Parenting

Screen-Free Travel Activities for Kids: Road Trips and Holidays

Long journeys don't have to depend on a tablet. Here are car games, bingo ideas and screen-free activities for kids ages 6–10 on road trips and holidays.

24 October 20262 min read

Summary

Long drives and family holidays can feel endless for children. This article gives screen-free activity ideas for kids ages 6 to 10: bingo and spotting games, puzzles, games for two, fun conversation starters and a travel journal, plus how to pack a travel activity bag.

Key takeaways

Pack a small activity bag before you leave: pencils, coloured pencils, a clipboard and printed pages.
Games that use the view outside the window work best in the first hour.
Save quieter puzzles for the part of the trip when children start to tire.
Screen time doesn't have to be banned; make it a reward, not the first choice.

The short answer

Long journeys don't have to depend on a tablet. With a small activity bag and a few games that use the view outside the window, kids ages 6 to 10 can stay happy for hours, and the family talks more along the way.

Pack an activity bag before you leave

Put these in one small bag: pencils, an eraser, coloured pencils, a clipboard and printed activity pages in a folder. Pencils are safer than pens in a moving car. Keep a few new activities back as a "surprise" for when boredom sets in.

The first hour: games that look outside

While children still have energy, turn the view into a game:

Road trip bingo: spot lorries, motorbikes, petrol stations, toll signs and palm trees
Spotting hunts: find a red car, a number plate with a 7, or a bridge
Guess the next car's colour: whoever gets the most right wins

These games also suit children prone to car sickness, because their eyes are looking outside.

When they start to tire: quiet puzzles

Halfway through, bring out calmer activities like mazes, word searches, dot-to-dots and 4×4 sudoku. Puzzles give children something to focus on and make time pass faster. Start with easy ones so nobody gets frustrated.

Play together: games for two

Siblings can play tic-tac-toe, dots and boxes or hangman on paper. Parents in the front can join spoken games like "would you rather": would you rather fly or breathe underwater?

Keep memories in a travel journal

On each day of the holiday, ask your child to write or draw the best thing that happened, rate the food they tried and draw a postcard for a friend. The journal becomes a keepsake that means more than the photos on your phone.

Everything in one book

Screen-Free Travel Activity Book by Nur Izzati Ibrahim brings together 74 printable pages for kids ages 6–10: road trip, city and beach bingo cards, spotting hunts, 16 mazes, 10 word searches, sudoku, games for two, drawing pages and a 4-day travel journal. For longer quiet time, The Big Maze Book for Kids has 80 mazes across four levels.

Closing

A calm journey doesn't mean children are silent the whole way. It means they have something to do, and the family arrives with more stories and fewer arguments.

FAQ

How do I avoid car sickness during activities?

Children prone to car sickness do better with games that look outside, like bingo and spotting hunts, than with reading or detailed puzzles. Stop often, open a window a little and avoid long stretches of looking down.

What activities work on a plane?

Mazes, word searches, sudoku and drawing pages work well because they're quiet and fit on a tray table. Bring pencils rather than pens, and just a few pages so they're easy to manage.

Should I ban tablets on long trips?

Not necessarily. Many families allow screen time after one round of activities, or for the last part of the journey. The point is that a screen isn't the only way children are entertained.

KopiBuku Editorial

Written for readers who want to grow gently, honestly and practically.