Thinking about hitting the road for some good old family fun? We totally support it! However, depending on how old your children are, traveling long distances with younger children can sometimes be more to take on then we anticipated. That’s why this week we have done the hard work for you and we’ve put together some of our favorite road trip games.

I know what you’re thinking ‘how will everyone screaming eye spy, going to help make the ride easier?’ Well, if your little ones are entertained you will hear a lot less ‘are we there yet” and crying, which makes it easier for you to focus on the road and not on a crying baby.

We suggest planning ahead a little bit and mapping out the best times to play each game. You don’t want to play all the games at once because that can become boring quickly and you don’t want to run out of games too quick. Check out the games below and if you have any favorites that aren’t listed, feel free to let us know and we can add them to the list for other families to play too!

I Spy

• My favorite game! Someone starts the game by saying “I spy with my little eye….” and follows up with a clue as to what you are seeing. Each passenger takes a turn guessing at what the object may be, the person who guesses the object first gets to start the next round.

License Plate Map:

• Grab a clipboard, a blank printed out copy of the U.S. map, and some colored pencils! When you see a license plate from one of the states, color it in and keep searching! This game will keep kids entertained for hours as they race to be the first one to get all 50 states! Plus, it will help them determine where certain states are on the map.

The Alphabet Race

• A passenger picks a single letter from A-Z, whoever spots that letter out the window first (cars, tractor, billboard, for example) gets to start the next round. This game truly has no winner and can help pass the time especially with small children who are learning to associate letters with objects.

20 Questions

• Another one of my favorite games! A passenger in the vehicle thinks of something/ someone and other passengers have to take turns guessing who/ what the person, place or thing is. Guesses must be answered with a simple yes or no. After each answer, the guesser gets ONE chance to guess at what is the object/person. The passenger that guesses correctly wins and gets to start the next round.

Spot The Car

• This game is great for older children who can differentiate the difference between various vehicle models. Prepare by making a printable scavenger hunt checklist for each passenger to check off when a vehicle model is found. The first passenger to get all the models wins!