Many students will be taking advantage of spring break by visiting family, making college visits, or going to a prime vacation destination.  Long road trips can be a blast, however they can also be boring and exhausting endeavors.  Whether it’s five hours on a plane or 14 hours in the car, becoming bored is inevitable within the first couple hours of these traveling adventures.  The worst part of a trip is the traveling, so I compiled a list of ideas to pass the time.  Hopefully, with these tips, the hours you spend in seats over long trips this spring break will be bearable.

Bring Entertainment

Alli Parks is going to look at colleges in Virginia for spring break and plans to read a book on the plane. She commented that, “Reading is a great way to pass the time!” Bringing along books or magazines can help transform you from the monotonous landscape of Kansas into another world.  If carsickness is a problem for you, however, try downloading an audiobook on your phone from Audible.com.  For me personally, I plan to listen to Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee on my upcoming trip.  If you feel like being studious, educational podcasts can make your car trip worthwhile.  Additionally, bringing movie players along with some classic Disney movies will easily kill a couple of hours. Just make sure you juice up all of your devices before taking off.

Radios, Mixtapes, and Playlists

Jamming out to the radio with your friends or family is a great way to forget about the desolate roads ahead.  Some of the best radio stations are the ones in the middle of nowhere.  Lip sync battles against your siblings are always a better alternative than staring out of the car window.  When cellular service is obsolete and your radio goes fuzzy, make sure to bring an aux cord or CDs to continue the party.  “Listening to music with my soccer  team is always the highlight of the long car trips to spring break soccer tournaments,” says Maria Mettler, who is traveling with her team again this spring break.

 Car Games

Car games are amusing and take barely any brain power.  Try license plates games, I-spy, or counting cars. You could also play drawing games or games on your phone/tablet . My personal favorite car game is the alphabet game. The objective is to look for letters A – Z on signs or license plates. This forces you to look beyond the barren plains and appreciate any business’ signs that have the letters ‘q’ or ‘x’ on them.  If you have younger siblings, car bingo is a perfect way to keep them from annoying you.

Snacks

The best part of road trips are the snacks! It’s better to keep the snacks healthier and lighter because a stomach ache is not an ideal situation for car trips.  Helen Lanwehr’s go to snack is goldfish and trail mix. Alec Chai, who is traveling to Arizona for lacrosse training this spring break, likes to munch on beef jerky and Cheez-Itz.  While healthy snacks are important, at least some candy is a necessity for car trips. “ When I go on trips, I usually like to bring along some sour gummy worms or sprees.” stated Morgan Hartman.  To balance all of the salt and sugar, however, be sure to pack a few full and iced water bottles.

Wherever you travel this spring break, close or far, I hope you can take these tips along with you. So grab your books, music, mad I-Spy skills, and snacks, and buckle up for a less mind numbing experience. Stay safe, have fun, and enjoy your spring break!