Long road trip ideas: 20 fun activities for families

Just being on the road is enough for many – seeing beautiful countryside and looking forward to the next great destination. But not everyone is content with hours in the van, especially if you’re travelling with kids. Need some fun ideas for long road trips?

Prevent boredom from the beginning by researching interesting ways to pass the time on lengthy journeys. Below, we have 20 exciting and affordable activities to keep the whole crew entertained!

Fun ideas for long road trips

Activities for adults

Planning a road trip with friends? Or setting off with your partner for a romantic break? These activities will keep you harmoniously on the road:

Podcasts/audio books

If your group has similar interests, or if you’re travelling as part of a couple and never get the time to enjoy an audio book together, podcasts or novels are a perfect way to pass the time.

Shiritori

This Japanese game sounds easy – simply think of a word beginning with the last letter of the previous player’s word. So if they say dog, you can say gate, someone else can say elephant… and so on. However, it gets tough if you have competitive players in the group! There are only so many words beginning with x…

Alphabets

Again this sounds simple, until players get super competitive. This game works best in pairs. Pick a category like animals or place names, and name as many items as possible beginning with the same letter of the alphabet; the winner of each letter is the person who can name a final item. If you have good general knowledge, a category like place names or films can keep you occupied for ages just doing A, B and C! Like shiritori, this can get surprisingly difficult.

Make each other a “mix tape”

Travelling with your partner? Make each other a playlist before setting off on your road trip, made up of songs you think they’ll like or that represent a memory from your relationship. The other person can guess why you chose each particular song.

Couple’s questions

This can be played as a group, but is more effective as a couple. Download or make up a set or two of “couple’s questions” to learn more about each other. It sounds cheesy, but remember your questions can be as funny or as offbeat as you like.

Compete for selfie likes

This is another of our road trip activities that can get a little competitive… Each person in the group takes one (or however many you like) photo per day to put on Instagram or similar; the winner is the person who gets the most likes. This can get very silly very quickly.

Comedy nights

Heaps of comedians have recorded some of their best stand-up gigs, easily available on streaming channels or YouTube. These are some of the best ways to make time fly!

Brainstorm this trip – or your next

If it’s a long way to your next destination, challenge everyone to research one fun or unusual thing to see or do for the next destination. The winner can be decided by vote or raffle. Or if you’re on your way home, why not start planning your next trip? Our best campervan road trips in the UK will get you started.

Keep the kids entertained

Keeping kids busy on a family road trip or long car ride can be challenging. Try these 12 to keep your kids entertained:

Rubberneckers

This is like I-Spy mixed with bingo – each player gets a card with things listed on it, and has to spot the thing on the card to get points. Look for people eating, people singing, someone picking their nose… Buy a Rubberneckers game online.

Pirate map

Similar to Rubberneckers, only this time you make the kids’ cards in advance. You can be as random as you like: “a person with three dogs” or “a red bridge”, for example, or use it as an opportunity to add landmarks you’ll be passing.

Battleship

If you need to calm the kids down, a game of Battleship is ideal. This old-school game is still absorbing for most ages; buy a cheap set in a pound shop before setting off.

Goodie bags

Speaking of pound shops, they’re a haven for stressed parents needing to keep kids occupied without spending too much money. Make goodie bags for each child and dole them out at a milestone – every 100 miles or every night, for example.

Bubbles!

Younger children always love bubbles. As long as they’re a safe distance from the driver, let them blow bubbles out of the window and see how far they can go.

Blackboard and chalk

Let your kids scribble and draw as much as they want, then wipe it off and start again. Etch-a-Sketch also works well for this.

Window drawing

Or why not let kids draw directly on the windows? Look for washable window markers and give each child a pack so they can draw their own pictures or challenge each other to hangman or noughts and crosses.

Scratch art

Make drawing different with scratch art books, where every page has a rainbow kaleidoscope covered in black ink or paint. Scratching a drawing on the page with a stylus means the colours are revealed.

Would you rather…?

A great game for all ages. Adults ask a “would you rather…” question, e.g. “Would you rather have big hands or big feet? Would you rather be a dinosaur or a caveman?” (This is also huge fun for adults travelling without kids – get as risqué as you like!)

“I went to the shop”

This game uses the alphabet and tests memory, and is great for kids as they can often beat Mum and Dad. Player 1 says “I went to the shop and bought a [item beginning with “a”]. Player 2 continues with “I went to the shop and bought a [item beginning with “a”] and [item beginning with “b”]. Player 3 goes to the shop and buys items beginning with a, b and c, and so on.

Films and games

Ensure you have a tablet fully charged at the start of each long journey, and that you’ve downloaded or can stream plenty of kid-friendly films, TV shows and games. Many parents prefer to limit screen time, but you might change your mind in hour six of an all-day journey.

Audiobooks

If your kids are a bit older, they’ll probably love the Harry Potter audio books read by Stephen Fry… there are hours’ and hours’ worth here to keep them quiet!

Get Some More Fun Ideas for Your Road Trip

We hope the above fun ideas for long road trips are plenty to keep you entertained on your journey, especially as the UK has so many amazing routes to explore. We also have more ideas, as well as recommended routes, in our detailedUK road trips for families blog.

Long drives are easy when you’ve got entertainment on the road – and when you can hire a van anywhere you want to start! Browse ourUK vans for hire to find the right one for your trip.

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