50 Road Trip Printables to Keep Kids Busy on Trips

Published:
March 10, 2023

Contributor:
Sara Dennis

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Are you tired of bored, unhappy kids in the backseat on a long road trip? Instead of handing a tablet to your child to keep them entertained, use these road trip printables!

road trip printables

50 Free Printable Road Trip Games

Road trip activities for kids are a fun way to keep your kids entertained on your next road trip without needing to pull out electronic devices. You can use printable games for the whole family or activity sheets for individual children. The best part is that you’ll find free printable car games for younger and older kids alike!

Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Printables

On a scavenger hunt, children run around looking for items on a list. These printable scavenger hunt ideas change the classic game slightly and have children hunting for items they might see on their next car trip.

Scavenger Hunt Printable – You’ll find scavenger hunt printables at different levels to print for your kids. One includes pictures of the items for toddlers and preschoolers to check off, while the other one includes a longer list without any pictures.

7 Easy Scavenger Hunts – Your kids will love these easy scavenger hunts. Some of them even have pictures next to the words to make it easy for younger children to participate in the hunt. Just check off the items as you see them through the window!scavenger hunt printable

I Spy Road Trip Printables

My kids adore I spy coloring pages when we’re traveling. But sometimes only one child wants to play I Spy. The best way to solve this problem is to print one of these free printables that feature I Spy games for kids.

I Spy Scavenger Hunt – During the next road trip season, print up a few fun I Spy Scavenger Hunt games for older children to play. They’ll stay busy trying to find a blue truck, a bearded motorcyclist, and other items while you cruise down the road.

Road Trip I SPY Printable – Download this pdf file for your younger children. The printables include pictures of people, signs, and other objects, making it the perfect way to keep your youngest kids entertained in the car.

I Spy road trip printable

I Spy Restaurant Printables

As you’re driving down the road, you will pass by different restaurants. These fun travel activities have children playing I Spy using restaurants.

Restaurant I Spy – This worksheet includes pictures of the various restaurant logos, so it’s a great printable to give to your non-readers so they can keep track of which restaurants they’ve seen on their road trip adventure.

Printable Restaurant I Spy – This I Spy is a restaurant-themed I Spy printable. Kids won’t be looking out the window. Instead, they’ll be searching the worksheet for the various styles of eateries.

Road Trip Journal Pages

As you’re traveling across the United States, print up some of these road trip journal pages for your elementary or middle school children. The printable activities will inspire your children to write and journal about their adventures on the road.

Kids Travel Journal – This printable pack includes writing and drawing prompts to help your kids get started. It’s a great addition to an older child’s travel binder.

Travel Journal for Kids – This is a twenty-eight-page printable pack that includes free road trip activities, writing prompts, and fun games to play.

Printable Kids Travel Journal – This printable travel journal includes fun road trip ideas for your kids to complete on the next family outing. They can track the weather, the best and worst parts of the day, and the most interesting thing that happened.

road trip printables

Road Trip Story Starters

Have your kids write a story about the next family road trip. It’s a fabulous way to get kids writing while they’re sitting in the car.

Story Starters for Road Trips – If your kids are having trouble getting started, hand them this printable with story starters. The printable includes a variety of ideas that will inspire your children.

Road Trip Bingo

Are you looking for a fun twist on the classic Bingo game? Then take a look at these Bingo cards! The cards are a great addition to any collection of fun road trip games.

Road Trip Bingo Cards – You’ll find seven variations of this road trip Bingo card so that everyone in your family can have their own card. You’ll search for items such as a rest area, camper, or traffic cone as you travel down the road. There’s even a free space in the middle!

Bingo for Road Trips – This simple Bingo card is perfect for your youngest children. It’s not large and is full of fun things to find as the kids look out the window.

Bingo Games for Road trips

Road Trip Bingo PDF

Road Trip Bingo for Kids – This travel Bingo game is tons of fun whether you’re in a car or in a hotel. It’s super simple, so even two-year-olds can join in the fun.

printable Bingo game for road trips

Car Bingo

Try using your drive time to play car Bingo on your next long road trip. You can look out the car window to see what’s outside or search for specific license plates on cars that you pass.

License Plate Bingo – You’ll find a free downloadable license plate Bingo game. Who will be the first to shout Bingo after filling out their card?

Bingo for Car Trips – This Car Bingo game has kids looking outside the car to discover items on their Bingo cards. Kids will be looking for planes, cows, churches, and more!

License Plate Games

These free road trip printables have children looking for license plates from different states. There are several variations of the games, but they’re a fun activity to help kids pass the time studying cars as they travel.

Printable License Plate Game – This travel activity provides a list of all fifty states for you to keep track of the license plates you see as you travel down the road. It’s a fun travel printable that’s perfect for a long car ride.

License Plate Game – Combine geography with a fun license plate game! Color in the state of each license plate you find on the road. Don’t forget to check the license plates of cars at the different rest stops!

Road Trip License Plate Game – This free printable license plate game gives you an image of the various license plates you may see on a long trip. It’s the perfect printable for younger kids as they will have a picture of the license plate they’re looking for.

license plate games

Altoids License Plate Game for Road Trips

Another great idea is to use an Altoids box to create a license plate game for your kids to play on a long road trip. Make sure the box is empty before you begin!

DIY Mini License Plate Game – Make your own mini-game for your kids to play while traveling. You’ll find a free printable as well as instructions to help you get started.

Printable Road Trip Word Search Puzzles

More fun activities you can print for a long road trip are some free printable word searches. These are great road trip activities to keep your elementary or middle school kids entertained for several hours.

Word Search Road Trip Puzzle – Hand this puzzle to your children and see how many words related to a road trip they can find in the word search. There are approximately twenty words hiding on this sheet.

Printable Word Search – Your kids will love completing this printable road trip word search. They’ll need to search for words such as rest stop, interstate, and destination.

road trip word search

Road Trip Word Scramble

Do your children enjoy word scrambles? Word scrambles are puzzles where the letters are mixed up and kids need to unscramble the letters to figure out the word. These word scramble printables feature words kids will use on a road trip.

Word Scramble Road Trip Puzzles – Are you looking for a word scramble appropriate for younger and older children? This printable includes two different versions: an easy, printable version for younger children and a regular version for older children.

Word Scramble for Road Trips – Print off this colorful word scramble for your kids to complete on your next road trip. It will eat up a lot of time as the kids work to solve the puzzle.

road trip word scramble printable

I Spy Road Trip Bingo

Your kids will adore these fun road trip printables that combine two fun games into one. The goal is to spy items outside the car to complete the Bingo cards.

Printable Road Trip Bingo – Kids of all ages will enjoy playing these printable Bingo cards. They even include images to make it easy for even your youngest children to participate in the game.

I Spy Bingo Road trip Game

Road Trip Bingo PDF

Free Road Trip Bingo – Can your children find the images on their cards before a sibling? These fun cards are perfect to keep kids entertained while traveling.

I Spy Road Trip Bingo

Printable Road Trip Scavenger Hunt

On a regular scavenger hunt, kids take off across the neighborhood searching for items on the list. These hunts are created for kids who are stuck in a car for several hours.

Scavenger Hunts for Kids – This list will guarantee good behavior as the kids look out the window in the hope of finding every item on the list. You’ll find two lists available: one for younger children and one for older kids.

Printable Scavenger Hunt – Print and laminate this free printable. Your kids will enjoy crossing off the items they find on the sheet as you travel.

Printable Road Trip Activity Book

Instead of free printable travel games to stave off boredom, try some printable activity books. The books will help your children with their fine motor skills while helping to pass away the time while traveling.

Busy Book for Toddlers – This interactive book for toddlers will keep your kids quietly busy no matter where you are. They’ll have a blast matching the colors, shapes, or animals o your next road trip.

toddler activity book for road trips

Road Trip Tic Tac Toe

If you’re looking for printable travel games for kids, then don’t miss playing road trip tic tac toe! It’s a great game for a long drive with children bouncing in the back seat.

Tic Tac Toe Printable – Download and print several copies of this printable tic tac toe game. You might want to put the printable into a page protector and use dry erase markers to play.

On the Go Tic Tac Toe – Consider laminating this fun game card to help it last the entire road trip. And think about using snacks instead of markers to play tic tac toe.

Printable Tic Tac Toe – Your kids will love this colorful tic tac toe card! It’s a great way to keep your kids occupied while you travel.

Fun Summer Printables for Car Rides

Summer Fun Worksheets – What could be better than some fun summer worksheets to keep your kids entertained? You’ll find a nice selection of sheets, including a word search, I Spy, and a coloring page.

road trip activity book

Alphabet Road Trip I Spy

Try an alphabet game on your next road trip. These games have kids looking to find objects that begin with every letter in the alphabet.

Road Trip Alphabet I Spy – Find an item, or two, or four to fill out each letter of the alphabet! This is a fabulous alphabet game to play with your kids.

Awesome Alphabet I Spy – Can you complete the alphabet by finding an item that begins with each letter of the alphabet? You can play the game individually or as a family while traveling.

Printable Travel Games

Everyone will adore having these printable travel games to complete while stuck in a car for hours on end. You can print them up, hole punch the sheets, and put them into a travel binder.

Printable Roads for Kids – Kids will love running their cars over these roads as they travel around the country. This road trip printable will help to also keep your kids quiet in restaurants.

printable road game

Road Trip Printables

Road Trip Packet – This packet of printables includes a road trip maze, word search, and a travel bucket list, among other fantastic worksheets.

free printables for road trips

Printable Games to Play on Road Trips

Fun Games to Play in the Car – What’s better than conversation starters while you’re riding along in the car? One person can start the conversation while the next person answers the questions.

fun car games

DIY Traveling Activity Idea

Sometimes it’s nice to put together a travel activity that’s a little more involved than a simple printable. These DIY activities are easy to make and will give your children something different to do while traveling.

DIY Travel Activity Kit – Turn a coupon file into a fun game that you can pull out when your kids get bored. If you don’t have a coupon file, you should be able to find one at the dollar store.

Catch a Spider Traveling Activity – This is another fun Altoid tin game you can print and put together for your children. They will need to attempt to catch the right number of spiders. Not only does the game improve your children’s fine motor skills, but it also uses simple math.

Find it On the Road Trip Printables

These find-it-on-the-road printables have kids search cars you pass for specific car colors. It’s a fun way to pass the time at no extra cost!

Car Color Search – Have your children search cars you pass for specific colors. Make sure they check all the cars at the gas stations as well as those on the freeway. They’ll be able to discover each state’s favorite car color!

Rainbow Car Find – Can you find cars in every shade of the rainbow? Print off this fun worksheet and find out.

Do A Dot Travel Printables

Dot marker printables are fun at home. They’re also a great way to keep kids quiet while traveling. You can hand your children a pack of stickers to paste on each dot. Another option is to bring along dot pens in several different colors.

Printable Travel Sheets for Mini Do a Dot – These do-a-dot sheets include images of airplanes, cars, suitcases, and traffic lights, making them fun to complete on a road trip.

Do a Dot Printables for the Car – Hand your child a car do-a-dot printable to complete in the car. Your kids will love having a fun project to complete while traveling.

Summer Do a Dot – If you’re traveling on summer vacation, your kids will be fascinated by these summer do-a-dot printables that feature summer objects.

Drawing Prompts for Road Trips

While writing a story may be fun on a road trip, sometimes kids are in the mood to draw instead of write. These drawing prompts will give your children a few ideas to get them started.

Road Trip Drawing Prompts – These drawing prompts have kids imagine what may be in the various vehicles that they pass. They’ll draw what’s in a truck or where the road goes.

Road Signs Bingo Game

Bingo Game Road Signs – How many road signs will you see on your vacation? Find out with this fun Bingo game featuring road signs that you may pass as you drive.

Printable Road Sign Bingo Game – Your kids will adore playing this road sign Bingo game that’s easy enough for even your preschool children to enjoy.

Games for the Road: Road Sign Bingo – Every passenger will have a different Bingo card as you search for signs. Who will complete their Bingo first?

Road Trip Kindness Activities

It’s easy to think of just our family’s good time while on vacation. But a road trip is also a great time to think about spreading a bit of love and joy as you travel.

Packable Project for Road Trip Kindness – You’ll find fun ideas on how to include small bits of kindness into your travel plans. There are even some printables to download and print to make things easy!

Kindness Activities – Take advantage of these sweet ideas on how to spread some kindness around the country as you drive.

Road Trip Planning Checklist

You’ll find a wonderful selection of travel planning printables below. These printables include a couple of planning checklists and a list of essential items you should remember to take.

Planning Checklist – Have your children help you get ready to travel. These planning checklists were designed so your kids can do some of the packing by themselves.

kid's planning checklist

Checklist for Trips

Road Trip Essentials + Checklist – Are you worried you may forget something? This essential checklist will make sure you haven’t forgotten anything important that you’ll miss when you’re several hundred miles away from home.

road trip essentials

Road Trip Packing List

Packing List for Road Trips – This packing list makes sure you know exactly what you need when you’re traveling with kids, such as snacks, technology, or Mad Libs.

road trip packing list

How to Make a Road Trip Binder

To make a road trip binder, you’ll want to grab a sturdy three-ring binder so it will hold up to heavy use. Then include some pencil cases with markers, crayons, or pencils. You might prefer to use page protectors and dry erase markers so that your kids can wipe off the sheets each night and have fresh printables to complete in the morning.

Then print up all the printables you believe your children will enjoy, three-hole punch them, and place them in the binder. If you’d like to be super organized, use dividers to keep the pages organized by type of activity.

Road Trip Binder With Printables – You’ll find simple instructions and more printables to include in your road trip binder.

travel binder with printables

Printables to Add to Road Trip Binder

These are fun printables to include in a road trip binder for any age. You’ll be able to print off coloring pages, a crossword puzzle, or a connect-the-dots printable.

Other Ideas for a Fun Car Ride

Printables aren’t the only option when you’re driving with your kids. You can also play some fun games that don’t require any preparation other than knowledge of the rules and the ability to talk.

Two Truths and a Lie

This game requires that one person tell everyone else two truths and one lie about themselves. The two truths might be: I am a girl. I wear glasses. I am from Mars. Then everyone has to guess which statements are the truth and which statement is the lie.

Play Would You Rather

The idea behind this game is that one person asks a “Would you rather… option A or option B” type question. Then the other people in the car must answer which option they would prefer. It’s a fun way to get a conversation going as people debate the merits of one option over another.

Here are some fabulous would you rather questions for teens to get you started.

In Conclusion

While you may be spending hours traveling around the country in a car this summer, there’s no reason for your kids to be playing on electronic devices the entire time. Create a travel binder for each child filled with some fun printable games for your children and family to play in the car.