This post is all about the best activities for long car rides.
Are you getting ready for a road trip and dreading the long drive that’s about to start? If you answered yes, then don’t fret because I have 15 ideas for you to be less bored on long car rides.
I just came back from a weekend getaway trip.
It was only a two hour drive away from home, but I still managed to be bored.
I’m also about to go on another trip that’s six hours away from home.
So, I thought this would be a great opportunity to talk about how to survive the long drives.
The tips below are ones that I have tried myself and I will say that they do wonders.
Maybe I’ll mention something that you wouldn’t have thought of on your own! So, you’re welcome.
This post is all about the best activities for long car rides.
Disclaimer
This post is for informational purposes only. You, the reader, will read any content on this blog at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for any events that occur if you choose to follow these tips. I am not an expert in making time go by faster on car rides and cannot guarantee that you will enjoy your car ride more if you follow these tips.
My hope is that I helped you at least a little. If I didn’t, then I tried. Most of the tips below are only targeted towards people that are not the driver. I advise the driver to not do anything that could jeopardize their driving ability and avoid risking their life and others.
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Let’s Begin.
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15 Best Activities For Long Car Rides
1. Listen to Music
Listening to music is a staple for road trips in general and make car rides feel more enjoyable.
Sometimes, not having music leaves you with thoughts that you wouldn’t want to be having while driving. (At least for me.)
Music also keeps me calm while driving because driving scares me sometimes. Instead of dreading the drive, I look forward to all the songs I am about to listen to.
My music playlists are normally about 4-6 hours long.
The songs that I like to include are from High School Musical, Taylor Swift, 2000s songs, and other Disney original movie songs. I love love love songs from the Starstruck movie (A Disney original movie).
Honestly, I personally don’t think I have good taste in music whatsoever.
So, I have my boyfriend review the playlist and add some of his songs to it. He only listens to my music because I like it and he likes me.
2. Talk to Someone
I don’t mean to call or text someone. I mean talk to someone that is in the car with you.
Most of the time, I travel with my boyfriend and we like to talk about what we are thinking, what we expect to happen on our coming trip, and what we are most excited about.
We also talk about what we see on the road such as cops on the side of the road or crazy drivers.
This tip is not an excuse to be annoying just so you know so don’t just talk about random things that don’t make sense.
You will be slapped.
If you’re not slapped I am virtually slapping you right now. So, have meaningful talks.
Talking definitely makes time go by faster because it takes your mind off the many hours that are left for the drive.
I know that when I am driving, I constantly check the GPS established time of arrival (ETA) and how many hours and minutes it says that I have left.
I also feel like car rides are the best and easiest places to have deeper talks.
My boyfriend and I have a lot of good quality conversations when we are alone. (Hopefully that’s how it is for almost everyone).
3. Take a Nap
This tip is obviously for anyone on a car ride that is not the driver.
Other than them, I’m pretty sure almost everyone that has gone on a car ride has taken a nap in the car.
I have definitely done it many times whether it was on purpose or not.
I recently came back from a weekend getaway with my boyfriend and he was driving.
It was about midday when we were driving and I decided to go to sleep. I woke up after about 30 minutes and my boyfriend told me that time dragged on when I was asleep.
I guess because time dragged on for him because it didn’t really feel like I was there for him. He felt like he was by himself.
For me, time went by. For him, not really.
So, as a passenger, consider a nap!
If you’re afraid you’re gonna miss out on seeing anything cool on the road, don’t worry because it is mostly trees, roadkill, road signs, and lots of billboards that repeat themselves.
4. Eat Some Snacks
Snacking is by far my favorite part of the long car rides.
My favorite snack to bring are Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream chips. I grew up on these chips and that is why they are my favorite.
Snacking is so mindless and yummy that you kind of forget that you’re on a long car ride.
You can also share your snacks with your driver. I definitely hand feed my boyfriend and it’s so funny watching him open his mouth to eat it.
He fully trusts that I’ll put the food in his mouth.
Sometimes I tease, but not too much (because our lives are in his hands… Literally.)
5. Take the Wheel
If you’re really bored on the car ride and have a driver’s license, why not ask to take over and drive for a bit?
I’m sure the driver would appreciate a break to rest their feet and stretch out their legs.
Driving can make time go by faster because now, you’re actively doing something.
You have to be focused on the road and watch the cars around you.
A perk for driving is that you get to control what music is playing (At least that’s how my road trips go.)
Why would you say no to that opportunity?? (Being a driver does suck sometimes though because everyone else gets the chance to nap and you’re stuck with a cramped foot.)
6. Sight Seeing Games
The sight seeing game that I like to play is to use the alphabet to find items or words.
The rules are you have to start with the letter A and find something that starts with the letter A.
Then, you move on to B, C, D, etc.
So, when we were on the way home from our weekend getaway, our A was an Antique shop and B was a branch on a tree. It’s a fun game and could really get your brain thinking.
By the time we got home, we were still on Q. Right now, I can’t even think of anything that would go under Q.
I don’t think road trip games like these are actually called sight seeing games but I couldn’t think of anything else so this is what you’re stuck with.
7. Look For Each State’s License Plate
I don’t know if this is considered a game so I just made it its own category.
So, I live in a very touristy area which makes this activity easy for me.
When my dad and I would drive around town, we would look for different license plates from different states and keep track of which we have found.
Our goal was to try and see how long it would take us to find all 50 states. (We even drove into hotel parking lots a couple times.)
You may be thinking that it would be hard to find a license plate for Hawaii and Alaska but I’m proving you wrong.
It is definitely possible to find a Hawaii license plate because we actually found a Hawaii license place in one of the hotel parking lots that we drove through!
I also found in an Alaska license plate at my friendly neighborhood Walmart.
It was a good time.
Even though my dad and I did it mostly around town, this game still works for road trips no matter where you go.
8. Watch a Movie
I am lucky to have a TV that is part of our family van.
When I go on road trips, my brother and I like to watch SpongeBob.
We bought seasons 1-9 and so far have only watched a couple of them. (We watched a lot of SpongeBob growing up on live television so this isn’t our first time with the TV show).
It’s great when you watch a movie or tv show that shaves off about 1-2 hours of the drive.
Definitely do not watch a movie or TV show if you are the driver. That’s a very big driving hazard.
Instead, have it playing in the background and listen to it.
I would recommend choosing a movie you have already seen so that way you can imagine what is happening with what you hear.
9. Color or Draw
Why not spend the long car rides being creative?
You can color in coloring books or draw what you see on blank printer paper.
I like to bring coloring books so that I have a guide to use my colors for.
It’s very difficult for me to come up with unique ideas to draw.
I always end up drawing the sun and lots of trees because that is all I see.
Maybe you could draw a self portrait or draw out what you think your destination looks like. (Too bad I’ve only mastered stick figures.)
10. Read a Book
Don’t tell me you don’t read because you’re missing out.
Reading a book would fuel your imagination and place you in an alternate universe outside of your own.
You won’t be thinking about how much longer the drive will be anymore.
Instead, you’re thinking about what’s going to happen next in your story.
There is a downside to reading though. It might be difficult when you get to bumpy areas and all the bouncing might hurt your eyes.
I recommend taking breaks every 30 minutes to an hour to rest your eyes (and hands.)
I’ve had moments where my eyes would hurt.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been getting motion sickness from reading in the car. I’m sad to say I can’t read on car rides anymore.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t! Because you definitely still can.
If you have slight motion sickness, you should read in moderation.
Other than that, you should be fine. (But don’t take my word for it.)
11. Play Video Games
I listed videogames because I have a Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo Switches are portable and so convenient for traveling.
The games also do not require Wi-Fi to play (but you’ll be playing single player mostly).
Playing video games will take your mind off of your environment and transport you into another world just like reading a book would.
A game like Animal Crossings: New Horizons can definitely get you in the zone and have you play mindlessly nonstop. (I’ve accidentally played 6 hours straight before.)
You should definitely take a break every hour or so to rest your eyes when playing video games too.
12. Write For Your Journal
One of my favorite things about traveling is that I have something to write about.
I started writing down the details of my trips after I went to Germany in 2017 and haven’t stopped ever since.
I want to note that writing takes a lot more time than you think.
One of my 2-day one night trips took me a couple hours to write because I like to write down every detail such as what I ate, how it tasted, how I would rate it, and whether I would get it again.
The deeper details like that.
I also know that in 5 years after I’ve written about my travels, I’ll be glad that I have a way to “relive” those moments.
You may be thinking, “How can I write when the car rides are so bumpy? My handwriting won’t be good at all!”
Well, that’s why I like to utilize Google docs on my phone. AND it automatically saves on its own.
So, if your phone dies, your work is still saved. You can always rewrite everything on notebook paper when you get home later. (But why would you make yourself do extra work?)
13. Take Pictures
If I didn’t convince you to nap on your trip, then this tip is for you because this one only works if you’re awake to see it anything that is picture-worthy.
Like I said in the napping tip, you’re probably going to see mostly trees and roadkill.
BUT there will be times when you drive past a couple cities or tall buildings or see a nice sunset or sunrise.
Those are images that you might want to keep.
My favorite views are early morning as the sun is slowly rising and the sky has a mix of purple, pink, orange and white colors behind the darkness of the trees.
I don’t know if that makes sense to you but that is what I see.
It’s beautiful.
I also personally like to be in the pictures I take so I might ask to pull off on the side of the road or have another passenger take the photo for me with the view in the background (while still in the car.)
14. Plan Out Your Future
I’m going to admit that I always use my free time to plan my future.
It’s so fun to me and I don’t know why.
Most of the time, I’m planning the same thing over and over again and writing down the same thing over and over again.
I guess it’s a reminder to myself to remember what my goals and ambitions are and to not lose sight of them.
Even with this blog I was already planning this blog post on the way back home from my recent weekend getaway.
So, I guess when I say plan out your future, it doesn’t have to be 5 years down the line.
You can plan what you’re going to do when you come back from the trip too. (But planning 5 years down the line isn’t a bad idea either.)
Long drives are a great place for planning because you have so much time on your hands.
15. Drink Water
This is the last tip and probably the most important one!
It’s really easy to forget to drink water when you’re in a car.
You’ll nap and wake up. Then you’ll think about something to do. But you never think about drinking water.
If you do think about drinking water often, then good for you.
But I know A LOT of people that only drink about 20 fluid ounces a day.
Not staying hydrated affects your energy and mood.
I get that if you’re tired, then you’ll just sleep anyway. But why not feel good in your body AND have a good nap?
Also, what happens when you finally get to your destination, you’ll most likely feel too sluggish to do anything fun. (But sitting in a car for hours on end might contribute to that too.)
I will say that you definitely should not chug water and overload yourself.
Drinking too much at once is bad for you and you can start to feel sick.
I would recommend drinking a couple sips or gulps every 30 minutes to an hour.
This main tip is to remind you not to go 2+ hours without water.
If you’re worried about taking too many rest stops and bathroom breaks, don’t be because someone else probably needs to pee too AND you’ll get an opportunity to stretch out your legs again.
Ending Note
What a long post! But it’s full of pretty good tips, right?
Maybe some of these tips were ones you already knew and forgot about.
Or they were ones that you would’ve never thought of on your own.
I personally practice mostly the talking, napping, driving, looking for different license plates, and drinking water.
I used to be able to color, read, and write, but like I said as I got older, my motion sickness got worse. (Oh, how I wish I could do those activities on long car rides again.)
Let me know what you think about these tips in the comments below. Good day!
This post was all about the best activities for long car rides.
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