Fun Things to Do on a Road Trip With Hours To Go

Some travel days come with a lot of windshield time. Four hours to the next stop. Eight hours before you reach your hotel. A long stretch of interstate with not much to see in between.

But those hours don’t have to feel like something you’re just trying to get through. Some of our favorite road trip memories are from the drive itself: the audiobook we couldn’t stop listening to, a game that got ridiculously competitive, an unexpected roadside stop, or the song that became the song of the trip.

So when you have hours to go, these are some of our favorite ways to make the drive part of the fun!

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Best Road Trip Games

There’s a reason road trip games have been around forever. They require almost nothing, work when you’re miles outside of cell service, and can turn a boring stretch of highway into a surprisingly competitive hour in the car.

Here are a few of the road trip games we actually play:

• I Spy: Call out something you see and give a clue using the phrase, "I spy something that is... {insert clue, like ‘blue’}." Everyone else in the car guesses what you see until someone gets it right. This is a simple but entertaining road trip game, especially with younger kids. Or if you prefer a more competitive game of “I Spy,” you can grab a deck of cards. Pick a card from the deck and see who can spot the object first.

• The Alphabet Game: Start with the letter "A" and work your way through the alphabet, finding words on signs and billboards that begin with each letter. The first person to complete the entire alphabet wins. (RTL Tip: Decide in advance: Does spotting an Xterra car count for letter “X”?) Other ways to play the Alphabet Game include merging it with “Categories,” such as animals or famous people. Taking turns, start with A and work your way to Z (and back if no one gets stumped).

• 20 Questions: One person thinks of a person, place, or thing. The others get 20 yes-or-no questions to figure it out. The person who guesses correctly gets to choose the next object. (We played this game all the time growing up! Try our go-to question: Is it bigger than a breadbox?)

• Categories: Choose a category, such as animals, foods, or movies, and take turns naming items within that category. Keep naming until someone can’t come up with anything that hasn’t yet been said. Want to take this up a notch? Make a subsequent item start with the last letter of the previously named item. For example, if the category is "countries," one person might say "Spain," and the next person would have to name a country that starts with the letter "N," such as "Norway."

• The License Plate Game: Track how many states you can spot as you drive. Bonus points if someone spots Alaska or Hawaii. You can work together or compete against one another… all’s fair in love and road trips!

Read Next: 25 Road Trip Games We Actually Play in the Car

Best Audiobooks for Road Trips

Audiobooks are one of our favorite ways to make a long drive feel a whole lot shorter. We’ve listened to entire series during Travel Seasons, finished books somewhere between one state and the next, and definitely kept listening after we arrived because we needed to know what happened.

What makes a good road trip audiobook depends a little on who’s in the car and what you’re in the mood for, but these are a few categories we come back to:

• Book Series: Long drives pair perfectly with long stories. The Harry Potter series, Percy Jackson, or The Hunger Games can carry you through hours of driving. (We listened to every Harry Potter book during our 2021 Travel Season!)

• Thrillers and Suspense: Fast-paced thrillers are perfect for road trips because they keep you hooked and make the miles fly by. Authors like John Grisham, James Patterson, or Gillian Flynn are reliable for plenty of twists. If you like edge-of-your-seat suspense, you’ll also love audiobooks like The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides or Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris. Not every trip calls for that much intensity, though. Sometimes it’s nice to mix in a cozy mystery, something light, clever, and fun that still keeps you guessing. We’re fans of Benedict Brown’s Lord Edgington Investigates series. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano is another road trip favorite for us. It is quirky, funny, and full of twists without being too heavy.

• Historical Narratives: If your road trip takes you near a famous landmark or historic site, an audiobook tied to the region can make the experience more meaningful.

Read Next: 22+ Audiobooks for Road Trips and Long Drives

💡 Pro tip: Download Audible, Libby, or Hoopla before your trip. Also be sure to download each individual audiobook for offline use.

Best Podcasts for Road Trips

Podcasts are another road trip staple for us, especially when we don’t want to commit to an entire audiobook. We tend to gravitate toward true crime and story-driven series that make it very easy to listen to just one more episode.

A few of our favorites:

• Crime Junkie: Bite-sized true crime stories told in a way that keeps you hooked from the first minute.

• Serial: The podcast that put podcasts on the map and one of the very first podcasts we ever listened to on a road trip.

• Dirty John: A true story that became both a podcast phenomenon and a TV series.

• The Shrink Next Door: A gripping account of a psychiatrist who slowly took over his patient’s life. It sounds unbelievable, but it is true.

• Stuff You Should Know: If you like random trivia, history, or just quirky facts, this one will keep conversation flowing long after the episode ends.

Read Next: Best True Crime Podcasts for Road Trips

You might also love searching for podcasts related to the place you’re visiting. During a road trip to Gettysburg, my sister found several podcasts about the area and said they made her more excited and interested in what lay ahead!

Road Trip Songs and Playlists

Sometimes your brain needs a break from following a plot, playing a game, or thinking at all. That’s when we put on music, zone out on the highway, and let the miles roll by. And when hour six starts feeling like hour sixteen, there’s nothing like a really good song turned up way too loud to bring the energy back.

A few songs that always make our road trip playlists:

• “Good Life” — Kanye West ft. T-Pain

• “Don’t Stop Believin’” — Journey

• “Chicken Fried” — Zac Brown Band

• “I Want It That Way” — Backstreet Boys

• “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” — Whitney Houston

• “Holiday” — Green Day

• “Best Day of My Life” — American Authors

• “Uptown Funk” — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

• “Summer of ’69” — Bryan Adams

• “Cruise” — Florida Georgia Line

Every road trip crew will have their own go-to songs, and half the fun is debating which ones make the cut. For our curated list, read next: Best Road Trip Songs of All Time

Road Trip Apps

A few good apps can make a long day on the road a whole lot easier, whether you’re trying to avoid traffic, find somewhere to stretch your legs, or download enough entertainment to survive the next hundred miles without service.

These are a few we actually use:

• Hoopla or Libby, by Overdrive: Allows you to borrow audiobooks from your local library or connect to your library’s digital collection. (We use Hoopla for all of our audiobooks; it’s amazing!)

• Audible or Spotify Subscription: We most often rotate among audiobooks, playlists, and podcasts. Whatever you choose, just remember to download entertainment for offline use before heading into no-service zones.

• Roadside America: Points out oddball attractions near your route. Think: giant roadside sculptures, historic markers, or “world’s largest” type stops. Great for breaking up a long stretch with something memorable.

• Waze: We love Waze for navigating traffic jams and saving time on long drives whenever possible.

• AllTrails: Perfect for finding hikes when you need to stretch your legs.

Read Next: 9 Helpful Apps for Your Road Trip

Road Trip Snacks and Food

Road trip snacks are serious business. Everyone has their thing, and somehow those things become part of the trip. My brother’s go-to is sour cream and cheddar potato chips. My sister-in-law starts a road trip with a Blizzard or a stop at Friendly’s. My sister is an Extra Toasty Cheez-Its and Twizzlers person, preferably with a Wawa sub or Dunkin coffee somewhere along the way.

We have our favorites too. Here are a few that regularly end up in our car:

• Trail mix: Classic road trip fuel. (Kirklands is a great brand of Trail Mix, so is Kars.)

• Fig bars or protein bars: Bars are some of our favorite quick and easy snacks on road trips. Nature’s Bakery fig bars are great for adults and kids alike. We also like Bobo’s Oat Bars (my go-to) and Clif Bars (Jon’s favorite).

• Pretzels: A great alternative to chips with less grease. (For fun flavors and a vegan alternative, try Stellar Pretzel Braids. The Maui Monk flavor is the perfect salty & sweet treat!) We also love peanut butter pretzel nuggets on the road.

• Fresh Fruit: Grapes, apples, and oranges travel well.

• Sandwiches: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are great for longer roadtrips. For shorter road trips, also consider turkey and cheese or chicken salad sandwiches for delicious, filling meals on the go.

• Sweet Treats: Twizzlers, butterscotch candies, or wintergreen mints to break up long stretches.

The trick is to pack a mix of healthy and fun, and don’t forget drinks. We always bring water, but Liquid IV is a secret weapon for long days on the road.

For a much longer list of 50+ snack and meal ideas, including options for kids and healthier twists, check out Best Food For Road Trips: 50+ Snack and Meal Ideas On The Go.

Road Trip Essentials

Entertainment is part of what makes a drive fun, but the gear you pack matters, too. The right accessories keep everyone comfortable, cut down on little frustrations, and make it easier to actually enjoy all those games, playlists, and snacks you planned.

Here are our go-to road trip essentials:

• Car phone mount: Keeps your phone secure and visible for navigation without distracting the driver.

• Portable charger: A lifesaver for keeping devices powered.

• Backpack cooler or insulated bag: Perfect for keeping drinks and snacks cold, especially if you want to avoid frequent food stops.

• Mini soap sheets: Great for quick handwashing at rest stops, trailheads, or campgrounds when running water is not guaranteed.

• Car trash bag: A small thing that makes a big difference. Even an extra grocery bag tucked into the console helps keep the car clean.

• Sauce and dip holder: Because fries on the road taste better when they have a proper dip!

• Headrest hooks: Free up floor space by hanging purses, backpacks, or jackets off the seatbacks.

• Backseat tablet holder: Great for kids. Download a few shows before you leave and let them watch hands-free.

Over the years, we have tested dozens of clever road trip accessories, some that solve everyday problems and some that are just plain fun.

👉 Want the full list? Read Next: 40+ Road Trip Accessories You’ll Actually Use (and Love)

Or browse our Complete Road Trip Packing List.

❓ Road Trip Entertainment FAQ

What to do on a long car ride?

Our biggest advice is to change things up. We might listen to an audiobook for a couple of hours, play a game when we need a break, switch to music for a while, and stop somewhere interesting to stretch our legs. Even a gas station stop is more fun when you use it as an excuse to pick out a road trip snack.

We also keep a list of questions, like 3000 Questions, ready to go. Some of the questions are just plain fun, and some have led to surprisingly interesting conversations. It’s an easy thing to do when you still have a few hours to go.

How do you entertain someone while they’re driving?

If one person is driving, the passenger gets promoted to entertainment director. Queue up the next podcast, pick the music, read trivia questions out loud, start a game, or find something interesting to stop at along the route.

We also keep little candies like cinnamon disks, wintergreen mints, or butterscotch candies within reach. Sometimes when you’ve been driving for hours, a piece of candy and a really good song are enough to perk things back up.

How to entertain kids on a road trip without screens?

Some of the easiest road trip games are also screen-free. I Spy, the Alphabet Game, 20 Questions, the License Plate Game, and road trip scavenger hunts can all be played without bringing anything along.

For younger kids, there are also reusable activity boards for road trip bingo, Tic-Tac-Toe and Hangman, the License Plate Game, and road trip scavenger hunts. We especially like options you can use again and again, rather than ending the trip with a backseat full of paper.

What are fun things for adults to do on a road trip?

Adults can have just as much fun with road trip games, especially ones that spark debates or get competitive. But you also don’t need to entertain yourselves every second. Put on a thriller audiobook, binge a true crime podcast, turn the music up, stop for ice cream, pull over at the ridiculous roadside attraction you spotted on a billboard, or find a local restaurant instead of another fast-food exit. The drive is part of the road trip, so we like finding ways to make it fun too.

What can you do on a solo road trip?

A long solo drive is a great time to start the audiobook you’ve been meaning to listen to or binge an entire podcast series without having to negotiate with anyone else in the car. Download plenty before you leave so you’re not suddenly sitting in silence when you lose service.

And give yourself things to look forward to along the way. Stop for your favorite coffee, find a scenic overlook for lunch, take a short walk, or pick out a random gas station treat. Sometimes one small stop is enough to break up a long stretch of driving.