Car games for kids on the way to the ferry

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Although your family holiday is the highlight of your year, are you dreading the drive to the ferry, keeping your children occupied on the ferry and the drive the other side?

You are not alone:

Keeping children entertained on any journey is a challenge never mind a cross country adventure to your campsite or accommodation. If you’re heading to France check out our blog on tips for driving in France. These games to play in the car will keep everyone distracted and happy so the time flies!

Name that song

For this game, get the person sitting in the passenger seat to play a 5 second snippet of a song (or longer if there is younger children) and the children have to guess the name of the song. You could even play different categories such as Disney movies.

Trivia questions

Get your children’s minds moving by asking them trivia questions. These can be easily found online. You could even reward correct answers with treats or allow children to stay up 20 minutes longer.

Eye-Spy

One person is ‘it’ and looks through a circle made by their thumb and index finger saying ‘eye spy with my little eye, something beginning with [letter from the alphabet]’. Everyone else guesses objects beginning with that letter until This one can be tricky in a moving car, so maybe restrict it to things in or on the car, especially if your children are young.

Nursery rhyme sing-song

Although not technically a car game, having a good old sing-song is a great way to pass time. If your children are young try for nursery rhymes like ‘the wheels on the bus’ or ‘old McDonald had a farm’. If you have a Spotify account, they have a nursery rhyme playlist you could download.

20 questions

An oldie but a goodie, one person in the car thinks of an object and everyone else tries to work out what it is by asking no more than 20 questions. The person who guesses correctly becomes ‘it’ for the next game and gets to think of the next mystery object.

Card games

Pick up a pack of cards and keep you and your children entertained for hours. You can play games such as snap, go fish or rummy.

Memory- two to six players can play. Lay the cards face down turning over two cards, trying to match numbers. If a player makes a match, he or she picks up the cards and goes again. If the numbers do not match, they are turned back over.

Sticker books

Although this one involves a bit of pre-planning, getting your children a sticker book of their favourite character, animal or TV show can keep them entertained for hours as they complete each page.

Word searches

Word searches are great for improving spelling and concentration. The great thing about word searches is that you can download and print different ones online so you don’t have to buy them! There is also harder ones for older children, so everyone in the family can be involved.

Spelling competition

Spelling competition is a great way for the whole family to get involved and to get your children thinking.

Scrap book

Get your children a scrap book and get them to document their whole trip. Allow them to put in leaflets they have found along the way or even stick in tickets from activities you have gone to along the way.

The best thing about road trips is that everyone can get involved. When you are packing, check out our post on things to Bring on a Ferry for a checklist of things not to forget when travelling with children.

Travelling by ferry is a fun adventure for all the family. So what are you waiting for? Book today with Stena Line and create memories that will last a lifetime.