Cheap and easy ways to keep your kids entertained on your next long drive!
A road trip in a campervan offers more space and flexibility for your family than a regular car journey does. As exciting as it is to bring the whole family on a big vacation, you may not want to spend your whole time on top of each other. Choosing a motorhome or a campervan with a lounge area benefits families as children can sit around a table and play games with each other as their parents relax and drive in the front.
Whatever amazing destination you have picked out, a campervan trip means there will be lots of time spent on the road. Learn how to keep your kids entertained while you drive with these handy tips.
Fun Travels Games That Don’t Take Up Space
If your camper has a table in the back, let your kids pass the time with a fun family game. These travel games will keep your kids entertained for hours and they take up very little space.
Card Games
There are hundreds of games that can be played with a standard deck of cards. Smaller children might prefer easier games like Go Fish, Snap, Memory, or Old Maid. Older kids might enjoy Cheat or Rummy or they could use the drive to learn how to play Bridge. There has also been a recent explosion of themed card games. Most of these are aimed at older teens, like the popular Cards Against Humanity or the simple yet strategic Exploding Kittens. Games appropriate for younger kids include Uno and Red Light Green Light.
Travel Board Games
You can find all sorts of smaller versions of regular family night board games to keep your kids occupied during your road trip. From travel Monopoly to travel Battleship, your children will play their favorite games from the comfort of the campervan lounge. These games were specially designed to be easy to use during travel and can be put away in their compact packaging when a winner has been decided.
Magnetic Games
Magnetic travel games can come in handy when playing in a moving vehicle as it is harder for the pieces to scatter. You can buy many different types of magnetic fun, from a simple Checkers board or Bingo cards to entertaining magnetic fishing games. The disadvantage of these games is that some small pieces can be easily lost by inattentive children.
Top 5 Tips To Keep Kids Entertained
- Plan frequent stops if your kids are overloaded with energy. You don’t have to stay somewhere for long, just enough time for your children to stretch their legs and see some new sights. America is full of fascinating roadside attractions that can offer unexpected family memories!
- Make sure your kids have access to healthy snacks during your drive. A bored child will be easier to entertain than a bored and hungry child!
- Kids actually love inventing their own games. Supply them with paper and colored pencils and see if they can make their own themed versions of classic board games. When they are finished, make sure to play a round or two!
- Let your kids help plan some of the stops. While you don’t have to let them pick everything, your children might be more excited if they have a say in where they are going!
- If all else fails, bring along a portable gaming system. While it may not be quite the natural experience you were hoping for, it can help keep kids calm during long stretches on the road!
Classic Car Games
For as long as there have been bored children sitting in the back seats of cars, there have been fun car games. These games often encourage kids to look out the window, but it is not always the amazing scenery they are staring at. For a cost-free way to keep your kids entertained, here are the rules to the greatest classic car games:
The Alphabet Game
Kids must work their way from A to Z, without skipping letters, using signs found outside the vehicle. They can spot the letters on license plates, road signs, billboards, or even passing trucks. Kids can work as a team to complete the alphabet, or individually, where the first to Z wins.
We’re Going To X And We Will See
In a fun memory game, the goal is to repeat a funny list, each time adding something to the end. Simply substitute ‘X’ with the place you are heading to and see what surprising things you’re kids are hoping to spot. For example, you might start with “We’re going to the seaside and we will see a dolphin” and the next person would say “We’re going to the seaside and we will see a dolphin and a giant seagull”. Keep taking turns to add things to the list until someone forgets one of the previous items.
The License Plate Game
The aim of this game is to try to spot license plates from all 50 US States. The first to spot a plate from each state gets a point, and whoever has the most points when the game ends wins. You can also work together to try to spot them all.
The Yes and No Game
A very easy game that can keep kids occupied for a while, the yes and no game ends when someone says either of those words. Children can ask each other questions or use sly tactics to get their opponent to say Yes or No. Words like ‘yup’, ‘nu-huh’, or even nodding your head could be enough to disqualify you. The winner is the last person to say the banned words. For older kids, you can play a variation where any single letter is banned and the last person to say a word with that letter in it wins.
Time For A Fun Family Road Trip
Renting a campervan has never been easier through TB Outdoor Rentals. Our RV sharing platform even allows you to earn money by renting out your own camping vehicle to friendly adventurers. Now you can bring the whole family along on an epic campervan road trip this summer!
If you need inspiration for the perfect destination then come back next Wednesday for our guide to the best lakes for swimming and fishing in California.
