- jandkstrible
Essential Road Trip Activities Kids will Love!
Heading out on a road trip this summer with kids? 🚘 You are going to need some road trip essentials and activities to keep them busy! We take road trips very often so from experience these are some of our best tips and activities to get you through the hours of time with kids! Note: the more you do it, the better they get! ✨
From the times our kids were little, we quickly learned how to make the best of road trips. Now they are twenty-one, nine and six.
We have take an hour trip with our longest being twenty-five hours! From Rochester, to Delaware, NYC, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and so many more. We have also taken some road trips visiting some of the best national parks on the East Coast.
Our road trip packing list has always included road trip activities, snacks, games and activities. But it is true that these activities really vary depending on the age of kids you are traveling with: toddlers, school-aged kids, or teens.
TRAVEL WITH KIDS:
I also get a caddy or travel table to store all of the items, have a flat surface for activities, and easy to store. I highly recommend this organizer! You can grab it here: https://amzn.to/3Py4ZZm. Make sure you have a TON of snacks regardless of the age!
Activities/Games 🎒:
Nothing is more annoying that pieces of games falling on the ground. Enter Magnetic Road Trip games to keep kids busy, with pieces to stay in place with magnets. This pack offers options with multiple use that kids will LOVE!
-Board Games here: https://amzn.to/43XHUnb
-Tic Tac Toe here: https://amzn.to/441tdj4
-Hangman here: https://amzn.to/3JyHTho
-License Plate Hunt: https://amzn.to/3r1bVnp
We also love Mad Libs for kids who are able to read and write! These are so fun to create and share! Our favorites are here: https://amzn.to/3JwvoTi
Kindle 💻:
We use Kindle fires for both of our kids and rent a wifi device from our local library to use for hook up! The kindles allow for games, reading, and movies! They are so reasonably priced and hold up so well. We highly recommend these because they are so user friendly, last forever and are durable for long lasting use! You can find our favorite one here:https://amzn.to/3plyOBs! Don't forget the headphones!
Our Favorite Travel Apps are:
-This is my car, Audible
-Duolingo to learn a new language
-Barefoot World Atlas
- Stack the States
-GeoBee
Audiobooks/Podcasts 📚:
My kids can get car sickness from time to time! So we like to have audiobooks! All the kids love these and we download them before the trip so they are ready to go!
Our favorite podcasts for kids include:
-Sesame Street Podcast
-Story Pirates
-Wow in the World
-The Past & The Curious
Crafts🎨:
Kids who enjoy crafts and creative things will love wiki sticks! These kits make a great activity with no mess. Our favorite kit is here: https://amzn.to/3qTrHk8. Our kids also enjoy making bracelets. I always bring Ziploc bags for bracelet storage! Our favorite set is here https://amzn.to/43XnISt.
Any printable activity pack or coloring books are also a must! I also bring blank paper to create or draw things they experience on the trip. If they are practicing letters or numbers I put them in clear pages into a binder with Expo markers for continuous use.
If you don't want to pack all the crayons and markers, consider the Color Doodle! It is a great solution. Kids can draw and make pictures on this fun, colorful board and keep everything in one place. Grab them at a great price here: https://amzn.to/3PsknpR
I Spy Travel Edition:
While on your trip, I Spy is another game kids love to play in the car. The travel edition is themed for planes and road trips, so it is great to pack! You can find the I Spy Kit here: https://amzn.to/3NNv6tO
Seek and Find Books:
I highlight this below but these are for the kids who are a bit older. Here are our favorites: https://amzn.to/3PwgTD4
Travel Journal:
I highly recommend the travel journal too! It is so cool to document your travels over time and look back on the fun memories! Our favorite journal is here: https://amzn.to/43ZGWa3.
Paint by Sticker: Creative kids will LOVE this! Like color by number, these stickers will create mosaic pictures kids will love. Its a fun way to "paint" a picture without the hassle and the mess. Check out the fun ones here https://amzn.to/3XqcumO. They have a ton of themes to choose from!
TRAVEL WITH TODDLERS:
We love anything sensory! Toddlers have a shorter attention span and can be easily frustrated when things drop. So when looking for things to do, consider keeping it simple. This is the best rule of thumb for activities for toddlers and preschoolers.
Magnetic Trays:
When my kids were little we would grab some magnetic trays, and get some letters, shapes and images that were simple and they loved to create. We purchased our boards herehttps://amzn.to/3PsknpR and our magnets here https://amzn.to/44fTSrY. The storage is what sold me!
Activities:
These activities are quick, easy to store, and no messes! We have a collection that we use to just grab from. Color Wonder sets are great. The makers do not turn color until they hit the paper! Another favorite is magnetic puzzles. Better than regular puzzles because their magnets keep them in place.
-Color Wonder here: https://amzn.to/3JUdw5h
-Magnet Maze here: https://amzn.to/3Jspz9l
-Bead Drawing here: https://amzn.to/3pnqS2I
-Magnetic Puzzles here: https://amzn.to/3JUdw5h
Art to Go Travel Easel:
A great activity for toddlers. It is great to keep them busy, but it packs up and come into any restaurant. They can draw, erase, and draw again, making it a great lasting activity they will enjoy!
You can find the easel here: https://amzn.to/3Jy75V1
If you are brave, let the kids use window markers to draw their favorite designs that you can wipe off later! This is a huge hit! Grab them here: https://amzn.to/430PlJ1.
Seek and Find Books:
My kids love seek and find books. They love the curiosity and spending time looking for things, covers a lot of time! Check our family favorites here: https://amzn.to/430PlJ1. These books are great for 2-4 and the images are large!
LOTS of Snacks! We like to use a storage container like this to fill with a ton of different snacks and give one to each kid to access throughout the car ride. No fighting or stealing! It works out great! Here is the one we use: https://amzn.to/43XnISt.
It is key to know that road trip activities is essential for peace and enjoyment. It will keep them entertained and busy, but will also make it more memorable for all whether its with a toddler, school-aged or a teen! ✌🏼🤍✈️
