Things to do on a journey

An hour into your journey and you're bored. If you were the child who constantly whined: “Are we nearly there yet?”, have a look at these suggestions for things to do on gap year journeys. They're particularly good for plane trips - even if you're lucky enough to have a window seat, the appeal of the clouds will probably wear off before you get to Peru.
Many of our projects incorporate group travel, so you could use these things to do as a way of getting to know new friends.

Things to do a on a journey - Play cards

They're not just for dodgy poker games in American films! Read up on the rules to games such as rummy, knockout whist, black jack, cheat, fish etc., etc. Even the childhood favourite, snap, can be fun - just make sure you're not going to annoy anyone. Games at 4am probably won't go down well! Don't forget to take a pack of cards.

Things to do on a journey - Puzzle books

Crosswords, spot the difference, word searches or Sudoku will get your brain working and pass the time.

Things to do on a journey - Tamed down versions of charades

You probably won't have room for a full-scale game but you can do it armchair style. Be creative!

Things to do on a journey - The group/singer game

A things to do that doesn't require anything but brain power. It can be done with other subjects but it works best with groups and singers. One person names a singer or band, and the next person has to think of one that begins with the last letter of the first person's singer/band. And so on… ‘The' in band names doesn't count. All artists qualify - dig deep for forgotten favourites!

Things to do on a journey - Favourite games in miniature

Games like Scrabble, drafts and chess often come in magnetic versions. Or, take the essential bits - the cards - out of Pictionary or Cranium and play without a board.

Things to do a journey - I-Spy

The old favourite - sometimes the old things are to do are the best! See how obscure you can get and if they're any linguists among you, try doing it in different languages…

Things to do on a journey - The category game

Take some paper and a few pens, and time yourself on your watch or phone. One person needs to choose 4 to 6 letters of the alphabet and then 4 to 6 categories, such as countries, girls' names, bands, items of clothing, vegetables and colours. You have 3 or 4 or 5 minutes to think of one item per letter per category - a point for everyone item that no one else has.

Things to do on a journey - Quizzes

Test each other's knowledge with a quiz book. Do it in teams, add prizes or impersonate Chris Tarrant for extra interest.

Things to do on a journey - Any other childish games you can remember

Old-fashioned they might be but they're still fun things to do. It's hard to feel shy when you're giggling over idiotic crossword suggestions!