How to Keep Kids Entertained on Long Drives in Australia (That Actually Works)

It starts innocuously enough. You're forty minutes out of the driveway. The snacks have been eaten. The novelty of the trip has worn off. And from the back seat comes the three words that every caravanning parent dreads:

"Are we there yet?"

Long drives are a fact of life for families caravanning with kids in Australia — because Australia is enormous, and the best places are rarely close. But keeping kids genuinely engaged (not just screen-sedated) across hundreds of kilometres of highway is an art form that takes a bit of planning and a willingness to think creatively.

This guide is from real families who have driven across this country with kids in the back, and figured out - sometimes through trial and error - what actually works.

First: Set the Right Expectations (For Yourself)

Long-haul family driving is not going to be perfectly smooth. There will be moments of chaos. Someone will spill something. Someone will announce a desperate need for a toilet stop three minutes after you left the last rest area.

Accepting this in advance removes enormous amounts of stress. You're not aiming for silence and perfect compliance - you're aiming for manageable, occasional fun, and everyone arriving in one piece. Set that bar and then enjoy every moment that exceeds it.

Before You Leave: The Prep That Changes Everything

The families who have the smoothest long drives do significant preparation before the car starts. Here's what works:

• Download entertainment before you go — audiobooks, podcasts, offline playlists, and downloaded shows. Do not count on regional Australian internet to stream anything. This is non-negotiable advice from everyone who has ever driven through inland Queensland with an impatient 5-year-old.
• Prepare a "road trip bag" for each child
• — a small backpack or zip-lock bag with activities specifically chosen for the car: coloured pencils, a drawing pad, a small toy, a travel game, a magnifying glass for rest stop exploring. The novelty of a "special road trip bag" buys significant early-drive engagement.
• Pre-portion snacks — put snacks for each leg of the journey in separate bags so there's a natural rhythm to the day and no arguments about who ate all the chips
• Print or download paper road maps — give older kids their own map and ask them to track the route. Kids love being the "navigator," and it's a genuinely educational activity

Audiobooks: The Single Best Long Drive Tool

If there is one investment that experienced road-tripping families recommend above all others, it's audiobooks. Not music. Not podcasts. Audiobooks — specifically story-driven ones that capture children's imaginations and make 300km disappear.

Great series for Australian road trips with kids:

• The Famous Five / Secret Seven (Enid Blyton) — timeless, wholesome, and genuinely absorbing for 6–12 year olds
• Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling, narrated by Stephen Fry) — the Stephen Fry narration is one of the greatest audiobook performances ever recorded. Children who haven't discovered these books yet are in for an extraordinary treat.
• The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) — wonderfully read, episodic enough that you can pause between chapters at rest stops
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Jeff Kinney) — reliably funny for 7–11 year olds, and short enough for one chapter per driving leg
• Australian-specific books — look for audiobooks set in Australia (bush adventures, Aboriginal stories, outback tales) that connect to what the kids are seeing out the window

Download from your library app (Libby/BorrowBox), Audible, or Storytel. Many Australian public libraries offer free audiobook borrowing through the Libby app — it costs nothing beyond a library card.

Car Games That Don't Require Any Preparation

These classics exist because they work:

Australian Road Bingo

Before you leave, make simple bingo cards with Australian road-trip sightings: caravan, road train, kangaroo sign, water tower, wind turbine, horse, tractor, red mailbox, pub in the middle of nowhere, wedge-tailed eagle. First to get five in a row wins. This game has kept children occupied for entire four-hour drives.

Number Plate Geography

When a car passes with a number plate from another state, call it out and name one thing about that state. "Queensland — warm weather!" "Western Australia — really far away!" Teaches Australian geography without feeling like a lesson.

The "I Spy" Australian Edition

Regular "I Spy" gets tedious fast on long drives. Upgrade it: "I spy something that lives in Australia," "I spy something a farmer would use," "I spy something that's only in the outback." Opens up more creative thinking and lasts longer.

20 Questions (Australian Animals Edition)

One person thinks of an Australian animal. Everyone else gets 20 yes/no questions to identify it. Works beautifully on long stretches of highway and can last 20–30 minutes per round.

The Quiet Game

Whoever stays quiet the longest wins. You know it, you love it. It works for about seven minutes, which is sometimes all you need.

Podcasts for Families on Australian Road Trips

Podcasts designed for children are excellent for mid-drive stretches:

• Wow in the World - science and curiosity for kids, genuinely fascinating for adults too
• But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids - answers kids' biggest questions in a way that's engaging and age-appropriate
• Brains On! - science for kids, often laugh-out-loud funny
• Car Trip Trivia - 20 Questions & Answers with an Aussie twist
• Story Pirates - actors perform children's original stories, generating enormous car laughter

The Screen Time Question

Let's be honest: tablets and devices have their place on long drives. There's no award for getting from Darwin to Cairns without using a screen. Devices are a legitimate and sensible tool in the right doses.

What experienced caravanning families recommend:

• Treat screens as the last resort, not the first. Exhaust the audiobooks, the games, the looking-out-the-window before defaulting to a device.
• Set specific device windows — "You get the tablet from 2pm to 4pm" — rather than open-ended use. Clear limits reduce negotiation and screen-related meltdowns.
• Download content in advance (Netflix downloads, YouTube offline) because regional Australian internet is universally terrible.
• Bring headphones — ce child on a device with audio playing out loud is a different experience to two children each with headphones.

Making Rest Stops Work for You

Rest stops are more than a bathroom break — used well, they're energy resets that make the next driving leg significantly more peaceful.

• Physical challenges at every stop - five laps around the rest area, a race to the tree and back, 20 jumping jacks. Getting blood moving makes kids dramatically more settled in the car.
• Nature exploration - even a roadside rest stop has interesting things to look at. Give kids five minutes to find something unusual (a bug, a seed, a rock, a feather). It builds the habit of looking at the world around them rather than through a screen.
• A proper snack sit-down - getting out of the car, eating at a picnic table (even for 10 minutes), and having a real break rather than eating moving through the window changes everyone's energy state
• Aim for a rest stop every 1.5–2 hours. It adds time to the drive but dramatically reduces the overall misery.

Travel Journals: Underrated and Brilliant

Give each child a simple notebook and some coloured pencils before you leave. Ask them to draw things they see, write about where they went, stick in a petrol receipt or a leaf from a rest stop. What starts as something to do in the car becomes a treasured memory of the trip that they'll return to for years.

Some children take to travel journals immediately; others need a prompt. Start with: "Draw the most interesting thing you saw today." Let it evolve from there.

What Mum (and Dad) Need on Long Drives

Road trip wellbeing isn't only about the kids. Driver comfort and passenger sanity matter too.

• Comfortable, practical clothing - you'll be in the car for hours, then jumping out to set up camp. UPF50+ fishing shirts and dresses are perfect: breathable, comfortable for sitting, and you're ready to go the moment you step out of the car, without worrying about sun protection. Our women's fishing shirts and fishing dresses were designed for exactly this - from the driver's seat to the campsite without skipping a beat.
• Your own entertainment - a podcast or audiobook for the driver makes long highway stretches significantly more enjoyable
• Good coffee at every opportunity - Australian regional towns have surprisingly excellent cafés; use them
• Permission to share driving - if you have another adult who can drive, swap regularly. Long-haul driving is mentally taxing even when conditions are easy.

Real Talk: The Drive Is Part of the Trip

The best road trips aren't the ones where the drive was invisible - they're the ones where the drive itself was part of the memory. The outback sunset through the windscreen. The road train that went for what seemed like five minutes. The wedge-tailed eagle on the fence post. The kids excitedly spotting their first wild kangaroo from the window.

Australia's roads are extraordinary. When you're driving through them with your family, even the long stretches between interesting things are interesting if you're looking.

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What's your top tip for surviving a long family drive in Australia? Share it with the Mums Who Caravan and Camp community - we're always adding to our road trip wisdom collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best activities for kids on long car trips in Australia?

The best activities for kids on long Australian car trips are audiobooks (particularly story series like Harry Potter or Famous Five), Australian-specific car bingo, number plate games, podcasts for kids (Wow in the World, Brains On!), and travel journals. Downloaded content on tablets is useful but works best as a later resort after non-screen activities have been exhausted. Regular rest stops with physical activity (running, jumping jacks) make the non-stop stretches significantly more manageable.

How do you survive a long drive with toddlers in Australia?

Surviving long drives with toddlers in Australia requires: realistic daily drive limits (2–3 hours maximum for toddlers, with multiple breaks), early morning starts (toddlers often sleep in the car in the early hours), familiar snacks and comfort items within easy reach, simple sensory activities (sticker books, small play sets), and accepting that the day will be shorter and slower than you'd plan without a toddler. Split longer drives over two days where possible.

How often should you stop on a long drive with kids in Australia?

Stop at least every 90 minutes to 2 hours on long drives with children in Australia. Each stop should include time outside the car — ideally with some physical activity. Frequent, shorter stops are far better than trying to push through to a less frequent stop. The extra time spent stopping is consistently recovered in better behaviour and reduced conflict during the subsequent driving leg.