picks “Red” and child two picks “Blue”, you then watch the road, shouting out the numbers for your color car, whoever sees 10 of their color first wins!

Need to rent a car for your road trip? Check out Discover Cars – their pricing is always clear upfront, no surprises!

5. Can You Spot…

This one takes a little creativity from the adult in the front seat. Look at what is coming up and say “Can you Spot…” The Capitol Building? The Railroad Tracks? The Mississippi River?

If you prefer, you can make it a competition to see who can spot things first. You can also come up with more obscure things like “A Car or Truck with Two Colors” and see how long they spend looking!

6. The Counting Game

Pick something to count for one minute, then everyone guesses how many you’ll see. Count those items, and see who was closest!

Favorite things to count include telephone poles, dogs in cars, and construction trucks. Feel free to modify to a longer time period or add your own rules!

7. Counting Cows

Counting Cows is a specific version of the counting game- you count cows continually until you pass a cemetery, then you “bury the cows” and start over!

This is a great game for when you are in more rural areas and there aren’t a lot of other vehicles or road signs to keep you occupied.

This one can be tricky while you are moving, but it is a current favorite in our family! The “I Spy with My Little Eye” must be something either inside the car, or that everyone can see outside the car for long enough to be fair. So, for example, “Something Blue” being “the sky” is fair, but “Something Red” which is a bus speeding by, is not.

9. Padiddle!

This classic car game used to involve hitting your sibling on the arm and yelling “PUNCH BUGGY”. These days, it means whoever spots a car with only one headlight first yells “PADIDDLE” and wins!

Word Games to Play Together in the Car

These games don’t involve anything around you or outside the car and can easily be modified to be challenging for older kids or to include the youngest travelers. These word games are classic boredom busters for long car rides.

10. Who Am I?

In the traditional version of this game, each person is trying to figure out who they are by asking yes or no questions. This can be played as a “headband” game, where they wear the answer so everyone else can see it.

In the car, this can get a bit complicated, so it’s best if each person picks a person and character, and the rest of the car guesses who they are. They can be anyone from cartoon characters to someone you all know.

11. 20 Questions

In 20 Questions, one person thinks of anything they like- a person, place, or object, and the rest of the car has only 20 questions to figure out what it is with yes or no questions.

12. Would You Rather

Would you Rather is a fun game of “this or that”- and everyone in the family can play! Print out a list of questions before you leave, or take turns making up your own!

Examples include: Would You Rather be a Dragon or a Unicorn? Would You Rather Eat Bugs or Worms?

Check out our post on bucket list family travel for a free Download of Would You Rather- World Edition!

13. The Questions Game

This is a game of questions to get to know each other better, where the answers are more nuanced and introspective. Table Topics make decks of cards with great questions or make up your own before you leave. Examples include: If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be and why? If you had a million dollars what is the first thing you would buy?

Buy Now: Table Topics Family Conversation Cards

For more emotionally introspective questions, check out the Best Self Little Talk Conversation Cards . These are specifically designed to get families communicating. Questions may include thinking of something you’re proud of accomplishing, or things you wish mom or dad would do more of.

Buy Now: Little Talk Conversation Cards

14. The Alphabet Game

This version of the alphabet game involves starting with “I’m going on a trip and I’m bringing…” the first person adds something that starts with A, the second person repeats item A, and adds B, and so on through the alphabet. You can make up other versions of this where you can only bring songs, animals, or foods.

15. G-H-O-S-T

GHOST is a game for older kids and adults since it involves spelling. The goal is to avoid finishing the spelling of a word. The first person says a letter, the second person adds a letter, and so on until a word is spelled.

You have to be able to prove that your letter actually makes a word. So if the first letter is “Z”, the second letter can’t be “K” unless that person can prove there is an existing word that starts with “ZK”.

Each time a word is spelled, that person gets a letter in the word GHOST. When you get all five letters, you lose!

Team Road Trip Games on Paper

These road trip games take more than one person and need to be played on paper, or on a dry-erase board.

16. Tic-Tac-Toe

Tic-Tac-Toe is a classic game my kids can plan for an hour. It teaches basic strategy (defense!!) and takes only a pencil and paper!

17. Mad Libs

We have so much fun doing mad libs together on family road trips. This is a classic game where you fill in the blanks with silly nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. then read the complete story back. The more ridiculous the better!

There are lots of free versions online, or you can pick up this book of road trip-themed mad libs . Plus they help the kids learn the parts of speech!

Buy Now: Road Trip Mad Libs

18. Snowman

This is the modern version of the game “hangman” that many of us played as kids. One person makes up a word or phrase and draws lines to represent the missing letters.

As players make guesses, correct letters are filled in. For each incorrect guess, a part of the snowman is drawn- three round balls, two arms, a top hat, two eyes, and finally, a frown means the guessers have lost!

19. Connect the Dots to Make Squares

This game starts with a page full of dots. The players take turns drawing a single line connecting two dots. Each time a player closes a box with their line, they put their initials in the box and it counts as one point. The player with the most points wins!

Road Trip Card Games

Card games can be a great way to pass the time on a long road trip, but you’ll need to stick to games that don’t need a lot of cards laid out flat. It can be frustrating when a pile of cards goes sliding to the floor!

Uno is a great road trip car game as it can easily be played with two people and only involves a draw and a discard pile. Use a box or a tin to keep the cards from sliding around.

21. Spot It

Spot it is lots of fun for all ages. You flip over two cards, and the first to “spot” which two items appear on both cards takes them and adds them to their pile. The player with the most card at the end wins. This game is great because even pre-readers can play along!

Buy Now: Spot it Card Game

Played with a traditional deck of cards, War is a simple game of flipping two cards, with the higher card winning the pile. The player with the most cards at the end wins! More luck than strategy, kids can play this endlessly!

A family-friendly version of Bull*hit! With a traditional deck of cards, take turns placing cards face down, calling out what you are placing “Two fours”, the next person must put down fives, and so on.

If you think someone is cheating, call “Cheat!”. If you are correct, the cheater takes the whole middle pile, if you are wrong, you take the pile! The first one to get rid of all their cards wins.

Solo Games on Paper for Road Trips

These are road trip activities and games that can be done quietly by one person, on paper. Kids of the same age can help each other, but two people are not necessary. A lot of these activities can be found in booklets at the dollar store, either combined or separately.

24. Crossword Puzzles

Crossword puzzles come in a variety of skill levels and are a great way to pass the time! Kids can read out a clue and ask for help when needed. Great for building vocabulary.

25. Word Searches

Word searches are a great way to practice letters and spelling skills. These are a great road trip activity for kids as they also come in a variety of skill levels to keep everyone entertained.

Mazes are another fun road trip activity for kids! I’ve taught our kids to start from the beginning and the end and try to meet in the middle. That’s fair, right?

27. Find the Hidden Picture

These are drawings with little pictures hidden throughout the illustration. You find each hidden picture and then can color in the whole illustration.

We often get these in our Highlights magazine. both girls love searching for all the hidden items and coloring them in!

28. Connect the Dots

Connect the dots books can be simple or quite complex- draw a line that follows the numbers to create an illustration, then color it in!

Quiet Road Trip Activities on Paper

These quiet road trip activities involve drawing, coloring, or writing on paper. These will require supplies like pencils, colored pencils, crayons, and washable markers. Make sure not to leave crayons in a hot car or you will have a melty mess.

29. Coloring Books

Coloring books range from very simple pictures to complex adult versions that are great stress relievers! There are tons of options, from unicorns to favorite cartoon characters.

This Girl Power coloring book looks amazing, or you can get this one all about bugs with cool facts alongside the illustrations.

30. Sticker Books

Sticker books come in all sizes and shapes. There are reusable vinyl stickers that you can use to make endless scenes (which also stick to car windows), jumbo stickers books that provide a place for all the stickers to go, and everything in between. These Paint by Sticker books are really fun!

Buy Now: Paint by Sticker Activity Book

31. Rainbow Scratch Paper

Rainbow scratch paper has a bright rainbow or glittery base, then a layer of black on top that you scratch off with a stylus to reveal the color beneath. Kids love the surprise color, and the mess is minimal.

You can buy blank sheets for the kids to draw their own designs, a hidden pictures version where they reveal a picture beneath, or a guided activity journal scratchpad.

*Update, I do NOT recommend this activity for the car. We had two scratch booklets that the kids loved, but that left our black leather car seats coated in pink dust. The stuff they scratched off got caught under the car seats and is not easy to clean.

Maps are a great road trip activity for kids! Print out maps of your route or the states you will be passing through and let them follow along and color!

This is a great way to teach map reading skills, learn about cardinal directions, as well as state capitals and facts about each state. There are great free printable maps of the US here.

33. Water Wow or Imagine Ink Books

Water Wow books by Melissa and Doug use a water-filled paintbrush to color in reusable thick pages. These are great for ages 3-6, and provide a lot of entertainment for no mess.

Our kids got a Martha’s Vineyard-themed book and loved it. You will have to be prepared to refill the brush, and we found that the brush didn’t stay with the book very well, so bring a rubber band or plan another way to store it.

Buy Now: Water Wow Activity Book

Imagine Ink books use a special marker that only marks on its book, revealing the image or colors beneath. These are not reusable, but they are no mess, and there are enough pages in the book to keep kids occupied for a long time.

34. School Workbooks

Our girls will do their schooling mostly online, but they will also have paper workbooks to work on their handwriting and creative writing skills. Road trips are a great time to practice some of these skills.

For E, heading into PreK-4, we got this book to practice letters and numbers. For S, going into 2nd grade, we got this fun book of creative writing and drawing prompts to encourage her writing.

35. Blank Journals

Both girls also have journals to record what they do each day and how they are feeling about it. We will try to create some time each day specifically for journaling.

E will need our help to write things down, but she can also draw pictures. Some kids may also like to glue in ticket stubs or things they’ve saved from the day. I think journaling is a really healthy habit to build as the girls get older. There are many options out there, we chose this one and this one .

36. Activity Books 

There are so many fun activity books out there, from Road Trip Activity Books to books focused on unicorns (S would love this one ) or even space !

Most of these involve some reading and writing, they are generally geared toward ages 4-9.

Buy Now: Road Trip Activity Book

37. Junior Ranger Packets

If you are visiting National Parks, be sure to pick up Junior Ranger packets for the kids to work on! They have to complete a certain number of pages based on their age as well as a few other activities, and then can be sworn in as a Junior Ranger, complete with a wooden badge!

Some parks are offering downloads of their Junior Ranger packets online that you can print before you go, so look for them.

We loved taking advantage of these on our cross-country road trip and our American Northwest road trip . Don’t miss our full section on National Parks !

38. Postcards

Postcards are a great way to combine staying in touch with family and friends and practicing handwriting skills. Kids can work on writing their messages on the road in between stops. Grandparents and friends love getting these in the mail!

Arts & Crafts Road Trip Activities

Arts and crafts that are not messy make great road trip activities for kids. A mix of creativity and keeping hands occupied is a win for everyone during a long car ride.

39. Wikki Stix

Wikki Stix are bendable, twistable, waxy playthings that can do everything pipe cleaners can do and more. They’ll stick to most surfaces, and themselves, with no mess left behind. These are also sometimes called “wax craft sticks” or “monkey string”. These make a great road trip activity for creative kids- especially younger kids.

Buy Now: Wikki Stix

40. Play-Doh or Silly Putty

Some people prefer silly putty to Play-Doh, as it’s easier to clean (though don’t let it mix with hand sanitizer or it gets gooey). We are a Play-Doh family- we love the many bright colors and have lots of molds and stamps and cutters to make it exciting.

41. Gel Window Stickers

Gel window stickers are a fun, mess-free way to decorate (and redecorate) your car windows. You can find them in a variety of holiday or seasonal themes at the grocery store, Target, or dollar stores.

42. Window Markers

Window markers take decorating the car to a whole new level. You can draw, or write as much as you like, then wipe off with a wet wipe when you are ready to start fresh.

43. Dry Erase Board and Markers

A small dry-erase board and dry-erase markers can provide hours of entertainment on the road. Stray socks make great dry-erase markers. Play endless rounds of tic-tac-toe or snowman, or draw a family portrait!

44. Stamp Sets

A small stamp set and blank paper will keep little creative hands busy for hours! Make sure the stamp ink is washable.

45. Embroidery or Needlework

Road trips are a great time for kids to learn or practice new craft skills! Embroidery or needlework kits are great to take on the road, they tend to be very self-contained and keep hands busy while listening to music or a story. This embroidery kit is great for beginners!

Buy Now: Beginner Embroidery Kit

46. Knitting or Crocheting

Knitting and crocheting take very few supplies and can be very rewarding! Kids can start small with simple projects like a scarf, and move into more advanced skills like cable knits or a winter hat.

47. Friendship Bracelets

Pack up your embroidery thread, friendship bracelets are the perfect road trip activity for kids! Send the finished bracelets home to friends or make one for everyone in the car!

Not sure you remember all your bracelet knots? This easy kit from Klutz has you covered.

Buy Now: Easy Friendship Bracelet Kit

48. Origami

The Japanese art of paper folding, origami is a great quiet road trip activity for kids 6+.

This fun animal origami kit includes stickers to give your creations eyes and mouths, or try this neon kit with 60 pieces of paper!

Buy Now: Neon Origami Kit

Things to Read on a Road Trip

All ages can find something to read or look through on a family road trip! Be aware that some kids may experience motion sickness from looking down at a book, especially one with small type. (Psst… motion sickness bands are one of our top road trip supplies )

Smaller children can bring along picture books to look at, older children can spend time quietly reading to themselves. I Spy or Hidden Object books are a great way to pass the time.

50. Magazines

Kids love magazines! Highlights is a favorite for ages 6-7, Ranger Rick or National Geographic are great choices as well.

51. Catalogs

My kids can spend hours looking at catalogs and marking the things they want for their next birthday or Christmas. Favorites in our family include the Amazon holiday toy catalog, LEGO, and the latest American Girl catalog.

52. Read Alouds

We like to spend the morning reading out loud a bit about what we will be seeing or doing that day. This helps set the expectation for the day and means we start our activity with a little bit more background knowledge.

Plan to bring along some books to read aloud that are age-appropriate for the whole car. Reading a chapter or two of a book that you are all engaged in, is a great afternoon activity that keeps the kids engaged but calm.

Things to Listen To on Your Family Road Trip

Connect your device to the car radio and play a variety of things to keep everyone quiet and entertained! Make sure your kids have a good pair of kids headphones .

53. Playlists

Make a series of playlists for your trip- a quiet instrumental, songs the kids like, upbeat classic road trip songs, etc.

54. Audio Books

Audiobooks are a great way to pass the time! Play one chapter at a time- the kids can color or craft while they listen. Your library may have resources for audiobooks or try a subscription to Audible .

55. Podcasts

There are so many podcasts out there! Download a few to your device so you don’t have to worry about cell service. Our family favorites are Molly of Denali, and Grandpa’s Globe (by Purple Rocket). We are also going to try Stories Podcast, Earth Rangers, Live from Mount Olympus, and the Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian.

Or latest podcast favorites are: Eat Your Spanish (basic beginner Spanish phrases) and What Will She Do Next, about inspirational women from history.

56. Family Road Trip Sing-a-long

When in doubt, start a family sing-a-long! Depending on the age of your kids, this could range from some Raffi songs to 1980s classics. This might be a great time for the kids to learn the words to American Pie!

57. Road Trip Jokes

Your phone is your friend for this one- look up some jokes to keep the family laughing! Knock Knock jokes are big in our family right now, but you can tell all kinds of jokes!

Here’s a road trip joke to get you started: What did the Pacific Ocean say to the Atlantic Ocean? Answer: Nothing, it just waved.

You can also tell riddles: What travels around the world but stays in one corner? Answer: A Stamp!

58. Tell a Road Trip Story

Tell stories! They can be real or made up. Kids love hearing stories of when their parents were little or even how their parents met!

You can take turns each telling a real story, or start a longer fiction story where each person tells a line or two before passing it to the next person in the car.

“Three Words” Version: For adults or older kids, limit each person to three words before the story passes to the next person.

“Object/Problem” Version: One person names an object and problem, the storyteller then gets 2-3 minutes to make up a story around those. Then that person names the object and problem for the next storyteller.

Toys and Travel Games

A few toys and travel-sized games can help fend off boredom on long car trips.

59. Etch-a-Sketch

This classic toy comes in a travel size and is a great (quiet) road trip activity! We prefer this “magnetic drawing board” which uses a stylus, instead of the traditional “all in one line” technique.

Buy Now: Magnetic Drawing Board

60. Magnetic Play Sets

Magnetic playsets are nicely self-contained- this camping set will have kids dressing and playing for a while. You can also bring along sets of magnetic tiles for more three-dimensional play- you’ll need a sturdy tray or lap desk for these.

61. Travel Sized Games

Travel-sized, often magnetic, versions of classic board games are great for cross-country road trips. You can play Connect4 , or sink each other’s ships in Battleship . Purple Cow makes a magnetic version of checkers and 26 other travel games! The pieces are quite small and then, so these are recommended for ages 5+.

Buy Now: Magnetic Travel Games

62. Fidget Poppers or Fidget Spinners

Fidget Poppers come in all sorts of fun colorful shapes. Kids pop the bubbles back and forth on these- think of it like bubble wrap that never ends! Similar to the popular Fidget Spinners, it helps kids settle their minds by keeping their fingers busy.

This four-pack of rainbow poppers should have something for everyone. If your kids prefer the traditional spinners, this one is extra cool with LED lights!

63. Dolls or Stuffies

We let each girl choose one doll or stuffed animal to bring with them in the car. They can spend hours caring for and making conversations with their chosen travel buddy.

64. Glow Sticks or Bracelets

Driving at night? Glow sticks or bracelets make a fun surprise! You can usually pick up a pack at dollar stores. But don’t expect the kids to go to sleep until these wear out!

65. Quiet Time

Quiet time in our house is leftover from “nap time” when the kids were younger. We find that a bit of quiet time away from each other (or in the case of a small car, simply not touching or interacting with each other) means we all can reset mentally, and come back together in a more positive way.

Adults need this too! I need 30 minutes of not hearing “mamma, mamma” coming from the back seat! We like to announce “Quiet Time” just after lunch, but figure out what works best for your family.

Top Tips for Keeping Kids Entertained on a Long Family Road Trip

Worried about keeping the kids occupied, and entertained? We understand! Bored kids become whining, “poking their sibling” monsters, so you need a game plan! A good road trip plan includes a couple of key elements:

Create Variety

No one wants to do the same thing over and over for hours (or days!) so you’ll need a plan to mix it up. Vary solo activities with team games, switching between quiet activities and louder more boisterous ones to keep the kids entertained for hours.

Especially for younger kids with shorter attention spans, you may need to pull out new toys or activities at intervals. Don’t pull out all your best games and songs during the first few hours!

The Dollar Store and the $1 bin at Target are great for creating a bag of small surprises before you leave. Mini coloring packs, new crayons, window stickers, can all be part of this. Fun snacks count too! Bonus points for wrapping items individually- the toddler group especially loves to unwrap.

Set Expectations

Make sure you set expectations for the trip. The amount of entertainment I can provide (and surprises I can pull out) for a nine-hour road trip is very different than what I can maintain for a 60+ Day epic cross-country road trip . Make sure the kids understand how long they’ll be in the car overall, and what is happening that day.

We like to focus on the next stop- for example, “2 hours until our fun lunch stop with a carousel”, or “We won’t get to the hotel until after it’s dark”. These types of statements really help minimize the inevitable “Are We There Yet?” questions!

Maps are great for this- show them where you are going, and where you’ll be at the end of the day. Print out a map of the states you’ll be driving through for them to color.

Don’t Forget Snacks!

Snacks help keep everyone’s spirits up and break up the boredom. Plan for lots of snacks! Our full post includes over 40 of the best snacks fo road trips and includes ideas for easy breakfasts and lunches as well.

Plan to Take Breaks

Food breaks, bathroom breaks, and just “stretch your legs” breaks are important for everyone. Don’t forget to stop and get some exercise. It breaks up the mood in the car and you can start fresh when you head out again.

Need more tips about traveling with kids on a road trip? We compiled our best tips for travel with kids .

There You Have It: Best Road Trip Activities for Kids

Over 60 road trip activities for kids to keep them happy and entertained during a long family road trip. We’ve covered everything from classic road trip games to arts and crafts, to small toy sets. Did we miss something? We always love hearing your suggestions.

Cynthia Matthews von Berg is the founder of Sharing the Wander. She is a passionate traveler, mom, and travel coach specializing in long-term travel and family travel. She and her family embarked on a Family Gap Year in 2021, and haven't looked back.

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35 hacks for road trips with kids.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer .

In today’s post: 35 hacks for road trips with kids! How to prepare, how to stay organized, and how to keep kids occupied, plus the best snack ideas and ways to encourage good behavior in the car.

Best Road Trip Ideas for Kids

Once again, it’s road trip season. Honestly, I used to think people who packed up a bunch of kids and drove for fifteen hours to a faraway destination were completely, certifiably insane. There are times when fifteen minutes in the car with kids who won’t stop bugging each other is almost more than I can handle. However, I’ve realized that with the right preparation, family road trips can be rather less miserable than expected – maybe even fun.

All sorts of smart people have posted their favorite tips for road trips with kids online, and I’ve sorted through to find the best ones (and thrown in a few of my own). From preparing the car and organizing your supplies to packing snacks and prepping activities, this post has you covered. You’ll find links to plenty of ideas to make your road trip with kids a little less horrible and a lot more fun.

Road trip with kids: Prep + Get Organized

Road trip with kids: How to keep kids occupied

This is the most important part, right? I’m totally ok with kids using electronics on road trips, but mine do tend to turn into monsters if they stay plugged in for 20 hours straight, so I try to make sure they take breaks from video games and movies. Here are some great non-electronic activities for road trips with kids:

Road Trip Kit Ideas

Road Trip Printables

Best Activity Toys for Road Trips

Road Trip Snack ideas

Ways to promote good behavior

If there’s anything out there that will convince my kids not to poke each other while we’re on a road trip, I’m willing to give it a try!

Meet Autumn

Hello there! I’m a busy mom of five who loves to make things. Crafts, recipes, sewing, holiday projects: I’ve tried them all, and you can too! I love EASY projects anyone can make.

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Have a question? Submit your question or comment below.

Marcie says

Posted on 7/7/23 at 8:50 pm

Your kids can use homage carbucks to buy extra goodie bags and some sweets as well.❤️❤️❤️thank you

Heather says

Posted on 1/5/24 at 8:45 pm

I’m impressed with this thorough list of things to do in the car. We do a lot of traveling also. Thanks!!

Victoria says

Posted on 6/8/23 at 8:00 pm

These are awesome tips thank you !

Margot says

Posted on 5/25/22 at 12:29 pm

We always did the license game map – but without the names. My young adult kids recently discussed how easy geography was for them and how amazed they were that their classmates didn’t know where some places were. We also always packed a cooler, a picnic basket and a frisbee and/or balls and stopped at rest stops allowing the kids about 1/2 hour of time to expend energy. My kids grew up loving road trips!

Tracey Jones says

Posted on 4/2/19 at 5:31 am

Great blog! I was searching some good stuff regarding road trip with my naughty toddlers and to handle them. Wondering what things should get in the bags while having a road trip. Well Thanks much for sharing this amazing at least for me <3

Leilani Gamboa says

Posted on 12/2/18 at 4:16 am

Thanks for these ideas! I love all and planning to do it too

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We are planning a very long drive this week.  We’re hitting the road before sunup and driving until way past bedtime.  As a survival strategy I’ve prepared a giant set of road trip activities for kids.

(This post contains affiliate links. Click here to see my full disclosure policy.)

In just a short while our family is going to be taking a road trip.

A very loooong road trip.

As in, start driving at 3 AM and reach our destination after 10 PM.   With five kids ages 7 and under.

And no, we don’t have a DVD player in our van.

This may sound a little crazy, but seriously?  Putting all seven of us in a hotel room with a baby still waking up every two hours sounds a whole lot crazier.  So I’ve been working at a creating and collecting a variety of activities to keep my crew busy for our big adventure.

I have seen some amazing DIY lapboards on Pinterest.  But I don’t sew beyond buttons.  I don’t do well with wood, foam, or stretching fabric.  I don’t even cut a straight line.  So this is my version of a DIY lap board.

Find a cheap magnetic baking tray (tip – they’re not all magnetic; check first).  This 9 x 13 tray cost 99 cents.   Then get some markers or crayons and hot glue magnet strips to them (even adhesive strips can use that extra glue).

Anything to keep my toddler from dropping a marker every five seconds.

The sketchpad was from the dollar bin at Target.

Books on CD

Our number one activity on long car rides is reading.  Thankfully, my Seven and Five can read on their own. But my Four in particular does not have patience for long trips, and he’s not ready to read independently.  I’ll read aloud periodically, but it’s not something I want to do for ten hours!  That’s where books on CD come in.  I borrow them from the library, store them in my CD holder , and reserve multiple copies of each book so each of the big kids can follow along.

I also referred to my Best Picture Books for Kids Pinterest board and found a huge stack of new-to-us books to take along.  (The hard part has been keeping my kids from reading them before the big trip!

Road Trip Printables

I searched high and low for free road trip printables. These were the best I could find because not only are they from talented bloggers,  they’re also easy to download and print.

The beautiful road trip drawing prompts (empty road and truck) are from Picklebums.

The lovely hand-drawn BINGO games are from Housing a Forest.

The simple and colorful Road Trip BINGO is from This Reading Mama.

For children who can read, Interstate BINGO is another fun printable from This Reading Mama.  My Five and Seven will enjoy this one.

The Car Scavenger Hunt is from a giant set of road trip printables from 123Homeschool4Me.

Sticker Scenes

This reusable sticker pad from Melissa and Dog is totally awesome as is.  But I wanted to find a way to make it work in the car. The scenes are too large for laps, and definitely for our little trays.  So I decided to cut each scene in half and cut the stickers into sections.  Then each child can have part of a scene and a set of stickers to play with.  The scenes won’t be as striking as they would be with the full sheets, but you can’ t be choosy when you’ve got seven people jammed into a seven-passenger van.

Conversation Cards

These are 100 conversation starters in the form of “would you rather” questions. I love these!  Would you rather have a pet chicken or a pet elephant? Would you rather lounge  in a pool of marshmallows or M & M’s?  Learn more and get your free printable cards (or simply a list of questions) in this post .

Drawing Prompts

This Complete the Picture drawing pad from Melissa and Doug  is brilliant.  It’s definitely too advanced for my Two and probably my Four. But I think it’s something my older two kids, ages five and seven, will really enjoy.  I had to trim the pages to fit them into the small baking sheets.

Beginning Sounds Coloring Pages

I don’t do a lot of worksheets with my preschool boys, but a car trip is the perfect time to pull some out.  I created this set of 26 coloring pages.  They simply need to color the pictures on each letter that begin with that letter.  You can get the free printable in this post .

Magnetic Matching Activities

I created these simple matching activities for my Two.  He loves this sort of thing, and it will give him something to do when he’s starting to get antsy.  Since there are magnets on the back of each piece to keep him from spilling them, I’m hoping that this will be easy and fun. This does take some time to assemble, but I think it will be worth it.  See the tutorial and get the free printables in this post.

Color by Number Addition Pages

My Seven asked for color by number pages.  I wanted to create something that would challenge her as well as give her something she enjoys, so I put addition facts on these fairy tale characters.  You can get the set of ten free pages by visiting this post .

Magnetic Pattern Block Activities

We already have pattern blocks, but for this trip I bought a magnetic set of blocks  so the kids can use them on their baking sheets.  I found the large pattern block activities at PreKinders.  I printed a transportation , snowflake , and animals set.  The kids can each set a paper on their board and cover it with the magnetic blocks.  I also printed the small set of designs from Kelly’s Kindergarten and bound them with a ring . (You will need to shrink her designs before printing them if you want them small.)  My older kids can recreate these pictures on their boards.

Snacks, Snacks… and More Snacks

And what would a long car ride be without snacks?  We don’t usually have prepackaged snacks at our house, but I’m making this trip an exception.  I’m packing mini chocolate chip cookies , honey graham sticks , crispy cheddar crackers , granola bars ,  and bunny snacks .  I’m also packing some dry cereal (a rare treat – our kids have plain yogurt with just a sprinkle of cereal for breakfast), string cheese, snap peas, and baby carrots.  Plus a brand new water jug  filled with ice water.

We’re ready for our trip!

After I pack the suitcases, of course…

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48 comments.

August 10, 2018 at 7:54 am

Thank you so much for your great roundup of ideas! We are traveling in Canada through Ontario and Quebec, to see sights in New Brunswick and P.E.I. I’m looking forward to using your ideas on our trip! Blessings! 🙂

August 13, 2018 at 9:08 am

You’re welcome!

September 9, 2017 at 3:01 pm

Just stumbled on this site and am delighted. I’d like to offer an alternative idea for your travel activity tray which offers built in storage. 1) Buy a roasting tin and a baking sheet that fits on the top of the roasting tin. 2) Attach magnetic strips around the top of the roasting tin, and on the bottom of the baking sheet. The sheet needs to exactly cover the roasting tin. 3) Place either a magnetic sheet, or magnetic strips on inside base of roasting tin. 4) Magnetic sheet to fit base of baking sheet (if big enough you can ignore stage 2) You can now add magnetic strips to crayons, organza bags from Poundland/Dollar store, toys. These things can be safely stored in roasting tin. The combined roasting tin/baking sheet are now a storage/lap tray. Little items can be stored in the organza bags or magnetized to stay in the storage area or to be used on the tray. You could also spray paint the roasting tin/baking sheet, drill small holes at one end and using whatever you choose can be hung from the seat in front. For very young children safely secure small magnets in small stuffies, these can be stored in the roasting tin and then stuck on to the baking sheet.

October 5, 2017 at 12:56 pm

What a cool idea, Lucy! Thanks so much for sharing it!

October 5, 2016 at 9:03 am

I love these ideas! We are planning to drive to Disney in February with another family. The thought of four little girls ages two and five on a 20 + hour car ride is terrifying the parents.

Anna Geiger

October 7, 2016 at 5:24 pm

Yes, I get it! 20 hours is a long time. Snacks will be your best friend. 🙂 In December we are planning a road trip to Texas with all six kids. I think it’s about 15-20 hours… I’ll have to pull out some of these to use again!

December 22, 2015 at 6:39 pm

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful ideas and resources. I’m now actually looking forward to our upcoming road trip with our 2 and 4 year old boys (plus an infant, but she won’t be participating in the activities :)).

January 1, 2016 at 5:54 pm

You’re very welcome, Cassy! I hope you have/had a great trip!

December 14, 2015 at 9:22 pm

Thank you so much!!!!! I got a 17 hour car trip coming up and didn’t want to go out and buy a ton of things for my preschooler to do. Yes we are breaking the trip up but he is not a great car rider so this is exactly what we need.

December 19, 2015 at 3:46 pm

I hope you have a wonderful trip, Cora!

Stephanie H

March 11, 2015 at 10:00 pm

Thank you for the wonderful ideas and printables. We are ready to venture out on a 15 hour drive for Spring Break with a 7 and 2 year old. Thanks to your post my “Activity Box” is complete and I have something checked off my to do list! THANK YOU!

March 20, 2015 at 6:35 am

Yay! I hope you have (had) a wonderful trip!

January 9, 2015 at 11:02 am

Man, you are so creative!!! Thank You sooo much for this!! We’re leaving in less than a month, this is doable!!

January 12, 2015 at 4:30 pm

Way to go for getting started ahead of time, Jennifer! I hope you have a great time and as peaceful a car ride as possible. 🙂

December 28, 2014 at 5:58 am

I am probably the first dad in here. This is really cool stuff. Thanks for sharing all this. I am printing away as I speak

December 28, 2014 at 2:42 pm

Not quite the first, but maybe the second. 🙂 I hope you have a great (and somewhat quiet) trip, Nick!

July 24, 2014 at 5:15 am

I loved your Tip Me Tuesday link. {thanks girl!} Would you like Tip Junkie to feature your blog post to over 200,000 creative women? If you upload this blog post into your Tip Junkie craft room using at least 2 images, 2 steps, and blog post URL then I can easily feature it in my RSS feed, home page, and all my social networks instantly. {squealing with delight} ~ Laurie {a.k.a. the Tip Junkie} http://www.tipjunkie.com/post/how-to-add-a-craft-room-project-on-tip-junkie/

July 24, 2014 at 5:19 am

Yes, yes, yes, Laurie, of course! Thank you!! I will head over to do that right away. I was just thinking yesterday I was going to send you a note to thank you for your Mom Blog to Money Blog course. I completed it this summer and learned so much, just in time to apply everything I learned to a site redesign coming next week. Excited! Thank you!!

July 14, 2014 at 8:57 pm

Thanks so much for these! I’m traveling 16 hrs with a 4, 2.5 & 10 month old so looking for some activities to keep us all sane

July 17, 2014 at 8:02 am

That’s a long trip, Ali – been there! I hope it goes well for you and that you have a nice peaceful trip. 🙂

July 9, 2014 at 10:02 pm

Thankyou so much, this is exactly what i was looking for to amuse my kids on our next trip!! Thankyou so much for sharing!

July 17, 2014 at 8:01 am

You’re welcome, Steph! I hope you have/had a peaceful ride :).

June 20, 2014 at 12:01 pm

These are some AWESOME suggestions. I’m planning a vacation for July and we’ll be traveling roughly 13 hours in a car with a 2 and a 5 year old. Thanks so much for sharing!

July 9, 2014 at 5:32 am

You’re welcome, Brandy! I hope your kids stay content on your long trip!

May 28, 2014 at 8:17 pm

This post couldn’t have come at a better time for my family. In the next month, we are taking 3 16 hour road trips. I have a 1 year old, a 2 year old, and a 4 year old and we will definitely be using some of your ideas! Thank you so much for all your hard work. We are planning on driving from 9pm until we get there!

June 1, 2014 at 7:53 pm

Good for you for driving through the night! We are probably a little older than you, as that’s pretty hard for us. On our way to our destination we ended up getting the kids up at 4:30 AM with the plan that they would go back to sleep for a few hours. Nope! Not sure if leaving even earlier is a good or bad idea..

little island studios

May 28, 2014 at 11:17 am

Great Ideas! We traveling and always looking for ideas…love to bring magnetic fun!

June 1, 2014 at 7:52 pm

Love your recent post about Virginia Beach… my home town!

May 28, 2014 at 9:16 am

My family is flying from SC to WA this summer. My daughters are 7 and 6, but the 6 yo is more like a 4 yo. The color pages will be WONDERFUL for them to do on the planes and at grandma and grandpa’s house when they claim to be “bored”. Thanks a lot for these wonderful resources.

June 1, 2014 at 7:51 pm

You’re very welcome, Christine! We are currently enjoying our vacation, and the pages we did not do in the car (mainly the Melissa and Doug activities) have been great to fill some time at our destination.

May 27, 2014 at 2:24 pm

Can’t wait til you get here!

May 27, 2014 at 7:48 am

I love this!! We regularly make a 9-10 hour car journey to see family and am always looking for ideas to keep my pre-schoolers entertained (without having to reach for dropped bottles or toys every few minutes!) Thank you.

June 1, 2014 at 7:50 pm

You’re very welcome! I hope your kids enjoy a few of these ideas. As it turned out, my kids were happiest with the coloring pages, books on CD, and drawing pads. They did a little bit with the magnetic shapes and of course loved the snacks most of all. 🙂

October 25, 2018 at 8:03 pm

Thats great! ??

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30 Screen-Free Road Trip Ideas for Kids

Summertime means vacations, road trips, and the inevitable chorus of “are we there yet?” Indeed, spending long car rides with kids can be hard and children, especially younger ones, often tend to get bored quickly. This can lead to children spending a lot of time in front of a screen, which is not ideal for anyone on a road trip. Children will not remember the drive day adventures if they are playing tablet games or watching a movie. Road trips with kids can be wonderful opportunities for children to explore new activities, see and learn new things, and play time-tested road trip games. Today, Sara Lesire , St. Louis based civil engineer, outdoor-loving, mom of two, makes road-tripping with children a breeze with these 30 screen-free road trip ideas for kids!

{This post contains affiliate links.}

Screen-free road trip ideas for kids

Our family has been taking long road trips since our kids were babies. We rarely have to resort to screen time to keep them entertained and happy during our drives. Our kids don’t own tablets so I have had to get creative over the years on new ideas for those annual 14+ hour each way drives.  If you are looking for ideas on how to get your kids’ eyes off the screens without the whining, here are some great screen-free road trip ideas for all ages. 

Invest in a travel tray

First, while this is not exactly an activity, it does help make traveling with kids easier! We have been using travel trays in the car for several years now. They provide a flat surface for activities while the raised edge helps keep items from rolling off. They can use the surface for coloring, drawing, or any other hands-on activities. There is even a cup holder and pockets for storage. While they have a flat surface, the edges of the trays are soft and padded for safety in the event of a crash. They are also perfect for meals and snacks on the go.

Road trip surprise boxes

1. The surprise box! Each and every road trip, my kids always look forward to seeing what is in their “surprise box.” The boxes are just lunchboxes I found at a garage sale. Each long trip I fill them with inexpensive trinkets and toys from garage sales, Dollar Tree, or things I find on clearance. This is always a hit, because the contents are new to my kids, making each item or activity that much more exciting. I also add in some snacks and special sweet treats.

If you want to extend the suspense or use it as a reward for good behavior, you could try making multiple small surprise bags to be opened at certain times or at each road trip stop. Ideas of things to include are Legos, Hotwheels cars, fidget toys, small dolls, small stuffed animals, stickers, crayons, notebooks, travel games, fruit snacks, applesauce pouches, or coloring books. Dollar Tree is an amazing resource for budget-friendly goodies. 

Keep little hands busy

There are so many great interactive and no mess activities available to pack along. Do a little browsing in your house and online to prepare some of the following activities. 

2. Fine motor control games : Use an empty can with a lid such as oatmeal or a whipped topping container. Cut in some holes in the lid just large enough for kids to push pom poms through.

3. Pipe cleaners: These are so simple but so much fun for kids. See what shapes they can make with them or what sort of creation they can make by bending them in different ways. 

4. Fidget toys: Any kid (or adult) that loves popping packing bubbles will enjoy popper toys . 

6. Window art: For kids that have a window seat, inexpensive window clings from the dollar store offer a creative way to stay entertained while making an artistic impression. 

7. Magnetic toys: Our kids enjoy the challenge of making different shapes using a magnetic tangram set or making funny faces with this fun kit . You can also grab a cheap dollar store cookie sheet and bring along alphabet magnets or magnetic tiles that you probably already have around the house. 

10. Toy tubes: These toy tubes and pipes were huge hits for my kids when they were toddler and preschool ages. The pieces are larger too, which helps avoid them getting lost in the car. 

11. Mess-free coloring: Crayola’s Color Wonder markers have been in use in our house for years. They only color on the special paper for no messes!

12. No mess drawing: This simple LCD drawing tablet has been a favorite of our kids.  Easy to draw and it erases with just the press of a button. 

13. Lego box: Use double-sided sticky tabs to stick a lego baseplate into the bottom of a dollar store tray or plastic box. Add in a variety of lego bricks for a traveling box of creative fun. If you are worried about losing parts of a set, Dollar Tree sells lego sets and baseplates for an inexpensive version. 

14. Make a sensory I-spy game: Fill a plastic bottle or Ziploc bag with rice. Add in several small toys, tape closed the container, and let kids shake the container to search for the treasures. 

15. Etch-a-Sketch drawing:  This is a hit with most kids, especially preschool age and up. Twisting those knobs to create a drawing is a challenge and children love seeing what they can create (even if the results are often staircases).

Let them follow along

16. Map fun! Print out a map of your travel plans or pick up a state paper map and let them follow along on the route. Mark off your stops with a star to give them an idea of how far there is to go. Both my kids absolutely love looking at maps. Add in a toy car for some pretend driving fun. 

Make a road trip binder

17. Create a road trip binder full of printables! There are so many amazing and free road trip game printables out there created by graphic snazzy parents. I like to put a group of them together in a binder for each child. The pockets of the binder are great for adding in crayons or markers. Pro Tip: If you want to avoid the expected lost markers, try taping string around the crayons and markers and then taping it to the binder.

Some of the blank pages I leave tucked in the binder pockets to be used for any sort of coloring or drawing. But, others I put in clear, protective sleeves to be used multiple times with a dry erase marker. If you are reading this at midnight the night before a long road trip and need something quick, a clipboard instead of a binder also works great too to keep the pages together.

Below is a list of free printables for kids of all ages. 

Preschool/Elementary Ages

• Tot Schooling has this super cute printable pack with dot pages, I-spy games, travel bingo, and more. 
• This travel-themed drawing prompts from Picklebums are so fun. 
• Playdough to Plato has another road trip pack with multiple games and activities. 
• Paper Trail has a selection of different I-Spy games with different themes. My daughter loves these hidden picture games.  
• Crayola has a huge selection of coloring pages and activities to print while Wood Jr. has tons of printables included themed mazes .  

Older Elementary/Tweens

• Carla Schauer Studio’s Travel Scavenger Hunt for Tweens is perfect for the older kids to keep their eyes away from the screens and out the windows. 
• Krazy Dad has printable mazes for all ages. Choose the right difficulty level to keep kids challenged. 
• 3 Boys and a Dog has these unique restaurant sign I-Spy games . 
• A Suburban Mom has the best license plate game I’ve seen. It has actual pictures of what each state’s plate actually looks like. 
• I love Sunny Day Family’s printable Vacation Journal . Kids can keep a record of the places they have been. If you want a ready-made version, this kid’s travel journal looks adorable. 

Let them capture the moment

18. Take pictures! My kids have loved being able to take photos of both the journey and the destination. And now that almost everyone has a smartphone, you can often find cheap point-and-shoot cameras at garage sales or local swap pages. My kids have been loving these child cameras that are just the right size for little hands. They often will spend part of the ride reviewing their past shots on the camera. 

Play car games

There are so many great games that the whole family can enjoy together. Most of these ideas can be adapted for a variety of ages. Even better, most of them require no prep. 

19. Counting game : Pick an item to keep track of and then count them together. For example, count the number of red cars or the number of barns, train crossings, or speed limit signs. 

20. Car hide and seek: Take some small objects or print out some pictures of animals, cars, etc. and hide them around the car but in viewing sight. Tell kids to look around and find them.

21. Ask questions: Have everyone take turn asking a question such as everyone’s favorite ice cream, or a place they want to visit someday. If you need some ideas, check out these cute printable conversation starters . You can also buy this ready-made Table Talk list of questions for kids. 

22. Travel scattergories: Take turns picking a topic such as animals, fruits, ice cream flavors, etc. Try to name as many as you can in each category that starts with a certain letter. 

23. Would you rather: Older kids many enjoy Landeelu’s printable Would You Rather game plus a list of road trip games for tweens and teens. 

24. That’s different: Take turns pointing out something you see out the window that is out of the ordinary. It could be a crazy sign, a fun-colored car, or a unique landmark. 

25. When I go: The first person starts off with “When I go to (destination name) I am bringing a (an object, the sillier the better.) Then the next person repeats the phrase and adds on another item. For example: When I go to Florida, I am bringing a flamingo, a picnic basket, an umbrella, and a guitar. See how long you can keep it going. 

26. Guess the animal: One person thinks of an animal and everyone else takes turns asking questions to try and figure out which animal it is. This is similar to 20 questions, but we never set a question limit. Model asking broad questions first, such as does it walk on four legs or does it have fur, before moving onto the more direct questions, like is it a fish or is it a hippo. 

27. Mad Libs: Mad Libs are sure to bring a laugh to everyone in the car. You can find versions online to print or buy a whole book for endless smiles. 

28. Travel games: Magnetic and travel-sized versions of classic games like Bingo and Fishing can be fun for multiple kids. I’ve already added these super adorable chicken shuffle and woodland animal strategy games to my kid’s wish lists. 

29. Read or listen to books! Hit up your local library before your trip for some new reads for the car. I like to search garage sales, thrift stores, and local book shops for some new-to-them books to help the miles fly by. Another great option is Audiobooks! This way the whole family can enjoy listening to the books together.

Make a game out of it by having an informal book review when the books are finished. Ask the kids what their favorite book of the day was and why. Extend the conversation to ask what they would do if they were the main character in the story or which character they liked the most and why. 

Plan kid-friendly stops

30. Make the stops fun! One final easy way to keep kids from becoming restless on long trips is to break up the journey with some fun stops. I like to use the GoWhee or Roadtrippers apps to look up fun destinations along the route. Or you can just search for “best playgrounds near city/town” to find a good spot for a break.

If you travel often, I highly recommend the Next Exit travel book . It lists all the gas stations and restaurants at each exit along the entire U.S. interstate system. It also lists amenities and locations of all rest areas so you can see which rest areas have playgrounds. 

If you’re traveling in/around either the St. Louis, MO area or the Bentonville, Arkansas area, be sure to check out our Get Out Guides for all kinds of fun OUTDOOR things to do in these cities! 

What are your favorite ways to keep kids busy and happy while traveling?

About the author.

Sara has been married to her high school sweetheart for 17 years and together they have two children. Sara spent many childhood hours outside on her grandparents’ farm and strives for her kids to have similar carefree kid adventures. Based in the St. Louis area, she loves to share on her blog and social media all the scenic and fun places to explore around the St. Louis area and beyond. Hiking is the most popular activity for her whole family followed by hitting up the best local playgrounds. Photography is also a passion of Sara’s and she continues to be amazed at the natural beauty and wonder of God’s creation. When she is not hitting the trail, Sara works as a civil engineer.

You can find more from Sara online in the following locations: Instagram: @midwestnomadfamily Facebook: Midwest Nomad Family RWMC posts: Sara Lesire

More like this

You are absolutely right that long car rides with kids will be absolutely tough and I know it firsthand because we really often have such trips. To tell the truth, we always try to distract our children and dilute this time on the road with some games, but, unfortunately, we are already out of ideas. I’m so glad that I came across your article because it is so helpful in our situation and it can make our road trip easier many times. The surprise box is an absolutely brilliant and original idea which can interest any child. It could even arouse my interest. Also, it is so cool that you can use it for different purposes. When my children be naughty on this trip, I will certainly present this box to them as a reward for their good behavior. I really like the idea of fine motor control games because in this case you can combine usefulness with pleasure, developing your brain, that is important.

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20 Toddler Activities For Long Road Trips

We are heading on a long road trip to Maine and I thought I’d update this old post with toddler friendly activities for the car. While I’m all for using the iPad to watch movies and shows on long road trips I definietly don’t want Piper glued to a screen for 15 hours. Many of these work for airplanes, and going out to eat too! Remember to save some of these activities for your way home so you still have some “new” tricks up your sleeve! Also THESE are the packing cubes I posted about!!!

Mini Coloring Boxes – Use an empty first aid kit box ($1 in the travel section at Target) and attach a new square size post it with hot glue or double stick foam tape to the back and stick a few crayons in. It’s the perfect size to hold everything and you can toss it in your purse for when you eat out, too. Just don’t leave the crayons in a hot car! Got the idea here .

Popsicle Stick Puzzles-  This genius idea could not be easier and will keep toddlers entertained for a while! Use it on a small cookie sheet and the fridge after you travel! See how to make it in this post!

Popsicle Sticks With Velcro – Add velcro dots to the back of colored popsicle sticks and let your child create different shapes. Will be fun to use out of the car too, be sure to pack in a small box to keep everything together.

Magnetic Puzzles – Pick up a few new puzzles and stick on adhesive magnetic dots to the back  and stick it on a cookie sheet.

Clipboard Coloring – Attach sheets from coloring books to a clipboard to allow your little one a better coloring experience on the go!

Lego Boxes – Can’t wait to see how these little lego boxes go – I got everything at the dollar store and the idea here .

Sticker Matching –  This could not be easier to make before you leave, just clip your sticker sheets to a clipboard with a crayon or colored pencil and let your little one practice fine motor skills +  development. Got the idea here .

Snack Boxes – Fill up tackle or craft boxes (I found for $3 at Michael’s) with various snacks. Not sure how our 3 year old will do with these and spilling so we may let her pick her snack from each section and put in a spill proof cup for eating.

Truck Spotting- Piper is really into looking out the window now that her car seat is turned around– though it may be better for 3-4 year olds and up – you could make a simplified version for younger kids. Idea found here .

Water Painting – Water Wow books from Melissa & Doug are a lifesaver as are their Paint With Water coloring pads – simply put a little bit of water in a cup in your child’s cupholder on their car seat and let them go to town (use a clip board)!

Window C lings – These won’t work for children sitting in the middle seat too well but older ones may enjoy sticking window clings to the windows.

Discovery Boxes – Every few hours give your child a new box or bag full of discovery items — this can be anything from kitchen utensils to small toys, the name of the game is offering them items they haven’t played with before or in a while.

Spools of ribbon or crepe paper  – This kept Piper busy during our last road trip, she enjoyed unrolling spools of ribbon, and then I would just roll them back up for her, over and over and over….

Play kids music – Have your child’s favorite tunes cued up — they almost always calm Piper down and she has fun singing along to familiar music.

Stickers- No-fail and always on hand. I cut up some new sticker strips and put them in a little coupon organizer I got at the Dollar Store to make them a bit more exciting for Piper.

Magnet or felt board – I’m hoping these entertain Piper… here is a great post on how to make a magnet board and here’s one for a felt board  – I’m going to make mine with cardboard in a smaller size.

New books – Head to the library before your trip to surprise your little one with plenty of new books!

Busy Wallet – I’m so excited to make this for Piper and give it to her during our trip, I read about it here . She loves to take my wallet out of my purse and pull it apart. I can’t wait to give her one to play with in the car!

Mini Post Its – We’ve used these on the airplane before with success — simply let your kid go to town with post it’s – sticking them on the back of the seat, a book or peeling ones off that you’ve stuck.

iPad – When all else fails I’m not above resorting to the iPad. We have two games we let her play in the car ( Fisher Price farm animals & shapes ) and we’ll also download some Pixar Shorts and episodes of Sesame Street. Piper’s usually not too interested in really watching long but it does help calm her down if she’s really upset.

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Just got around to reading this and you have some great ideas in here. Can’t wait to try!

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15 Road Trip Activities for Kids with Free Printables

By: Author Melissa

Posted on Last updated: November 9, 2023

Home » Travel » 15 Road Trip Activities for Kids with Free Printables

Keep the kids entertained with these fun road trip activities and avoid the complaining or fighting that usually happens in the backseat on road trips.

At least that was what they were like when I was a kid. Although we did enjoy listening to our favorite rock albums on road trips, my siblings and I were not exactly thrilled to be sharing a backseat for hours at a time.

Those days were long before Pinterest and mom blogs full of free road trip activity ideas, how did we manage without it?

They say necessity is the mother of invention and if you have ever been on a road trip with bored kids, you have probably already thought of some pretty creative solutions to keep those kids entertained in the car.

Now you can bask in the creativity of another mom’s brilliant creation!

Enjoy fun games like Road Trip Bingo and create your own portable solutions like a DIY drawing easel that is perfect for road trip entertainment.

I love mini and portable road trip games like this Velcro Road Trip Bingo Travel Game that comes with free printables.

Another fun way to pass the time during travels is by making your own DIY Mini Travel Game using a cardboard box.

Try a fun version of the old school game with this DIY Mini License Plate Game and be sure to bring a Printable Summer Travel Game along for the ride, too.

Who doesn’t love a good Road Trip Scavenger Hunt ?

Another fun way to pass the time is this  DIY Painted Rock Tic-Tc-Toe Travel Game. 

Grab a few free printable road trip games like this Squares and Dots Board Road trip Printable and learn how to make your own DIY Road Trip Activity Kit .

You can even make something that can be enjoyed in the car while on a road trip as well as in the hotel. This DIY Travel Drawing Easel  is the perfect toy for road trips and more!

Make your own Kids Activity Travel Tube  and let them hang onto it even after the trip is over because this can be enjoyed again and again.

If you decide that you want the kids to take in the sights and still have something to keep their focus, on besides fighting or complaining, this list of audiobooks should keep them entertained.

The great big list of the best audiobooks for family road trips includes books that are sure to keep kids of all ages, even mom and dad entertained for the entire road trip.

Sometimes it’s nice to have easy entertainment that doesn’t require any preparation and when that happens, you will probably want to pick up this Ultimate Road Trip Boredom Buster for Kids.

It came in handy for my family when we visited Yellowstone National Park last year.

I hope these ideas help your family enjoy your next road trip. Do you have any other ideas? I would love to hear about them!

About Thirty Something Super Mom

My journey started after a Crohn's disease diagnosis, inspiring a commitment to well-being. This site shares my distinctive approach to healthy living with my collection of nutritious recipes that boast authentic flavors, mimicking the indulgence of traditional dishes. I love sharing guilt free recipes for low carb, keto, gluten-free, paleo, and the specific carbohydrate diet. I also share tips on natural living, including homemade cleaners and cleaning hacks. I also share my experience as a veterinary technician and pet groomer, to integrate pet health tips, homemade dog food recipes, and grooming insights to ensure your pets thrive.

Nicole en Germany

Wednesday 22nd of July 2020

I love this!

Wednesday 24th of June 2020

I cant seem to print the velcro bingo road trip game. Can you send me a link to click on?

If you click the link, it should bring you over to another blogger who has the bingo game on her site. I hope that helps, thanks for stopping by.

Farrah Less

Thursday 13th of February 2020

This is such a great idea to keep your kids being creative during the long road trip. I love the design and color variations will definitely check this out.

Kita Bryant

Wednesday 12th of February 2020

These are great to get them through the long legs of a trip. It can be so taxing on their brains!

As a road warrior family, I agree that the best plan is to keep the kiddos occupied in the back seat. I love these activities especially that easel. Well done!

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 .

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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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20 Great Road Trip Activities and Printables for Kids

Last Updated on 28.07.2021 by Mykhailo Savchuk

Table of Contents

Sustainability has become an important concept in our society. Now most Americans at a young age are taught to “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” With this in mind, we can make significant headway toward preserving our planet.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re traveling with grade-schoolers, tweens, or older kids, and you don’t have to rely on iPads and audiobooks. Combine a few everyday items with a little ingenuity into your packing list, and you can provide your family with their own fun games and travel activities.

And if you’ve got a car- or truck-obsessed kid, you can stock up on these fun, printable road trip games and activities to keep them entertained on your next road trip.

Road Trip Activities for 3- to 5-Year-Olds

Different activities work better for different kids and age groups. For preschoolers in the 3-5 age range , arts and crafts will tap into their creativity and help them learn motor skills.

Music can be fun, too. How many rounds of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” have you sung during a road trip?

And pre-K and kindergarten kids are doing more academic learning these days, like sounding out words, counting, and simple math, so you’ve got more options than ever.

1. Magnets and Cookie Sheet

A cookie sheet is an easy DIY magnetic backdrop for numbers, shapes, and letters. Your kids can arrange them any way they want, and they’ll stay put!

Give kids simple math, spelling, or counting challenges. Ask them to see what kind of geometric patterns they can make — or just free them up to get creative and have fun with the magnets on their own.

2. Vehicle Matching Game

A road trip is a perfect occasion for kids to see lots of vehicles and learn what they’re called. With the free printable for this vehicle matching game, kids draw lines from each word to the picture of the vehicle that matches it.

Your little one stays entertained while they learn to recognize and name the vehicles they might see on the road.

3. Sticker Books

Sticker books allow young kids to be part of the story. Even if they’re not old enough to write yet, they can use the stickers to help them tap into their creative side. Stickers that can be used and reused are a special bonus, expanding the hours of fun on any family vacation.

4. Counting Cars

Our Counting Cars printables are a great way to teach your kids counting skills and naming the various kinds of vehicles they’ll see on a long car ride. Each page holds several cards, with each card showing a traceable numeral and a picture of that many trucks, cars, buses, or other vehicles.

By tracing the numeral on each card, your kids get to practice writing numbers and counting. And afterward, they can use them as flashcards or playing cards, with different suits: 4 of Cars, 6 of Trucks, 9 of Fire Engines, and so forth.

5. Felt Boards

Children can use a portable felt board to tell stories with pieces of felt, or learn how to arrange different sizes, colors and shapes in creative ways.

The soft pieces have the advantage of not having any rough edges. And felt sticks together, so the pieces hold to the board easily during playtime, then can be collected in a neat and handy storage bag when the play is done.

6. Trace the Truck

Tracing can be the first step toward the skill of free drawing. The movement lays a foundation for the fine motor skills involved in drawing and handwriting. Learning to copy from simple outlines helps children develop an eye toward establishing their own creative approach later.

And here’s a bonus: Once your child has traced the drawings, they can use the designs as coloring book pages to keep the fun going!

7. Magnetic Jigsaw Puzzles

You can create magnetic jigsaw puzzles by sticking an adhesive magnetic dot to the back of puzzle pieces. Then they’ll stick to a cookie sheet, and your kids can move them around at will. They can put puzzles together in the car without worrying about them getting jostled around by bumps in the road or losing pieces.

8. Vehicle Vacation Maze

Here’s a great way to introduce younger children to the concept of maps: The vehicle vacation maze is a winding road that passes alongside landmarks like buildings, lakes, and trees. They can encounter road construction zones, stop signs, and other typical road trip sights, too.

Your kids can draw their way down the road on the paper to guide their vehicle to its vacation spot. Simultaneously, they’ll see how charting a course goes along with an actual journey, and how both can be a lot of fun.

Besides navigating the simple maze (and learning how different choices can result in progress or dead ends and backtracking), kids can learn to distinguish between different sights along the way. Hotels, gas stations, restaurants, storefronts, and homes become familiar both on the map and in real life when they appear on the roadside.

9. Velcro Popsicle Sticks

All kids love popsicles, but you can use the sticks for more than just eating. Wash them off (or just buy them fresh at a dollar store!) and attach Velcro to them so your kids can attach them and create different shapes. You can store your Velcro popsicle sticks in a zipper bag or box to keep them together.

10. Auto Alphabet

What letter of the alphabet does the word “car” begin with? How about “airplane” or “helicopter”? The Auto Alphabet game can help teach your children about word meanings, letters, and sounds. Each card contains a picture of a vehicle, the word for that vehicle, and the letter that begins the word.

Your children can trace the letters on each card, which can help not only their fine motor skills but also their memory and word association. Kids will learn that A is for ambulance, B is for bus, C is for car, D is for dirt bike, etc. It’s fun to see a vehicle for every letter in the alphabet!

11. Wikki Sticks

You may not have heard of Wikki Stix , but they can be a great road trip activity for kids. These are made of brightly colored yarn attached to a flexible stick with a touch of nontoxic wax.

It’s a simple combination that allows children to create shapes from flowers to butterflies to animals! They’re perfectly safe and infinitely changeable, which makes them great for unleashing children’s creativity and imaginations.

Road Trip Activities for 6-10-Year-Olds

Kids who are a little older will need activities a little more advanced and involved to keep them engaged. Imagination in this age group is tempered by the beginnings of logical thinking and questioning, and developing a greater ability to think of things in sequence.

They’re also learning greater problem-solving skills, so the games and activities you pick for school-age kids should be appropriate for their increased skill levels, focus, and attention span. Here are some travel tips and road trip ideas for them.

12. Lacing Cards

Our printable Lacing Cards allow kids to practice craft and motor skills — cutting, threading a needle, and sewing. They embellish different images with yarn by lacing it through the front and back of the card using the guide dots placed along the edges of the pattern.

Parents will need to help prepare this activity, which requires glue, scissors, and a large plastic needle to thread the yarn. It might be a good idea to have mom or dad sit in the back seat to help (or, even better, prepare this activity before the trip, at a rest stop, or during an overnight stay).

Parents can glue the printable to a file folder or thick cardstock paper. Kids can cut out the shapes with safety scissors. With some help, kids can thread the plastic needle with yarn and poke it through the cardstock, lacing the yarn around the edges of the truck and bulldozer.

13. Mad Libs

Mad Libs is one of those classic travel games that’s a longtime tradition on road trips. There are no moving pieces. All you need is the book, a pencil, and two or more people to play. They’re a great way to teach parts of speech and encourage creative thinking.

In a Mad Lib book , one person reads the “story” and prompts the others to fill in the blanks with a type of word — noun, verb, adjective, or adverb — without knowing what the words around them say. The resulting story gets crazy once the words are all filled in, and the bizarre sentences leave everyone in the car laughing.

14. Road Trip Bingo

On the road, kids can see a lot of things, if they look closely enough — cars and trucks, of course, but also cows, horses, buildings, trees, fire trucks, signs, highway cones, etc.

Another longtime favorite among road trip games, Road Trip Bingo can keep kids occupied with the scenery for long stretches. Our printable adapts it to be played from the car seat.

It’s like a road trip scavenger hunt: Kids call out the things they see and circle each one on their card. When they get five in a row, they can yell BINGO!

15. Coloring Books

You’re probably familiar with coloring books from school classrooms, where students use crayons to color inside the lines. Cars can get hot, though, especially during summer (when most families take their vacations). You don’t want crayons to melt in the car — especially if they’re left there by mistake — so colored pencils are the better alternative.

Coloring is another way to encourage creativity , as well as the fine motor precision necessary to stay inside the lines. But precision isn’t necessary on a family road trip, just as long as your kids are engaged and having fun.

16. Paper Bag Puppets

A car trip is more fun when you invite an imaginary friend along. And would you rather just imagine one — or make one come to life? Paper bags can be transformed into all kinds of puppets , from kangaroos to mice, from lions to owls.

Get creative with construction paper cutouts and glue sticks (again, parents might need to help). A long road trip can fly by when you’re in good company.

Road Trip Activities for 11-13-Year-Olds

Children ages 11-13 can tackle more complex logical problems and hypothetical situations. Older kids are more capable of engaging in abstract thinking and scientific exercises, which are introduced in school around this time.

Here are some car games, fun things to do, and road trip tips for this older age group.

17. I Spy Road Signs

I Spy Road Signs is a variation on Road Trip Bingo, with more specific objects to look out for. Begin by downloading our printable covered with pictures of various road signs. Each time your child spots a new kind of sign, they can circle it or draw a checkmark next to it.

Older kids can spice it up by competing to be the first person to spot a certain kind of sign, or to spot the most of a certain sign. At the end of the trip, they can count up the number of circles or checks to tally how many signs they spied.

18. Maps and Atlases

Most kids in this age group already know how to use an electronic map via the GPS on their phones, so you can keep them engaged by designating them to navigate a fairly straightforward leg of the trip. Kids get a sense of control when they know where they’re headed, not to mention a sense of importance and responsibility for being chosen as navigator.

But the inclusion of paper maps or atlases on your trip can add another aspect to the fun. There’s an art to recognizing symbols and reading a paper map. So before you leave, print out a blank map of the area where you’ll be traveling … or just use an old paper map from the glove compartment.

Mark out your planned trip route so your kids can follow along, letting them mark off each landmark (towns, rivers, national parks) as you pass. They can draw each landmark and decorate the map however they want. After the road trip is finished, they can bring home a memento of their trip to look back on. It’s like having a travel journal in map form.

19. Road Trip Word Search

A word search is a great language game for this age group. Tie it in with your trip by using the words for things you might see on a road trip. Kids circle the names of different kinds of vehicles, roadside sights, and structures they encounter along the way, such as bridges and toll booths. It helps with observation, focus, and spelling skills.

20. License Plates From all 50 States

The license plate game is another road trip favorite. In this version, you can make it even more fun by starting with this printable map of all 50 states. Whenever kids spot a license plate from a new state, they color in on the map the state that represents it. At the end of the trip, they can total up all the states they’ve “collected.”

If you want to extend the fun, laminate a few copies of the printable map and give everyone in the car dry-erase markers to use. When the trip is over, the ink can be wiped away, and the maps can be reused on your next trip.

In addition to games, don’t forget goodies and road trip snacks, and maybe create a playlist of your kids’ favorite songs or podcasts. There’s a lot you can do to make the best road trip ever for your kids — and a learning experience, too. By tailoring activities to their interests and age levels, you can make each vacation an adventure: not just when you get to your destination, but as you head out on the road and return, too.

Related posts:

5 Best Road Trip Games for Kids

S ince our family’s move within driving distance of the beach, we try to make the trip at least a few times each summer. We’ve also taken longer road trips, including up and down the east coast. It’s a great way to travel, but kids can definitely get bored and impatient during the drive.

One way to keep children entertained on long car trips is by playing games, and today, I’m sharing five of the best road trip games for kids.

5 BEST ROAD TRIP GAMES FOR KIDS

1. license plate bingo.

This is an oldie, but a goodie. Print the  license plate game page , and fill it in. As you see a car from each state, you will fill in that state on your map. The first one to get  BINGO,  or fill in their map, wins.

You can also just list all the states on a sheet of paper (all 50 are listed at  this link ), and then cross them off when you see a license plate from that state. How close will you get to spotting all 50?

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2. MAD LIBS

My kids have always always liked  Mad Libs . Pick up some of these books to take on your trip (you can  order them here ), or print off some of these  Mad Libs sheets free here .

3. MEMORY GAME

Another game that will help pass the time on a long car ride is this Memory Game — the first person begins the game with the letter “A,” and says “A is for ___________.” (Fill in the blank with any “A” word, or you can decide on a theme, such as animals or food.) The second person continues with the letter B, but they must first repeat “A is for __________.” You continue the game with each person repeating the letters and corresponding words that came before as long as you can.

4. TWENTY QUESTIONS

Here’s another old favorite that’s perfect for long car rides. One person thinks of something the others have to guess. The remaining players take turns asking yes-or-no questions, usually starting with “Is it animal, mineral, or vegetable?” The players continue to ask questions to try to guess the answer, but only up to 20 questions.

5. SCAVENGER HUNT

Try a road trip scavenger hunt to keep kids busy while you’re traveling. You can come up with your own list of items to hunt for while you’re on the road. Just think of things you’ll see on the highway or while passing through towns or cities. You can also print scavenger hunt lists. We have a  printable scavenger hunt list for you here.

Do you have any other ideas to keep the kids busy on a long road trip? What do think are the best road trip games? Leave a comment below.

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Also read —

Looking for Road Trip Activities for Kids? Pick up These Free Printable Travel Games

All About Me Worksheet Printable

Check Out These Pet-Friendly Hotel Chains Before Your Next Vacation

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12 PAGES FUN BUSY BOARD: Our innovative toddler busy board has 12 pages to play with and offers a variety of toddler activities that will keep your little one busy for hours. The activity book is designed with games of varying difficulty that are challenging but not too difficult to keep your toddler's interest. Busy book for toddlers 1-3 includes: zipper, button,belt buckles,temp,clock, vehicle, my body, my map, my family, letters, weather, shapes, numbers, planets,etc.

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