20 Road Trip Games and Activities for the Whole Family

It’s finally summertime, and that means it’s time to hit the road in your RV and enjoy some good old-fashioned family road trips. That said, I know from experience that these road trips are really only fun if the kids are having fun, and that means going out of your way to keep the kids happy and engaged.

The good news? We’ve found tons of great road trip games and activities that keep our kids entertained for miles. Here are our family’s favorites. We’re betting your crew will love them too!

Fun Road Trip Games

Road trip games have been around for decades. There’s a reason these simple games have stuck around so long: They’re fun! In fact, my husband and I often find ourselves having just as much fun as the kids when we play road trip games. 

Road Trip Bingo

Everyone has played road trip bingo at some point in their lives. It’s a classic! Buy some boards and spend an hour or two looking out the window to see what you can spot, or play in passing for the entire road trip. 

Alphabet Game

The alphabet game is another road rip classic that you’ve likely played before. For this one, everyone has to look at the signs you drive by and find all of the letters in alphabetical order. You can play as a team just to see if you can find all of the letters, or you can make it a competition to see who can find all of the letters first. 

Round Robin Storytelling

Our family loves round robin storytelling games. To play, one person begins telling a story. After they’ve told a portion of the story, they stop and pass it to the next person who adds to the tale. The last person to add to the story has to finish it off with a satisfying conclusion. This is a great way to flex those creative muscles and have some good laughs. 

Screen-Free Road Trip Activities

Need more road trip activities for kids? Crafts and other hands-on activities are a great way to keep the little ones engaged in the back seat. Of course, you will want to find mess-free options. Lucky for you, we’ve already done the work and found them for you/ 

Pipe Cleaners or Wiki Sticks

My kids LOVE playing with Wikki Stix. These are just sticks of wax that can be bent and folded into various shapes, but they provide nearly endless entertainment and are a great, mess-free alternative to Play-Doh.

Another option is to hand the kids pipe cleaners to play with. These provide similar entertainment, but are a bit less expensive and easier to find.

Magna-Doodle or Doodle Board

If your kids like to draw as much as mine do, you’re likely tired of endless searches for a pencil and later finding gigantic piles of paper in your backseat. A simple Magna-Doodle can solve this problem instantly. It has a writing tool attached so it won’t get lost, and your kids will be able to draw and erase as many times as they like without using endless sheets of paper. 

A doodle board can serve the same purpose, and some kids prefer these because they allow for more detailed drawings. Just note that not all doodle boards come with a string that holds the stylus on the board, something you might want to remedy before you hit the road. 

Color Wonder

Our youngest enjoys her Magna-Doodle, but sometimes she just wants to color. This is where Crayola’s Color Wonder products come into play. We especially love the markers, which will not show up on anything except special Color Wonder paper. This means our little artist can color in the car and we don’t have to worry about melted crayons or markers on the car seats. 

Window Clings

If your kids can reach a window while riding in your vehicle, you might consider buying some window clings so they can create scenes on the windows as you drive. This is especially fun if you can get your hands on a big collection of window clings so the scenes can be rearranged multiple times and used to tell stories. 

Colorforms or Magnetic Scenes

Similar to window clings, Colorforms or magnetic scenes are also a lot of fun. Some are like paper dolls, giving kids a chance to hone their fashion skills as they put together various outfits. Others let kids create elaborate scenes and stories about the characters included in the set. 

LEGO Blocks

Finally, we must mention LEGO blocks. These are a staple in our RV and they often make their way into the truck on travel days. Obviously, you don’t want a huge tub of LEGOs in the vehicle because they’re liable to spill and create a huge mess, but a small baggie or little box of bricks will keep a kid occupied for a surprising amount of time. 

Audio Fun

Once the hands-on activities are no longer engaging, try using their sense of hearing to keep them occupied. There are a few different ways to use audio to keep the kids happily entertained during a road trip. 

Podcasts

We absolutely adore podcasts. I appreciate that there are so many educational options out there, meaning we can expand upon our roadschooling and the kids love how fun they are to listen to. One of our favorites is the Story Pirates podcast (though it isn’t the most educational choice). We also love Brains On! and Wow in the World.

Audiobooks

Audiobooks are another excellent pick. We’ve listened to a huge number of great stories while road tripping. Some of our favorites include:

• The Harry Potter books
• Anything by Rhold Dahl
• Anything by Astrid Lindgren 

Kid-Friendly Music

Of course, you’re going to want some good music to break up the drive. Your kids can of course listen to your favorite tunes, but providing some kid-specific music is also fun and might just inspire an in-vehicle dance party. 

Some great kids music artists we’ve found include:

• The Pop Ups
• Sugar Free Allstars
• Tom Chapin 
• John McCutcheon’s kid albums

Road Trip Snacking Tips

Obviously, you’re going to want some road trips snacks for the long drive. That said, I’ve learned plenty of snack-related lessons over the years. Below are my three top tips for offering kids snacks while on a road trip.

Get Spill-Proof Containers

First and foremost, it is important that you have spill-proof containers for everything. This includes beverages of course, but it also includes snacks that have a tendency to get spilled and smashed all over the backseat. These containers work well for that, and we like these spill-proof cups for older kids who don’t need sippy cups. 

Avoid Snacks that Melt

Cleaning melted chocolate or gummies out of your vehicle seats is never a fun task, and honestly you may never get the stain out completely. For this reason, I highly recommend avoiding snacks that might melt into the seat fabrics entirely.

Choose Healthy Snacks

I know some junk food is fun on long road trips, and I don’t discourage a few fun snacks. That said, I have learned the hard way that it is best to stick to healthy snacks as much as possible. Otherwise you will be dealing with sugar crashes, bloating, and other uncomfortable symptoms of too much junk while cooped up in a small space. Trust me, this isn’t something you want to do. 

Screen Time Tips for Travel Days

Eventually, you are bound to break out the screens and offer movies and video games as road trip activities. We do allow our kids their fair share of screen time, especially on long drives, but we’ve learned there are some things we need to do to ensure screen time is fun for everyone and offers us the break from parenting that we so desperately need the last few hours of a long trip. 

Charge Everything the Night Before

You definitely don’t want your devices to die in the middle of screen time, and charging everything in a vehicle can be tricky. Avoid this problem by making sure everything is fully charged the night before you hit the road. 

Bring Car Chargers

Of course, even a full battery isn’t going to last the entirety of a long driving day. Therefore, it is a good idea to bring car chargers. Try to find a charger that allows you to plug in two devices at once. 

It might also help to bring portable charging packs. Just make sure they are fully charged before you leave home!

Get Headphones for Everyone

When you’re a parent, a bit of peace and quiet is invaluable on a long road trip. This is why headphones are so important. Make sure you pack a pair for every member of your family so there is no fighting over the headphones, and so the driver can have a more peaceful experience. 

There you have it, my favorite road trip games, activities, and top tips for keeping everyone happy as you drive down the road. Take these tips, grab your kids, and get ready to have an amazing RV road trip this summer season!