A Fun Road Trip Scavenger Hunt
This road trip scavenger hunt is the perfect way to build some memories and add some fun to your next family travel adventure.
It seems like homeschoolers are on the road a lot, whether it’s for a field trip, visiting family, or taking a summer vacation. We spend a crazy amount of time in our cars and sometimes, those hours can get boring.
With today’s technology, it’s easier than ever to stay occupied during a long trip, but if everyone stays plugged in the entire time, you miss out on the best part of road trips – family bonding through shared experiences.
A great way to connect is competing against each other a travel scavenger hunt.
Remember the road trips you took as a kid? I’d bet that you have a funny story you can share about a car trip from when you were young.
Car games, like this printable scavenger hunt, are a great way to break up a long car ride.
TRAVELING WITH OLDER KIDS
Traveling with kids can be a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. It’s a great way to spend quality time with the whole family.
If you’re planning a long drive with older kids, there are a few things you can do to make the trip go more smoothly.
First, plan ahead and make sure everyone knows what to expect. Decide together what the rules will be for using electronic devices, and make sure everyone understands the itinerary for the entire trip.
Second, take advantage of the time spent in the car to build some memories. Play games together, share stories, and listen to music.
Take the stress out of your trip with some fun activities like a scavenger hunt.
Road Trip Games for Teens
During a long road trip, games are a fun way to pass the time. There are lots of fun travel games you can play to keep big kids and young children entertained.
One of the most popular of the road trip activities is the alphabet game, where you try to spot things in alphabetical order on things like road signs, exit signs, and speed limit signs.
Another is the license plate game, where you try to find all 50 states. Road trip bingo is a great activity for kids of all ages.
Or you could have some friendly family competitions, like who can spot the most red cars or who can find the longest road sign. With a little planning, you can make sure your next long car ride is enjoyable for everyone.
But our absolute favorite road trip game is the scavenger hunt. You could also print out a scavenger hunt list and see how many from a list of things everyone can check off.
These games and others may be affiliate links.
Shotgun! – The Hilarious Family Card Game
Would You Rather?Games on the GoMad Libs on the Road
Road Trip Scavenger Hunt
For parents of teens, it’s sometimes difficult to find fun, non-electronic things to do in the car because most road trip games are geared toward younger children.
That’s why I created this Road Trip Scavenger Hunt with older kids in mind. It includes 50 things to search for that will challenge your middle school student.
You’ll definitely want to add it to your arsenal of road trip boredom busters.
Before your next long car trip, grab this printable game for your family and see who can find the most items.
How to Play this Scavenger Hunt for Teens
This is an easy game to play.
- Print out the scavenger hunt list for each person playing.
- Make sure everyone has a pen and possibly a clipboard.
- As you drive along, each person looks out the window for the items listed on their scavenger hunt sheet.
- When someone finds something, they can mark it off their list.
- The person who marks off the most items on their sheet in the allotted time wins.
While playing, kids will need to check the list of items for things like:
- a billboard with a picture of a lawyer
- a dog in a car
- a neon sign missing one or more letters
- yellow wildflowers
As you can see, this is more advanced than the standard “find a blue car” or “stop sign” hunt. Sure, there are some easy to spot items on the list, but many will take a bit of searching to find.
Either way, it’s the perfect way for family members to spend some time together. As everyone in your car looks for the 50 things that are part of the game, there will be tons of laughs and you’ll end the trip with a bunch of stories.
Not just because of what you’ll see, but also because you’re taking the time to engage with each other.
I guarantee that there will be at least one item that will prompt a funny story that you’ll be laughing about together for a long time. “Remember when we saw that dog hanging out the window with its mouth wide open? I swore it was going to fall out!”
Car sCAVENGER HUNT tips
To make life a bit easier, consider having everyone start at a different clue. That way, everyone is looking for something different.
I would also suggest laying down some ground rules before getting started to eliminate any confusion later.
- Before the game begins, let everyone look over the list so they’re familiar with they’re searching for.
- The game is “on” when the car is in motion and “paused” when it’s parked.
- Before you can check off a box, someone must verify the sighting. This will help remove the temptation to cheat.
- Everyone has to find their own objects, meaning more than one person can’t claim the same object for their list.
Want to make it even harder?
- Set a time limit.
- Make everyone go in order.
Make it a point to make some memories on your family’s next road trip. So, before everyone retreats into their own electronic device, spend some time observing the world instead of just letting it pass you by.
If you’re looking for a fun way to keep older kids entertained on your next road trip, look no further than this printable scavenger hunt. It’s so much fun!
And it’s easy to download and print out the pdf file – just make sure you have plenty so everyone has their own copy.
Happy hunting!
MORE travel INSPIRATION
Here are more fun things you can do while traveling.
- Learning Map Skills on Vacation
- Fun Travel Games for Teens
- Making Memories with your Family
- Tween Travel Games
- Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt
Grab a copy of this road trip scavenger hunt game the next time you go on a long car journey.
Latest posts by Megan Zechman (see all)
- Easy Pumpkin Crafts - August 21, 2023
- Middle School Geography Curriculum - August 11, 2023
- Outdoor Geography Activities - August 4, 2023
4 Comments
Comments are closed.