Road trips can either be really fun, or really long, and activities make the world of a difference. Sitting for hours in a vehicle is tiring for both adults and children, and there are many simple solutions to giving your road trip the extra boost that it needs to stay memorable, fun, and worthwhile. Here are a few activities that are really versatile for adults and kids, but are divided generally.
Ideas for Kids
- Sleeping Beauty: this is a game for kids that involves some storytelling and a sleeping candidate. While one person sleeps, the other children come up with a story that happened while that person was sleeping, either to that person or in general. Once that person wakes up, everyone has to do their best at maintaining the storyline. The goal is to be the one to hold the storyline the longest possible.
- Hello There: each person waves at passing cars and whoever receives a wave back gets a point. The person with the most points by the end of the trip wins.
- License Plate Number Game: use the license plate of a car to create a story about that person. For example, if the license plate number is 7TYP290, you could say “as child 7 in the family, Tyler yells “Perfect!” every 290 miles.
- Magnetic Board Game: you can buy games like checkers or chess that will keep you or your family mentally engaged, and entertained without losing pieces anytime you turn or hit the brakes.
- Guess That Song: find a playlist to randomly play a song. First person to guess it gets a point.
Ideas For Couples
If it’s just the two of you on the road, you have a lot more leeway to decide between yourselves how fast you want to get to your destination, or take little detours along the way. Here are some options for you as you wind your way down the freeway and look for activities to keep your energy up and your mind engaged.
- Questionnaire: there are many websites with all types of questions you can ask each other, whether light and funny, or deep, or would-you-rather questions, you can find them.
- Listen: turn on a podcast, or audiobook and discuss it together, or listen to your favorite comedian for a good laugh.
- Eat Out: visit a local restaurant: you might want to take a little break from your vehicle to stretch your legs a little and enjoy the local town. Look up a local restaurant to interact a little with the people, and eat a solid meal to give variety to your fast food drive-thru.
- Take a Nap: install a small mattress in the back of your vehicle for nap time when you need a break from driving, or a few minutes to stretch out a little. Or if you are taking your new RV for a trip, you can order a custom RV mattress to fit whatever dimensions you need it to work around.
If you’re looking for quiet activities, or simply something to keep your kids engaged for another half hour, there are many more ideas available for keeping your drive fun and memorable (in a positive way)! Whether simply driving straight to your destination, or taking your time as you wind your way there, there are all kinds of ideas to keep you and your kids entertained as you go.
