Road trips are the perfect time for sharing laughter and making memories with your kids. However, you can’t always entertain them for hours on end, which means someone is bound to get bored. Sure, you have their snacks covered, but you could probably use some help in the activities department. While getting up and moving around in your minivan from Carl’s Van Rentals isn’t an option as you drive down the highway, there are still plenty of ways your kids can pass the time.

3 Road Trip Activities for the Kids

1. Keep a Travel Journal

No matter how long your trip is, you can encourage your kids to journal about their experience, the sites, and what they felt during the trip. Travel journals are an amazing tool that encourages your children to reflect on their experiences while also giving them a way to remember each trip. Travel journals work for all ages. If you have an aspiring artist, encourage them to draw. If you have a child that likes to write, encourage a poem. If you have a toddler, let them doodle or teach them how to write their name. The possibilities are endless.

2. Look at the Map

With today’s technology, very few kids know where things are on a physical map, or how to read an atlas. During your road trip, encourage them to locate the different places you pass on the map. You can also teach your teens how to read highway signs and follow directions based on a map rather than GPS. To keep the younger ones entertained, point out important landmarks on a map and give your child a chance to study their location. You might even inspire a new family vacation idea just by encouraging your child to look at a map. 

3. “I Spy”

Riding in a van for hours can easily become a boring adventure if you let it be. That’s why the “I Spy” game is a classic go-to activity. You can claim you see something throughout the road trip and then have your kids try to guess what it is. It can be anything from a landscape feature to a license plate of a fellow motorist. This is a great game for kids to take turns pinpointing something along the way, and then for people to guess what it is. Not only does it spark creativity, but it also forces everyone else in the van to think critically with limited information. 

Book a Van Rental Today

If you’re planning a road trip with the kids soon, then you’ll want to get your van rental squared away. Carl’s Van Rentals supplies families with vans of all sizes to accommodate all of their travel needs. Whether you’re looking for a 15-passenger van, a sprinter van, or a standard minivan, we’ve got you covered. Request a quote from our Fort Lauderdale, FL, location by calling us at (954) 525-8008 today!