20+ Car Games and Activities {For Long Car Trips}

If you’ve ever traveled with kids {even a short distance}, you know that it is a challenge for sure! And when you’re traveling longer distances over school breaks, having a few car games and activities in-hand helps the time pass faster AND makes the car ride a little more fun!

Here are 20+ car games, activities, and tips I’ve gathered for those road trips.

*This post contains affiliate links.

While we do travel with a DVD player, we do our best to keep it off most of the time. You may be traveling while school is out. And for some of you, you may have a LONG distance to go with young kids. Here are a few ideas we have used on longer car trips to make the ride more enjoyable and fun.

All of the printables I am sharing in this post are FREE. I highly suggest slipping all the game boards into plastic sleeve protectors or laminating them, then using dry erase markers to cross things off. That way, you can use them again on the way home. And if you have a youngster {or two} that might be tempted to mark on other things besides the paper, I recommend Crayola’s washable dry erase markers, as the regular ones do not wash out well at all {even out of clothing}.

 

20+ Car Games & Activities

I Spy Car Games

•  A simple game of “I Spy” while you’re traveling along is always a family favorite. We include things outside of the car as well as things in the car.
• I Spy Colors, “I spy something _____ (red, blue, green, etc.)…”
• I Spy Alphabet- “I spy something that starts with…”
• I Spy Rhyming- “I spy something that rhymes with…”

• I Spy Shapes – cross off the shapes when you find them. Download this free printable by clicking on the image or HERE.

 

Printable BINGO Car Games

You’ll find plenty of printable BINGO games on the internet for the long car ride below, with a wide variety for different age ranges.

• Road Trip BINGO

• Interstate BINGO
• Truck BINGO
• Car Colors BINGO {from Oopsey Daisy, she has several FREE printable BINGO boards on her blog}

 

I’ve put our bestest and funnest {yes, I know that ain’t good grammar}
into our NO PREP Road Trip Games Pack!

 

ABC Car Games

• Play ABC Cars- using the make or model of a car, see if you can find cars from A to Z {or adapt this idea from No Time for FlashCards.}
• ABC Game- Find words OR objects that begin with letters of the alphabet. We always play that you have to find them in alphabetical order, but you can adapt it for your kid’s needs. I’m including a printable page for an ABC Car Game. Download it HERE or click on the image below. As letters are found, your child can cross them off the page.

• Reading & Writing on the Road- Small Types has a FREE printable pack with lots of literacy activities. One of them includes an ABC game!

 

Number Car Games

• There are so many numbers on the road. Take advantage of looking for numbers on signs. Can you find the numbers 0-9 on signs in their correct order?
• You can also assign a place value when looking for specific numbers. For example, see if you can find the numbers 1-9 {in that order} in the tens place on signs.
• How many numbers can you find that are MORE than 100? LESS than 100? If your child’s not ready for larger numbers, stick to smaller numbers. You can also challenge them by saying, “Let’s see how many numbers we can find between 25 and 75 on the signs we pass.”

Download these FREE Printable Number Pages HERE and adapt it as you see fit, based on the suggestions given above.

 

More Low-Prep Car Games

• 20 questions– One person thinks of an object. The others in the car can ask up to 20 yes/no questions {questions that can be answered with yes or no} to figure out what the object is. If you have younger kids, we’ve found it helpful to limit the object to a specific category, such as animals.
• Would You Rather? Cards– The Measured Mom has a large set of Would You Rather? cards, which can spark great conversations in the car.
• No Prep Activities– I love I Can Teach my Child’s no materials required activities you can do with your child  while waiting. Many of these would work VERY well in the car.
• Cow Counting Game– Count cows {or another object of your choosing, such as water towers} on your side of the car as you travel along. If you pass a cemetery, all your cows “die”, so you have to start at zero again. The goal is to have the most number of cows at the end of the trip.

 

Coloring Pages

• When I’m looking for a coloring page, I like to go check out Kids Activities Blog: 90+ FREE Coloring Pages. There are several different kinds and styles from which to choose.
• You can also find lots of coloring pages at Making Learning Fun.
• Go to the $1 store and buy a few coloring books.

• Bring along your favorite How to Draw books. My boys LOVE these!

 

Map It

•  License Plates- Watch license plates to see if you can collect plates from all over. Print a map of your country before leaving home so that kids can “x” out that state as you find them. You can do this one without a map as well.
• Map Your Route- Help kids read a map as you travel along or try it on your phone. Kids can even highlight on a hard copy map the route you are taking. If you are traveling through many states, have them color in the states they travel through.

 

More Helpful Tips for those Long Car Trips

• Road Trip Activities for Kids Ages 2-8 {The Measured Mom}
• 11 Screen Free Activities for the Car {No Time for Flash Cards}
• Traveling with Kids Hacks {Your Modern Family}
• These are some our favorite products for traveling:

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy teaching!
~Becky