Welcome! Today I have a free printable road trip scavenger hunt game for you! It is great for keeping the kids occupied during travel.
Not only did I create one with items already filled in to make it super easy for you to print and go, but I also made a blank one so you can fill in your own scavenger hunt items for the kids to find.
What makes the blank option great is that if you have young kids you can make the game much easier, and if you have older kids you can make it super tough! You can even do one for teens!
I will explain how to play and throw in a few rule variations to keep things interesting. Be sure to print your free game now so you will have it on hand when you are ready to travel.
One great thing about this game is that it gets everyone off screens and looking out the window or wandering around a bit to find the items on the printout.
Since they are having fun playing, you will get a lot less “are we there yet?” comments. At least I hope you do!
This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a small amount, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. All opinions are my own and I share things I think would be of interest to you and your family.
Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Game
Materials Needed to Make Your Game
Honestly, all you really need to do is print off the game and you are set to go.
If you laminate the game it will likely last longer. We are fond of this laminator and I am always surprised at how handy it is. If you go the lamination route, you will want to make sure you have a marker that will work well with it.
Otherwise, if you stick to paper printouts, you just need pens, pencils, markers or crayons so they can mark off each item that they find.
Travel Writing Surfaces
I don’t know about you but I sometimes have trouble writing when I am in the car. Grabbing a magazine or book to put my paper on can work, but here are a couple of other options that are better. They are pretty nice to have while traveling.
This storage clipboard has a hard writing surface, a spot to put papers and notebooks. and a space for pens, markers and so on in the storage area.
I also like this neat soft art desk which lets kids put even more in it and has a larger surface than a simple clipboard. It has a beanbag filled back which is more comfy than a hard surface. I like the storage pockets and another nice thing is that it fits perfectly on a lap.
How to Play The Scavenger Hunt Game
Scavenger hunts are always fun! I remember doing them when I was a kid and also remember setting them up for my son. I even did one for our boys book club — I should write about that some day!
I’m sure you have done them as well. The basic instructions are to find the items on the list, or in this case the road trip scavenger hunt printable I made for you.
With this game you can play while riding in the car but you can also play at rest stops, while you stop for lunch or dinner, or along the way to your destination. There is a variety of things to find and as I mentioned above, you can write in your own items on the blank version of the game as well.
Each person checks off the item they find on the game board.
Use the blank board to fill in items. That way you can decrease or increase the difficulty of the things they need to find. Or, better yet, let your kids fill in blank sheets for each other.
Continue reading for different game variations.
Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Game Rules
There are a lot of different ways to play the scavenger hunt travel game! Here are some ideas for you.
I think a good thing to keep in mind is to make sure that everyone understands the rules and agrees to them before playing. They should also know what they need to do to win.
Some families prefer to play games together as opposed to against each other. If that is your family, try some of the cooperative play ideas I share below. Playing together builds teamwork.
Most Items Found Wins
Whoever finds the most items on their list and marks them on their game board wins.
You can:
- Play for a specific amount of time.
- Play until you get to your destination.
- Or play until you get to your destination and back home again.
Blackout
Whoever finds every single item wins.
- Play over a period of time.
- Play for one whole trip.
- Play for the whole summer.
Cooperative Games
If your family enjoys cooperative games, there are a few ways to play this game together.
Share a game board and as each family member finds an item on the game board, have someone check it off on the board.
Have each family member take a row of items. Then try to fill up the board together.
Let each person have their own board but switch boards after you stop at a rest stop. This is another way to work together to fill the board.
A few other things you may want to make a rule about.
Decide if more than one person can see the same item or if just the 1st person to see it gets to count it and check it off on their printable.
If someone says they see an item, does someone need to verify that it was found?
It really doesn’t matter how you play. The whole point of the game is to have fun together!
Free Printable Scavenger Hunt Game
Time to print your free game! I hope you and your family have fun playing it together.
Scavenger Hunt game board <<< print as many copies as you need for your family.
NOTE: please read the license and then set your printer to landscape. Print page 2 for the game that is filled in and page 3 for the blank board.
Be sure to check out our other road trip printable as well. It is a license plate road trip game which is great for helping kids learn the states.
Do keep in mind that this game, as well as the other games on our site are for personal use only. Be nice, don’t copy.
If you want someone else to be able to use our free games, share the link to this post with them and they can print it too!
Happy travels!
Nina
Friday 13th of August 2021
Can’t wait to Play on our two week road trip.
Diane
Sunday 7th of July 2019
Oh Fun! I am going to use this on our next road trip!
Sheila Rogers
Monday 8th of July 2019
Thanks Diane, I hope you enjoy it and have fun on your road trip! ~Sheila