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Family Vacation Traveling Games

Are you looking for some great traveling games?

It's very hard for a child to sit still for hour upon hour just waiting to arrive at their destination. I mean, they've been waiting for weeks for this vacation to arrive and they are rather excited. No wonder we hear the common cry of "Are we there yet"? or "How much longer"?

Yes I've heard them all many times.

So, my friend, why don't we stop the boredom of those long dreary hours of traveling. After all, we don't want our family vacation ruined and in tatters by bickering and fighting before we even get there, do we?

On this page I have put together a vast array of traveling games and activities suitable for the whole family. I'm sure you will find some great boredom buster ideas which your family will enjoy.

Have fun!

Travel Bag

Things to do while you're traveling

While they may not be traveling games, these ideas can sure help reduce the monotony of a long trip.

Car Traveling Games

  • Alphabet Spotting is a traveling game suitable for adults and children who can spell and recognise words. Each player looks for an item (either inside or outside the car) beginning with the letter 'A'. Look for an object rather than a word. When a player finds an object starting with 'A' (such as an 'Awning'), they begin to look for something that starts with 'B' and so on. The first player to get to 'Z' wins. For some of the harder letters ('Q', 'U', 'X' and 'Z'), you may choose to allow players to find words which simply include the letter rather than starting with that letter. For example, they might find an aQuarium, a bUs, a siXty speed sign, or a puZzle. This game can be played either individually, in teams (one person on each side of the car working together) or as a group, where everyone goes on to the next letter when any player finds an item.

  • Initial It is a fun traveling game for the whole family to enjoy on a long journey. Take the letters on the registration plate of the vehicle in front of you or of an oncoming car and make up a person's name using the letters as their initials. Each player must use all the letters in order but you should ignore any numbers. For example:
      APN-528 could be "Adam Paul Nottingham" or "Alice Patricia Newton"
      BA-25-HD could be "Brian Andrew Harold Donaldson" or "Bernice Andrea Hetty Druce"
      TOT-828M could be "Tracey Olivia Theresa Matthews" or "Tony Oscar Titus Macchi"
    There are no winners or losers in this traveling game, although the player who makes the most original name may be given a special treat if you like.

  • Silly Sentences is a another game using car registration plates. Take the letters of the registration plate of the vehicle in front of you or of an oncoming car. Make up a sentence using each letter of the registration plate in order. Again, ignore any numbers. The letters become the initial letter of the words in the sentence. For example:
      PK-583M could be "Patty Kills Mice"
      V4-65-SB could be "Victoria Spreads Butter"
      98-CFR-2Q could be "Children Forget Rules Quickly"
    The winner is the player who gets the most laughs!

  • Word Wise is a more challenging traveling game to play using registration plates. Take the letters of the registration plate and try to think of a word that contains the letters of the registration plate, ignoring any numbers. The word must contain all the letters in their correct order. For example:
      FLR-438 could be "FLoweR"
      C-43-8E5-N could be “ChickEN”
      4HP-51A could be “HosPitAl”
    Each person scores one point for each letter of their word, so "flower" would score 6 points while "hospital" would score 8 points. The winner is the player with the highest total score after five registration plates. VARIATION: The winner for each round is the player with the lowest total score.

  • Name That Tune is a simple traveling game that can be adapted to suit players of all ages. One player starts by humming a song that everyone should know. When another player thinks they know what the tune is, they sing (or hum) one or two bars of it. If they are correct, they get to choose another song to hum. If they are not right, the other players can continue to try to guess the song. VARIATION: If your children are not very musical, you could pre-record a CD with about 20-30 songs they know. Players score one point for each song they can identify.

  • What Car is That? is game that can be played with different variations to suit the age and experience of players. Each player chooses a particular make of car, such as Ford, Mercedes, Toyota, etc. Over a given time (say 15 minutes) or over a given distance (say 10 km/5 miles), each player counts the number of cars they see of that make. The winner is the player with the highest number at the end of the game. VARIATIONS:
      (i) Count cars of a particular colour. This suits younger children or those players who cannot recognise makes of car.
      (ii) Count particular types of car, such as hatchbacks, station wagons, coupes, etc.
      (iii) Count articulated trucks, emergency vehicles, caravans or other less common vehicles.


  • Twenty Questions is one of the most popular word games and is an excellent traveling game for car trips. One player thinks of any object, with the other players taking turns to ask a question while trying to work out the identity of the object. However, the answer to the questions can only be “Yes”, “No” or “Irrelevant”. The object chosen cannot be too obscure (for example, a “Galloon” which is a close-woven braid) or too precise (for example, a “dinosaur” would be acceptable but a “Tyrannosaurus Rex” would be too specific. A player can guess the identity of the object at any time during their turn but if they are wrong they are out of the game for the rest of the round. If no one guesses the object within twenty questions, the first player tells them what it was and can choose another object for the next round. A player who correctly guesses the object can choose a new object for the next round.

  • I Spy is one of the easiest and best known word games. It is suitable for adults and children who can spell (or at least guess the first sound of a word correctly). Younger children may need help with sounds and letters. It is a great traveling game for long car trips, but is suitable for playing anywhere and anytime. One player starts by choosing an object they can see at that time, which is also visible to all the other players and should be visible for quite a while. They say, “I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with B” assuming the object started with the letter B. The other players take turns to guess the object. The first player to guess it correctly gets to choose a new object for the next round, starting with any letter. For example, a player sees a "cloud" and says, "I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with C". The players may guess "car", "cow", "carpet" and so on before finally guessing "cloud". The next player may see a "mirror" and say, "I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with M" to start the next round.

  • Animal, Vegetable or Mineral is another classic word game which has been popular for many years. Although the rules are fairly simple, it still requires a lot of thinking to work out the correct answer. One player thinks of an object. The other players take turns trying to guess the word by asking a series of questions starting, "Is it animal, vegetable or mineral?" All other question can only be answered either "Yes" or "No". For example, the object could be a TREE. The first question would be answered, "It is vegetable". The next question could be "Can you eat it?" (No), followed by "Do farmers grow them?" (Yes) and so on. The player who correctly identifies the object wins that round and chooses the object for the next round.

  • Travel scavenger hunt
    This traveling game will need a bit of prior preparation. Make several lists of objects you know you will see while on your journey. Make each list different. Give each child a list to take with them. As they see an object on their list they cross it off. See who will be the first one to find everything on their list.
    Here are some ideas for your lists.
    • pink flower
    • eucalyptus tree
    • deciduous tree
    • conifer tree
    • evergreen tree
    • bird (particular type)
    • aeroplane
    • electricity wires
    • red mailbox
    • falling down barn
    • haystack
    • windmill
    • silo
    • barbed wire fence
    • cirrus clouds
    • pizza shop
    • railway tracks
    • bridge
    • river
    • church
    • phone box
    • 'beware of dog' sign
    • weather vane
    • trailer
    • ambulance
    • red sports car
    • the number "7"
    • a circle
    • something purple
    • man on tractor
    • road sign with an animal on it
    • barking dog
    As a variation of this traveling game to suit younger children, an adult can simply call out one item from the list. The first child to see that item scores one point. The player with the highest score after ten minutes wins.

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