A Fun Road Trip Scavenger Hunt
Build some memories and add some fun to the next long car trip you take with your tweens and teens with this road trip scavenger hunt.
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.
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 one, are a great way to break up a long car ride.
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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 smoother.
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 bond as a family. Play games together, share stories, and listen to music.
Even if it takes a lot to get ready, it’s worth it when you get to reach your destination and spend time together.
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 young children and big kids 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 have some friendly family competitions, like who can spot the most red cars or who can find the longest road sign.
You could also print out a scavenger hunt list and see how many from a list of things everyone can check off, like this travel scavenger hunt.
With a little planning, you can make sure your next long car ride is enjoyable for everyone.
Car 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 ride, grab this printable scavenger hunt for your family and see who can find the most items.
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
- roadkill
- someone being pulled over by the police
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!”
Tips for a Smooth Scavenger Hunt
I would suggest laying down some ground rules before getting started to eliminate any confusion later.
Things like:
- 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 thing for their list.
Want to make it even harder?
- Set a time limit.
- Make everyone go in order. If you do this, I would recommend starting everyone at different places on the list, so they’re searching for different things.
If you’re looking for a fun way to keep the family entertained on your next road trip, look no further than this printable scavenger hunt. It’s so much fun!
Ranging from a specific item to more open-ended, there’s something for everyone in this game. And it’s easy to download the pdf and print it out.
Make it a point to make some memories on your family’s next road trip. Before everyone retreats into their own electronic device, give them the printed clues and spend some time observing the world instead of just letting it pass you by.
So what are you waiting for? Download it now and get ready for some family fun.
Happy hunting!
More Travel Tips
- Your family can learn a lot at the National Parks.
- Take some interesting field trips with your homeschooler.
- Use your next vacation to work on map skills with your kids.
- Make sure you’re making time to make memories as a family.
Grab a copy of this travel game the next time you go on a long car journey.
How do you keep your middle school kids busy during a family road trip?
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