When you travel frequently with kids, you learn a thing or two. Not only do you learn what works, you learn what doesn’t! Let me help you on your next road trip with the kids. Here are my go-to ways to entertain the kids on a family road trip.

You might also like these travel games for kids.

road trip games

8 Ways to Entertain Kids on a Road Trip

Prizes
I will admit it. I am not above bribing my kids on really long car trips. I hit the dollar store before packing up the car. I grab little toys, books, coloring books, and snacks. Throughout the trip, the kids are surprised with a new trinket. The key is to not talk about the prizes and to reward them for good behavior. These help a lot on a long road trip.

Glow Sticks
Another thing you can pick up at the dollar store that will provide a lot of entertainment is glow sticks. These are a lot of fun if you will be traveling at night.

Books
It is so easy to rely on electronics and movies to keep the kids entertained on long car rides. But you don’t have to! Hit the local library before you leave. Let the kids pick out a few books so they will be excited to read them in the car. This is a good time to pull out the best books for kids list.

travel games

Pipe Cleaners
Just because you are stuck in the car doesn’t mean you can’t be crafty. Hand the kids a package of pipe cleaners and let them go to town. They will enjoy creating animals, flowers, letters, shapes, even glasses out of the pipe cleaners. Have a contest for who can be the most creative! Here are ten pipe cleaner animals they can make.

pipe cleaner animals

Track Your Trip
If you want to cut down on the “Are we their yet? visually track your trip! Simply print out a car, have them decorate it, cut a slit on either side of the car, and string it in your car where the kids can see. As you make progress to your destination, slide the car along. When it reaches the other side of the car, you have arrived at your destination! These keep kids guessing as they watch it move.

Take Breaks
Taking breaks from driving is not only important the driver but for the kids too. While you are resting, the kids have a chance to burn off some energy. Find pitstops along your route, some even have play areas! Make sure to plan a stop at least once every few hours.

Play Car Games
And I’m not talking about the electronic kind! Go old school with games like I spy with my little eye or the letter of the alphabet Game. Of course, there a few apps out there that will help you keep track, especially when playing the License Plate Game. If your kids are anything like mine, they will be engaged for a while trying to cross off all the States on the list.

Capture the Road Trip
Hand the camera over to the kids and let them document their trip. Whether they use a kid-tough camera or you give them a disposal camera, let them go to town! It will be fun to see the trip through their eyes. At the end of your trip, print out the pictures and have them place it in this trip journal.

Print the pages out of the travel journal for each road trip. Keep the completed pages in a binder so your kids can look back on their travel memories.

printable road trip journal

Fun Road Trip Games

  •  Would You Rather? It is that fun game with questions that pose a dilemma with two equally good, bad or funny options. Here I have included the free printable game and questions.
  • 50 hilarious jokes for kids will keep them laughing!

 

 

Steph is from A Grande Life and is happy to be sharing some of her favorite travel tips!


About Cindy Hopper

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