Fun Road Trip Activities for Adults

Play Road Trip Games

Road trip games are fun for all ages and there are plenty of road trip games for adults that you and your friends will love. Beyond the standards like the license plate game and and a road trip scavenger hunt, there are games like Would You Rather?, Never Have I Ever, and Name That Tune.

Need inspiration for games to play in the car? Check out our list of 55 ideas! Or pick up a copy of The Road Trip Journal & Activity Book for 100 fun games and road trip activities!

Find the Perfect Road Trip Soundtrack

Sometimes you don’t need any more of an activity than listening to music and enjoying the drive. Come together and come up with the perfect road trip soundtrack to listen to in the car. It could be songs about driving, songs related to where you’re traveling to, or songs that you just can’t help singing along to!

Need inspiration? Check out our list of the Best Road Trip Songs to Blast in the Car with fun playlists (including one for every US state you might be road tripping to).

Sing Car Karaoke!

Move a step beyond just blasting music in the car to becoming a highway superstar. Sing along to the car stereo at the top of your lungs! Or, better yet, get a wireless car karaoke microphone and take runs passing it around (to anyone who isn’t driving, of course).

Make Lots of Stops

Making stops is half the fun of taking a road trip! So plan time to make plenty of stops along your route. There are national parks, rest stops, gas stations, scenic overlooks, shops, restaurants, and so much more to see.

Need ideas? Check out our list of things to see on a road trip and add them all to your travel itinerary!

Stop at Some Roadside Attractions!

Yes, roadside attractions count as road trip stops. But this is a roadside attractions blog, so we’re going to specifically call these out as a road trip activity you can’t miss! Plan to pull over anytime you come across a world’s largest armadillo, restored vintage service station, or computer museum! Roadside attractions are fun stops for everyone and make great Instagram selfies.

Need inspiration? Check out our list of the Best Roadside Attractions in Each State.

Share Your Trip on Social Media

Road trips are best shared, with both your travel companions and your friends and family back home. With plenty of time in the car and so many road trip things to experience, passengers have also have plenty of time to share their photos and videos on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Be sure to pick a personalized road trip hashtag, use the perfect road trip emoji, and tag me at @SillyAmerica and #SillyAmerica.

Need inspiration? Check out our lists of 200 Road Trip Captions for Instagram and Road Trip Instagram Story Ideas.

Send Postcards

Postcards are synonymous with road trips. You’ll find them at gas stations, tourism centers, and tourist traps. You’ll often find postcards with scenic landscapes, a photo of where you’re at, a state map, a “Greetings From” collage design, or a funny punny image. Send postcards to your friends and family back home, make it a challenge to find the best postcard among the group, or sneakily buy postcards to send to each other!

Listen to a Podcast

Music is great, but if you want a break, try listening to a podcast in the car instead. Introduce your friends to your favorite celebrity news podcast, listen to that one true crime podcast you all always have queued up, or try a new-to-everyone advice episode!

Buy Gas Station Snacks for the Car

On any road trip you’re going to have to stop at a gas station to fuel up your vehicle. So, while you’re there, you might as well grab some snacks! Use this as an opportunity to splurge on your favorites or try something new. Or, make getting a snacks a road trip challenge among friends. You could…

• take turns buying everyone your favorite snack at each gas station you stop at.
• have everyone try to find the weirdest snacks they can find throughout the trip.
• Find new-to-you or local snacks wherever you stop and taste test them all.

Need snack inspiration? Check out our list of the Best Junk Food Road Trip Snacks.

Ask Each Other Questions

With so much free time on the way to your destination, why not spend some time in the car getting to know your fellow passengers by taking turns answering road trip questions. Whether you’re traveling with your partner, family, or friends, car ride questions are the perfect ice breakers and conversation starters.

Need inspiration? Check out our list of 100 Fun Road Trip Questions for Long Car Rides.

Take a Backseat Nap

Obviously this isn’t a driver-friendly road trip activity, but it is a popular one for many passengers. And, sometimes, there is nothing better than a good nap in the backseat of the car. Just make sure you return the favor and let others catch some shut eye when it is your turn to drive!

Learn a Language

Spend time in the car learning a new language. Pop a learn-a-language CD into your car’s CD player, download a language tutorial on Audible, or try a language podcast. Soon you and your passengers will go from road trip to viaje por la carretera or voyage en voiture.

Buy Souvenirs

Souvenir shopping is always a fun road trip activity for adults to enjoy! Shop for that one perfect memento to remember your journey or pick an item to collect at multiple stops! Popular souvenirs include magnets, mugs, shot glasses, or key chains! Make it a challenge by seeing who can find the weirdest overall souvenir, who can find the best souvenir of a certain type, or who can find a souvenir with their name on it the fastest!

Do a TikTok Trend

There’s always a new trending sound, challenge, or dance on TikTok. Use your time in the car to learn the moves or plot your next video. Do a TikTok dance in front of the world’s largest buffalo, put a finger down at a rest stop, or film a POV from the passenger’s seat.

Take a Lot of Photos

There are so many road trip activities to partake in, so don’t forget to photograph them all!Take photos in the car, at your destination, and at all the stops in between! Share all your photos on social media or print out photo books so you will always remember your travels!

Need help choosing a camera? Check out our recommendations for the best road trip camera.

Have a Picnic

If you’re sick of fast food hamburgers and diner pancakes, pack up a cooler with sandwiches, snacks, and drinks and pull over for a picnic. Find a dedicated roadside picnic spot, park, rest area, or even have lunch under a world’s largest thing.

Stop at a Welcome Center (and Welcome Sign)

As you enter almost every state you will surely pass two things: a welcome center with restrooms, maps, and brochures, and a welcome sign offering a greeting. Stop at the sign for fun Instagram photos and the welcome center to get more information for the journey ahead.

Listen to an Audiobook

For another alternative to music, listening to audio books is a great road trip activity for adults to do in the car. Available across genres and at varying lengths, you can fill an entire car ride chapter by chapter. Pick a favorite amongst your friends, a current New York Times Best Seller, a steamy romance novel, a cheesy YA novel, or anything you all want to hear read!

Need an audiobook? Try Audible Plus for an all-you-can-listen-to membership with thousands of audiobooks to listen to in your car.

Tell Jokes

What did the stoplight say to the car? “Don’t look! I’m about to change!” They may seem childish, but telling jokes can definitely be a fun road trip activity for adults. Pick up a corny road-trip themed joke book, pass it around the car, and see who can find the best joke that makes everyone in the car laugh out loud!

Stop to Caffeinate

Sometimes on a road trip you need a little extra energy boost to get you through the rest of the day. And that is the perfect time for a little caffeine break. Go through a Starbucks drive through for a round of venti iced lattes, head to a McDonald’s for ice cold Coca-Colas, try out a local cafe, or get bottles your favorite sodas from the gas station. Wherever you choose, it will be a fun excursion and a must-needed pick-me-up for your day.

Take a Hike

Sitting cramped in a car on a long drive can get uncomfortable after a while. Be sure to schedule in time for some road trip activities that are more active! Hikes make great road trip activities for adults because, often, there are just so many opportunities to take them! Pull over in a National Park, State Park, or just a park, and stretch your legs. Taking hikes (whether multiple miles or easy strolls) is a great way to get some exercise in in the middle of a long drive.

Eat Something New

Have you ever tried Rocky Mountain Oysters? Here’s a hint: they are not oysters. Make a pact to taste test local delicacies wherever you go. Sure, some might be weird (or seemingly gross) but you might just find your new favorite cuisine!

Relax at the Hotel Pool (Or Hot Tub)

After a long day of driving and stopping at roadside attractions and other fun road trip stops, you deserve a little time to relax! Grab your bathing suits and go hang out by the hotel pool…or the hot tub!

Watch Movies in the Hotel (Or at a Drive-In)

I love winding down by day by changing into my pajamas, curling up under the covers, and finding a movie on the hotel TV. If you prefer your movies in the open air, another popular road trip stop is a Drive-In Movie Theater! Look for one on your route and see what is playing!

Record the Journey in a Journal

Keeping a journal while on a road trip in the perfect way to memorialize your travels, archiving daily logs of what you saw, what you did, where you stayed, and how you felt. Buy a road trip journal that contain travel prompts to get you started alongside blank pages and write away!