Car games and travel games are probably the best diversion tactic that you will remember your parents using on you when you were travelling on your family holiday. There were limited access to funds and computer games, audio storytelling and in car DVDs were not even invented. Car games and travel games are a great way to pass the time and we have links here also to sites where you can get free downloadable colouring and lyrics for songs as well.
Interaction with your children when travelling can be a great diversion and in reality there is no need for sophisticated technical equipment if you can engage your children in the travel process through games. They can help teach children new skills, be educational and encourage some gentle competition. Of course DVD's and computers do come in very handy and can be a life saver sometimes but try these as well for some good old fashioned family fun.
Most of these can work also when travelling with children in departure lounges or while on other forms of transport. We also have advice on how to best cope with car journeys with kids, car games for babies and what to check for when renting a car with the kids.
Here are our favourite top thirty family car and travel games but we would love to hear some of yours on the forum too.
I spy
Great in a car, on a train or on a bus in this game you spot things beginning with a letter. This is better for children who can spell and can be very educational. Children who are learning to read can play this with some assistance and for those who are younger can use colours.
Motorway snap
A player picks a colour of car or make and writes down the make and colour of the car. Whoever sees a car of the same colour or make can shout snap.
Travel bingo
Before you leave home you either make a list or draw a list of items you expect to see on your journey and tick them off as you spot them. Preschoolers and non-readers can use pictures.
Animal letters
Each player takes it in turn to name an animal beginning with each letter of the alphabet. For older players they would have to repeat the animals that have been named.
Make up a story
Someone starts with a sentence about absolutely anything. The next person has to follow on with their own sentence that may or may not be what player one had intended. The story can run on and on and can have twists and turns as one player may want it to be a romance but the other a battle with dragons.
A to Z game
Everyone looks around them and has to find the letters of the alphabet from A-Z in order. Only one person can have any one letter in any one place so it can get competitive. Letters can be found on licence plates, road signs, place names and lots of other places. It gets harder the further down the alphabet you go. The winner is the first to Z.
The country game
Someone starts by choosing a country ie. Spain. The next person has to name a country whose name begins with the last letter of the previously named country. This game could work with any subject from pop stars to animals.
Who am I?
One player thinks of a person, animal, object or profession and the rest of the players can only ask questions to which the answer is yes or no. Simple questions such as: are you alive, are you an animal, are you small can help the other players deduce what the answer is. If you are going on a holiday for example to see wildlife or to Euro Disney you could give your game an overall theme such as Disney characters or animals. For younger children think of someone you all know whether a friend, teacher or relative. Give a few hints like "They live on our road" or “They wear glasses”. Let everyone have a guess and the winner gets to choose the next time.
Name game
Choose a subject such as boys names and everyone has to give the name of a boy in alphabetical order ie Alan, Barry, Charlie and so on. When you get to Z go back to A again. Players drop out when they cannot think of a name.
Coloured cars
Each person chooses a colour and this is then written on a piece of paper next to your name. You get a point each time you spot a car of your chosen colour. The winner is the first to reach 10 or 20 depending on how busy your road is. This helps small children with their colours and attention.
Stone, scissors, paper
Players count to three then make their hands into the shape of a stone (clenched fist) paper (flat hand) or scissors (index and middle finger stretched out). Stone breaks scissors but is covered by paper, paper covers stone but is cut by scissors and scissors cuts paper but is smashed by stone. The winner is the best of three/five/ten. There are world championships in this game by the way!
The silent game
See who can stay quiet for the longest. The winner (the last person to make a noise) gets a treat.If you are lucky they might even fall asleep although this has never worked for us.
Custard
You must only answer custard to any question you are asked. For example “What is your favourite toy” with the answer being “Custard”. If your laugh your turn is over. Time each player’s go and the one who stays in the longest is the winner. This can be played using the word of your choice.
Let your children have a map
Give your kids their own copy of a map of where you are going. Show them how far you have come, how much further there is to go and let them mark it with a crayon. Every time they ask "How much further?” have them take out their map and see for themselves.
Draw a "map" of where you are going
A good travel game for younger kids is to draw your own map that has the major sights, stops and towns with a nice happy drawing for your final destination. Throw in a few simple drawings of landmarks you might see along the way such as a big bridge/a toll bridge/a river/a castle and they can mark them off as they pass them. This gives kids a clearer picture of how much further there is to go.
Play Cards
Teach your kids how to play some of the old favourite card games such as Snap, Old Maid or Fish. This is not strictly a free travel game but we all have a pack of cards lying around somewhere.
Tell Jokes
Take turns telling silly jokes like knock-knock jokes or riddles and get the kids to make up their own jokes which can be quite funny sometimes even if they do not make sense.
Scavenger Hunt
Give each child a list of items to watch for while driving and let them tick them off as they see them. For younger children images will work best.
Read to the kids
This passes the time quickly in the car for the reader and for the family members who are listening. Older kids who can read can they take over and the book can be passed around. This is only suitable for those not made queasy by reading while on the move.
Sing out loud
Whatever your level of skill it is always great to have a singsong while travelling with the kids. For younger kids try the old favourites such as "Wheels on the bus", "Ten green bottles" and nursery rhymes. You can teach older children the lyrics to some of their favourite songs if you know them or print them out from an online search on a site such as bussongs.com and all get to know them. All members of the family can sing out loud from memory or sing along to the radio or a favourite CD.
Have a spelling competition
For older kids this is great and you can include the adults too by choosing words that match the correct difficulty level for each age of child or grownup. Bring a small dictionary for word ideas and definitions and to assist in the event of disputes.
Lines and Dots
Make a grid of dots on a sheet of paper. Each player takes turns drawing a line between two dots. The lines are horizontal or vertical (not diagonal) and must be next to each other. If a player makes a complete square they mark the square with their and get another turn. The player with the most squares when all the dots are connected wins.
Favourites
Go around the car and ask each person their favourite on a particular category such as their favourite movie or animal. Then have everyone think of different "favourite" questions for the family such as what is your favourite car, colour, food, restaurant etc.
Animal sounds
Make animal sounds and let the other players take turns naming the animals.
Name the clouds
What do the clouds look like? Find as many different shapes as you can.
Silly sound game
Make up your own sounds for things that you pass. For example, say "beep-beep" when you see a red track, "cat-cat" when you see a cow etc. You want things that you don't see too often.
Charades
One person selects a TV programme, character, book or film and other players take turns to guess who this is. The player who guesses correctly gets the next turn. To be fair this is practically impossible in a car but great for an evening or a rainy day.
Printable Colouring Pages
Colouring is always a great distraction for young kids and here are some links to online colouring to print all for free.
National Geographic printable colouring pages
Crayola printable colouring pages
Nick Junior
Hangman
This is an old favourite. A player thinks of a word and writes the number of dashes representing the number of letters. The other player has to guess using the letters of the alphabet. If they guess correctly they get the letter filled in but if not they get a body part of the hangman filled in. There are usually six chances (the head, the body, two arms and two legs). Hints for younger children and easy clues are recommended.
Who is next door?
If you are stuck in a traffic queue older children with a good sense of humour and imagination may enjoy making up stories about the people in the car nearby ie what their names are, what they do, what their hobbies are, what pets they have, what their house is like.
You will find lots of family friendly travel tips and advice in our research and advice section to help you book the right family holiday. Check out also the experiences of other parents and travellers in our parents forum and add your own experiences as we are a great believer in real parent's experiences as the best measure of whether somewhere will suit you for your family holiday.
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