Hit the road with these 20 screen-free activities for your next road trip

Family road trips can be a great way to see the country—not to mention it’s often the most economical travel option. And we’re all looking for ways to save money these days. As fun as road trips can be, they can also be a slog sometimes. Without road trip activities, kids (and parents) get antsy and bored. The struggle is real, and the temptation to sink into our screens is high. I’m not one to shy away from some screen time to occupy little ones (and myself), but we all need a break from screens now and then. 

Never fret, we’ve got you covered with this list of fun road trip activities for kids (and adults) of all ages.

20 fun screen-free road trip activities

1. Play 20 questions

Lest you forgot how to play this game from your own childhood, one person thinks of an object. This person is the “answerer.” Everyone else asks the answerer questions that are answered with a “yes” or “no” response. Based on this information, the group tries to guess the object in 20 questions or less. Depending on the age of children involved, you can give hints (such as “animal” or “someone in our family”) about the object before the questions begin.

3. Conversation cards

TableTopics

Conversation Starter Cards

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$25

Sometimes all it takes to get the conversation rolling is a really good conversation starter. Table Topics makes excellent cards to get your family talking. They have a road trip-specific set, but all of the card sets come in a small box so any of them would be great for a road trip.

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3. Travel Bingo

Regal games

Interstate Highway Travel Bingo Set

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$9.99

Need we say more?

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4. Books, books and more books

When my kids were little, I’d stock up on cheap books and then hide them away until the next car ride. If you want to save a few dollars on road trip activities, visit a your local library or do a book swap with friends. 

5. Travel craft set

Wikki Stix

Reusable Molding and Sculpting Playset

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$25.82

Crafts are a great way to pass the time, but most of the time, crafts are a bit messy, to say the least. Wikki Stix are a great travel craft set that’s relatively mess-free.

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6. Listen to podcasts or audiobooks

Listening to audiobooks and podcasts are a great way to pass the time in the car. I still have fond memories of listening to “The Magician’s Elephant” on audiobook while on road trip with my family. Now that my kids are older, we listen to books like “Looking for Alaska” and “Hatchet.” Podcasts are also a great way to pass the time, and there are even music-focused podcasts the entire family will love.

7. Window markers

Akarued

Jumbo Chalk Window Markers for Cars

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$18.69

Hand your kids a few of these window markers and let them go to town on the car windows.

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8. Play the alphabet game

Start with the letter A and each person in the car tries to find something that starts with A. Move on to B and try to find something that starts with B, and so on. This game is best for children who are school-aged or know their letters.

9. Play the “first person to see…” game

Before the road trip, make a list of things that you might see on the road. If your children are younger, you can include things like “cow” and “yellow car” on the list. If your kids are older, make the list a little more challenging with things like “skydiver” or “cloud that looks like a fish.”

10. Take photos

Fujifilm

Instax Mini 11 Camera

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$139.95

Kids love to take pictures and it’s even more fun when they have instant gratification with photos that are ready in a few minutes.

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11. Tell a story

eeBoo

Animal Village Create A Story Pre-Literacy Cards

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$12.99

Our family has spent hours telling stories that were guided by story cards. Story cards are also a great way to pass the time while waiting a restaurant while travelling too.

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The Storymatic

Classic – Creative Writing Prompts and Story Games

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$29.95

Story cards aren’t just for little ones either. Teens and tweens can spin a tale with more advanced story cards like these.

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12. Road trip-approved card games

What Do You Meme?

Hilarious Family Card Game for Road Trips

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$14.99

You wouldn’t think of the car as a great place to play a card game, but it works with this one. And since it’s by the makers of What Do You Meme?, it’s sure to create some laughs.

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13. Spot it!

Zygomatic

Spot It! Card Game

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$12.99

Our family has spent approximately eleventy hours play Spot It – in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, at restaurants and, of course, on road trips.

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14. Go (scavenger) hunting

Briarpatch

Travel Scavenger Hunt Card Game

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$8.01

You can make up your own scavenger hunt before you hit the road, but let’s be honest, you have enough on your plate. This travel scavenger hunt card game does the prep work for you.

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15. Sing

Blast a few of these road trip songs and see who can sing the loudest.

16. Play the quiet game

As a kid, my aunt would gather all of us cousins into a room and sit us down for the “quiet game”. We loved it. Little did we know it was so the adults could hear themselves think for a few minutes. Because sometimes you just need everyone to hushhhhh, especially on road trips.

17. Would you rather…?

Keep this popular road trip activity G-rated with questions like “would you rather wear your shoes on your hands or your mittens on your feet?” Or “would you rather eat spaghetti with pickles or mac & cheese with anchovies?”

18. Track your progress on an old-school map

Forget Google Maps, buy an old school map at the gas station and track your progress along the way.

19. Stickers

Melissa & Doug

Mosaic Sticker Pad

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$7.54

Stickers provide hours of fun, if not some extra decorations to your car windows. But that’s a small price to pay for content kids on long road trips. If you want to avoid the “stickers on everything” hassle, there are plenty of reusable sticker books as well.

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20. Make art

Ccinnoe

Erasable Doodle Book for Kids

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$13.99

Kids can doodle and draw to their hearts’ content with these travel art kids.

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Funny Live

Colored Pencil Roll-Up Case

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$9.59

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