car trip activities for 5 year old

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Road Trip Activities for Kids Ages 2-8

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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! ??

[…] Finally, when it comes to making your car as child-friendly as possible, do remember to think about ways of keeping your little ones entertained.  […]

[…] up these Road Trip Activities for Ages 2-8 and take them with […]

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[…] that’s not usually the case for kids. If you want them to be on their best behavior, kids need to remain entertained throughout the ride. There are many ways to keep your kids busy, but snacks are a favorite. Bring a […]

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[…] hoping to lure your kids away from their electronic gadgets, consider putting together a stack of conversation cards. This is a great way to spend quality time with your kids during a drive. Include conversation […]

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[…] Road Trip Activities for Ages 2-8 […]

[…] with Kids can be difficult at times, but there are ways to keep the whole family happy. There are plenty of activities that you can prepare to make sure your kids are entertained and excited the entire trip. Be […]

[…] a complicated DIY craft for the kids to do in the car. That’s why I absolutely love this DIY Lapboard craft from The Measured Mom, which is about as easy as it gets. Once finished, your kids will have a nice […]

[…] reach. Then print a variety of free games and coloring pages to keep the kids busy. Find additional road trip activities for kids ages 2-8 here. – The Measured […]

[…] Road Trip Activities for Kids Ages 2-8 {The Measured Mom} […]

[…] reach. Then print a variety of free games and coloring pages to keep the kids busy. Find additional road trip activities for kids ages 2-8 here. – The Measured […]

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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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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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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

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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 Great Road Trip Activities and Printables for Kids

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.

Meredith Adkisson

35 Things To Do On a Long Car Ride With Kids for a Happy Road Trip

Road trips can be a blast, but it could be another story if you’ve got a car full of kiddos. We’ve learned that preparing for the drive is just as important as planning what to do when you get to your destination. That umpteen-hour drive to and from Disney World can have you cursing Cinderella before you even make it to the panhandle.

I mean, while we know we can’t expect joy-filled giggles or total peace and quiet the entire drive, I do have some great ideas to make the drive more enjoyable and to help keep the kids from declaring total mutiny in the backseat. If you’ve got a road trip planned, you’ll definitely want to keep reading for sanity-saving things to do on a long car ride with kids .

Kids’ Activities and Games for a Long Car Ride

Whether your long car ride is 2 hours or 20 hours, you’ll want to be prepared. Depending upon your kid’s age, stage, and ability to entertain themselves, you might need just a few fun ideas or an entire arsenal of activities that will help beat boredom without an overload of screen time. Be sure and add some of these items to your road trip packing list!

LCD Writing Tablet

I love these LCD writing tablets ! Kids can write, draw and erase all day. The battery lasts about 12 months of use and is replaceable when it goes out, so you don’t have to worry about keeping it charged. Just toss it in a diaper bag or backpack and you have an instant creative outlet for the car ride.

Reusable Sticker Books

For little ones on a long car ride, I love these reusable sticker books! They’re safe for the car because the stickers easily peel off a car window or seat back. Whoever created these deserves a medal, says every parent who has scraped old stickers from their door panels after a long car trip.

Sticker Activity Books

There are lots of options for sticker/activity books, but I especially love these beautifully illustrated travel-themed ones for older kids. This 50 States sticker book is fun and is a great geography lesson, especially if you’ll be crossing several state lines during your road trip. This National Park book is also a great idea if you’ll be road-tripping to any of these incredible parks.

Travel Activity Desk

If your kid prefers drawing on paper, then a travel activity desk is awesome. Find one that has pockets for all of their supplies and easily zips open and closed, so you’re not hunting for markers and loose crayons the entire road trip.

Magnetic Puzzles and Games

There are all kinds of magnetic puzzles and games available, from tangrams to chess. I love that the pieces stay attached, so there’s less chance of losing them. My kids love Minecraft , so I’m excited to pull out this puzzle for our next road trip!

Magnetic Drawing Board

The magnetic drawing board is similar to a writing tablet, but in this case, the stylus moves tiny magnetic beads to the surface of the board. When you want to “erase” it, simply push the beads back down. This is a great sensory, mess-free activity for kids for long car rides.

Play Travel “I Spy”

No road trip is complete without road trip games. Here’s a game you can play the old-school way or get a pack of travel cards to play this game with your family as a way to pass the time. It’s a great way to get the kids engaged in the world outside the car and sharpens their observation skills.

Lacing Toys

My girls loved these lacing toys when they were little. They felt like they were learning to sew, while at the same time strengthening their fine motor skills. They’re also great for car rides since there are no small pieces. These wooden ones are really durable and have the string attached. If you’re looking for some that are more packable for your road trip, these lacing cards take up less space and are still well-made.

Busy Boards

A busy board is an engaging, sensory experience for your toddlers or preschoolers. Your little kids will be able to practice skills, such as zipping or buckling. They’ll love the textures and colors and learn basic skills that every school-age kid needs to know. These busy boards make it a fun way to pass the time on a road trip, as well as learn life skills in the car.

Play the Alphabet Game

Similar to “I Spy,” the alphabet game gets your kiddos looking for letters of the alphabet on road signs, billboards, and license plates on your long car ride. It’s a great way to get them reading without realizing they’re doing it on the long car ride. I love these free printable alphabet games from Military One Source.

You’re probably laughing right now, but seriously… This idea from MammaPapaBubba is genius. You can create your own travel lego kit that will let your kiddos build in the car for hours without dropping dozens of tiny legos in the bottomless pit of your back seat.

Play a License Plate Game

Here’s one of my favorite road trip games. I used to play the license plate game as a kid. Of course, we did it the old-school way with paper and pencil, but you can find some really neat games to bring along in the car, like this Melissa and Doug version or these License Plate Travel Bingo cards.

Surprise Bags

Packing some blind bags for your kids on a long car ride is so much fun. They’ll absolutely love the surprise as they pull out unexpected fun things. On our trip to Disney, I ordered a big pack of little Disney toys on eBay for WAY cheaper than I would have paid at the park. And because it was a surprise to my kids, they were over the moon excited.

Road Trip Bingo

There are tons of free, printable Bingo games your kids can play on your long car ride, like these from the Travel Channel or these for your Bluey fans .

Pro tip: Put them in page protectors in a binder, so you can continue to add to your travel Bingo collection over the years.

Game on a Nintendo Switch

If you don’t have one of these super popular handheld gaming devices, it might be worth investing in one or borrowing one if you’ll be in the car for hours. While we typically try to avoid excessive amounts of screen time, desperate times call for desperate measures. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to help the kids stay entertained. (The Switch is also available in a Lite version at a lower price point. )

Activities for Everyone for a Long Car Ride

The opportunity to spend hours together on a long car ride can be a great time to bond, plan and enjoy some road trip entertainment. Here are some great ideas for family activities that little kids, teens, and adults can either enjoy together or separately when we need a break from each other.

Save the Trip Planning For the Car

If you have a flexible week ahead of you at your destination, take the time to plan on your car ride instead of nailing it all down before. Let the kids weigh in on meals, activities, etc. It will fill the time and let the kids have more buy-in on your road trip. This is especially important if you have older kids/teens who might be more reluctant about a family trip.

Listen to a Podcast

It seems there are endless podcast choices available. Depending upon the age and interests of your family, choose one to listen to together, or download podcasts on individual devices for some quiet listening time. There are even podcasts made for children as young as two-years-old, so there’s definitely something for everyone.

Listen To Your Own Music

If you have a music subscription, download music to your child’s tablet or phone ahead of time when you’re connected to Wi-Fi. We have a Spotify family account, and each of can create our own library of music. Having control over music on the drive gives everyone a little sanity and control over their environment when everyone is in need of some personal space and time.

Learn a New Language

An extended amount of time in the car is a great time to work on your second language skills. You could choose a podcast to listen to or practice on a free language learning app, such as Duolingo . There are lots of options for practicing the language of your choice.

Listen to an Audiobook

I love that I can download audiobooks on the Libby app from my public library. Listening to a novel is one of the other best ways to pass the hours on long car rides. It’s free and there are tons of choices. You can also sign up for an Audible membership if your public library doesn’t offer this service.

Tip: if your local library doesn’t offer this or has many audiobooks available, check with a bigger city in your state. Some of them will allow residents of the state to create an account for free. If you’re in TX, you can get an online card from the Houston Public Library and get FREE access to tons of books and audiobooks!

Find an Interesting Gas Station

The south has its Bucees and the Northeast has its Wawa. If you’re into gas stations that seem to offer it all, you’ll find it at one of these locations.

There are also some incredibly unique gas stations across the US that are worth a stop and might even be worth going out of your way to visit.

Make Foodie Stops

If speed is your thing, then you might want to skip right over this. But if you love to try local food, then plan your drive around it. Some of our favorite stops have been at local spots that we’ve found on our drive. It’s much better than wolfing down some greasy fries while you’re driving, IMO.

Play “While You Were Sleeping”

This might be one of my favorites. 😂 When someone in the car falls asleep, everyone else QUIETLY creates a story about what happened while the sleeping passenger was snoozing. The goal is to make them believe you, so depending upon the gullibility of your crew, you can go as big as you want with your story.

Forbidden Words

This is a hilarious game to get everyone involved in. At the beginning of the trip, you set some words that are forbidden from being spoken, like “bathroom” or “hungry.” If someone in the car says one of these words, they are either out of the game or you could have them complete a task like eating some BeanBoozled jelly beans . The rules are really up to you!

Play Decades

This is another favorite game of ours, and I don’t know if it has a real name, but that’s what we call it.

Someone in the car calls out a decade. Then everyone takes turns picking out a song from that decade. It’s sure to get some laughs and likely some groans. Spotify playlists make this an easy game to play.

Watch a Movie

One of my favorite features of Netflix is that I can download hours of movies onto my kids’ tablet or phone. This is great for airplane rides and really long car rides, especially if you don’t have cellular service or have limited data.

Take a Photo-Op

Break up the drive by finding some Insta-Worthy photo ops along the way. It’s a great way to document your trip while you stretch your legs.

Find a Park

Chances are, there are some fun parks or playgrounds along your travel route. If you’re traveling during the day, plan to stop and let the kids run off some steam. If they play hard enough, you might get some quiet nap time afterward.

Things to Do to Make it a Relaxing Long Car Ride

Sometimes after a few hours on a long car ride, you can start to feel trapped or overwhelmed, especially if you or your kids are highly sensitive or have special needs. This is a struggle for our family, so I have to be proactive at trying to create a calm environment in the car. To help prevent meltdowns and overwhelm, these items help to encourage rest and calm on our road trips.

Pack Snacks!

If we had to stop every time someone said, “I’m hungry,” we’d waste HOURS. But we’ll also do almost anything to avoid having “hangry” passengers.

Before your trip, it’s a great idea to go snack shopping. Let the kids pick out their faves, but make sure you also pack some healthy snacks. We love to bring a small cooler to toss in some string cheese, apple slices, and grapes.

Headphones or Ear Plugs

Having a pair of headphones or earplugs for every person is going to make your road trip so much easier when everyone is wanting to listen to their own music, show, etc. I love having wireless headphones, but it’s helpful to have a wired pair on hand in case you aren’t able to charge a set.

Sometimes, you don’t want to listen to anything but need some quiet. My daughter has misophonia and is very easily over-stimulated by sounds. On a road trip, she either uses her noise-canceling Airpod Pros with or without any music playing or will wear these Loop earplugs to help muffle sounds.

Invest in Travel Pillows

This is an essential part of your road trip. Finding a travel pillow that works to keep your head and neck supported will make a huge difference on your road trip and help guarantee that you’ll get some good rest.

If you’re like me and have a hard time getting enough neck support, then you might love this unique neck pillow . I was skeptical at first, but it was a game changer on a 9-hour overnight flight.

Darken the Windows

If you’re traveling during the day, adding some removable window shades will help block out some of the sunlight and help your passengers get some rest during the drive, and cut down on glare.

These silk, adjustable eye masks should be part of your road trip essentials. If you or your crew have trouble sleeping during the day, these lightweight eye masks provide a black-out environment to help you rest on the road.

Aromatherapy

Traveling in a car together can result in some interesting…aromas. To help keep it fresh, you might enjoy one of these travel diffusers . It sits in your cup holder and plugs into a USB outlet. Bring along your favorite essential oil blends and create a relaxing environment.

Fidget with a Fidget

From toddlers to adults, a fidget can be a sanity saver on a long drive for your anxious or antsy travelers. For me, having something to do with my hands helps me stay off my phone. If you have older kids and teens, they’ll likely enjoy these Shape-Shifting Cubes . Younger kids will love these variety packs . You can pull a new one out every hour to change it up.

Wrapping Up

Family road trips, while exhausting, can be a lot of fun! If you plan well for your road trip ahead of time, you can actually make some really fun memories during the drive, as well as help keeps everyone entertained and well-rested.

If everyone is sick of each other and angry before you arrive, it can affect the rest of your trip and keep you from fully enjoying the fun things you planned the rest of the time. So next time you are planning to hit the open road, refer back to our list to get ideas for your road trip.

Let us know your best tips for surviving and enjoying long car rides with your family!

Meredith lives in Cowtown, aka Fort Worth, TX with her husband Brian, three daughters, and three kitty cats. She is obsessed with travel and coffee. When she isn't writing, you might find her relaxing on a patio with an iced coffee, dreaming up her next trip.

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Everything You Need To Keep Kids Entertained During Long Car Rides

Senior Staff Writer, HuffPost

Summer road trip season is upon us, and with it, the whines and wails of children who have been cooped up in the backseat of a car for far too long. Whether you’re traveling with babies , toddlers , school-aged children or teens, keeping kids happy and occupied is a vital component of stress-free travel.

Screen time is helpful, but it’s not the only option — especially for small children who can get easily overstimulated. And although nothing beats getting lost in a good old-fashioned book, it’s not an option for those of us who get carsick the second we step into a moving vehicle.

Luckily, there are tons of options for parents looking to keep kids entertained during long car rides, from audiobooks to magnetic board games and more.

HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Every item is independently selected by the HuffPost Shopping team. Prices and availability are subject to change.

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Best Road Trip Games for Young Kids: 15+ Free Printables

Need free printables to keep young kids busy on a family road trip? Me, too! Here are my favorite road trip games for kids aged three to about eight.

I’m planning a four-day cross-Canada road trip with three kids between three and seven. On my own. No tablets or DVD players. Yikes! My husband will be driving the moving van, so entertainment is solely up to me. How to stay sane?

Well, I found some GREAT free printables for family road trips online. Many are for kids older than mine, so it took some sifting. 

But, wow! There are some INCREDIBLE free road trip activities out there. Here I share my favorites with you.

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links to excellent travel-related products. This means that if you use the links below to make a purchase, we’ll receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

How to use these free printable road trip games for young kids:

• Print them out and put them into a binder. This gives your child a portable desk, AND keeps everything together and tidy. 
• Slip them into sheet protectors , where it makes sense. This is an easy and cheap way to make them reusable. 
• Add a zippered pouch with crayons, washable markers and dry erase markers. 

And wa-la! Hours of quiet time. (Here’s to hoping!)

1. Road Trip Banner

But FIRST! Pinterest is FULL of fun ideas for family road trips, and this is one of my favorites. 

A simple, visual way to “map out” your road trip for your young kids is to string it up in your car! Use string, yarn or even gold duck tape as the road, like Grey House Harbor . Include your overnight stops. Interesting landmarks you’ll see along the way. Planned stops. And then move your car along as you go.

I’m guessing my kids will still ask, “Are we there yet” a million times. But at least I have something to point to. And it’s fun for me, too!

Use my simple Road Trip Banner Printable to create your own!

2. Free COLORING MAPS Printables for Family Road Trips

For simple maps young kids can color, head to Where Exactly Maps . Where Exactly Maps provides free printable map coloring sheets perfect for inspiring your little travel wanderer.

Maps include United States, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, North East Asia, Africa and South America. Each one has two versions: simple, with only the country name, and complete with province/state names. 

While there, also check out the tectonic plates coloring sheet and labeling printable! A great road trip printable for your little geologist. Can work for both older and younger kids.

3. Road Trip COLORING PAGES for Young Kids

I love the coloring pages from Doodle Art Alley . They have a fantastic variety, and appropriate for various ages and skill levels. Countries and states or provinces. National parks. Transportation. Plus so many other fun ideas, like seasons, nature, animals and princesses.  

Two other great kids coloring pages for family road trips are:

• Transportation Color By Number Printables from Captain Coloring Book. Includes a ship, plane and helicopter. These are great for preschoolers because they’re color-coded.
• Vacation Color By Number Printables from All Kids Network. A huge variety, including beach, ice cream and transportation printables. These simple coloring pages have the color words for the legend so they’re great for early readers. 

4. TRAVEL BINGO Free Printables Game for Family Road Trips

There are a LOT of travel bingo printables out there. Most are best for USA-specific road trips, with license plates, flags, signs and fast food restaurants only found there.

Here are my two favorite travel bingo printables for kids that work for pretty much any road trip location:

• Meander and Coast : Super cute, has a good variety of things and is mostly country-generic. The only thing is the American flag, which isn’t a big deal to me.
• Stuffed Suitcase : A fun road trip games printables pack, including four versions of travel bingo and calling cards. Because more than one kid means you need more than one version, of course! I also love the “I Spy” game. The rest of the pack is fantastic for older kids.

Open to buying an all-in-one road trip printables bundle? Check out this one from BE Family Travel on Etsy.

5. Easy Road Trip WORD SEARCHES for Young Kids

I’m a big fan of word searches. When I was young, my mom had search races with me and let me win sometimes! Good memories. And they’re great for early readers. So long as they’re easy. 

Here are some great easy road trip word search printables:

• Easy Summer Word Search from Puzzles to Print. An easy, friendly word search with eight words. The longest is only six letters. 
• Let’s Take a Trip Word Search from Word Game World. More challenging, with 20 words. Most words are short. The longest is sunglasses. 
• Short Vowel Word Search from Teachers Pay Teachers. This word search isn’t specifically about road trips or travel, but it’ll work! It’s perfect for early readers to build confidence and have fun coloring, too.

For a small cost, you might just want to purchase this easy road trip package from Little Wiggles Design on Etsy. It’s fantastic for ages 3 to 5.

6. “I SPY” Road Trip Games for Young Kids

A fantastic resource for “I Spy” free printables is Paper Trail Design . They’re the perfect balance of easy AND challenging for young kids. How is that possible, you ask? Well, take a look! 

The images are simple, but of various sizes. Quantities are all below 10, but together sure add up. You have plenty of fun themes to choose from, like ice cream, mermaids and Star Wars. Or classic options, like transportation, camping, road trip, animals and weather. 

Other great “I Spy” printable games for road trips include Outdoor Adventure and Summer Fun from Picklebums.

What should they pack in their suitcase, carry-on or road trip bag? Check out this Kids Vacation Packing List . 

7. “I SPY ” RACE Game Printables for Family Road Trips

A fun and easy twist on the “I Spy” road trip game is Awesome Alphabet Road Trip I Spy Printable from Sunny Day Family. It’s cute, and it’ll take early readers a while to get to Z! 

For early readers, they can simply cross off the letter when they see it. Stronger readers and writers can write out the word or license plate combo they saw.

8. Simple Road Trip SCAVENGER HUNT Printable Games for Young Kids

There are a lot of road trip scavenger hunt printables out there. Similar to travel bingo printables, I found many had USA-specific items that wouldn’t work that great for my young kids on a cross-Canada road trip.

But I DID find a couple of great generic ones! My favorite is from Make and Takes (illustrated by Juliann Law ). The items on the list can be found on any road trip. Like power lines. Birds. Bike. And the pencil-sketch style of these drawings is beautiful. I I hope they inspire my own little artists! 

Another road trip scavenger hunt printable I love is this car color search from Productive Pete . A simple concept, perfect for building confidence and working up to the tougher ones!

9. DRAWING PROMPTS Printables for Family Road Trips

My five and seven year olds LOVE drawing. We go through SO. MUCH. PAPER! So, these free drawing printables from Picklebums are perfect for young family road trips.

My favorite free printables for road trips include:

• Road Trip prompts, like “what’s in the truck” and “where does the road go.” The last one is SO Mary Poppins!
• Make a Face is a great reusable drawing prompt. Put it in a sheet protector to use with dry erase markers. I can hear the laughter!
• Drawing Challenge Cards is excellent for early readers. Plenty of drawing prompts for hours of entertainment. You could also pull a card out whenever they get bored. 

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10. Road Trip DICE DRAWING Games for Young Kids

During online learning, my daughter’s kindergarten teacher had them play this roll-a-monster game from Embracing Motherhood. It’s been SUCH a hit in our household! I bought large dice for each of my kids. And wa-la! A perfect free printables road trip game for young kids.

Here are my favorite roll-and-draw free printables for young kids:

• Roll-a-butterfly from Printoteka. Because butterflies are awesome.
• Roll-a-monster (3 options) available on ARTimus Prime.
• Drawing games from Drawing How to Draw, including roll-a-face and roll-a-landscape.

Put them to work AND get them excited for your family trip! Check out this Kids Packing List with Pictures . Even preschoolers can use it!

11. PUPPET THEATER Road Trip Activities for Young Kids

My goodness, there are SO many super cute finger puppet printables on Pinterest! If your kids are into animals, fairies, princesses, or robots, just pick your favorites! I’ll prepare a set for my 2 year old, and let my oldest two color and cut out their own. 

Here are three of my favorite finger puppet free printables for family road trips:

• Animal Finger Puppets from Highlights. Print in color, cut out and tape into rings. As easy as you get!
• Farm Animal Finger Puppets from Arty Crafty Kids. Kids can color before cutting and taping into puppets.
• Noah’s Ark Animal Finger Puppets from The Confident Journal. No taping involved, but you may want to pre-cut the finger holes. 

If you’re open to paying a small amount, you really should check out the finger puppets from Pukaka on Etsy. They’re SO cute! Family puppets. Monsters and aliens. Monkeys and circus performers. And characters from your favorite kids book.

Note: I highly recommend printing at least two copies per child. Even if you print onto cardstock, I can see these ripping pretty quickly. And then there’d be tears. SO. MANY. TEARS. Consider yourself warned!

12. GLASSES Printables for Family Road Trips

Check out these free printable glasses from Picklebums. I LOVE this idea for dressing up and making the family road trip extra exciting. Combine them with a crown , and you’re all set.

13. Road Trip MAZE Printables for Young Kids

Mazes can be a great way for young kids to pass the time on a road trip. Choose from many different themes that your kids are interested in on Pinterest. 

Here are my favorite mazes for family road trips:

• Vehicle mazes and country mazes from Muse Printables. This huge collection of easy mazes is perfect for family road trips.
• Seasonal Mazes from Superstar Worksheets. Beautiful free printables to celebrate the changing of seasons.
• Transportation mazes from Emma Pelling at Smiling Art. Elegant and unique. My seven and five year olds will love coloring them in. Plus the counting challenge, too.

14. PLAYDOUGH MATS Free Printables for Family Road Trips

Check out these playdough mats from Picklebums. Slide these into sheet protectors and you have perfect playdough entertainment for a family road trip. Add a pitstop challenge! Have them find leaves, flowers and pebbles to use in their creations. 

My favorite free playdough mat printables for road trips include the bugs and pirates sheets. You can also support this shop by paying a nominal amount for the city playdough mat.

You may also like Best Trips with MOM

15. TRAVEL KIT of Free Road Trip Games for Kids

Here’s one of my favorite travel activity packs for young kids, offered free from Somewhat Simple . It has a few special gems that set it apart.

Like the Made You Laugh jokes, which my daughters will absolutely LOVE. The color Slug Bug travel game, which is simple enough for all three of my young kids to play. And the Do Not Open Until tags, which are perfect for building fun and anticipation along the way. Think: Bubbles for a playground stop and glow wands when it gets dark!

16. TRAVEL JOURNAL Free Printables for Young Kids

Keeping a travel journal is SUCH a great habit to teach kids. On my first solo trip, my mom gave me a journal. And I’ve been keeping them and re-living my travels from them ever since!

The style of travel journal for young kids will obviously be different from older kids. Since my kids are new to writing and practicing their sounding skills, I want a travel journal with a blend of writing and drawing. 

Here are my favorite FREE road trip journals for young kids:

• Travel Journal Printable by Dover Publishing. Simple writing prompts with images for weather and rating. 
• My Vacation Printable by Five Marigolds. Cute and friendly style, with simple writing prompts and a drawing section.
• Travel Journal Template by Kids Travel Books. A cute 26-page, A to Z kids travel journal with writing and drawing prompts. Some pages are best for international travel but most work for any type of trip. 

In the end, I had a specific vision for a kids travel journal to engage my early readers, and couldn’t find it. So, I built it myself. If you’re open to a small purchase, check out our Kids Travel Journal Printable for Early Readers .

What are your favorite road trip printables for young kids? Any tips for the rest of us? Share in the comments below!

Enjoy this post? Please SHARE with your friends!

You may also like:

• How To PLAN a Road Trip You’ll LOVE in 7 Steps
• Best Kids Travel TRAYS For Cars, Planes and DIY
• Kids Travel JOURNAL For Early Readers
• Kids Vacation Packing List

Featured photo credit (car with kids): hwilson8 from Reshot

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Car Games for Kids {Free Printable Road Trip Games & Ideas}

Sharing some favorite car games printables for kids! Keep the young ones occupied on car trips with these free printable car games!

Family road trips (especially ones featuring fun car games!) are the perfect way to create lasting memories with your children. Whether you’re going an hour down the road to a neighboring city or on a grand cross-country adventure, road trips allow time for bonding with your family and experiencing the joys of travel together.

Taking the kids on a road trip is always a great idea, but sometimes you’ll need a bit of extra help to keep them entertained throughout the whole drive. After all, there’s only so much time a six year-old can sit in a car seat without getting bored!

Luckily, there’s many car games you and your children can do on the ride to stay busy, have fun and learn some new things! The folks at The Zebra put together a list of free road trip printables that provide great games and activities for the littles, as well as preparation and planning materials for you!

Included in these adorable printable car games are original games like the License Plate Game (an excellent way to learn geography), a road-trip themed word search and mad libs, and a game that will have your kids glued to the window looking for cows!

For parents, there are printables for packing, car maintenance checklists, information sheets and emergency contact lists. Everything you need to have the best road trip ever is in these printables, so be sure to take them on your next fun trip!

Printable Travel Games for Kids

Keeping the kids entertained on road trips is often a challenge, so we’ve put together a list of printable games and activities to keep them busy for hours on end!

The popular card game is known for its fast-paced and competitive one on one gameplay. At Cribbage Online , players can print out a paper version of the cribbage board as well as play the game online, which can be ideal for road trips.

License Plate Game  – Spot a license plate for all 50 states (bonus points for Hawaii)! Color in each state as you find its plate and see who can get the most! This game is great for school-aged children: it will keep them off their electronic devices, engaged in the drive, and learning geography at the same time! Download it here!

Picture Clue I Spy – Here’s a fun twist on a classic game, perfect for toddlers and young children. Print out the picture sheets before your trip and have your child color in the picture as they see it on the drive! For example, when you pass a farm, they can color in the cow! Download it here!

“My Cows!”  – Driving through the countryside? Chances are, you drive by fields and fields of cattle. Every time you see a group of cows, yell out “my cows!” Keep track of how many herds of cattle you have and see who can get the most! But watch out – if you drive over a bridge, the first one to say “no more cows” can keep theirs, but everyone else loses all their cows! Download it here!

Road Trip Word Search  – For your avid young reader, word searches are a great way to pass the time. See how many of these 15 words your child can find! Download it here!

Road Trip Fill-In-The-Blank  – Everyone loves a good game of Mad-Libs! This fun fill-in-the-blank is vacation-themed and will help your child practice the parts of speech and be silly at the same time. How crazy can your story get? Download it here!

Travel Planning Printables

Before leaving the house, it’s important to be prepared for every aspect of the trip. The following printable checklists can help you plan your journey, keep track of important information, and pack everything you need.

Safety First Checklist  – Use this checklist to ensure you have all the emergency supplies you need while on the road. From first aid kit supplies to snacks, this list will help you prepare for anything on your trip. Download all the Travel Planning Printables here.

Emergency Contact Sheet  – One of the best ways to be safe on a road trip is to let people know where you’re going, when you’ll get there, and when you’ll be back. Use this sheet to keep track of contacts to use in emergencies, like friends, family, and emergency services. If possible, provide contacts in the locations to which you’ll be traveling.  Download all the Travel Planning Printables here.

Accommodations Information Sheet  – This fill-out sheet is handy for keeping important accommodations information at your fingertips. Jot down names, phone numbers, and locations for each hotel on your journey before setting out and you’ll never need to worry about where to spend the night.  Download all the Travel Planning Printables here.

Car Preparation Checklist  – Getting your car ready for a big trip is one of the most important pre-drive steps. Make sure your car is outfitted with all the essential supplies and that it’s in good working condition before you set out.  Download all the Travel Planning Printables here.

Road Trip Packing Checklist  – From sunglasses and flip-flops to hand sanitizer and extra toilet paper, this packing checklist has everything you need for your next road trip. You’ll never forget anything again!  Download all the Travel Planning Printables here.

Thanks for reading all about our Car Games for Kids {Free Printable Road Trip Games & Ideas}. Have a lovely day!

The Best Car Activities for Toddlers: 30+ Fun Road Trip Ideas

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When you think of a long road trip with two or three year olds, what comes to mind? Whining, crying, temper tantrums? Trying to get out of their car seat? It doesn’t have to be that way, not if you have the right car activities for toddlers! If you’re taking a road trip with young children, it’s tempting to just stick them in front of a screen and call it a day. But as a mom of 4, I can tell you that if you plan a few activities to break up the screen time, everyone will be much happier!

And while a little bit of screen time isn’t bad, it really isn’t good for them for a 7, 8, 9, or however many hours-long car ride. When it comes down to it, you do what you gotta do to survive, but ideally, you can throw in some other activities with the screen time.

Fear not, because there are other ways to keep the kiddos occupied that don’t involve screens. Many of these activities are not only fun for toddlers, but also stimulate their brains and hone those fine motor skills, all while you’re on your way to grandmas!

Toddler car activities don’t have to be expensive, either. In fact, most of these things are free or inexpensive, the sort of things you can find at home or at the local dollar store.

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links.

Family Road Trips With Toddlers: A Survival Guide

I have 4 kids right now, ages 10, 8, 8 (twins!), and 3. At one point, I had THREE TODDLERS and we have always traveled with them. My husband’s family lives 12 hours from us, and so it’s a long road trip that we have made every year, at least once.

I’ve picked up some tips and tricks along the way. I’m going to share a LOT of activities and ideas but please don’t try to cram in every activity on your road trip. Simply pick a few of your favorite ideas!

Traveling with tots is not the impossible feat you might think it is, but there are some very helpful ways to prepare! Having the right car activities for toddlers is a great thing, but there are some other tips and tricks to make it even easier.

I have a whole post on how to travel with kids overnight (and why I prefer it to traveling during the day!) but regardless of the time of day, here are several practical tips to keep in mind:

• Pack a VARIETY of activities! That’s what this whole post is about, after all!
• Pack snacks! Even a short road trip still needs some road trip food. Your toddler will look forward to it and it’s an effective way to break up the time and keep things from getting too boring!
• Pack an emergency bag: this includes extra clothes in case of accidents, a first aid kit, and a PUKE BUCKET or BARF BAG . I’m serious. We made this mistake on a road trip last year and let me tell you, not pleasant! I highly recommend these portable barf bags . They are affordable and easy to pack!
• Pack a travel potty if your toddlers are potty training or just recently became potty trained.
• Plan some toddler-friendly stops: especially if you’re on a long road trip, it helps to have some fun, family-friendly pit stop locations planned! It takes the edge off the boredom and lets them get some energy out! Googling local parks or free attractions is great, but sometimes even an empty parking lot is good in a pinch!
• Have a schedule : if your toddlers are used to a certain schedule during the day, try to stick to it on the road trip. Meal/snack time, nap time, quiet time, and playtime can all be incorporated during a long drive. Just don’t be surprised if the change in location throws things off a little bit! That’s okay!
• Introduce new things as you go: start with one toy or activity, and if your toddler starts to look bored, give them something new to do, or surprise them with a special snack, or anything to make the trip seem less monotonous!
• Break it up with screen time: of course it is okay to allow some screen time, in fact, it might be a good idea to let them take a break and watch a movie or an educational show, especially during a longer than 4-hour road trip!
• Tip to limit screen time: During long car rides with younger children, I try to hold off on screen time until after they took a nap. I also plan it strategically around stops, so if there’s an hour-long movie for them to watch, I’ll put it on an hour before we have a stop planned. This way, they won’t be too upset when it’s time to turn it off, because we’re about to get out of the car.
• Hotel Room Bag: If you’re stopping overnight, make sure to pack a hotel room back, with all of your overnight essentials! Don’t forget sound machines, night lights, and a few fidget toys or sensory toys to keep the kids entertained in the small room.

Related Content:

• Traveling With Kids
• Traveling With Kids Overnight
• Flying With Twins

Car Storage and Organization

Before we get too far into the post, I’m going to tell you how I organize our car. In the past, I’ve let the kids each pack a backpack with their activities, but then their backpacks are on the floor and their stuff gets everywhere. For our last trip, I ordered these car organizers that hook onto the backseat and it was a game changer!

They come in a 2-pack, so I had one in the back with Josie and Margo (8-year-old twins) and one in the 2nd row with Theo and Beckham (10 and 3). Theo is a huge help with Beckham, giving him the toys he requests, setting up his headphones, etc.

We also used this car seat organizer to keep our snacks in. Each kid had a ziplock bag with their snacks in it and we refilled it from this container.

Foolproof Toddler Car Activities

I’m sure this goes without saying, but as always, use discretion with which of these are appropriate for your toddler (especially if they involve smaller pieces). Every toddler is a little different and depending on their age and development means that different toys and activities will be better for them.

These are all great travel toys that I’ve used for many years. As my kids get older, I’ve updated this post each year, so now this is really just a big post full not just the best travel toys for toddlers, but the best travel toys for all of my kids!

Travel Tray for Toddler Car Activities

These travel trays look AMAZING. My kids are constantly dropping things in the car and asking for me to retrieve them for them. These trays would prevent things from falling to the floor!

If you don’t mind investing a little bit of money into your car activities for toddlers, a travel tray is a great way to pack everything in one place and let the little ones entertain themselves. There are compartments on the sides for books and snacks, and sometimes even a stand for a tablet.

I like this one a lot for a long car ride because it has a dry-erase board and activities!

We recently used this on a 22 hour road trip from Rhode Island to Florida and it was great. We used it for our 3-year-old, Beckham. It was the perfect tray to help him with his snacks, and he used the road tape and some toy cars to play with. It’s also perfect for coloring, but Beckham didn’t want to color.

Encourage independent play with toys that are easy to play with and easy to clean!

Toy cars travel easily and don’t need a flat surface to be entertaining. However, you can enhance the play experience by creating a road on a travel tray or cookie sheet with this road tape . They are the perfect toy for little hands and the toy that Beckham prefers the most.

Did you know young kids have better reading comprehension by listening to books than reading them? Obviously, most toddlers can’t read yet, but audio books are still a perfect way to stimulate their brains and their ears! 

You can get free audiobooks from the library or snag a free 30-day subscription to Audible and download new books right onto your phone! And if you already have Audible, then you’re ahead of the game.

Pro tip: If you have a DVD player in your car, play a DVD over the stereo without turning the screen on and BOOM: audiobook. We do this with Daniel Tiger DVDs all the time!

Yoto Player

Beckham got a Yoto Mini (currently out of stock everywhere so I am linking the full-sized one) for Christmas and it was such a good investment. Our older 3 kids love to read and they all have kindles, so they can read for hours in the car. When they are reading, we set Beckham up with his Yoto and headphones and he happily listened to books! They are the perfect screen-free activity for long trips.

Physical Books

Space may be limited on a long car ride, but that doesn’t mean you can’t let them pack a few of their favorite books to flip through on the drive! It’s great if you have some interactive books they can engage with, too, or if your older kids are willing and able to read to them!

My 3 big kids (10, 8, 8) love to read and they all have the kids Kindles. The kids kindle is actually a regular, adult kindle, BUT it comes with a case, ad-free, and a year of kindle kids unlimited. Kindle kids unlimited is basically like Netflix, but for e-books. I had my kids download dozens of books before we left, and if they ran out, I simply connected their kindles to the hotspot on my phone so they could download more.

Here are some of our favorite books lists:

• The Best Children’s Books For Twins (About Twins!)
• The Best Spring Books for Toddlers
• The Best Fall Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
• The Best Christmas Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers

I purchased these on one of our recent road trips and they were a huge hit with my kids! They made little people and my son even made glasses to match his sisters. I loved that they were using their imaginations to create things in a non-messy way. I made sure to pack them away in our box of travel items so that they are still fresh and exciting the next time we travel.

Buy them here: Wikki Stix

Magnetic Cookie Sheet

I’ve seen this idea before and it’s brilliant! Put some magnets on a cookie sheet and let them play with it like they would fridge magnets! I love using these vehicle magnets or gear magnets!

Play kid-friendly music

Entertain your toddlers with a little car-bound singing and dancing to their favorite tunes – children’s music, movie soundtracks, or light pop music are all good options.

Road Trip Games: Play “I Spy” 

This is probably easier for older toddlers and preschoolers but you can still call your toddler’s attention to neat things out the window, like big trucks or mountains! My toddlers were always upset when the big trucks left until we made a big deal out of waving “bye-bye” to it.

Road Trip Games: Play “Simon Says”

If “I Spy” is a little too advanced for your younger toddlers, then a fun game of “Simon Says” may be an easier way to keep them entertained.

Road Trip Games: Scavenger Hunts

My kids had so much fun with this scavenger hunt game on our most recent family vacation. Not only was it fun on the drive, but they enjoyed it while we were driving around Florida as well!

No-Mess coloring books

If your child loves to color but you love keeping your car marker-free, then no-mess coloring books are a real lifesaver on road trips! I absolutely LOVE THESE.

Here’s another no-mess coloring book option that I’ve recommended before and have heard others recommend: Melissa and Doug’s Water Wow books, designed for on-the-go! Just fill the pen with water and let them go to town with no inky mess. These are hands down one of the best toddler travel toys out there.

Portable Travel Games

These are an absolutely perfect travel toy for older siblings and they’re also perfect to keep in your bag for a long wait at an appointment or a restaurant. It comes with hangman, connect5, tic-tac-toe, dots & boxes, and categories. My older kids loved playing this, and my husband and I were able to play hangman with them from the front seat.

Magnetic Drawing Board

One of our favorite toys is another mess-free drawing option: magnetic drawing boards .

Wooden Matching Game

This wooden matching game can be played with a single player, so it works for a kid sitting alone in a row, but can also be played with multiple players. It is for ages 3-6 and while this isn’t a toy that we have owned, it looks like a great road trip toy.

Magnetic Dot Art

Let me tell you a funny story about this magnetic dot art toy . We traveled to Ohio in November, and my 3-year-old refused to play with ANYTHING. Everything bored him. Fast forward to our 23 hour road trip a short 3 months later, and I didn’t pack him many toys because I’d learned my lesson.

Guess who whined for something to play with the ENTIRE RIDE? You guessed it. While I had packed him a few things, it wasn’t nearly enough to keep him occupied for the ride there and back. So, I headed to Target and purchased like the only travel toy I could find. And this is it and it was a huge hit with all of my kids!

Tetris Stax

This Tetris is a fun 1 player game that my oldest got in his stocking. It’s the perfect size for a stocking stuffer! It’s for ages 8+ but it’s pretty hard and my 8-year-olds have difficulty with it! Because of this, it does occupy my 10-year-old for quite some time!

OK, hear me out! The age on this is 4-9, but my kids ages 3-10 LOVED THIS!! It is so much fun, but it is a tiny bit messy for a car ride. If you’re like me, you’ll take a little bit of mess that can be easily cleaned up, if it means happy kids on along journeys.

While toddlers cannot do this alone, they can do it if they have an older sibling to help. Theo was able to help Beckham with this activity and it was a huge hit for everyone!

Super Sliding Puzzle

This is one we don’t own, but I’ve been eying it for a little bit. I especially think my 10-year-old would like it! He loves puzzles and this looks really fun, although it is a bit on the pricey side.

3D Mind Puzzle

This 3D puzzle is for ages 3-8 and it looks like a blast! I know that my big kids would love this as much as my 3-year-old, and it’s on my list to purchase as a surprise for our next road trip.

Light Up Pop It Game

What kid doesn’t love pop its? And a pop it game that lights up is an amazing idea. This if or ages 5+ and is one of the best toys for older kids.

Sticky notes

Another creative idea that’s cheap if not free if you have lots of these lying around: sticky notes! Toddlers can go to town sticking them all over the car without consequence… I mean, you do have to clean up a bunch of sticky notes eventually, but it’s a small price to pay.

Rainbow Scratch Pads

There are many different sets of these rainbow scratch pads, and they are one of my kids all-time favorite activities and are perfect for long trips. They do leave a bit of a mess because of the scratch aspect, but nothing a little wet wipe or vacuum can’t take care of.

Magnetic puzzles

This is similar to the magnetic cookie sheet idea above, except that you stick magnets onto the back of puzzle pieces instead. These are a wonderful option for a long car trip.

Here are two options: magnetic farm puzzle or these magnetic animal puzzles .

Magnetic Play Scene

I just purchased this magnetic play scene as a Valentine’s Day present for our toddler, knowing that we have 2 trips coming up (both by air and by car!) and this looks like fun activity for a long trip.

It comes with a magnetic puzzle, a play scene, and a dry-erase pad with some markers.

I’m super excited about it, AND the fact that it is all self-contained!

Here are some other adorable options for magnetic play scenes. These are truly some of the best road trip activities for toddlers!

Here are a few more really fun ones that I found. Please note that some of these are for a three year old and up due to choking hazards. And, depending on your kids ages, some of these magnetic play scenes can be something that the whole family can enjoy.

Magnetic Dress Up Studio

Dress up the girl with magnetic clothes, jewerly, and accessories!

Magnetic Funny Faces

This is like a magnetic Mr. Potato Head. I am tempted to grab this for our next trip because it looks so fun!

Busy bags and busy boxes

A “busy bag” or “busy box” refers to pre-packed activities designed to keep kids’ hands and brains busy, but that leaves it pretty open-ended, right? Check out this post to learn more about how to put a good busy bag together!

However, I do like the idea of using a metal lunch box because you can stick magnets to it, maximizing the number of activities available!

Much like the sticky notes mentioned above, stickers are a great option for toddler entertainment.

A big sticker book with lots of different animals and shapes is always a win!

This obviously depends on the toddler and whether or not they can handle the temptation of plastering the car window with stickers.

Out of my 4 kids, I would trust 2 of them with stickers in the car at this age.

Reusable Sticker Books

Another option if your toddler loves stickers, and you can’t quite trust them with real stickers, is to invest in some reusable stickers like these ones here.

And when I say reusable, I mean, you can wash them and reuse them! They don’t actually have a sticky back and come with a scene to place them on.

I seriously LOVE these sticker pads and they entertain my toddler at home for quite a bit of time. They are a really good option for both younger and older children.

This sticker pad with the roads and rails is also super cute! I am leaning towards the vehicles because my toddlers have always loved vehicles, but they are also availabe in dinosaur , animal , around the town , and fairy tale themes.

And finally, I haven’t tried these, but I have heard great things about these puffy stickers ! There are so many options for reusable sticker pads, and I promise you, they are such an easy way to get hours of entertainment.

Many of these portable ideas benefit from a plastic tupperware container of some sort for easy travel and storage – a mini art kit of crayons and colored pencils is no exception!

Glow Sticks or Glow Bracelets

If you know you’ll be driving as it gets dark, glow sticks are a fun way to shake things up and give them something exciting to play with!

I’ve seen travel kits on Pinterest with normal-sized legos, but personally, I think that’s a little risky… maybe it could work for older toddlers and preschoolers, but for younger kids, I’d use big legos like these!

Edible necklaces and bracelets

String cheerios, Fruit Loops, or another ring-shaped snack food into necklaces and bracelets for a fun snack that keeps their hands busy… and might just minimize the number of cheerios that get all over the backseat!

“Presents”

Break up the monotony of a long car ride with unplanned snacks and activities, given as “presents.” You can even wrap them up for even more fun! Even if it’s a little toy or trinket they already have, the thrill of the unexpected is sure to delight them!

No, seriously: plain old masking or washi tape (so it’s easy to get off of surfaces) works wonders as a car activity for toddlers. They have a ball tearing off pieces and sticking them to things. You may not need to spend a dime on this, but here’s a pack of colored masking tape just in case!

Popsicle stick velcro puzzle

Stick pieces of velcro to the ends of colored popsicle sticks for a simple DIY activity that toddlers can use to make shapes. Alternatively, stick magnets to the ends and use on the cookie sheet from above!

Easter eggs

Whether it’s spring time or not, you can make an easy game out of empty Easter Eggs: fill them with trinkets or snacks, or draw dots on one half with the corresponding number on the other so toddlers can practice number matching!

Another craft supply you might just have on hand that toddlers love: pom poms! Much like pipe cleaners, you can cut holes out of a cardboard box or container and let them have fun poking them through. Just make sure they don’t decide to put them in their mouth.

Matching card games

Practice numbers, letters, pattern recognition, and more with some simple matching card games designed with toddlers in mind!

Pool noodle stacking

Here’s another busy bag idea that could translate well to a road trip, especially if you have a travel tray: cut a pool noodle or two into disks and create a stacking game. This can be color matching, number matching, or just for the fun of stacking something and knocking it over.

Stuffed animals

A favorite stuffed animal, blanket, or lovey is always a good call when it comes to keeping toddlers occupied on long road trips. They can provide some entertainment as well as comfort from home.

Travel Felt Board

Felt boards like this travel set are a great activity for road trips because they’re quiet, reusable, and fun. They are similar to reusable sticker pads and magnetic boards, where the felt will stick to the board and not fall to the ground.

Toddlers can let their imaginations run free and you don’t have to worry about messy clean-up.

Calculators or Old Cell Phones

Seriously, something with buttons that your toddler can press and play with will keep them entertained for hours. Pick up a cheap calculator from the local dollar store or donate an old flip phone and you will not be disappointed with the result!

Car Activities for Toddlers: Final Thoughts

I hope this has given you some fun ideas to entertain your toddler on your next family road trip.

Don’t forget some healthy snacks (and some fun treats!), some good entertainment, and of course, a little bit of screen time.

It is absolutely possible to have a fun, relatively stress-free travel experience with little kids along for the ride. The key is to keep them entertained because if they’re bored, you WILL hear about it.

However, there are definitely more car activities for toddlers out there than the ones I’ve suggested here. If there are any not on this list that you think are also foolproof, feel free to let me know in the comments! Until then, happy travels!

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Top 10 Kids’ Travel Toys for Road Trips

Let’s get straight to business. If you’re traveling with children soon, you probably don’t have time to read my eloquent introduction with adorable anecdotes about how amazing my children behaved, and how patient and entertaining I (the mom) was on our 8-hour road trip to Ohio for holiday travel. It’s possible, of course, that I don’t have these lovely stories to tell…but that’s not the point. You need novel stuff to entertain your kids…and you probably need it fast. This I can help with.

*For my most up-to-date article on the best travel toys for kids — tech and non-screen time — which just dropped May 2021, go here . The post links here have been updated for 2021, but check out the comments at the bottom of the post from 2018 and 2019—so many AWESOME ideas!*

Traveling With Kids: Toy Prep Tips

1.  If you are flying, go to  this post for a full guide of what to pack in a kid carry-on bag .

2.  Even if you aren’t flying, I recommend packing the exact same toy categories in the kid backpack for ALL travel…makes things simple.

3.  For road trips, I throw in some extra toys (besides the backpack toys ) that are especially good for car travel (from the Top 10 list below). This is the perk of road tripping, right? You can just throw in a bunch of fun stuff that might come in handy (even if it’s bulky).

Road Trip Prep: Best 10 Toys For Kids

• Car Seat Tray   2.  Plus-Plus Play Tube   3.  Easy Origami Book 4.  Mini Squigz   5.  Puro Headphones   6.  Travel Bingo   7.  Magnetic Drawing Board  8.  Brainstring   9. Schylling Sports Video Game   10.  Robot Claw 

1.  An Organizing “Toy”

Okay…these aren’t toys, but I do think it’s important to have a thing or two to help keep toys organized in the back seat. To start with, it’s often helpful to have a surface to play on. A surface with an edge is even better, so little pieces or pencils or whatever else they’re playing with doesn’t slide right off immediately. It’s also helpful to have places kids can put “stuff”… this could be plastic cups that fit nicely in the cup holders (which can hold pencils and little building toys) or a full-on back-seat organizer that the super-organized kids may have more fun organizing than playing with the toys themselves. Or if you have two kids, a cooler in-between them (filled with healthy stuff they can eat on their own any time they want) can also serve as a joint play surface. Don’t forget someplace to put trash — how cute is the little trashcan below that fits into a cup holder!

2.  A Building Toy

For building play in the car, I’ve found the key is to have enough building materials that when the pieces fall on the floor (because they WILL fall on the floor) the kids don’t freak out. Besides having a largish quantity of building materials, it’s also important to make sure the materials are pretty much all the same (so there’s no way they can drop the one specific part they need to complete their engineering masterpiece). We sometimes set a timer and see what creation everyone comes up with during a set amount of time. A big set of WikkiStix , a ton of pipe cleaners , or a big tube of Plus-Plus works really well for open-ended building play on a hard surface or even in laps. If you have never played with Plus-Plus, stop and order them right now. They are SO fun and so addictive.

3.  A Crafty Toy

You have more space in the car than in the airplane bag for creative craft kits, but it’s bumpy and supplies are going to drop on the floor, so again….having a lot of the same materials is important.  Origami is great for older kiddos (just make sure to pack a ziplock for the paper) . Or put kids’ extra time to use making holiday gifts with a potholder set . I’m not usually a fan of these types of “have to follow directions” kits, but my son was super into making these potholders for EVERYONE a few years back. He was so excited to be able to make something that grandparents could actually use. A reader suggested finger knitting during travel days, which is genius — I  don’t know how to finger knit, though, so my kids would need the guide below.

4.  A Window Toy

You can get a little more creative with the car windows (vs. the tiny airplane windows).  Window gel clings or a big set of reusable stickers are fun and there’s a bigger surface to work with in the car. For more elaborate window art engineering, get Squigz.  In the car, they are so fun on windows or even in laps, and once you’ve reached your destination they are awesome for restaurants or floors or bathtubs (If you have two kids, though, I’ve found it easier to buy two tubs…plenty of material for each window.) We use the mini ones , but they are small(recommended for ages 5 and up), so if you have a little one who still puts things in their mouths…this is not the toy for them.   I’m intrigued also by these funny spinner things made by Squigz. Even though they are made for babies, I think my kids would be thoroughly entertained by sticking these on the window and keeping them spinning.  Squigz also has a new version called 2.0 that offers more building versatility.

5.  A Listening Toy

One of my kids’ favorite activities in the car is playing DJ. We rotate selecting one song at a time. It’s amazing how much time this takes up and of course how fun it is to at least try to appreciate everyone’s taste in music. For those times that I’ve had enough of appreciating everyone’s musical taste, headphones come in handy. We used to use these, but based on my good friend V’s advice (an expert family road-tripper with 3 kids), we switched over to Puros, and they are totally worth it. There’s also a newer noise-canceling version that look fantastic. Audiobooks from Audible or free audiobooks from the public library ( Libby App ) are also an amazing car activity (the kids can enjoy some passive chill-out entertainment, but still look out the windows and appreciate where they are in the world).

6.  A Car Specific Game

It’s fun to play at least one car-specific family game.  We usually play a range of alphabet games…finding things that start with letters of the alphabet, finding license plates using the whole alphabet, signs, etc, but the games below look really fun too.  The Melissa and Doug game has those flaps that I love from the airplane guide  that are fun for kids to fidget with even if they aren’t actually playing the game.

7.  A Drawing Toy

I love the little drawing sets and boogie boards in our airplane guide that fit nicely in a backpack or purse, but here are a few more options for something a little different. I like keeping white boards in the car, even for shorter trips. The kids can draw, write notes, and use it as a play surface. Plus, they come in a pack of 6, so you can leave a couple in the car, a couple in their rooms, and have one in the kitchen too. They come in very handy. I find the click dry-erase markers easier in the car so the tops of markers don’t get lost.  Etch-a-sketch , of course, is a classic, and it’s especially fun for kids who don’t have one that they play with regularly. Folks love the travel-sized Magnatab from the airplane guide , but below is the bigger one that would add some additional fun for the car.

8.  A Puzzle Toy

NOT traditional jig-jaw puzzles…no way…road trip disaster. I’m talking brain puzzler puzzles. My 10-year-old loves his Perplexus, but this size is a little better for the car. Easier mazes are great for little ones as are those fun little water “pusher-upper” things.   Riddle books can be a great brain puzzler for the whole family.

9.   A Video Game Toy

You can of course go with the versatile iPad, but if you want to change it up a bit, there are several good options. I’m a huge fan of the Nintendo Switch for many reasons (I go in to more detail here ), but one of the reasons I love it, is it’s incredible for travel and now they have the Nintendo Switch Lite ! So good! My friend V shared with me the fabulous retro sports video games from Schylling below…she said her kids are obsessed, and they were a great road trip addition.

10.  An “It Dropped-on-the Floor, I Can’t-Reach-It…Help, Mom!”…Toy Grabber.

No more words needed. This was my 10-year-old’s suggestion, and I have to say…I think it’s quite brilliant and probably the best thing on this list.

And when you’re done here, b e sure to head to Holiday Central for more sales, style and gift ideas!

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17 comments.

Yes! Love this post and I have to say your 10 year old is brilliant. The toy grabber is in our car in a couple of weeks, for sure.

I think so, too, Sarah…I’m of course a tad bit biased, though.

Any ideas for a one-year old?

Sarah – I found that travel toy suggestions were kind of worthless until my kid reached 3, when his attention span got longer. My best bets were battery-operated noise/music toys (which other parents are only too happy to hand-down! (for 1 yr)). I also had a grab bag of things like plastic spoons, toothbrushes, compact mirrors, and assorted tactile things. At 2 we had matchbox cars and plastic dinos, but my kid didn’t put things in his mouth so we were safe with those smaller toys. But realistically, everyone I know just drove while their toddler/baby was asleep.

One universal item that we still travel with is a $5 cookie-baking tray. It’s the perfect surface for activities from drawing to Legos, it has a lip, and it’s MAGNETIC.

I’m so glad you replied Tanaya. It’s been a while since traveling with a one year old for me. I do remember the frustration that EVERYTHING was thrown on the ground with my kids at that age, so toys felt a little useless. Music was key for us…my kids took Music Together Music Classes and we played those CD’s over and over and over and over and over and over…you get my drift. And cheerios..lots of cheerios. Will let you know as my memories come back to me…I may have blocked them out for good reason. 🙂 .

Also meant to respond, Tanaya, that I love your grab bag suggestion. I totally forgot about that! We used to do that on the plane too….with just random household stuff….post-it notes, scotch tape, crinkly paper….and love the cookie-baking tray idea too. Thank you for chiming in.

Sarah- If you can reach the back, or have an older sibling, puppets are good too. I second the small musical/noisy/annoying toys for younger kids. and snacks. ALL THE SNACKS!

Thanks, Linzi! These are great ideas and I’ll be stocking up.

My son has started to want to bring legos in the car – just when running errands – which is just as bad of an idea as everyone over age 5 can see, so I think the “identical building materials” is brilliant. I’m going to get some for my car. (something childless me a decade ago would have thought was insane).

Strongly second Wiki Sticks! Surprisingly non-messy and works well for a very wide age range. In a car situation, doll them out gradually so that the entire stash isn’t on the ground within the first 15 minutes.

For older children (age 8+…), I recommend a ‘knot a quilt’ kit. Melissa and Doug, Alex, and Hearthsong have versions. For age 6+, clover spool knitters have been worth an hour or two.

We mainly do road trips, and one of our forehead slapping additions was ear muffs! Younger kids can use them at nap time. Older kids wear them when younger ones are screaming. Middle children can use them to be passive aggressive.

We also get a lot of use out of the old school car games: Road sign alphabet and 20 questions. Works best with 5+.

Take and toss cups in carseat cupholders for *everything*: snacks, crayons, legos-now-plus, etc.

Erin! These suggestions are GOLD! Thank you! Such a good idea to give out the wiki sticks a few at a time. And ear muffs?? Amazing. I will definitely be sharing some of these ideas in our next version of this post…too good not to share with everyone. Thanks!

Just started stocking up on all of these items during black Friday. Thanks again for all of the suggestions–especially those for a one-year old. And love the passive aggressive middle child ear muffs. Definitely have one of those in this family. He may even start wearing them on the regular.

Yeah, These are way more fun for the kids to play with. The problem is, what they are told to want and what peer pressure tells them — and usually it’s the kind of expensive toy that does virtually nothing to stimulate their imaginations.

These are great toys for children. It provokes and stimulates senses for babies

The best options for portable toys are ones that keep kids entertained, without being too noisy, messy or bulky. An added bonus is when the game appeals to kids of different ages and can be fun for the entire family.

We recently upgraded to Puro noise-cancelling headphones, and for anyone balking at the price–YES, they are that much better than cheaper kids’ headphones. And not just “nicer” better, but actually safer. I spent too much time researching children’s headphones and hearing damage, and found this article most helpful in making my decision: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-kids-headphones/ . We went with the active noise cancelling set because we fly a lot and it was important to me to offset the engine noise; for car rides and around the house, I imagine the Puros linked here in the article would be totally sufficient (also not quite as expensive!).

Squigz are a family favorite! Getting the tube squigz to add to our collection and the toy grabber is genius! Also in my cart.

If you don’t have the time, money, or room to buy more STUFF, a box of foil and roll of painters tape for each child (with their name written on it) is something I take on every road trip. My boys (5 & 8) are little builders and love the versatility and “grown up” aspect to these materials they don’t usually play with. For younger kids watch out for the metal edge of the foil box; a parent might have to dispense the sheets for safety reasons.

LOVE this idea, Christy!

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Want, Need, Wear, Read: The Young Kiddo (Who Really Doesn’t Need...

Our Ultimate Toy Guide (For All Ages) Is Here!

A Gift Guide For the Unicorn-Obsessed Kid

57 Car Activities For Toddlers For A Stress-Free Trip!

By: Author Brenda Kosciuk

Posted on Published: March 29, 2023  - Last updated: September 29, 2023

Truth: A long road trip with my kids (especially my toddler) gives me major anxiety.

And they shouldn’t because I have this amazing list of great travel and car activities for toddlers .

I have a 6 year old, but she’s much easier in the car than her 3 year old sister and she can do all of these activities as well!

Toddler car activities that work for older kids, too?

That’s a win, win!

Keeping toddlers occupied and happy in the car on long car rides or road trips is actually pretty simple, as long as you are prepared ahead of time.

This is definitely not something that you want to ignore until the last minute.

A little preparation using these amazing ideas is going to make your family road trip SO MUCH BETTER.

Especially if you are taking a road trip with kids by yourself .

You don’t want to be stressed before the vacation activities even start!

Have you ever tried to entertain little kids in the car for hours without any real plan?

Yes, you could just load your tablet or portable DVD player with tons of movies, but is that really going to keep your kids occupied?

My guess is no!

At least not if they are anything like my kids.

There is only so much zoning out that my kids can handle.

They like being active, not confined.

They like interaction and stimulation.

This is why I have developed this list.

Because intentional travel toddler activities are going to save my sanity.

Because even if I put on a movie during a long car trip, inevitably one of my kids (halfway through) will start.

“Are we there yet?”

Figuring out what to do with a 2 year old in the car is stressful.

Having a bunch of these car games for kids and car activities for 2 year olds, 3 year olds or 4 year olds ready to go will help you to not want to jump OUT of the car during your next long drive.

This post contains affiliate links.

Best Car Activities For Toddlers

Getting some new books for road trips with toddlers will definitely buy you some quiet time in the car.

You could also get some from your local library.

I would go with books that your toddler will be majorly interested in (favorite characters, for example).

For my 3 year old, that would mean a bunch of Paw Patrol books.

If there is someone in the back that can read to your toddler, even better!

You could even show the YouTube read aloud version of any of these 2-year-old book favorites.

It’s also a great idea to have your toddler tell everyone in the car what’s happening in the story.

It’s a great way to get your toddler’s creativity flowing while she’s stuck in the car for hours.

You could also bring along some of your toddler’s favorite books.

2. Melissa And Doug Water Wow Books

Water Wow books are super popular toddler road trip travel toys.

Simply fill the water pen with water, and your child can “color” in the pages.

It works surprisingly well, and by the time your toddler colors in the last page, the first pages will be dry so that your toddler can start all over again.

3. Read-Along Storybooks With CD

I would love to read to my toddler in the car, but reading makes me carsick.

Read-Along Storybooks that come with a CD are actually even better for in the car.

There are so many great books to choose from and the narration is really great.

We own quite a few of these books, and we often listen to each of them several times on long trips.

At first, I had to prompt my daughter (when she was 2) to turn the page when she heard the chime, but she caught on very quickly and was then able to do it independently.

If your toddler already enjoys read-along storybooks, you might want to venture into audiobooks for your toddler .

4. An Old Cell Phone

This cell phone doesn’t even have to be working or charged.

I’m not kidding, your toddler will love it and will feel like such a big deal.

The key is to tell your child that it’s “her phone”.

Both of my kids play with their non-working phones all the time.

They call people, they receive calls and they tell their cousins that it’s real.

Old phones are great things to keep a toddler busy on a road trip.

5. Would You Rather Questions

I love asking my toddler questions, and these funny Would You Rather for kids are the best type.

They’re super easy for your toddler to answer because they give 2 options for your child to pick from.

The sillier the better!

I also have this or that questions for kids , which might be a little easier for toddlers.

6. Stickers

Stickers are always a hit, and I love that (especially at the toddler stage), it’s an activity that takes a long time.

Make sure that you remove the sticker paper around the stickers first so that it’s less frustrating for your toddler.

We recently got the Pete The Cat Sticker Book and I seriously LOVE it because the quality of it is really amazing for the price. It has different scenes where you place the stickers and the stickers don’t easily rip like some others.

Reusable sticker pads are also a great option.

7. Flashlights And Glow Sticks

If you will be traveling when it’s dark, flashlights and glow sticks will be a crazy fun activity.

Just make sure to keep them put away until then.

8. A Stack Of Post-It Notes

A stack of post-it notes just provides for so many possibilities.

Your toddler can stick them all over the place, can write on them with crayons or colored pencils, or can re-stack them endlessly.

9. Small Objects In Small Containers

Scour your house for some egg fillers for toddlers and put them inside plastic Easter eggs.

Your toddler will love opening them up to see what’s inside.

Your toddler can also put them in and out of the Easter eggs.

10. A Taste Test

I LOVE this one.

It can be done with Jelly Belly jellybeans , gummy bears, fruit snacks, etc and is probably best saved for older toddlers so that you don’t have to worry about choking.

Have your child close her eyes, hand her one of the previously mentioned foods, and have her guess the flavor or color.

11. Edible Necklaces

Before you go on your trip, you and your toddler could make an edible necklace out of cereal such as Cheerios.

Then store the necklaces for the trip.

This is a great activity because the necklaces will take your toddler a long time to consume, and they’re more fun than simply handing over a bag of Cheerios.

12. A Travel Tray

A travel tray will simply make coloring, playing and doing all of these activities so much easier.

This travel tray is my favorite, because it has side pockets, sturdy sides, fits perfectly over your child’s car seat and it folds flat for storage.

Just imagine: All of your child’s toys and snacks will stay contained to their little space and you won’t have to worry about her dropping her toys or getting goldfish crumbs everywhere. 

Oh, and according to the reviews , this tray has saved MANY road trips.

13. Your Child’s Blankie Or Lovey

If your toddler still has a lovey or special stuffed animal, be sure to bring it with you so that your child can more easily take a nap.

14. A Kid-Safe Mirror

It’s simple but oh-so entertaining!

15. A Slinky

I don’t know what it is about the Slinky, but my kids are mesmerized by them.

16. Magnets and a Cookie Sheet

If your toddler is learning letter recognition, some alphabet letters would be a great activity for the car.

You could also tie it into looking outside at signs to try to find a letter (if your toddler is forward facing).

17. Measuring Cups To Stack

I’m sure your child is already a fan of stacking Tupperware, bowls, and whatever else she can find in your kitchen cabinets.

Bring some small measuring cups to continue the stacking fun in the car.

18. Magnadoodle

19. color wonder mess-free markers and pads.

For some reason, kids just like markers more than crayons and colored pencils.

What is it?

Color Wonder markers and pads are amazing because they have the excitement of markers but they only work on the special Color Wonder paper.

They are a much better version of a coloring book for the car.

20. Imagine Ink Mess Free Coloring Sets

Imagine Ink Coloring Sets are very similar to Color Wonder but they are more compact and only come with one marker (which means less chances of losing a marker in the carseat).

My 3 year old also prefers the Imagine Ink books.

21. Look And Find Books

Look And Find books will keep your toddler’s mind engaged and thinking creatively during your road trip.

Though a lot of these books are maybe to advanced for as car activities for 2 and 3 year olds, there are many Look And Find books that are geared toward this age level.

• Paw Patrol First Look And Find
• Peppa Pig First Look And Find
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse First Look And Find

22. Wrapped Dollar Store Items

Break the monotony of your car ride up by handing your child some toys wrapped in gift wrap.

You can visit the dollar store to buy a few small toys, or you could even wrap up some of your toddler’s existing toys.

I love the idea of giving your child one wrapped toy at certain intervals.

You could give a toy after a certain time period or when you cross over into a new state to celebrate.

23. Snacks, Snacks and More Snacks

I remember thinking (before kids) that I was NEVER going to let them eat in the car.

Then I had kids, and surprise!

I laughed at my pre-kid self.

Even if you do not allow food in the car (how do you do it?!), car trips could be the exception to the rule.

While I’m a HUGE crazy person about what my kids eat, I have been known to give my kids some special treats on long car rides.

Pack your snacks wisely.

The best snack ideas are foods that take a long time to eat such as pretzels, goldfish, cereal necklaces, etc.

You could also try incorporating food with something else, like a game.

Winner gets a pretzel!

Snacks will be your number one tantrum deterrent and the easiest way to distract, so make sure you pack more than enough.

24. A Boogie Board

A Boogie Board is an LCD board that your toddler can write on with a stylus and erase with a push of a button.

It’s pretty simple (and actually you can then use it for jotting down your daily to-do list).

I actually bought one for myself, and then had to buy a second and a third because my kids kept stealing it from me.

25. Conversation Starters

What better time than to get to know each other than when you’re stuck together in a small car for hours?

These conversation starters will help you get a little glimpse into your toddler’s mind.

They are truly fun for the entire family.

If your toddler is struggling to answer the questions, give your answer first as an example.

26. Tell Jokes

Okay, your toddler might not completely understand kid jokes yet, but toddlers don’t care!

My toddler will laugh at any joke I tell her, even if she has no idea what it means.

These jokes for 4 year olds,  5 year olds or 6 year olds contain many that your toddler will actually understand.

This activity will be a lot of fun.

It’s true, the jokes might not be funny for the adults in the car, but the toddler giggles will definitely put a smile on your face.

You can also have your toddler make up her own jokes.

My 3 year old loves to invent her own jokes, and though they never make sense, they always make me laugh because it’s adorable.

Her jokes always end with “because he was a real hot head!”.

27. The VTech Rock and Bop Music Player

The VTech Rock And Bop Music Player is another toy that will make your toddler feel like a big hotshot.

It’s like an iPod for toddlers.

It might be the phone shape of it, or it might be the headphones that come with it.

It plays cute songs and your toddler can also play a few games with it.

It’s really interactive and will give you some quiet time to just relax in the front seat.

(My 6 and 3 year old fight over this all the time). 

28. The Counting Game

Choose something that the whole family needs to look for (black cars, red trucks, stop signs, cows, etc).

See how long it takes you to find a certain number then start again.

I love this even for the youngest toddlers because it will help your child practice colors and numbers, and the repetition with help immensely.

Try to pick your number limit based on what your toddler knows.

My 3 year old can count up to 15, and then gets them a little mixed up.

The next time we play this game, I will go up to 20 so that she’s getting repetition of the numbers 15-20 that she needs.

Okay, you might hate this idea and you can choose to ignore it completely, but kids love repetitive songs that we find to be, well, annoying.

Think “The Wheels On The Bus”, “10 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed”, and “The Song That Never Ends”.

30. Movie Soundtracks And Kid’s Music

If you don’t feel like having “The Song That Never Ends” stuck in your head for the duration of your vacation, bring along some movie soundtracks or your toddler’s favorite songs to play in the car.

No, not a mixed tape, actual scotch tape.

Or washi tape or whatever.

I have a feeling if I handed my 3 year old tape in the car and told her that she could use it all, she would be like a kid in a candy store.

This one could go either way.

It could occupy your toddler for a VERY long time, unless your toddler is the go-big-or-go-home type.

Then your entire roll of tape might be pulled out in one long, sticky strand in about 10 seconds and then you’ll be on to the next activity real quick.

32. Band Aids

So what if your next rest stop is spent peeling band-aids off of every inch of your child’s clothing.

I am telling you, this activity will last a LONG time.

Simply getting the band-aid out of its packaging with take a while, and it’s a great fine motor activity too.

Don’t worry about your toddler wanting you to open all the band-aids. Most (every?) toddler wants to do everything themselves anyway.

This is one of my toddler’s most favorite fun car activities.

33. Play I Spy

While I don’t think I Spy is a very good game for DRIVING because you’re simply whizzing by everything, it is a life-saver when you are stuck on the highway because of traffic, construction or an accident.

34. Magnetic Toys

Magnetic toys are great because they won’t be falling all over the place.

Magnatiles are a great choice, and will get tons of play even after your trip.

35. Wooden Lacing Activities

Hone your toddler’s fine motor skills with these on-the-road activities for toddlers.

• Lacing Activity Set with cute animals
• Wooden Lacing Beads

35. Flashcards

I know that flashcards kind of have a bad reputation, but my toddler LOVES doing her alphabet flashcards.

We have these flashcards and they are great because they are super thick and sturdy, they have pictures of common things and they are connected by a ring which is perfect for in the car (my biggest pet peeve about driving with kids is when I hear that someone has dropped something. Did I say that already?!)

36. Scissors and Paper

Give your child some scissors and paper or a magazine.

Your toddler will cut and rip that paper and likely make a gigantic mess, but it’s guaranteed to be a very effective way of keeping toddlers busy .

If you’re really brave you can give your child a glue stick also so that she can glue all of her pieces onto some paper.

37. Pinwheels

Your toddler can spin it and (try) to blow it.

Or just swing it around, whatever floats her boat.

38. A Balloon

A balloon on a string in a confined area is super fun (for the kids, at least).

39. Wikki Sticks

Wikki Sticks are made out of yarn and food-grade wax.

They can be stuck together to make endless designs and are completely reusable.

40. Electronics

You were probably wondering if I was ever going to suggest electronics.

I don’t LOVE screen time for my toddler, but a little screen time (especially in the car) is always a good option.

If you’d like to offer up some electronics, here’s what I suggest.

If you do games on a tablet, my ABSOLUTE MOST FAVORITE app is Endless Alphabet .

It is an incredible app, but is also simple and will teach your child letters and new words.

Your child will drag letters to form words, all while the letter that you’re dragging is making silly sounds (the K will make a K sound over and over).

Once your child has finished the word, there will be a very short scene showing what the word means in a very silly way.

My kids LOVE getting to the end to see what the little creature will do.

If you’re going to show a movie or a TV show, I highly suggest this tablet holder for the back of your seat.

This is the one that we have because it goes in between the two front headrests so that both of our kids can watch a movie on it.

This awesome Disney movie list can give you some great options.

You should also purchase an extra long charger so that you don’t run out of batteries in the middle of Chase’s mission.

41. Toy Catalogues

If it’s near Christmas, give your toddler the latest toy catalogue and have her circle the toys that she wants.

Yes, she will probably circle everything in sight.

No, she won’t remember what she circled.

42. Podcasts

You can definitely listen to a podcast while your toddler is playing, snacking or whatever.

Check out the 5 Best Podcasts For Kids Under 5 .

43. Dollar Store Toys

Your kids can even go with you to pick some toys out. Just make sure to put them away for the road trip.

44. Guessing Games

You can describe an animal, a family member or a mystery object.

45. The Quiet Game

This just might be my most favorite of many road trip games.

The Quiet Game is simple.

Whoever speaks first loses.

You could even up the ante and have someone in the car try to MAKE everyone else laugh.

Another idea would be to give a small prize for being the last to make noise.

46. Pictionary

Mom, older siblings or your toddler herself can draw a picture and everyone else needs to guess what it is.

The great thing about this game is that my kids love stumping us, which is great for those times when you have absolutely no idea what your kid has drawn.

47. Tell Stories

My husband often tells my kids stories at bedtime.

The main character of the story is always themselves, and the story inevitably contains some kind of silly occurrence.

Another fun option is to have one person start the story, then the next person will say another sentence of the story and so forth.

This is really fun and great for your toddler’s imagination.

48. A Tape Measure

If your toddler’s got a bunch of toys back there with her, give her a tape measure and ask her to measure each of them!

49. Play 20 Questions

Make it simpler for your child by starting with a category (animals, foods, etc).

50. Blow Bubbles

This one might be a no-go, but if your toddler can blow bubbles on her own (or if there is an older sibling in the back to blow them), then this will work.

Just make sure that you get the mini bubbles so that if they spill, your child won’t be covered in sticky bubble solution.

51. Play Finish-The-Doodle

Have your toddler make a doodle on paper or on her Magnadoodle.

An older child (or mom) should use that doodle to make a drawing out of it.

52. Avoid The Complaints

If your kids are prone to “Are we there yet?”, this idea is PERFECT.

Give your kids a roll of quarters.

Each time that your kid says “Are we there yet?”, she has to hand over one quarter.

53. Pipe Cleaners

Ask your toddler to create a surprise for you out of pipe cleaners.

They are super easy to bend and form into different shapes!

54. Scavenger Hunts

This road trip scavenger hunt come in three varieties: the traditional checklist, BINGO and a color car find.

55. Mile Tracker

Give your toddler a paper with a bunch of squares on it (one square for every 50 miles of your trip).

Every 50 miles, have your child cross off one of the squares.

This provides a great visual for your child to be able to see how much farther you have to go.

56. Rotate Toys

Make sure that you don’t just throw a bunch of toys in the back with your toddler.

Give one toy at a time, and once your toddler starts to fuss, switch that toy out for another one.

57. Rest Area Mini-Olympics

Get your kids to get all that pent-up energy out each time that you make a stop.

You can have your kids hop, do jumping jacks, stretch, run, etc.

I hope this post helped you to find some new favorite road trip activities!

It’s hard to entertain a toddler in the car, but you can do it!

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Road Trip Activities for Kids Age 9-12 years

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Family Road Trip Activities For Kids

Are you planning a family road trip with kids and wondering what road trip activities for kids to bring along? Everyone is excited to go on a vacation, but taking a road trip with kids can be daunting for parents. From the dreaded “I’m so BORED” or “are we nearly there yet?” to “I’m hungry” or “I feel sick.” There is a lot to consider if you want to simplify your road trip with kids . Packing a selection of car activities for kids will help keep your children busy as you travel, relieve their boredom, and keep your sanity intact.

When traveling with kids the journey should include activities such as craft or activity sets, sticker books, workbooks, printable road trip games, toys, travel games, coloring, books (including audiobooks and podcasts), music, screen time, followed by snacks, then rinse and repeat!

In this post, we share our favorite road trip activities for kids age 9-12 . Don’t leave home without these non-mess essential travel activities for your kids.

If you have children of various ages you can read our posts about the 10 Must-Have Travel Toys for Baby , or must-have Essential Toddler Travel Toys , or the Best Travel Activities for Kids Age 4-8 . We also have a Guide to the Top 25 Travel Gifts for Kids of all ages who love to travel, as well as lots of Non-Toy Gift Ideas for Kids that are suitable for travel.

What are the Essential Car Activities for Kids?

When taking a road trip with children plan to bring a few special surprises to keep up your sleeves such as a new activity or toy your child has not seen before. And don’t forget to bring the most important item of all – road trip snacks for kids . 

Over lots of years and the many thousands of miles we have traveled with our children, there are certain items we won’t leave home without .

Essential travel activities for kids include:

• Craft or Activity Sets
• Sticker Books or Workbooks
• Printable Road Trip Games for Kids
• Travel Games
• Coloring Books and Crayons or Markers
• Books at your child’s appropriate reading level
• Audiobooks and Podcasts
• Music and Songs
• Family Road Trip Movies
• iPad, Tablet or Device with Headphones, charger, and travel case

📌 Pin it for later 📌

Non-screen Road Trip Activities for Kids

​We try our best to avoid too much screen time . We find our children cannot handle unlimited amounts of technology time and they will become angry and frustrated if we do not limit the amount of time they spend on a screen. With this being said you will find that the majority of travel activities that we recommend are non-screen options.

We prefer to start with non-screen activities first to help pass as much time as possible and then use limited technology time later in the trip as a reward. Otherwise, we find that if we allow our children to pick screen time as their first activity then it’s very difficult to break that cycle and get them off the screen without a fight!

Every family can choose what is best for you and your children, but we find the journey goes better with limited amounts of screen time. 

What are the Best Road Trip Activities for Kids Age 9-12?

Here are our favorite road trip activities for kids age 9-12 years. This includes essential no-mess car activities for kids that can easily be packed in the car or a BE Family Travel Tray . These road trip activities are great options to entertain your tween while traveling.

Taboo Kids Vs. Parents Family Game is an excellent game for kids to challenge parents. The hilarious kids vs. parents game is a fun twist on the classic Taboo game. It includes a kids’ deck and an adult deck of cards. The kids’ deck features familiar Guess words and only 2 forbidden words. Get teammates to say the Guess word on the card without saying the forbidden words. Say a forbidden word shown on the card and opponents will squeak the squeaker and the other team gets the point. Race against the one-minute timer in this fun and fast-paced family game. This is a great way to entertain the whole family on a road trip with kids.

100 PICS Riddles Travel Game

The 100 PICS Riddles Travel Game is for kids who love a challenge. Kids can entertain and bamboozle themselves and others with these family-friendly brain teasers! Can be played alone but friends and family usually want a guess too! This handy travel activity fits neatly into your pocket or bag. Ideal for playing in cars, restaurants, planes, and trains. The 100 PICS flashcard games help improve vocabulary, spelling, and memory.

Friendship Bracelet Maker Kit

The IQKidz Friendship Bracelet Maker Kit keeps the threads separated and organized, and includes the braiding loom with movable pegs to hold the bracelet in place, along with step by step directions. This arts & crafts kit makes it fun and easy to create friendship bracelets alone, with siblings, or with friends. Comes in a portable fashion storage box for storage and while on the go. Kids can get crafty and create awesome bracelets while traveling in the car or on vacation. This is one of the most creative road trip activities for kids and ideal for 8 to 12-year-olds.

Toy Storage Bag and Play Mat

The Creative QT Mini SlideAway Toy Storage Bag and Play Mat means now you can say “YES” to bringing toys along! No ordinary toy bag, the patent-pending Creative QT Mini SlideAway stops the spread of kid clutter and keeps it contained while you’re out and about. Pour toys or art supplies right onto the integrated tabletop play mat, and let little imaginations run wild. Toys slide away for storage with a quick pull of the handles and a little shake. The Mini SlideAway is perfect for building bricks, crayons, toy cars, snacks and is a great way to store car activities for kids.

Kodak Printomatic Instant Camera

Kodak Printomatic Instant Camera is a 10-megapixel, point-and-shoot that offers a combination of a powerful 10MP sensor with a wide angle f/2 lens that instantly and automatically prints hi quality color or black and white photos directly from the camera body. Just point and shoot making it the ideal all-in-one solution for capturing and sharing vibrant prints instantaneously wherever your child travels. The KODAK Printomatic Instant Camera All-in-Bundle is available with Zink Paper, Deluxe Case, Photo Album, 7 Unique Sticker Sets, Markers, Scissors, Border Stickers and so much more. This creative kit provides exciting road trip activities for kids who love to travel and is another artistic way for kids to document their family adventures.

Polaroid Originals OneStep

Polaroid Originals OneStep 2 VF – Summer Blue is a blast from the past! It will bring back lots of happy childhood memories as you reminisce and remember the fun you had with this as a child. It is easy to use: just point and shoot. Kids can compose their shot, press the red button and magic will appear! An instant print camera is a great way for kids to capture their vacation memories. You child can on a family road trip documenting their adventures in a Travel Journal for Kids .

Popular Activity Books for Kids

Road Trip Activity Books for Kids are a great way to entertain your tween as you travel. Here are some of the most popular travel activity book options.

Leather Travel Journal Daily Notebook

This Leather Travel Journal Daily Notebook is 6.3″ x 9.3″ so it works perfectly for your older child as a leather travel journal and diary, sketchbook, photo album, daily notepad, and so on. A handmade leather journal is a special keepsake for your child’s thoughts, plans, and ideas, durable for travel or outdoor adventure, and good for storage. The set includes a handmade leather journal, bookmark, and high-grade kraft packing, and is the perfect size suitable for most bags to take it anywhere. This is another road trip activity to help occupy your child’s time in the car as you travel.

Sudoku for Kids

Sudoku for Kids for Kids 8-12 years is a book that contains 200 sudokus with solutions. This helps kids to improve their memory and logic while having fun and helping to pass the time on a family road trip.

All You Need Is a Pencil

When headed on vacation All You Need is a Pencil – The Stuck in a Car, Plane, or Train Activity Book . Unfortunately, it usually begins with the family stuck in the car. And the kids yelling “I’m bored”. Fortunately, with these quizzes, puzzles, games, and doodles, the fun doesn’t have to wait, even if you do. And you can do them anywhere—no electricity needed—with just a pencil. Fill in travel quotes, writing in the name of anyone who says one of the phrases on the page—like “I have to go to the bathroom” or “I think we’re lost.” Play gomoku, a two-person game that’s similar to tic-tac-toe. Plan the ultimate vacation—a week anywhere in the world. Draw creepy critters, try tongue-tripping-twisters, and unscramble anagrams. It’s all so entertaining that no one will ask the dreaded question: Are we there yet?

Would You Rather for Kids!

• Would you rather  Pet a baby lion  or  Pet a baby elephant
• Or would you rather  Eat Dinner in a hot air balloon  or  Eat breakfast inside a castle
• Would you rather Be friends with Spiderman or  Be friends with Batman
• Would you rather  Have a swimming pool  or  Have a big trampoline
• And much, much more.

This is the perfect book for travel games for kids in your car while on long car rides! Would you rather books for kids are the best form of entertainment so you can keep your children occupied while they have fun pondering the silly and fun questions to themselves! Inside you will find 200 ‘Would You Rather’ questions ready to go, some of them include…

Maze Activity Book for Kids 8-12

Fun and Challenging Mazes for Kids 8-12: An Amazing Maze Activity Book for Kids is packed with mazes to entertain, stimulate, and challenge your kids. Jumpstart your child’s learning with this maze activity book for kids 8-12. These mazes can help improve fine motor skills, problem-solving skills, and visual perceptual skills. Various types, themes, and shapes ensure your child won’t get bored which makes these the perfect road trip activities for kids. This big book of mazes includes mazes in a variety of difficulty levels from simpler to more advanced. This maze book is educational, entertaining, and sure to get kids thinking!

Survive Your Road Trip With These Activities For Kids

As tempting as it may be to push through and keep driving to your destination, it is important to take regular breaks . Every few hours throughout the road trip allow your children (and you) the opportunity to stretch, move around, and visit the bathroom. Make sure stops have plenty of space for kids to run around for 20 minutes or more before getting back in the car.

Plan your family road trip to include some attractions along your route. You can use these as incentives to help your kids ride just a little bit longer. Fun pitstops that kids enjoy include:

• Parks and Playgrounds
• Picnic spots
• Walkable downtowns
• National Parks
• Historical sites
• Scenic overlooks

The more you travel with children the easier it will become. Being prepared with these road trip activities for kids will give you the confidence to adventure in the car while making the journey more bearable for you and your children.

And remember, let’s BE Family so you can enjoy the journey.

Until next time, 💖 Ruth

For more about family travel check out these posts: What Are The Best Family Road Trip Movies? Audiobooks For Family Road Trips Simplify A Road Trip With Kids The Best Travel Activities For Kids Age 4-8

BE Family Products Inc., or (BE Family Travel) participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Using any of the links on this website does NOT cost you anything but does help us continue to create content on this blog. Thank you so much for your support and for partnering with us. Let’s BE Family.

Ruth Hutchins grew up in England and now lives in North Carolina with her husband, Doug, and their two young daughters. They always loved to travel, but once having children everything changed because family travel is more complicated. Traveling with a baby may feel overwhelming to new parents. Travel with a toddler can really test your patience, and traveling with kids can lead to utter chaos. However, travel with your little ones doesn’t have to be that stressful or exhausting. On the BE Family Travel blog Ruth shares her parenting wins, and even epic failures about traveling with kids. She provides resources to help you feel empowered to plan a family vacation and travel with your children.

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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.

______________

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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Creative Play Art for 2-5 year olds | The Mustard Seed

Experience the joy of Creative Play Art for 2-5-year-olds at The Mustard Seed in Woolloongabba. Witness as the little ones embark on a journey of growth through engaging in creative art-making activities. This 60-minute class is thoughtfully designed to enhance fine and gross motor skills, nurture creative thinking, and foster language development in children. The session includes a structured craft or cooking activity followed by open-ended messy play, allowing children to explore at their own pace. Parents are encouraged to participate and create alongside their little artists. Younger siblings are welcome to observe, but participation is recommended for those over the age of 1. The Mustard Seed, a local community center, hosts this event to support the suburbs of Woolloongabba, East Brisbane, Coorparoo, Buranda, Stones Corner, Annerley, and Kangaroo Point. Secure your spot in advance for a fee of $5.40 and delight in a morning of creativity and fun. For inquiries, reach out to [email protected].

Provided by Kennette | Published May 1, 2024

Are you interested in Creative Play Art for 2-5 year olds?

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Toddler Car Games for Kids 3-5 4+

Baby boy driving games 3 4 5, designed for ipad.

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Are you ready for an exciting car game for kids 2-5 years old? If yes, then you’re at the right place to enjoy the wonderful experience of car racing by choosing a track of your own choice. This game enables you to enter beautiful locations around the world to enjoy the essence of your surroundings by interacting with the object on the way. These tracks can be set up in various ways, including loops, jumps, twists, and turns. Toddlers can race their cars around the track. To make the game more exciting, toddlers can customize their vehicles by painting them & adding their favorite stickers. This will allow them to express the creativity and personal style of your little ones, while also enhancing their fine motor skills. One of the most interesting features of a toddler car game is the ability to interact with objects on the racing track. From ramps and obstacles to interactive elements like tunnels and bridges, your kid can explore a variety of different challenges and scenarios as they race their cars around the track. Overall, toddler car games are a fun & educational way for children to develop their cognitive abilities, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. With a wide range of features, including racing tracks, cars, locations, and interactive elements, there is no shortage of exciting and engaging options for kids to enjoy. Fun Feature of Toddler Car Game: Selection of vehicles available From sports cars to trucks and everything in between There are plenty of different options for kids to choose from Every vehicle has its own unique features, including different types of tires Cars can be customized to suit each child’s individual preferences Can paint vehicles with different colors by using paintbrushes Have fun racing these vehicles on your favorite Tracks! MY TOWN - Police car, Ice cream truck, pickups, and others RACE TRACK - Formula car, Concept car, and many more OFF-ROAD TRACK - Ramp Jeep, 4x4 Jeep, Dagger Jeep, and others DIGGER TRACK - Tractor, Excavator, Crane, Road Roller, and others SPACE TRACK - Spaceship, Satellite car, Rocket car, Space shuttle, and more SUPERHERO TRACK - Flash car, Bat car, Spider car, and many more Thank you for playing our Game. Write to us about your experience with this game. Your feedback will help us improve this game and also to develop new games for the little ones. Following are the links to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: Our Privacy Policy: http://www.taptoy.io/privacy Terms of Use Link: http://www.taptoy.io/terms-of-service

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