25 Screen-Free Road Trip Ideas for Children of All Ages
Embarking on a road trip with children offers a fantastic opportunity for quality family time and memorable adventures, but we all appreciate there will be the inevitable chorus of “Are we there yet?” normally within 10 minutes of leaving your house. Travelling long distances with children, especially younger ones can be hard work and you are supposed to be on holiday! While screen time can provide entertainment, a long road trip with kids can be a great opportunity for them to explore some new activities. For us, it is important to strike a balance between screen time and engaging in screen-free activities during a journey. You can find Tips and Essentials for Stress-Free Road Trips with Kids here, but in this blog post, we'll explore 25 screen-free road trip ideas suitable for children of all ages.
Let's dive in and make your road trip an unforgettable experience!
There are lots of Classic Car Games that you can play together as a family and most of these ideas can be adapted for a variety of ages and require no prep or resources! Rediscover traditional car games that foster interaction and engage children's minds while exploring the surroundings, for example:
‘I Spy …’
‘20 Questions’ - take it in turns to pick a person, place, or thing. Think about someone or something that you know enough about to answer up to 20 questions. Reply to questions with a Yes or No until someone guesses correctly.
The ‘License Plate’ Game - this game involves scoring points for the different types of license plates spotted. You could adapt this depending on where you are travelling. For example, you might look for number plates with a certain number or letter in them, or if you are travelling through mainland Europe, you might look for license plates from particular counties.
‘Guess the Animal’ - one person thinks of an animal and everyone else takes it in turns to ask questions to try and figure out what animal it is. For example, does it have four legs? Can it be kept as a pet?
The ‘Counting Game’ - pick an item to keep track of and then count them together. For example, count the number of yellow cars, or the number of lorries. For older children, they could keep a tally chart of these.
Would You Rather - a great one for all the family to play, encouraging discussion and always some laughter. For example:
Would you rather live in a tree house or an igloo?
Would you rather have purple hair or green hair?
Would you rather hang out with your best friend for an hour every day or for a whole weekend once a month?
Would you rather be able to celebrate only your birthday or celebrate only Christmas?
Would you rather eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner or broccoli soup?
Would you rather be a dog or a cat?
7. Story Starters: Kick-start creativity by providing children with story starters, such as a sentence or a picture, and letting their imagination take over, or take it in turns to all add the next event to a verbal story.
8. Memory Games: Play memory games like "I'm Going on a Picnic" or "I go to the shops and buy" where each person has to add something to the growing list and then recall it in order when it is their turn.
9: Alphabet Game: Starting with the letter 'A,' take turns finding words on road signs, or license plates that begin with each letter of the alphabet.
10. Sensory Toys: Keep little hands busy by packing some sensory toys for your journey.
11: For younger children: Busy Boards can provide lots of entertainment for toddlers and preschoolers as they learn to buckle, snap, and tie.
12. Audiobooks: Choose age-appropriate audiobooks that the whole family can enjoy during the journey. Adventure, mystery, or fantasy stories can captivate children's imaginations and make the time fly by.
13. Sing-Along Sessions: Have a sing-along session with favorite songs and road trip tunes. Older children could get involved with making their own ‘road trip playlist’, while younger children can make singing more interactive by incorporating hand gestures or creating impromptu harmonies.
14. Map Reading Skills: Involve older children in map reading and navigation. Teach them how to follow routes, identify landmarks, and plan the next stops.
15. Podcasts: There are so many great podcasts available for children now, these are just a few of our recommendations.
16. Puzzle Books: Bring along puzzle books filled with crosswords, word searches, and Sudoku puzzles to keep young minds engaged and entertained.
Road Trip Ideas for Children
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Road Trip Ideas for Children 〰️
17. Travel Journals: Provide each child with a travel journal to document their road trip experiences. Encourage them to write, draw, or paste items like tickets, postcards, and photographs to create a treasured keepsake.
18. Building Challenges: Pack small building blocks, or construction toys like LEGO and challenge children to build unique structures during the journey.
19. Sticker Books: Packing sticker books with reusable stickers can keep children entertained for hours. Try choosing one that relates to the location you are headed. For younger children especially, this can help develop key vocabulary. You can find more Sticker book recommendations here.
20. Road Trip Photography Contest: Hold a friendly photography contest during the road trip. Each family member can capture unique perspectives and vote on their favorite shots at the end of the journey.
21. Road Trip Bingo: Create custom road trip bingo cards with items or landmarks commonly seen during your journey. Children can mark off the items as they spot them, making the drive more interactive. See examples below.
22. Drawing: Long road trips are an ideal opportunity for children to sketch what they see on the journey, or take some time to learn how to draw something new.
23. DIY Travel Board Games: Craft miniature versions of popular board games like Snakes and Ladders or Tic Tac Toe using paper, magnets and small game pieces. These DIY games can be enjoyed on a foldable tray or even on the child's lap.
24. DIY Travel Crafts: Pack a small craft kit with supplies like coloured pencils, markers, paper, and stickers. Children can create artwork, friendship bracelets, or origami during the trip.
25. Scratch Art: Creative activity perfect for use while on the road. Children can create their own designs, or scratch away existing ones to reveal the colour.
