65 Fun Car Activities for Kids & Games to Play Without Phone

Inside: A bumper list of road trip and car activities for kids to keep the boredom at bay.

Are you planning a road trip with the family this summer? Worrying about how you are going to entertain your kids on a long car journey is something we can all relate to.

It’s all too easy to rely on screens and, after a while, the endless “are we nearly there yet?” questions will start…

You need some engaging activities and games to play in the car without a phone.  Some fun travel printables. And how about some games to play in the car as a whole family too?

You’ll find them all here.  With this list of car activities for kids up your sleeve, long car rides don’t need to be stressful!

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Road Trip Preparation Tips

Preparing for a family road trip can often be more stressful than the event itself. So here are some top tips to ensure you are fully prepared without the added worry.

Create a Checklist

I highly recommend creating a checklist, of all the things you need to pack, well in advance of your trip.  Try the handy free printable checklist pictured from Sustain My Craft Habit.

This will not only make the packing itself so much easier and quicker, but will reduce the chances of anything important getting left behind.

Once you have created a list for one trip, make sure you hang on to it for future trips too.  

Get Your Kids Helping

If your kids are old enough, create a checklist for each of them and get them involved in packing their things. They’ll love helping out and it will only add to the excitement of the trip.

Make Sure Your Car is Ready

So important but something that so many of us forget to do! You’ve got a car full of kids, and have a long drive anyway, the last thing you want is to add to the stress by breaking down.

Research the Journey

It is particularly important to research the journey if you are going somewhere new, particularly when it comes to rest stops.

You’ll need some options for toilet breaks, picnic stops, gas stops and perhaps somewhere for the kids to run around for half an hour to let off some steam.

It’s also good to know where there’s a grocery store on arrival if you need to pick up some supplies. This will save you from driving around in circles trying to find somewhere (I’m sure we’ve all been there!).

How Do You Entertain Kids on a Long Car Trip?

Wondering how you’re going to pass the time in the car? The key to entertaining kids on a long car trip is being prepared!

You don’t need to have the whole toy box with you, just a select few car-appropriate items such as coloring books, puzzles, travel games, and books.

Depending on the age of your kids, they may get restless quickly, so make sure you mix up the activities. Intersperse quiet activities with games for all the family, and plan for plenty of snack breaks.

Top Tips for Keeping Kids Entertained in the Car

Here are some tips to ensure that the journey runs smoothly, with relaxed and happy passengers!

1 – Mix novelty activities with trusted favorites

Mix up activities to avoid boredom and while it’s great to try new games and car activities for kids, mix these with ones you know the kids love.

If they love coloring, that’s an easy one to start with. But be sure to have something new and exciting up your sleeve when they start to get restless.

Lots of variety is also key.

Young children in particular, as we all know, do not have a very long attention span. This will be no different in the car.

You’ll have plenty of car activities for kids on hand by the end of this post, with lots of new ones to try!

2 – Make sure activities are within reach

There is nothing worse than your kids seeing an activity they want to play with but not being able to reach it!

Travel trays or organizers are a great way to ensure that your kids have everything they need within easy reach.

3 – Don’t forget snacks!

When the cries of ‘I’m hungry’ start and then continue for the duration of your journey – because you realise you’ve forgotten snacks or haven’t brought enough – you’ll probably never make this mistake again!

Of course, I learnt the hard way… Now I very rarely leave the house, even for a 10 minute trip in the car, without ensuring I have plenty of snacks.  There are also snacks that live in the car just for in case…

4 – Plan to take breaks

If possible, plan to break your journey up with lots of stops to use the restroom, stock up on snacks if needed and have a good run around. 

Check out these simple physical activities for kids for ideas to get the kids moving.

The Best Kid’s Car Accessories

There are a few accessories that we never leave home on a long journey without. These will make life easier and hopefully your trip much less stressful.

Back Seat Organizer

Back seat organizers are a great way to keep your kid’s favorite car activities within easy reach and keep it all in order too. Ones like this come with a tablet holder, and plenty of storage pockets for water, snacks, books, and a lot more.

Travel Tray

Travel trays are also a brilliant way of keeping your kid’s activities in reach. But they also give you a tabletop to do activities on such as drawing and coloring.

This one here has a holder for a tablet as well as plenty of pockets for a water bottle, snacks and everything else your child could need. Perfect for a busy toddler.

If you don’t want to fork out on a travel tray, stress not.  The top of a cardboard box is a great way to contain pencils, toys and other materials. There are some cardboard box top car activities for kids included below.

Headphones

For your own sanity, I highly recommend getting your kids some headphones!

They’ll allow each child to watch or listen to their own thing without disturbing the others, and most importantly, they’ll give you a bit of much-needed peace and quiet.

If you’ve got two children and only one tablet, these headphones are brilliant. They can be connected together so that they can both listen to the same thing.

Car activities for kids involving snacks

A key preparation tip for any car journey is to take plenty of snacks.  Very important, as noted above!  Whatevver your husband says, you can’t overpack on this one…

But rather than just having snack time, why not create a game out of it?

Kids will love these fun ideas and best of all they get a tasty treat out of it too.

1. Snack Memory Game

This Match Up Memory Snack Tray is genius! It works just like a regular memory game, the aim being to find a pair of snacks.

Car friendly, and your kids will love eating the snack pair when they find them!

2. Twizzler Writing

Grab a packet of pull and peel twizzlers and get your kids practicing their writing!

Depending on your child’s age, you could challenge them to spell things that they see out of the window. For younger children, do some letter practice.

The bonus is that once they have spelled out the word, or drawn the letter, they get to enjoy the twizzler!

3. Letter Treat

For this activity, you’ll need some letter cookies or it would work with alphabet cereal too.

For younger kids who are still learning their sounds, hold out letters of the alphabet and ask them to make the sound and name the letter.

For older kids you could ask them to name 3 words beginning with the letter and even then spell out those words, before they get the cookie.

Cardboard box top car activities

Cardboard box tops make fantastic diy travel activity trays.

A box top is ideal as it has ready-made sides to stop things sliding onto the floor. You could however make your own using a piece of cardboard with the sides folded and taped up.

Here are a few car activities for kids that use a cardboard box top that I love and have tried, or plan to.

4. Chalk Table Top

Chalk is great, particularly for younger children on a road trip as there is less worry of mess than coloring pens.

If you have any chalk paint at home, you could paint the inside of your cardboard box top with it.  But black construction paper does just as well.

Tape it to the box, give your child some chalk and let them get creative!

5. Cardboard Box Mini Train Table

I love this idea for train-loving little ones. Use double-sided tape to stick some train tracks to the box top. Leave some spaces for your child to complete the track, or give it to them completed, along with their favorite trains.

6. Cardboard Box Race Track

I have a 3-year-old who won’t go anywhere without clutching a toy car, so this is ideal for any child like him.

Draw a racetrack on your cardboard box top, supply them with toy cars and you’ve got hours of entertainment.

7. Travel Coloring Tray

This is as simple as giving your child some paper and pens and using the cardboard box top as a tray.

You could even leave out the paper and get your kids to color directly on the cardboard box top.

8. Sticky Activity Top

Create a sticky surface on your cardboard box top by taping some contact paper to it, sticky side up. You now have a surface to stick things to and be creative with. Try crafting bits such as pompoms, buttons, pipe cleaners and so on.

Car games & activities for kids to play looking out the window

With so much to see out of the car window, there are a host of opportunities here for simple car activities for kids.  Ideal for wiggly or bumpy roads which can easily cause travel sickness.

9. Animal Spotting

How you play this will depend on where you are driving. You could either challenge your kids to spot 10 cows or 10 sheep, or you could challenge them to spot as many different types of animals as possible.

Whoever gets the most is the winner.

10. I Spy

A classic game, great for the whole family and brilliant at getting your kids looking up and out at their surroundings.

The first person starts with ‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with…’ and the others have to guess what it is. Whoever guesses first has a go next.

It is probably a good idea to set a rule that it needs to be something that will be in view for a least a few minutes. It doesn’t really work if the object picked is already long gone!

11. Road Sign Game

Challenge your kids to spot as many different road signs as they can, and then challenge them to tell you what they think the sign means!

12. Spot It

This can be as simple or as difficult as you want to make it and can be adapted for the age of your children. For younger kids you can keep it as easy as ‘Can you spot a car?’ Or ‘Can you spot a red car?’.

Make it more challenging for older kids, with different road signs, restaurants, types of transport etc.  Who can be the first to spot a stop sign, a MacDonalds and a heavy loader?

Car activities for kids & games to play with family

Why should it be just the kids having all the fun? Long journeys can get really tedious for the driver and adult passengers too. Yawn….

Family games are a great way to spend time together and can be very revealing too! So here are some car activities and games to play in the car with family. 

13. Carpool Chaos

Carpool Chaos is a fantastic game for the whole family and it is really simple to play.

Each person takes turns to draw a card from the pack, reads it aloud and players must do whatever the card says.

The Carpool Chaos pack is a mix of games, challenges and hypothetical questions, sure to get the whole family talking and laughing.

14. The Animal Name Game

The first person says an animal out loud, for example, Elephant. The next player then needs to think of an animal starting with the last letter of the previous animal, so in this case Tiger.

The game continues until you cannot think of any more animals. A great game for younger children to help with letter and sound recognition.

15. Trivia Questions

We love a bit of trivia in our family, and a list of trivia questions is a great way to pass the time. In the Playroom has compiled a great list of questions to test the family with.

Some are quite tricky but you could pick and choose depending on the age of your children.

16. 20 Questions

What is the 20 questions car game?

20 questions is essentially a ‘yes or no’ game where one person thinks of something, and the other players have 20 questions to guess what it is.

The answers to the questions however can only be yes or no.

We often play it with the category animals, but you could choose anything that would interest your children – people or characters work well too.

17. The Alphabet Game

This game is best played when driving through more populated areas. The aim is to spot a road sign for each letter of the alphabet starting with A and working through to Z.

It can get quite tricky as you get towards the end of the alphabet!

This is best played as a team together, with each player taking a turn as you work through the alphabet.  Alternatively, you could play as individuals against each other.

18. Name That Song

Take turns singing a couple of lines of a song for the others to guess the song or the artist.

You could also play the opening few seconds of a song, through the car stereo or on your cell phone, for everyone to have a guess.

19. Categories

In this simple game, choose a category, and take turns to name something in that category until you are out of answers.

To add an extra challenge, you could play so that answers have to be alphabetical, so the first begins with A, the second B, and so on.

20. Tell Stories

We play this game a lot and my 5-year-old loves it.

Each person takes turns to be the storyteller. The other passengers give the storyteller 3 words for them to include in their story and then sit back and listen.

21. Tell Jokes

What child doesn’t love telling a joke? Take turns to tell a joke, or come prepared with a list of jokes to keep the laughter going.

22. “I went on holiday and I packed in my suitcase…”

A classic memory game, and you could change the title to suit any occasion, for example, ‘I went to the supermarket and put in my trolley…’

The first person says “I went on holiday and I packed in my suitcase…’ followed by an item (toothbrush, pyjamas etc). The next person repeats what the first person said and then adds their own item.

The game continues until it gets too difficult to remember all the items!

Quiet car activities for kids

Don’t we all dream of car journeys where the kids are occupied in the back, and you’re enjoying some peace and quiet in the front.  Or even managing to have a whole uninterrupted conversation?

Yeah, keep dreaming!  

That may be asking too much for a whole car journey, but if you come prepared with a couple of the following, you may manage some snippets!

23. Water Wow or Imagine Ink Books

Water Wow books are a great alternative to coloring books, particularly for younger children. They’re a great mess-free activity for little ones since the water is inside the paintbrush. As they paint with water, the picture appears.

24. Felt Board

Felt Boards are another brilliant mess-free way to entertain toddlers and younger children. They are easier for young kids to use than stickers and you can get all sorts of themes, like this sweet farm yard one.

25. Sticker Books

We always travel with a couple of sticker books – highly engaging for kids of all ages and great for fine motor skills too.  In fact, they tend to live in my bag, as they’re good to keep the kids entertained in cafes and restaurants too.

If your child struggles to take the stickers off on their own, here’s a top tip for you. Peel the backing off the sticker sheet for them and it will make it much easier.

26. WikkiStix

WikkiStix are the perfect car activity for kids who enjoy art activities and getting creative. They are mess-free, can be sculpted into anything, and best of all, they are reusable.

27. LCD Doodle Tablet

We recently bought our children an LCD Doodle tablet each and they love them!

My 5-year-old in particular enjoys practicing his writing and drawing on his, and with the press of a button you have a clean screen to start again.

28. Magnetic Puzzles

Anything magnetic helps to reduce the chances of a dropped piece, so is a great option for the car.

I particularly like these magnetic easel puzzles. The pieces are safely held in a box, and children can create different scenes with the magnets.

29. Reusable sticker pad

I find that reusable sticker books are easier to use for younger children than regular stickers. They tend to peel off more easily and can be moved around.

30. Etch A Sketch

A classic Etch A Sketch is a really fun way to keep the kids entertained in the car. They also have a pocket-sized version which is great for traveling.

31. Coloring

Coloring books or some paper and crayons can keep some children quiet and happy for a long time! Perhaps challenge them to draw different things that you see along the way.

Paper plates are also great to color on and are a bit sturdier than paper for the car.

If your young kids love getting creative, bookmark these craft posts for later:

• 41 Easy Dinosaur Crafts
• 29 Scarily Easy Skeleton Crafts for Kids
• 35 Simple Monkey Crafts & Activities
• 100 Easy Toilet Paper Roll Crafts for Toddlers
• 31 Cute Handprint Birthday Card Ideas

32. Books

Picture books for younger children or reading books for older ones, are another great way to pass the time. 

Save any new books you’re sure your kids will like for your next car journey.  A new book in their favorite series is bound to keep them entertained.

If your child suffers from motion sickness, make sure they only look at books on straight roads like the highway.

33. Electronics

Let’s face it, as much as we’d like to try and keep our kids off screens, sometimes they’re a good way for everyone to get a little bit of quiet time.  This is particularly true on a long journey.

There’s nothing wrong with a short amount of screen time as one of many other more interactive car activities for kids.

Free Road Trip Activities Printables

Being prepared with some travel printable activities can be a lifesaver when it comes to keeping your kids entertained in the car. Especially if you are looking for games to play in the car without a phone!

There are some great road trip travel printables for kids available, so you can make sure you’ve always got a new fun car game for each journey.

They take up very little space in the car which is a bonus, and you can have one for each child to avoid any potential arguments!

Here are a few of my favorite car activities for kids that use free printables.

34. Road Trip Word Search Printable

I love this road trip-themed word search by Two Kids and a Coupon. So simple but it should keep the kids engrossed for a reasonable amount of time.

35. Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Travel Printable

Moms Who Save have some brilliant travel activity printables for the car, and I particularly love this Scavenger Hunt Sheet.

You can either give one to each of your children and see who can complete the list first. Or alternatively, get your kids working together, perhaps looking out of one side of the car each.

36. Squares and Dots Game

I have memories of playing the squares and dots game as a kid and having to draw out all the dots before we started!

3 Boys and a Dog has made life a lot easier with this printable sheet of dots so your kids can get straight down to the game.

Players take turns drawing one horizontal or vertical line between the dots. The aim is to be the person to draw the 4th line to complete a square.

Mark each square completed with a first initial, or some other distinguishing mark, so that the totals can be added up at the end.

Make sure you have a few of these printed off, there is bound to be a call for a rematch!

37. The License Plate Game

The License Plate Game can pass hours on a long road trip, and this travel printable by Minimalist Mama is a really lovely version.

Kids can either cross off the different states as they spot license plates, or you could give them some stickers to stick over each one.

Give each child their own sheet, and whoever spots it first and shouts out the state, gets the point.

A fun game to get the whole family involved and engaged in the journey.

38. Road Trip Bingo Printable

Who doesn’t love a game of road trip bingo? The Soccer Mom Blog has these printable bingo cards. I love her idea of using velcro stickers to mark off when your kids spot something on their card.

The aim is spot all the items on your card, and the first person to do so shouts bingo!

39. Car Color Count & Other Travel Printables

Two Pink Peonies has some brilliant road trip activity printables for preschoolers. I particularly like the Car Color Count where your preschooler has to count the number of cars he sees in each color.

For free printables of a festive nature, check out:

• 7 FREE Christmas Light Scavengers
• Santa Claus’s address + FREE Santa letter templates
• 30 FREE Printable Christmas Bingo Cards
• FREE 17 Page Christmas Activity Booklet 
• Simple FREE Printable 3D Paper Christmas Ornaments

Car games & activities for kids to play with siblings

If you are looking for games to play in the car without a phone, and that can entertain siblings together, here are some absolute winners.

Not only are the kids happy, but it may even result in a bit of quiet time for Mum and Dad!

These would be ideal games to play in the car with friends that are joining the trip too.

40. Travel Battleships

I remember loving Battleships as a child and it is one of those classic games that is still just as popular.

This Battleships game which comes in a portable case is perfect for traveling and for games in the car. All the ships and pegs store neatly, and hold tight onto the board whilst playing.

41. Guess Who

Another classic board game. This Guess Who Travel version is a great option for the car. Kids will love playing it and it is small and lightweight for traveling.

When not in use, the two game trays slot neatly together with the cards tucked inside.

42. Rock, Paper, Scissors

The perfect road trip game – no supplies required! My 5-year-old loves a game of rock, paper, scissors.

If you have more than 2 children in the back of the car, turn it into a knockout competition so that everyone is involved.

43. I Spy Travel Card Game

The I Spy Travel Card Game is a card game version of a travel scavenger hunt. Each player takes a set number of cards and the aim is to spot the roadside items on the cards.

This is great because there is no limit on the number of players and it is suitable for younger children too.

44. Tic Tac Toe

You can get a portable travel board of the much-loved game Tic Tac Toe, although a piece of paper and a pencil would do the job too.

45. Card Games

A pack of cards is so versatile and is always at the top of my packing list when we go away.

Snap, Old Maid, and Go Fish can all be played with a standard pack of cards and are just a couple of ideas for the car.

46. Magnetic Games

Any games that are magnetic are perfect for the car. This magnetic games compendium ensures that everyone’s favorite game is onboard.

Car Activities for Toddlers & Preschool Kids

We all know that toddlers and preschoolers have a short attention span, so it’s particularly important when traveling with little ones to be prepared with plenty of activities.

Many of the ideas above are suitable for toddlers and preschoolers but below are a few more that will work particularly well for this age group.

47. Listen to an Audio Book

Of course, a good audio book can keep everyone entertained. But they’re particularly good for younger kids with their lower capabilities and love of a good story.

My 3-year-old loves to listen to an audiobook. We have some of his favorite stories in audio version and they go round and round and round….when we are on long car journeys.

If you are wanting your toddler to sleep, this is often a good way to aid this too.

48. Sing Songs

Most preschoolers love a good sing song and particularly to an old classics, such as ‘Old MacDonald Has a Farm’. This one can go on and on for as long as you like, with all sorts of different animals on the farm!

49. I spy with color

The regular version of ‘I spy with My Little Eye’ may be a bit tricky for your toddler or preschooler so instead of using letters, try it with colors.

For example, ‘I spy with my little eye, something the color red.’ Make sure it is something obvious and something that is constantly in sight.

50. Simon Says

Simon Says is a great game for the car, obviously with movements that are achievable when strapped in!

51. Seek and Find Books

Seek and find books like this Old MacDonald’s Farm one, are a great way to keep preschoolers entertained.

The picture list of what they need to find is big and clear to aid independence. Also a good way to practice counting with your child, by asking them to count the number of pigs etc.

52. Flashcards

Toddler learning flashcards make for a really easy car activity for young kids. A great way to learn basic words, colors, numbers and shapes.

53. The Rainbow Game

This is the same idea as the alphabet game above, but more suitable for younger ones.

Looking out of the window ask your child to spot things in order of the colors of the rainbow. So start with red, then orange, and so on.

54. Surprise Toy Bag

I love this idea. Pick up some cheap toys from the dollar store that you know your child will love and pack them into a bag.  Add some car-friendly snacks too.

To make it even more exciting, you could wrap each one individually to be opened at certain stages of the journey.

55. Small Toys

Often young kids are very happy playing with a few toys and don’t need any elaborate activity.

Choose some of your kid’s favorites (and smallest!) to bring out as a surprise when needed.  Toys cars, animals, fidget toys, figures of their favorite characters, and that sort of thing tend to go down well.

If you can, in the few days before your planned road trip, avoid your toddler playing with these toys. Said toys should then then hold their attention for longer in the car.

56. Window Clings

Window Clings are reusable stickers that are designed to be stuck on windows.

They are removable, reusable and do not leave a mess.  Most importantly, your little one will love sticking them on the window and peeling them off again.

For minimal prep activities for little ones, try:

• 75 Sanity-Saving Mess Free Toddler Activities 
• 75 Easy Outdoor Activities & Play Ideas For Preschoolers
• 65 Gross Motor Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers

Car Activities for Older Kids

Older children are able to focus on one activity for much longer than younger kids, so you may not need as many ideas up your sleeve.

However, it’s always worth having a few if you want to keep them off their screens for as long as possible.

So here is a list of car activities and games to play in the car without a phone in sight.

57. Drawing

For children who enjoy drawing or coloring, there is no reason this can’t be done in the car. You just need to be prepared with paper and pencils or pens.

Coloring books or notepads for your children to draw in are a great idea – they avoid loose paper. And I would recommend either a travel tray or cardboard box top, to make it easier.

58. Would You Rather?

A hilarious game that children will love to play with each other that’s also great for the whole family.

Let your children get creative with their questions.  Or if they’re stuck for ideas, try these as starting points:

• ‘Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or a pet dragon?’
• ‘Would you rather have one eye in the middle of your head or two noses?’

59. Friendship Bracelets

Making friendship bracelets is such a brilliant craft to do in the back of the car. All you need is some embroidery floss, scissors, and some tape or a safety pin.

Whilst creating the bracelet attach it to the back of the seat in front, to your kid’s trousers, or to a pillow on their lap.

Here’s a video tutorial for beginners to help you get started.

60. Rubik’s Cube

Rubik’s cubes are addictive and easy to transport so are a great car activity for kids.

61. Binoculars

Kids love playing with binoculars. Keep a pair handy in the car and let your kids explore the outside world with them.

62. Busy Binders

Busy Binders take a bit of preplanning but are a fantastic way to keep your kids busy for hours.

The beauty is you can make one for each child and make them age-appropriate with their activities all neatly stored in one place.

Use some clear zipper file bags to hold coloring books, puzzle books, etc, as well as pens, pencils, and a few small toys.

63. Lego Busy Box

I saw this idea on The Gingerbread House blog and I thought it was a brilliant idea for the Lego mad out there.  I can’t wait to try this with my eldest.

All you need is an old tin or box – a shoe box would work well – a Lego base plate, and some double-sided tape.

Stick the base plate into your box or tin and let your child pick a few bits of lego to take with them. Make sure the pieces all fit into the box so you don’t end up with Lego all over the car.

64. Puzzle book

For kids who like word searches, puzzles, mazes, brain teasers and so on, a simple puzzle book can keep them entertained for hours. Make sure you get one with a variety of different puzzles to keep them interested for longer.

65. The Counting Game

In this group game, players need to count to the highest number they can. Sounds simple but of course, there is a catch!

One person starts off by saying one, and within 5 seconds someone else needs to say two, and so on. The catch is that there is no playing order, and if 2 people say a number at the same time, you go back to one again!

It’s a bit like seeing how many throws you can do without dropping the ball, and it gets quite addictive seeing if you can go just one higher.

Happy Travels!