12 Best Travel Games to Keep Kids Entertained on Holiday

You can transform tedious travel time into family fun with classic games like I Spy and 20 Questions that require zero equipment. Try the Alphabet Game spotting letters A-Z on signs, or License Plate Bingo tracking all 50 states for geography lessons. Would You Rather sparks creative conversations, while magnetic travel puzzles and color hunts keep hands busy. Don’t forget audio entertainment like Name That Tune and storytelling games that’ll make those long journeys fly by faster than you’d expect.

I-Spy: The Classic Observation Game

When you’re looking for a travel game that requires zero preparation and endless entertainment, I Spy delivers exactly what busy parents need. One player becomes the “Spy” and silently selects any visible object, then announces “I spy with my little eye something beginning with [letter].” Other players guess directly or ask yes/no questions until someone identifies the object correctly.

The beauty lies in its adaptability. During car journeys, restrict objects to items outside or inside the vehicle. For younger children, use colors instead of letters or provide “hot” and “cold” clues. Each round typically lasts under five minutes, making it perfect for short attention spans.

Best of all, it sharpens observation skills while keeping everyone engaged. With no equipment needed, this game works anywhere and is particularly popular among families during travel, with over half playing it on long journeys.

20 Questions: Guess What I’m Thinking

How can you turn a simple guessing game into hours of entertainment? With “Questions: Guess What I’m Thinking,” you’ll have an instant travel game that requires zero materials. One player thinks of something from basic categories like animals, plants, objects, or food, while others ask yes-or-no questions to narrow down the answer.

Keep questions simple: “Is it alive?” “Do we eat it?” “Is it bigger than a car?” This encourages logical thinking and vocabulary building. You can adapt the difficulty based on your kids’ ages—stick to familiar items for younger children, or expand to more complex concepts for older ones.

The beauty lies in its flexibility. Play anywhere—car, plane, or waiting room. Switch roles frequently to keep everyone engaged and thinking creatively. For groups of kids who don’t know each other well, this game works wonderfully to promote social interaction and help them mingle naturally.

The Alphabet Game: Spot Letters A to Z

While 20 Questions challenges minds with logic puzzles, the Alphabet Game transforms your surroundings into an interactive playground. You’ll have players spot letters A through Z in sequence on external signs, billboards, or vehicles.

The first person to shout a word containing the target letter advances to the next one.

Set clear rules upfront: only visible letters count, no reusing the same sign, and nothing inside your vehicle qualifies. License plates become lifesavers for tricky letters like Q and X.

You can increase difficulty by using only initial letters of words or limiting sources to signs only. This educational and entertaining activity works perfectly for all ages, making it an ideal choice for families with mixed age groups.

Print tracking sheets so kids can color found letters. Consider team play versus individual competition, and don’t forget—cemetery sightings reset opponents back to A in some variations.

License Plate Bingo: Find All 50 States

The License Plate Game turns every highway into a geography lesson as you and your kids hunt for plates from all 50 states plus Washington D.C. You’ll need just paper and pencils, though free printable PDFs make tracking easier. Simply check off each state as you spot its license plate on passing vehicles.

Customize rules based on your family’s preferences—decide whether parked cars or semi-trucks count. For added challenge, require kids to name state capitals before marking them off. Create excitement by offering special prizes for rare finds like Alaska or Hawaii plates.

The game naturally builds intensity as you approach finding all fifty states. Download multiple printable cards to let siblings compete against each other, turning geography into friendly competition that lasts your entire road trip. For families wanting a collaborative approach, try the Casual Plate Tracker variation where everyone works together using printable resources to spot all states as a team.

Would You Rather: Fun Hypothetical Choices

After hunting license plates sharpens your kids’ observation skills, switch gears with “Would You Rather”—a conversation game that sparks creativity and reveals surprising insights about your family.

You’ll need at least two players, though four works best. Simply pose questions with two options: “Would you rather wear clown shoes every day or a clown wig every day?” Kids choose their preference and explain their reasoning, creating hilarious discussions.

Rotate leadership so everyone gets to ask questions. Keep questions age-appropriate—silly options like “ride a donkey or giraffe everywhere” work perfectly for younger children. The game requires no setup, making it perfect for spontaneous entertainment anywhere during your travels.

For variety, try silent voting where kids write answers, or add scoring by awarding points when choices match the majority. This game transforms long car rides into engaging family conversations.

Car Bingo: Mark Off What You See

Once your family tires of hypothetical choices, Car Bingo transforms the passing scenery into an exciting competition where players race to spot items on their bingo cards. You’ll need bingo cards featuring common road sights like red cars, stop signs, semi-trucks, or windmills.

Players scan both sides of the road, calling out spotted items immediately for verification. The first person to spot an item claims it—others can’t mark the same sighting. Win by completing a row, column, diagonal, or try blackout for longer trips.

You can download printable templates or create themed cards matching your route. Use pencils, chips, or laminated cards with dry-erase markers for repeated play. This game works well for team play by pairing younger children with adults who can help them spot items.

Scavenger Hunt: Check Off Travel Sightings

While Car Bingo focuses on marking off predetermined items, scavenger hunts transform your entire journey into an interactive treasure hunt where kids actively search for specific sights, signs, and landmarks. You can create license plate hunts listing all 50 states plus Canada as a bonus challenge.

For younger children, work together as a family to spot different vehicle types or road signs, turning observation into learning opportunities about traffic rules.

Older kids thrive with competitive versions – whoever spots the most car brands or state plates wins. Print customized sheets featuring location-specific items like monuments in Washington DC or historic landmarks in Savannah. These activities work perfectly for both departure and return journeys, giving you entertainment options for your entire round trip.

Laminate your lists for multiple trips, and watch “are we there yet” complaints disappear as kids stay engaged throughout your journey.

Trivia Games: Test Your Family Knowledge

Beyond spotting road signs and landmarks, trivia games tap into your family’s collective knowledge while creating friendly competition in the backseat. Geography questions work perfectly for road trips—quiz kids on state capitals like Minnesota’s or test whether they know the Nile’s the world’s longest river.

National parks trivia connects directly to your travels, especially if you’re heading toward Denali’s sky-high summits or Bryce Canyon’s colorful hoodoos.

Sports trivia keeps everyone engaged with questions about tennis scoring or Olympic history. Mix in country facts like Russia being the largest by land area or Turkey spanning two continents. These games jog memory while building knowledge, making travel time educational and entertaining. You’ll discover what your family knows while creating lasting memories together.

The Brain Teasers app offers challenging yet accessible riddles that provide hours of entertainment for the whole family.

Magnetic Travel Puzzles: Compact Brain Teasers

When airplane tray tables become puzzle stations, magnetic travel puzzles transform cramped travel spaces into quiet entertainment zones. You’ll find six-by-four-inch jigsaws with 150 pieces perfectly sized for airline trays, while slim tin cases slip effortlessly into carry-ons.

Choose age-appropriate options: Mudpuppy’s 20-piece magnetic twin packs work for ages 3-5, while SmartGames’ IQ series challenges kids 9-14. For toddlers, Picasso magnetic cubes and Mudpuppy pouch puzzles suit ages 2-4.

These compact brain-teasers offer 5-15 minutes of focused playtime. You’ll discover diverse themes from forest creatures to dinosaurs, plus classic options like Solitaire Chess and tangram puzzles. Globe-shaped tins contain 100-piece puzzles featuring world maps, U.S. maps, or solar systems that assemble to standard paper size.

Book-format magnetic puzzles from BST Shier fold neatly into backpacks, making them perfect travel companions that won’t scatter pieces across airplane aisles.

Color Hunt: Spot Objects in One Shade

Four simple materials transform any travel destination into a colorful scavenger hunt that keeps kids engaged for hours. You’ll need a square cardboard base, paint chips from any paint store, a hot glue gun, and clothespins.

Arrange the paint chips on your cardboard and attach clothespins to each color sample. Attach a baggie to the center of the board for large items that won’t easily clip to clothespins.

Your kids will search their surroundings for items matching each paint chip color, then clip their findings to the corresponding clothespin. They’ll collect four or five items per color, whether you’re exploring nature trails or staying indoors on rainy days.

Create variations by timing challenges, focusing on primary colors, or turning it into a friendly race. This game reinforces color recognition, builds vocabulary, and encourages counting skills while adapting to any travel environment.

Guessing Games: Interactive Mystery Challenges

While color hunts sharpen visual skills, guessing games transform your travel time into exciting mystery adventures that challenge young minds in completely different ways. Hot and Cold develops spatial awareness as your preschooler follows temperature clues to find hidden objects in your hotel room or car.

I Spy enhances observation skills using passing scenery or vehicle interiors—perfect for any age. Twenty Questions boosts critical thinking through strategic yes/no questioning about animals or Disney characters.

What’s in the Box engages multiple senses as toddlers guess household items through touch and smell. Secret Messages using lemon juice invisible ink creates imaginative mystery scenarios. These activities also promote understanding of cause-and-effect relationships through deductive reasoning as children learn to connect clues with outcomes.

These games require minimal equipment while building deduction skills, making them ideal low-investment entertainment for your family adventures.

Audio Entertainment: Music and Story Games

Beyond visual challenges, audio entertainment transforms your vehicle into a mobile concert hall and storytelling theater that captivates kids for hours.

Since singing in cars proves four times more popular than shower singing, encourage your children to belt out their favorite tunes. Create customized Pandora or Spotify channels where kids act as DJs, rating songs and discovering new favorites through Disney soundtracks or movie channels.

Try interactive games like Name That Tune, where you clap song rhythms for guessing challenges. The Spin a Story Game builds tales from roadside objects you spot together. Telephone Game whispers messages around the car to track hilarious changes.

These audio activities engage multiple passengers simultaneously while reducing screen dependency, making long journeys feel shorter and more memorable. Remember that compromise on music helps maintain harmony when both parents and children have different musical preferences during the trip.

The Sum Up

You’ve got nine fantastic games to transform any journey from chaotic to enjoyable. Don’t feel pressured to use them all – pick two or three that match your kids’ ages and interests. Pack a small travel bag with magnetic puzzles and bingo sheets ahead of time. Remember, the goal isn’t perfection; it’s connection and calm. These simple games will help you create positive travel memories while keeping everyone engaged and happy.