Road trips are amazing for so many reasons, but that doesn’t mean they’re entertaining 100% of the time.
We currently live in Indiana, which means no matter where in the US our destination is, every road trip begins with a pretty boring stretch of flat, cornfield-surrounded interstate driving.
Being able to stay entertained on long road trips is a crucial travel skill, and we’ve learned over time what does and doesn’t work for us.
If you’re looking for some road trip entertainment ideas, we’ve got you covered!
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Make a playlist specific to your road trip
For almost every road trip we’ve been on, we’ve created a new playlist that we don’t listen to until the road trip has begun.
Something about this just feels so special, and it keeps us from having to shuffle through a bunch of music to figure out what we actually want to listen to.
We highly recommend making a unique playlist for your road trip. As an added bonus, after your road trip, that playlist will feel so nostalgic.
Podcasts
Finding a playlist you actually enjoy is such a good road trip entertainment option.
Our go-to has always been Crime Junkie, or some other true crime podcasts. We also listen to StarTalk Radio occasionally, or try to find random ones that keep us engaged!
We find that podcasts seem to make the time go by a lot faster than listening to music.
Audiobooks
Audiobooks are a great way to pass the time on road trips.
I personally cannot listen to audiobooks when I’m doing other stuff, but on road trips when I’m not doing anything but sitting there, I actually get to enjoy them!
They’re also a great option if you like to read but get motion sick from reading in the car!
Check out Libby for free audiobooks you can download via your local library! We use it for all types of reading, but they have a great selection of audio books.
Bring your video games along
If you have a handheld gaming system, why not bring it along for the ride?
We love bringing our Nintendo Switch along for some easy road trip entertainment!
If you’re doing this, we highly recommend a case where you can pack the Switch and several games so you have everything you could need in one! Here is the case we use!
Bring your hobby with you!
Why not keep your hands busy? Bringing along a hobby-related activity is such a fun way to stay entertained on a road trip!
If you knit, or draw, or like to color, bring it along! If you have a hobby that you can realistically do from the passenger seat of the car, bring it!
Road trips are meant to be fun and enjoyable, so you might as well enjoy it, right?
Do you love road trips? You’d like these posts, too!
How to Budget for a Road Trip the Right Way
The Road Trip Essentials We Swear By: How to Pack for a Road Trip the Right Way
Play a road trip game
Yes, road trip games can still be fun as adults.
We play 20 questions on almost every road trip and it can keep us entertained and cracking up laughing for a very long time.
Other popular road trip games for adults are ‘Name that tune’ where someone plays music and the other person has to try to guess what it is, a road trip scavenger hunt, and road trip bingo.
You can even consult the internet and pull up some trivia questions or online games that can be fun to play!
Bring an actual game with you
This one is kind of related to the previous idea, but I thought it deserved its own section because it’s such a good idea!
You know how they make a lot of games now where you read a question off of a card and it’s meant to promote connection and deep conversation?
Well a road trip is the perfect time to make use of one of those games!
This is totally something we’re going to do for our next road trip!
Here are a few great options:
The brand ‘Tales’ has a lot of these decks for different relationships/topics.
The ‘Not Your Mom’s Dinner Party’ has all kinds of random questions to spark conversation and help you get to know your passengers better.
The ‘Delve Deck Conversation Cards’ have questions for every situation, from new friends to the people you know the best.
Daydream
Hear me out on this one- if you’re going to be in a car for a long period of time with your partner, is this not the perfect time to daydream?
We love doing this on road trips. We’ll get into deep conversations about our goals, what we picture for the future, things we would like to do, trips we would like to take, our future kids, etc.
Daily life can get in the way of daydreaming sometimes, and we find it so amazing to reconnect to our goals, and being in the car on road trips gives us the chance to do this.
What is your favorite road trip entertainment method?
Let us know in the comments- what do you and your partner do on road trips to keep you entertained? Do you have a favorite road trip game? Do you bring a hobby along? Let us know!
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