Our All-Time Favorite Things to Do on the Road With Kids

By the Best Rainbow Activity Books team · October 1, 2026

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Some car games never get old. Kids beg for them on every trip. These are our all-time favorites: no screens, almost no supplies, and they work for ages 3 to 9.

Games that need nothing

1. The license plate game

Spot plates from other states. Little kids call out colors. Big kids keep a list and color each state on a map. Our state activity books turn a long drive into a geography lesson.

2. Alphabet hunt

Find A, then B, then C on signs, trucks and billboards. Q and Z are the hard ones. Play as one team so the youngest wins too.

3. I spy

“I spy something red.” Start with colors for toddlers and switch to letters for readers.

4. 20 questions

One person thinks of an animal, a place or a thing. Everyone else asks yes-or-no questions. Great for ages 6 and up.

5. Story chain

One person starts: “Once upon a time, a dragon found a rainbow…” The next person adds a sentence. The story gets sillier every turn.

6. Grandmother’s trunk

“I packed my trunk with an apple.” The next player repeats it and adds something: “…an apple and a bear.” It builds memory and laughs.

7. Rainbow race

Find something red, then orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, in order. The first full rainbow wins. (We might be a little biased toward this one.)

Games with paper

8. Road trip bingo

Cows, bridges, stop signs, a red truck. First one to five in a row wins. Our Road Trip Activity Book has two bingo boards for two players.

9. Scavenger hunt by state

Driving through a state? Print its book and hunt for the state bird, the capital on road signs and the state flower at rest stops.

10. Mazes, dot-to-dots and word searches

Quiet, solo and satisfying. Pages marked ★ Easy, ★★ Medium and ★★★ Challenge mean a 4-year-old and a 9-year-old can work side by side. Try the Dragon, Narwhal or US Mountains books.

11. Trip journal and postcards

At each stop, kids draw one thing they saw. At the end, they have a book of the trip. Many of our city and state books include a postcard page to color and mail.

Favorites for the hardest hour

12. Audiobooks and kids’ podcasts

Stories through the car speakers work for every age at once. Let each child pick one.

13. The surprise bag

Wrap a few small, cheap things. Hand one out every hour, or every hundred miles. Stickers, a new pack of crayons, a fresh activity book.

14. Sing-alongs

Everyone picks a song. Everyone sings. Nobody judges.

Our favorite road-trip gear

Browse more: Amazon’s current best-selling travel games and best-selling learning toys.

Print it before you go

Every Best Rainbow book is a printable PDF. Print a few pages, clip them to a board, and toss them in the car. Need a mix? Our 3- and 5-book bundles give every kid in the back seat something new.

Printable books for this trip

Road Trip & Airplane Activity BookDragon Activity BookNarwhal Activity BookUS Mountains Activity Book

More travel tips

• First Road Trip With Little Kids: A Simple Plan That Works
• Road Trip With Multiple Kids: How to Keep the Peace in the Back Seat
• Flying With Kids for the First Time: What to Know Before You Go