20 Best Family Games To Play On A Road Trip
I love going on a family road trip, but the kids can be less than thrilled after a while. Keep them occupied and happy for smooth sailing with these games to play on a road trip!
Road trips are a family staple. There’s just nothing quite like hitting the road and seeing new parts of the state or the country!
But, long hours in the car can quickly turn your kids from happy, excited little people to angry, whiny, tantrum-y souls. When that happens, all the fun of a road trips is effectively sucked right out the window!
The KEY to a happy and relaxing road trip is to keep those kiddos entertained. Even adults can only stare at sunflower fields along the interstate in Kansas for SO long!
Before you hit the road, take a little time to get prepared by getting packed up and checking out these DIY games to play on a road trip. Happy kids = happy family when you’re in a vehicle together for hours on end!
20 Best Games To Play On A Road Trip
Check out these 20 fun DIY road trips games to keep the kids entertained as you head down the road. If the kids happen to reach a point where they get tired of these activities, just turn on a fun podcast the whole family will love!
Keep Kids Happy And Entertained With This Free Done-For-You Road Trip Activity Pack (click the image)!
1. Restaurant Version I Spy Game from 3 Boys and a Dog
If you are going on a long car ride, this game will keep the kids busy! There are so many restaurants to see that your kids will want to keep their eyes peeled so they will not miss any of them.
2. Marble Maze from Artsy Momma
Recycle your empty cardboard boxes and straws to give the kids a little fun while stuck in their seats. This is one of the most creative (and Earth-friendly) games to play on a road trip!
3. DIY Mini Road Trip License Plate Game from Comic Con Family
Find out how you can convert an empty tin into a fun mini-game with this tutorial. One that you can even carry around in your back pocket if you wanted to.
4. Magnetic Fishing Game from Crafts Unleashed
Keep your kids entertained with this magnetic fishing road trip game played in two different ways. Bonus: when the kids aren’t having fun with this DIY travel game, it can all be kept in an adorable metal tin you decorate yourself.
5. Rainbow Magnetic Tangram Puzzle from Delia Creates
To keep kids busy, math and creativity are what bring this road trip game altogether. Not having their brains deteriorate during the summer months is just a bonus!
6. Magnetic Travel Match Game from Dream A Little Bigger
Create this memory game using your animals, cartoon characters, flowers, or anything else your children love. You can adjust this game to play on a road trip by increasing or decreasing the cards to suit the different ages of the children who are playing.
7. Make a Monster Magnetic Game from Fun Loving Families
I love adorable monsters! Your kids are going to love showing off their monster creations that are so goofy-looking that they are cute!
8. License Plate Coloring Map from Happiness is Homemade
A free printable that will teach your child a little geography while they have some fun coloring in the map of all the states. If you’re going on a long trip, you could even have your kids color it as you travel to mark your journey.
9. Alphabet I Spy from Happy Go Lucky
A free road trip printable game that teaches toddlers letter recognition and the alphabet. A game the whole family will have hours of fun playing!
10. Road Trip Scavenger Hunt from Hey Let’s Make Stuff
Scavenger hunts are always a great time for everyone! Searching for the items on a road trip will keep the entire family entertained. This is one of the easiest but classic games to play on a road trip.
11. Alphabet Pictionary from Laly Mom
Your child can use this printable to draw his or her favorite part of the vacation, or you can make a game out of it. Have your child draw each object as they see them, but the catch is they must do it in alphabetic order.
12. DIY Battleship Sweets Game from Lovely Indeed
Macarons, donuts, popsicles…oh my! This version plays just like the classic board game, only with a sweet upgrade. 😁
13. Would You Rather from Landeelu
Before your road trip, have everyone in the family write down a few questions. Once you start driving, ask the questions and learn a little more about each of the individuals in your family!
14. DIY Travel Chinese Checkers Game from Lovely Indeed
Perfect games to play on a road trip travel – this board is magnetic, so where you play the game doesn’t matter, you can even play while the car is moving!
15. Color Clothespin Matching Game from One Little Project
A great matching game to teach toddlers and preschoolers color recognition plus work on their hand and eye coordination. If they do not care to match the colors, at least they will keep themselves busy playing with the clothespins!
16. Free Printable Road Sign Bingo Game from Printable Crush
Not only will this game keep the kids occupied, but you can also get a head start and teach them what the signs mean for when they become future drivers!
17. DIY Triangle Peg Board Game from Simple & Seasonal
This puzzle is a game meant to be played by yourself and worked on until completed. It could take minutes to solve or hours; it all depends on how good you are at puzzles! I love solo games to play on a road trip!
18. I Spy Road Car Bingo from That’s What Che Said
A combination of two great road trip games makes up the two printables you will find here to take on your next adventure!
19. Magnetic Travel Tic Tac Toe from Today’s Creative Life
Cut down on screen time in the car during your road trip with this patriotic twist on a classic board game! The first to get 3-in-a-row wins!
20. The Alphabet Race from Handmade Charlotte
Turn car time into awesome time from the moment you start the car with this game. Make it even more fun by offering up a prize to the one who has the most tokens at the end of the road trip!
I hope you found something you love in this list of the best DIY games to play on a road trip!
Keep Kids Happy And Entertained With This Free Done-For-You Road Trip Activity Pack (click the image)!
More From Made In A Pinch
If you love these ideas of games to play on a road trip, you’ll love these other ideas too!
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I love these ideas! Definitely much fun than everyone being on their own screens! I will prepare some of this on our upcoming weekend trip 🙂
We used to go on road trips before the pandemic but my kids were so small back then so there was no problem keeping them entertained. Now that they are bigger, I’d definitely need these DIY games for them.
Wow! What an awesome list of kids’ activities for long road trips. Thank you so much for sharing. I will use these on our next road trip.
I love road trips and these games will be such a great addition to our trips.