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10 Yearbook Ideas: Themes, Pages, Covers & More

Since no school year is the same, no yearbook should be the same either! It can be tough to come up with fresh, fun, and creative yearbook ideas that best represent the graduating class. But never fear—we’ve got you covered!

There are hundreds of yearbook ideas and themes to choose from, ranging from nostalgic, to future-focused, to pop culture. Your yearbook might feature a combination of topics, or you may choose one theme for your entire book. Starting with the cover , think about ways to incorporate your theme(s) into your yearbook page spreads, from the table of contents to class photo pages and social pages. Try using the same colors, graphics, and typefaces throughout the book to create a cohesive story from all your various sections about the year’s events.

10 Yearbook Ideas

Whether you are designing a yearbook for elementary school, middle school, or high school, these yearbook ideas will help you create a masterpiece that students will treasure for many years to come.

1. Add a section for school trips & travel

So much happens over the course of a school year that it really is an adventure. Celebrate the journey that your students have taken together with highlights from school trips or travel-themed content. Include fun maps, images of far-off places, and inspirational quotes that remind them of how far they have come and how far they will go.

2. Make a collection of quotes

This is one of the most popular yearbook themes. Collect quotes from the student body and teachers to use throughout your yearbook. You could ask them specific questions, such as what their favorite memory was from the year, or their funniest moment. Students will love having the chance to contribute a personal message to the yearbook!

3. Design your own emojis

Your students will love a yearbook filled with customized emojis. Use them as captions for pictures, on the cover page, and around action shots. Let your imagination run wild and have some fun creating personalized emojis for your yearbook based on your school mascot.

4. Celebrate your favorite games

Create a yearbook dedicated to the games that your students love to play, whether it’s board games or video games. The cover could be a play on the board game Life or based on a Monopoly board. Or you could gamify the student body, turning them into video game characters and superheroes.

5. Include storybook characters

We all have favorite books and fictional characters that teach us about growing up, getting along, and going on adventures. Fill your yearbook pages with colorful designs, inspirational quotes, and whimsical characters from stories you’ve read together.

Side note: It is illegal to use copyrighted art without permission. As an alternative, invite your students to create drawings and stories inspired by the books they love. This idea can work with any set of popular characters, as long as you only include artwork created by your students. For essential illustration tools , make sure to check out our blog.

6. Make a list or photo collage of best moments 

Poll the students for their favorite highlights from the school year and then create yearbook pages around those school day memories . Perhaps it was the winning touchdown at the homecoming game or the senior prank that left everyone laughing. Fill your book with plenty of memories and include quotes from the student body.

7. Create a book of student artwork

Show off the incredible talents of your student body in a yearbook filled with their art. For added fun, have a contest among your students to design the cover art of the yearbook. The other submissions can then be used throughout the inside pages. It’s a creative way to get everyone involved.

8. Show the year in reverse

Start from the end and move back in time, capturing every memorable moment from the school year. Include dances, sports events, science fairs, etc. You could also incorporate elements of pop culture from the year, such as popular songs, movies, and books. The last page of the book can be filled with pictures from the very first day of the school year.

9. Highlight sports, clubs & special activities

Most yearbooks include a section dedicated to the school’s sports teams, special clubs, and musical groups. Take it one step further by making sports, music, and creative activities the overall theme of your yearbook. Have fun weaving team colors, on-stage highlights, and song lyrics into your yearbook design.

10. Dedicate a section to the graduates

Show the new grads how proud you are by creating several pages to celebrate their achievements, talents, and unique personalities. This could be a space where students can celebrate a goal they achieved, include a fun fact about themselves, or note one of their favorite things. Make it extra special by leaving room for student autographs.

Site note: If you’re interested in creating a graduation photo book , check out our blog for ideas.

So there you have it. 10 creative yearbook ideas and themes to inspire your own tribute to a year of school life. Get started on your yearbook today with Blurb’s free tool Bookwright !

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20 Remarkable Road Trip Theme Ideas

Creating a theme for your road trip adds an extra element of fun. This guide lists 20 Remarkable Road Trip Theme Ideas for your next vacation!

Have you ever thought about taking a themed road trip? With flight prices soaring through the roof this year, many of us are going to be abandoning Europe and Hawaii in favor of a US road trip this summer. However, desperate times always lead to innovation, and we’re determined to make our family vacations a success this year. One way to spice up a boring drive is to give your trip a theme. With a targeted playlist, appropriate costumes, and themed snacks, a normal day on the road can turn into a fabulous adventure full of imagination and fun! Let’s get the creative juices flowing and explore the most ingenious road trip theme ideas for your summer vacation. We’ve even rounded up a few for adults and couples!

Upping the Fun Quotient With a Scavenger Hunt

Here at Let’s Roam, we’re dedicated to creating fun activities to help you and your crew get the most out of your travels. Our scavenger hunt app is loaded with art walks , city hunts, and spooky ghost tours in more than 600 cities worldwide! You’ll also get access to our Local Guide, which hooks you up with local insights on the best restaurants, attractions, and more. After browsing these road trip theme ideas, just download the app, purchase a ticket for each family member, and let the fun begin!

The Best Themes for Your Family Road Trip

Your road trip can be anything you want it to be. You can go all out, incorporating costumes, road trip games, playlists, and attractions that fit your theme. However, you can also just set a general theme for your main attractions and insert whatever you want in between. Stick tight to the theme or play it loose. There are no rules here!

We’ve provided three full, themed itineraries and then a few more general ideas. Our suggested routes are just suggestions, though! Remember, if you don’t have the time or ability to get to those specific destinations, you can always take the theme and mold it to fit your itinerary. Almost all of these themes can be applied to shorter road trips in other parts of the country. We’ll give you a few ideas, but feel free to tweak it however you see fit.

1. A Wyatt Earp Western Ride

Take in some of America’s Wild Western towns pretending to be outlaws and lawmen. You’ll explore former boom towns turned open-air museums, learn the history of the Wild West, and imagine the excitement of living in an era of saloons, gunfights, and heroic pioneers.

Suggested Route

For a weeklong trip, start your trip in Dodge City, Kansas, and end in Phoenix, Arizona. The route is about 14 hours one way and will take you through several amusing frontier towns.

Suggested Stops

Dodge City is in the SW corner of Kansas. Visit Boot Hill Museum, which details the wilder days of Dodge City with restored historic buildings and staged gunfights on a recreated Wild West street. Visit the Gunfighters Wax Museum to see a likeness of Wyatt Earp himself as well as Sitting Bull. Dodge City has a lovely trolley tour, and adults will love a stop at Boothill Brewery.

Next, pop in for a horseback ride and history lesson along Palo Duro Canyon in Amarillo with Cowgirls and Cowboys in the West . Stretch your legs with a hike in the second-largest canyon in the United States. Stop in Tombstone, Arizona, at the Old Tombstone Western Themepark , then head for Phoenix. There are two Wild West-themed parks in Phoenix—Frontier Town and Rawhide Western Town. There are obviously wonderful attractions outside the Wild West theme that you could add to your trip in Tucson, Phoenix, and Amarillo.

Suggested Playlist

Check out “ Ultimate Country Collection ” on Spotify for all the great classics of country music.

Suggested Games

I Spy With My Cowboy Eye: Put a twist on the oldest road trip activity of them all and see who can point out elements of western culture on the trip. For instance, “I spy with my cowboy eye an animal that goes ‘moo’!”

Suggested Snacks

What other snack would do but trail mix, of course?!

Over the Top

If you want to take the theme to the extreme, invest in some cowboy costumes before you head out on your road trip. Head to the nearest country and western store (or party store for pretend gear) and get a cowboy hat and gunbelt for each family member. If you can read in the car without getting sick, invest in some classic cowboy novels like True Grit or Lonesome Dove or read Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend .

2. Astronauts in Flight

If you want to head east instead, suit up in your space garb and head for Cape Canaveral Florida! You’ll learn all about the history of space exploration and maybe even get to see a live launch!

If you want a shorter trip, set the cruise control for Cape Canaveral. If you want a longer journey, start in Houston Texas, and end in Cape Canaveral.

Stop one is the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Then travel along the coast to Pearlington, Mississippi, where you’ll peruse the Lunar Landing Exhibit and the Infinity Science Center . From there, keep on to Gainsville, Florida, and stretch your legs on the Solar Walk , a 4-billion-to-1 scale model of the solar system. Finish your trip in Cape Canaveral, where you can visit the Kenny Space Center and the launch site. You’ll pass right by Disney World on the way, so you might as well pop in for a ride on Space Mountain!

Check out the “ Space Jam: A New Legacy Official Playlist .”

Check out this awesome list of “ 7 Road Trip Games That Train Your Astronaut Skills .”

Two easy road trip snacks for little astronauts are asteroid cereal balls and moon rocks. Moon rocks are simply their favorite candies wrapped in aluminum foil balls. Asteroids are melted marshmallows with their favorite cereal dropped in, essentially Rice Krispies Treats with different cereals and formed into balls.

Load up the car with space-themed movies like The Incredibles , Space Jam , and Monsters vs Aliens. Invest in some astronaut Halloween costumes or just make some aluminum foil hats. Also, check out the “ Road Trip to Outerspace ” podcast from Tumble Science Podcast for Kids.

3. ’50s Sock Hop

Why not get nostalgic with a ’50s-inspired summer road trip down nostalgic Route 66? The original classic American road trip is a bucket list getaway. You’ll encounter weird and wonderful roadside attractions, dine in ’50s-inspired diners, and experience drive-in movies, too! This one would also be fun for a group of adult friends. If you have young children, you could bring in elements from Cars to make it more relevant for them.

The original Route 66 trip spans 2,400 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. If you have time, do it all. If not, hop on at the closest junction to you.

Route 66 is awesome for family travel or a group of friends because there are so many strange roadside attractions. We’ve written an extensive guide on this nostalgic road trip, so take a look at “ The Ultimate Route 66 Road Trip Itinerary .”

Check out this epic “ 50s Party ” playlist. It contains 150 classics from the decade to keep you rocking all day long! You could also bust out the Grease soundtrack!

Pull out the classics for this one, like Slug Bug.

Moon pies, candy necklaces, Pixy Stix, and Jell-O or pudding cups.

If you want to knock it out of the park, buy (or make) some poodle skirts or dress the crew in rolled t-shirts and jeans. Load up whatever video system you have with ’50s classics for adults, like Some Like it Hot and Roman Holiday , or find some vintage cartoons, like Alice in Wonderland or Woody Woodpecker .

A Few More Road Trip Theme Ideas

4. giants and trolls.

For a fun family road trip, you could pretend to be trolls in the forests of California. Take a trip through Sequoia National Park and Redwoods National Forest. Wear some wild-colored wigs, watch the Trolls movies and listen to the soundtrack en route, and imagine living inside the hollowed-out giants of the forest.

5. Surfin’ USA

Hwy 1 is one of the best road trips in the United States. The coastal road runs up most of the West Coast and stops at some of the best surfing spots in the country. This is one of the best road trips for adventurous couples, groups of friends, or families with teenagers. Blast a Beach Boys playlist, pack only board shorts and swimsuits, and make a list of the best surfing spots on the coast. Then, just hop from place to place, living that surfer life!

Love the idea of a surfing vacation? Check out our list of “ The 10 Best Surfing Spots on the Planet. ”

6. Founding Fathers

For those who want to infuse a little American history into their vacation, one of the best trip ideas is to visit the Freedom Trail in Boston. New England was host to a slew of Colonial activity, Revolutionary War battles, and monumental moments in the story of the USA. The Freedom Trail is a collection of museums, battlegrounds, cemeteries, and historical markers that detail the American Revolution and early American history.

7. The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is much more than an old computer game. It’s actually a National Historic Trail running from Independence, Missouri, to Vancouver and was followed by the original pioneers. It flows through six states with numerous interesting small towns and historic sites along the way. You’ll pretend to be a Gold Rush family, charting new land. You’ll see reenactments, learn about harrowing stories of loss and triumph along the difficult route, and even see evidence of the wagon trail ruts still in the soil.

8. Dinosaur Trekking

If you have a little one (or husband) who is obsessed with T-Rex, add Colorado to your trip plans this summer. Colorado is loaded with dinosaur-themed parks built around actual fossil and print evidence. Check out Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, Dinosaur Ridge, and Dinosaur National Monument, just to name a few!

9. Native American Heritage

For a fun and educational road trip, find a few Native American ruins sites near you. The United States has numerous Native American cliff dwellings, mounds, cemeteries, and active pueblos that you can visit in almost every region of the country. For a few ideas, check out “ Incredible Ancient Ruins in America .”

10. Junior Ranger

The National Park Service has a wonderful educational program for kids known as the Junior Rangers. While activities vary from park to park, they’re always fun. Ranger Trek is a great resource for finding Junior Ranger programs near you, and they have recently created a cute travel journal to memorialize all your ranger certificates and booklets. If your kids love the outdoors, spend your summer vacation pretending to be park rangers!

11. Presidential Parade

Strap on your white wig and top hat and head for Washington, D.C. After visiting the presidential monuments, the home of the current Commander-in-Chief, and former homes of the previous presidents sprinkled around D.C., you can visit the homes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and Dwight Eisenhower all within a day trip from the big city.

12. Lewis and Clark Trail

Explorers Lewis and Clark were instrumental in the mapping of the United States, and their exploration route is now a National Historic Trail winding through 4,900 miles and more than 60 Native American tribal territories. It runs from Pittsburgh to the Pacific and is marked with road signs and historic sights all along the route! A fake fur cap is a necessity for this themed road trip!

13. International Travel Theme

Almost every state has a city or small town named Paris, London, or some form of York (Yorktown, New York). Design a road trip to visit these small towns. Before your trip, do some research on the original cities and create some clipart printables with fun facts to use as coloring sheets. It will keep the kiddos entertained en route.

For a little twist on this idea, you could visit international communities in the United States, like the Bavarian village of Helen, Georgia; Holland, Michigan; or the Danish Community of Solvang, California.

14. The Princess Parade

There’s nothing more exciting to a little princess than spending a day in a real-life castle. While the United States isn’t exactly known for castles, we do have a few that your little princess will love. For instance, there’s Grey Tower in Glenside, Pennsylvania, Hammond Castle in Gloucester, and Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga, California. Many of these castles have lovely gardens and tea rooms that do princess parties and events for kiddos. Do a quick search for American castles near you and see what’s available for your road trip.

15. Silver Screen Scenic Route

The drive from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Los Angeles is one of the best routes on Earth for visiting movie filming locations. Iconic scenes from Rain Man and The Hangover (plus many more) were filmed at Caesars Palace. The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills was the spot for many of the scenes in Pretty Woman , and then there are all those epic dance scene locations from La La Land! This trip is probably best for older kids who have started to gain some appreciation for classic movies.

Here are “ 25 Fun Vacation Ideas Inspired by the Big Screen ” if you want to go big!

Themed Road Trips for Adults

16. lighthouse leisure.

Whether you live on the East or West Coast, you can easily design a trip to visit America’s historic lighthouses. These structures often occupy prime property and boast some gorgeous views. Many have been turned into mini museums as well and have some interesting histories. If you’re interested in maritime history or architecture, this would be a fun one. Plus, you get to eat fresh, yummy seafood all week!

17. Ghosts of the Past

From San Francisco to Savannah, some say the United States is haunted by the people of its past. Civil War cemeteries, haunted hotels, abandoned Gold Rush Era towns, and Native American burial grounds all make the list. Pick out a few spots within driving distance of one another and gather the crew. Check out our list of app-guided ghost tours to help with your trip!

18. Mardi Gras Extravaganza

Did you know that Mardi Gras is celebrated in several cities across the south, not just in New Orleans? In fact, the oldest celebration is in Mobile, Alabama. Since the celebrations typically run for weeks, you can visit a few cities for a hard-partying road trip with your crew. Galveston, Biloxi, and Baton Rouge all have epic Mardi Gras festivities!

19. Last Days of Hemingway

If you’re strapped to a road trip this year, the closest you can get to a Caribbean vacation is a journey to Key West. Aside from some of the best scuba diving and most beautiful beaches in the United States, Key West was one of the stomping grounds of American novelist Ernest Hemingway. He showed up to retrieve a car, but it wasn’t ready, so he had to stay for a few days, waiting. He fell in love… because who wouldn’t? There are now several famous sights around Key West that bookmark different events in the writer’s life. If you’re a bit of a bookworm or you just need a reason to drink a mojito on the beach, this one is for you!

20. Across the Dark Skies

Oh, the majesty of the sky at night. If you haven’t seen the full spread of the twinkling heavens in person, start making a plan! Road tripping with a bunch of nature lovers? Then you’ll be glad to know that some of the most perfect stargazing spots are located in national parks. Check out the International Dark-Sky Association to see where the dark skies are around you and make a plan to hit up a few!

Loading up the Trunk

Hopefully, these road trip theme ideas gave you some good inspiration and got you excited about your summer vacation this year! Whether you go all out or keep it chill, adding some fun-themed elements can keep you and the crew invested during a long drive. It also adds some creativity and challenge to the planning process. Which of these 20 trips are you going to take on? Let us know in the comments or fill us in on a successful themed vacation you planned in the past!

For more family trip ideas, plan your vacation around your state’s claim to fame! Check out “ Claims to Fame: What Is Each State Known For? ” for some unique trip inspiration.

Need something for older kids? Take a look at “ 15 of the Best Spring Break Trips for Teens. ”

Frequently Asked Questions

Nope, it’s totally your decision. While a road trip doesn’t have to have a theme, a good themed trip can add creativity, interest, and a little clarity to your vacation.

One of the best road trips in the US is the journey up Coastal Hwy 1 . It boasts epic vista views, the world’s best surfing spots, iconic city tours , and access to several national parks.

A good road trip for kids needs a theme. Consider a cowboy theme through the Southwest, a Junior Ranger trip through the National Parks, or a Princess Parade to see America’s castles.

To plan a truly exceptional road trip , add a theme with costumes, attractions, and a playlist that all revolve around a particular item, like Native American sites , movies, or haunted spots .

For a fun educational trip, take a tour of Boston, Massachusetts . Hit the historic Revolutionary sites on the Freedom Trail and learn all about American history.

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Wedding invitations, 80 yearbook theme ideas.

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Choose Another Yearbook Style

• Yearbook Themes
• Yearbook Pages
• Yearbook Quotes
• Yearbook Covers
• Yearbook Layouts

A theme is an important first step in building your yearbook. Not only will it help design, but also help narrow down the types of photos you select and how many pages your book will be. A yearbook theme could be anything from classic school spirit to a contemporary reflection of student life. To help inspire your vision, we created 80 yearbook theme ideas that are sure to excite the student body. Browse below cohesive designs of a yearbook cover and page spread so you can see how the theme carries through every part of the book. Find traditional layouts that are easy to personalize to fun embellishments that your students will have fun revisiting years to come.

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Whether it’s an elementary, middle or high school yearbook you’re designing, finding a theme will make the whole process run smoother. Do you have a favorite yearbook theme? If you’re ready to get designing, get a yearbook quote today .

Instructions: Click through the buttons below to sort by grade and style. Click the photo for a larger view.

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20+ Epic Road Trip Themes + Printable Ideas

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Road tripping! Some of our favorite pastimes are the many different road trips we have taken. My husband and I started our road tripping adventures long before having kids. After the kids came along, we still enjoyed at least one road trip per year. The same holds true for us now… married almost 20 years, 2 kids, and a travel trailer. We try to go on at least one camping road trip each year.

Choosing a Road Trip Destination

Many times, the biggest decision that we make when planning a new trip is WHERE TO GO. A lot of thought goes into the destination(s) and on more than occasion, we have planned out a THEMED road trip. Road trip themes are plentiful and going on a trip that focuses on one main topic is a LOT of fun! (I honestly find the planning process ALMOST as enjoyable as the actual trip!)

You can put a lot of care and thought into the details of a themed road trip, and you can choose themes to match just about any interest or hobby.

We were just talking at the dinner table last night about our next trip and the kids were helping us narrow down some of our ideas for things to see and do. This post is a product of that conversation! As we talked about different themes for trips and the possibilities for different travel experiences, we started to write down the many suggestions.

Perhaps our list will give you some inspiration?

Plan Road Trips Early

The best tip that I have for planning a successful road trip: plan EARLY. By early, I mean AT LEAST 6 months ahead. For our more epic road trips (like our cross country journey to Yellowstone), we started to plan more than 1 year ahead of the actual trip.

Popular attractions, campgrounds, hotels and other locations fill up quickly. It is best to book the highly sought-after events and locales as soon as possible.

Road Trip Themes

We had a fun time putting together the (rather) extensive list below. There are a lot of different themes and each one can be broken down and personalized based on individual preference. Most would work well as family road trips, couples trips, friends trips or even solo trips.

The themes are listed in no particular order below.

Foodie Road Trip

Famous author road trip, roadside attractions road trip, coastal highway road trip, national parks road trip.

• Music Themed Road Trip

Wellness Retreat Road Trip

• Movie or TV Show Themed Road Trip
• Train Tours (and take your car!)

Wine Country Road Trip

• Wildlife and Nature Road Trip

Photography Road Trip

• Adventure Activities Road Trip

Historical Road Trip

Sports road trip, flower power road trip.

• Cultural Immersion Trip

Eco-Tourism Road Trip

Exploring the arts road trip, volunteer and service road trip, space themed road trip.

• Science and Tech Themed Road Trip

Genealogy Road Trip

Plan a road trip that’s ALL ABOUT FOOD! You can choose the specific concentration for your trip, but here are some suggestions:

• Eat at iconic restaurants featured in your favorite tv shows or movies.
• Visit factories that make your favorite foods (especially if they offer tours, for example Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream !).
• Visit orchards during fall pick-your-own season.
• Check out some popular food trucks! Head to social media and find amazing trucks that have big followings. Put together an itinerary that will take you to several of these trucks. Another option for food trucks is to find a food truck festival!
• Focus on a geographical location known for certain foods or dishes and see how many different varieties you can try. Examples include: pizza in Chicago, Lobster in Maine, Crab in Maryland or Gumbo in Louisiana.
• Go on a road trip and focus on trying specific foods the whole time: pizza, chocolate, ice cream, sandwiches, burgers, wings, etc.

Is there a famous author or a book that really moved you as a kid or adult? Plan a road trip around that author’s life or important milestones.

If the book is set in a particular town (real life town, obviously), visit the town.

One of our most memorable vacations was a Little House on the Prairie road trip where we retraced the real places that author Laura Ingalls Wilder lived and wrote about in her famous children’s book series.

Roadside attractions are silly, kitschy stops that you can check out as you drive from point A to point B. Typically they are places that are fun to see but you won’t spend an entire day there. There are so many cool roadside attractions across the country. A few examples include:

• Field of Dreams Baseball Field and Movie Site (Dyersville, IA)
• World’s Largest Ball of Twine (Cawker City, KS)
• World’s Largest Baseball Bat (Louisville, KY)
• Wall Drug (Wall, SD)
• Lucy the Elephant (Margate, NC)
• South of the Border (Florence, SC)
• Cadillac Ranch (Amarillo, TX)
• Corn Palace (Mitchell, SD)

You can find a large list online of the many “World’s Largest” or smallest or heaviest, etc items. These attractions make for great, quick pit stops. Stretch your legs, snap a picture, get back on your way.

Love the look of the sea swept coastline? Plan an entire road trip that winds you up or down your coast of choice. Popular coastal drives in the United States include:

• Pacific Coast Highway (California)
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore (North Carolina)
• Bold Coast Scenic Byway (Maine)

Covering more than 80 million acres, the National Parks system in the United States of American is truly an incredible treasure trove to explore. Plan out that trip to Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion or the Grand Canyon.

Maybe you’ll head to the Northeastern US and explore the wilds of Acadia National Park .

No matter which park(s) you choose, there are incredible vistas and wildlife just waiting for you to take them in. National Parks make great family vacations. Our kids love participating in the Junior Ranger programs which offer the youngest travelers an array of activities and the opportunity to earn a ranger badge or pin upon program completion.

Note: National Parks are at the top of the list for destinations that require some pre-planning and booking. We booked our Yellowstone campground more than a year before our visit and campsites were already in short supply!

We have a lot of National Parks content on the blog. Check those posts out here .

Music Themed Road Trips

Whether you love rock ‘n roll or the sounds of smooth jazz, there are some wonderful options for music themed trips in the US!

Head to Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee and hear incredible country tunes at just about every bar, plus visit the Country Music Hall of Fame , Ryman Auditorium , and Grand Ole Opry . Top off the trip with a tour of Graceland , home of Elvis Presley.

If jazz is your thing, immerse yourself in its roots down in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Love rock ‘n roll? Make a stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.

Take a break from everyday stressors and put self-care at priority #1 with a wellness road trip. Visit a great spa, check out a yoga or meditation class. Learn about crystals and add some new items to your collection (or start one if you don’t have one!).

You could also take a cooking class and learn some new ways to prepare good-for-you dishes.

Movie or TV Themed Road Trip

We LOVE seeing places where our favorite movies and shows were filmed. You can find filming locations for most tv and film productions with a little bit of research (ie simple internet search). Sometimes a whole town is used to film various scenes in the show or movie.

Choose a fave flick or two and head to the town where it was filmed.

Just a few suggestions:

• Stranger Things – various locations in and around Atlanta, GA and its suburbs
• Dances with Wolves – Black Hills of South Dakota
• Field of Dreams – Dyersville, GA
• The Sixth Sense – Philadelphia, PA
• Home Alone – Chicago, IL and suburbs
• National Lampoon’s Vacation – various locations across the US

Auto Train Trip

Did you know that Amtrak has an AUTO TRAIN? That’s right! This train starts in Lorton, VA and travels all the way down to Sanford, FL (near Orlando). The coolest part? YOU CAN TAKE YOUR CAR!

Drive your car right onto the Amtrak Auto Train (similar to a ferry that allows cars) and then find your seat or suite in the passenger cars.

Relax while Amtrak does the driving. The Auto Train is a neat option if you’d like to combine rail travel with driving. Experience the train and then drive your car on to the rest of your trip.

This road trip is PERFECT for couples or friend groups. Gather up your fellow wine connoisseurs and head out on a road trip to wine country. Your best bet is to visit an area known for its wineries so that you can visit multiple locations during your trip.

Some popular wine trails include:

• Napa Valley (California)
• Willamette Valley (Oregon)
• Niagara on the Lake (Ontario, Canada)
• Finger Lakes (New York)
• Bucks County Wine Trail (Pennsylvania)
• Hill Country Wineries (Texas)

Look for local wine-related events like festivals and conventions to attend!

Wildlife Road Trip

For the animal lovers out there, plan a road trip that includes various spots to observe different animals. Zoos, aquariums, nature preserves, animal sanctuaries, and animal rescues are great places to see many different creatures.

The National Parks all offer different and unique wildlife specific to each park.

If you head to Assateague (in MD and VA) you can see the famous wild ponies.

Head to Maine to try to spot a moose.

In Yellowstone, we saw ample bison, elk and other animals. There are lots of bears in Yellowstone as well, but we didn’t see any during our trip!

You can choose a trip route/destination based on which animals or type of animal themed attractions you want to see.

Time to dust off those cameras! Whether you prefer to snap pics on your phone or you use a “real” camera, be it digital or film, there are some great destinations for aspiring and professional photographers alike.

Visit a destination known for its stunning landscape or unique cultural experiences. Challenge yourself to up your photography game by capturing frame worthy photos.

Love flowers and plants? Head out on a flower themed road trip! Visit gardens, arboretums and nature preserves as you look for beautiful blooms.

Find a farm that teaches classes in floral arrangements and learn how to build the perfect bouquet.

Visit farmer’s markets known for an abundance of local blooms.

We love these spots:

• Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, PA)
• Elizabethan Gardens (Roanoke Island, NC)
• Pike Place Market (Seattle, WA)
• Love ‘n Fresh Floral Arrangement Classes (Philadelphia, PA)

Choose a time period or event in the long past that really interests you and build a road trip around it! There are so many different ideas for things to visit on a historically themed road trip! Choose the historic sites that interest you the most and use that as your starting point.

Here are just a few suggestions:

• Salem Witch Trials (Salem, MA)
• Civil War Battlefields (Gettysburg, PA is one of our favorites.)
• Revolutionary War Battlefields
• Birth of Our Nation (focus on Philadelphia and Boston)
• Pioneer Life and Travel (Oregon trail, Pony Express Museum and more)
• Native American History
• Early Settlers (Plimoth, MA, Jamestown, VA, Lost Colony of Roanoke, NC)

If you have a favorite team and/or sport, head out on a sports themed road trip! There are a lot of fun possibilities for a sports infused trip. You can personalize the trip based on your individual preferences!

• Buy tickets to a game at a historical stadium like Fenway Park or Wrigley Field.
• Take a stadium tour. Many sports venues offer a tour that takes fans in and around the complex. Sometimes they even include visits to areas typically off limits to the public, like the locker room and press box.
• Head to the sports “Hall of Fame” for your favorite sport.
• Visit the hometown of your favorite athlete.
• Take part in various favorite sports like golf, skiing, or horseback riding.

Adventure Road Trip

Love a good adrenaline rush? Then you might LOVE an adventure themed road trip! Put together a road trip itinerary that includes a variety of heart-pumping activities.

Some examples include:

• White water rafting
• Bungee jumping
• Parasailing

Cultural Immersion Road Trip

Immerse yourself in a different local cultures here in the US or abroad. Explore festivals, cuisine, historical attractions and more as you learn about a different culture and their traditions and way of life.

Focus on supporting small businesses like local shops and restaurants instead of bigger chains.

For travelers who are passionate about the environment and sustainability, consider an eco-tourism themed trip. You can visit destinations that promote sustainable tourism. Find opportunities to participate in local conservation efforts and learn about eco-friendly practices.

Want to embark on a trip that’s “out of this world?” Create a road trip itinerary that makes stops at museums and other attractions related to space travel.

We stopped at Kennedy Space Center in Florida a few years ago and it was one of the most interesting attractions I have visited. (And, I am not super obsessed with space! I still found it incredibly enjoyable!)

Some top Space Themed attractions to consider:

• Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral, FL)
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (2 locations: Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA)
• Space Center Houston (Texas)
• U.S. Space and Rocket Center (Huntsville, AL)
• Marshall Space Center (home of SPACE CAMP!) (Huntsville, AL)
• NASA Wallops Flight Facility (Wallops Island, VA)
• Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Complex (New York, NY)
• California Science Center (Los Angeles, CA)
• Pima Air and Space Museum (Tucson, AZ)

Art lovers can find plenty of great places to visit during an art themed road trip. Head to art museums in different cities, check out exhibits featuring favorite artists. Attend art festivals and consider participating in art workshops or taking an art class!

Spend some time researching your family tree. If you don’t have a lot of information from older generations, head to a site like ancestry.com to see what you can find.

Create a road trip itinerary that takes you to places important to your own predecessors. Find places where your relatives lived, worked and attended school. Locate churches, cemeteries and graveyards/gravestones that were significant to your family.

These trips certainly have a lot of sentimental value and nostalgia in them! I highly recommend recording your findings in a journal and taking lots of pictures and video! Your journey can then be passed down for generations to come.

Science and Tech Road Trip

Similar to the space themed road trip, but with a much broader scope, consider a science and tech based trip filled with all sorts of STEM activities and attractions.

Visit science museums and labs, head to a conference showing off the latest tech, and more.

Want to go on a road trip that serves the greater good? How about a service trip! Find destinations that offer opportunities to volunteer your time and/or services. From community projects to wildlife conservation or assisting with disaster relief efforts, there are many opportunities to help in every corner of the country.

Route 66 Road Trip

Probably one of the most well-known road trip routes in the United States, you can pick up Route 66 in Chicago, IL and take it all the way to the west coast. The historic route ends in Santa Monica, CA.

Route 66 (also referred to as the “Mother Road”) was the main highway to get from eastern US to the west, before the interstate program was constructed. The interstates bypass the small towns that Route 66 meanders through.

You can still find many of the fun and bizarre stops that once thrived when Route 66 was heavily traveled. Some are still open and welcome travelers daily. Others have long-since closed.

This classic American road trip is the perfect way to see the country and a variety of landscapes and fun, memorable spots and photo ops! You’re sure to feel the freedom of the open road as you make your way from stop to stop!

Printable Road Trip Ideas Pack

As you continue to consider different themes for your next road trip, use our printable idea sheet!

Get the printable: Road Trip Ideas

You can grab our printable right here . Simply enter your email address in the box and opt-in to receive our free newsletter.  Check your inbox for this printable, which you will receive as a subscriber bonus. NOTE: This file is for PERSONAL USE ONLY. You may NOT sell the digital file or sell the printed work. You may NOT redistribute the digital file or printed work.

We hope that this article gives you some great ideas for enjoyable themes and fun activities and destinations as you start to plan your own road trip. There are so many cool things to see and do, you are sure to have a blast!

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Yearbook Themes

What is a yearbook theme.

A yearbook theme is the central concept or idea around which the coverage and design of the yearbook are built upon. It is essentially a visual and verbal statement that helps highlight the memorable experiences throughout the school year as well as the many students who contribute to the character of the school. A well-developed yearbook theme should contain the following visual theme identifiers: font type, color, shape, pattern and texture.  READ MORE

Ideas for Yearbook Themes

Developing a theme for the yearbook is easy and fun. Consider the theme as the attitude of the year for your school. Many schools may be going through growth phases or celebrating anniversaries or initiating new changes or welcoming new administrations. The yearbook is the perfect medium to tell a story that will be remembered by all. Remember, a yearbook is not a newspaper and should not include controversial issues or include editorials for or against a certain event or policy. Instead, a yearbook should record the events of the year and celebrate the milestones of the year, under a story format that ties into one main theme.

Themes come in different shapes and sizes based upon the attitude of the year. Many themes contain a play on words and are introduced on the cover. For example, the popular “KEEP CALM AND…” phrase could be taken in many directions depending on what the attitude of the year for that school is. Perhaps their school mascot is the Warrior so they decide to play on that and create a “Keep Calm and Warrior On” theme. Or maybe the school is celebrating growth in their district and have re-defined themselves. Their theme might be “We Are” with words that describe how they now see themselves.

The theme can be carried further on an endsheet design with names of the sections of the yearbook that include a supporting word in the title. Also, the school can consider bringing the theme to the endsheet, by bringing over a graphic element to the endsheet pages. As we mentioned earlier, there are different sections in a yearbook.

These sections could be named as follows to carry on the “Whole New Direction” theme:

• Student Life: New Traditions… • Sports: New Victories…
• Clubs/Organizations: New Impacts… • Academics: New Accomplishments… •Portraits: New Leaders Of Tomorrow… • Ads: New Business…

Stories and photos in these sections could include thematic elements as well through certain quotes or story developments that tie into the impact the growth has had on the school. The key to developing a theme is making sure you address the theme in every section of the yearbook as well as the cover and endsheets (if applicable). Consider playing off words of the theme as titles for each section, or work on conceptual themes that play of an idea vs. words.

For example, working with an “Inside & Out…” theme:

• Student Life: Inside our Walls… • Sports: On the Sidelines…
• Clubs/Organizations: Siding with Others… • Academics: Sides of Success… • Portraits: Side by Side… • Ads: Outside our Walls…

Survival Tip #1:

There is no such thing as a yearbook theme enforcement squad that goes around the country saying you have a good or bad theme in your yearbook. A theme is only designed to unify your entire yearbook around a certain attitude and tell a story about that attitude. Many schools choose mascot- or spirit-related themes that tie in with school colors or anniversaries. Whatever you decide, make sure your team can support the theme.

Survival Tip #2:

The best way to plan a theme is to develop one as a team with your staff. A great resource for catch phrases is NTC’s AMERICAN IDIOMS DICTIONARY, available online or from a local bookstore. This publication has thousands of everyday expressions. If an idiom book is not available, consider using a thesaurus.

Listed below are just a few theme ideas to consider. Take a moment to review some of these ideas for your theme, or develop your own theme. Make sure to introduce it on your cover, endsheets, title pages, division pages, and sections of the yearbook. There is no wrong theme; but a theme might be underdeveloped and difficult to understand. To avoid this, as you select your theme, make sure to brainstorm ideas with everyone on the staff.

Yearbook Theme Ideas

A Day in the Life A Flash from the Past A New Awakening A New Point of View A Season of Change A Step Above the Rest A Touch of Class Any Way You Slice It Attention to Detail Between the Lines Breaking Thru Built to Last Capture the Magic Catch the Moments Caught in the Act Check Us Out Check It Out Color me ___________ Come Learn With Us Days of Our Lives Deep in the Heart of… Destined to Be… Distinct Impressions Every Step of the Way Eye On… Face The Facts Find Your Place First Class For Members Only Forever Young From This Moment On From Start to Finish Get the Picture Going In Style Going Places Gotta Have It Great Moments in…

Had to Be There In Quest Of__________ In the Making Inside And Out Into Something New It All Adds Up It All Begins With You It Goes Without Saying It’s A Small World It’s About Time It’s All in Your Mind It’s Anyone’s Guess It’s Our Time It’s Your Choice Just Passing Through Just for the Fun Of It Just Had to Be There Laying It on the Line Let’s Face It Lights, Camera, Action Listen Up Living the Dream Look at The Best Make Your Mark Making the Pieces Fit Moving On Out Never Had It So Good Never Say Never New Beginnings Nobody Does It Better

On Our Own On the Edge One and Only One Size Fits All Once in a Lifetime One Last Look Only The Finest Our Time to Shine Pardon Our Dust Picture This Piece By Piece Pieces of the Puzzle Reach for the Stars Remember This Right On Target Road to Success Say It With Style Seeing is Believing Seize the Day Signs of the Times Simply the Best Still the One Sum It Up Take Another Look Take a Closer Look Take It from the Top The Best of Times The Show Must Go On The Spirit Of… The Times of Our Lives The Year to Remember This Is Our Time Too Hot to Handle Turning the Page Under Construction Unforgettable Unleashed We’ve Got It All What’s Next? Year of the __________ You Had to Be There

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15 Great Yearbook Theme Ideas You’ll Want to Steal

It’s time to add some fun and life into your school yearbook!

Remember Me helps you create lasting memories for your students with high-quality printing, low prices, fast turnarounds, and no minimum order. Get  this special offer for 15% off your yearbook order!

If you’ve decided to take part in the crazy, stressful, really rewarding but really time-consuming world of building a school yearbook, congratulations —you must be very brave. Here are some of the coolest yearbook themes we’ve seen around the internet to give you some inspiration!

1. Superheroes are Always a Good Idea

This style capitalizes on the current trend of comic books being made into blockbuster movies. From Wonder Woman to Iron Man, every student in your school can find a hero of their own.

Source: Remember Me Yearbooks

2. Quotes Galore

Whether you get quotes from the student body or just create inspirational messages for the students as a yearbook team, this theme is very popular right now. Giving your student body the chance to add something personal to the yearbook is a way to make it more meaningful and important to every student.

3. Emojis Everywhere

Our students are communicating with emojis more than ever, so why not create a yearbook theme that they’ll readily identify with? The possibilities of fun pages, great action shots with hysterical captions, and using real and invented emojis are endless!

4. A Love of Literature

Got a novel or poem that every student in school has to read? Look to it for inspiration! Students will love a “stay gold” or “to thine own self be true” theme that relates to them and reminds them of a little bit of the work they did in school.

Source: ByScatterbrain

5. Gamify It

Nostalgia and yearbooks go together like bacon and eggs. Peanut butter and jelly. Study hall and sleep! Play off of your students’ fond memories of game nights and slumber parties with a yearbook homage to the board games they grew up playing. We found inspiration from this classroom door, but we know you can use this great idea for a yearbook theme, too!

Source: Karen Wagner

6. Star Light, Star Bright

It’s a classic for a reason—you really can’t go wrong comparing your students to stars. They’re bright. They’re beautiful. And a yearbook is often the one place where every student gets a moment or two to shine.

7. Watercolor Magic

Watercolor art is big right now. It’s popping up on clothing, in art projects around school, and in decorations on school walls. So it’s only logical to consider it for a yearbook theme. The colors are beautiful and versatile. The theme can be mature or whimsical. And, perhaps best of all, it’s a theme that looks fabulous without a lot of fuss. This is perfect for the yearbook editor who needs to pull together a cohesive draft in a hurry!

8. Let Your School Inspire

Have amazing artists in your building? Consider your school’s murals and student art work as a possible theme throughout the book. You can read this school’s story for some added inspiration. Have students submit their own proposals for art for the cover of your school’s yearbook and let it truly be something they created.

Source: Upworthy

9. Confetti and Kindness

Confetti is another easy but versatile design idea, and kindness is a wonderful theme. (Yes, we’re throwing in two ideas here.) Think about how much fun your students can have incorporating these two ideas together throughout the yearbook. Confetti makes a fun design idea, and kindness will inspire lots of relevant quotes to include throughout the yearbook.

Source: acupcakefortheteacher

10. A Fairy-tale Ending

Feel like doing something a bit “outside the box”? A fairy-tale yearbook theme might be worth looking into. Fairy-tale themed proms have been popular recently, so why not capitalize on your students’ love for classic stories of good overcoming evil and heroes and heroines risking it all for what is right? We all know yearbooks tell a story—but this theme will help you take that to a new level.

11. Classic and Cool

If you feel your school wants a more traditional feeling yearbook, have no fear. There are lots of beautiful options that keep it classic but modern.

12. Inspiration from Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss has always been a source of great wisdom. For this theme, we suggest featuring Dr. Seuss quotes and ideas inspired by him. Combined with a colorful, whimsical design, it’s sure to be a hit. (Remember, you can’t use his art because it’s copyrighted, but you can still use quotes, designs influenced by him, and Dr. Seuss-like color schemes!) Here are some of our favorite Dr. Seuss quotes to help get you started.

Source: Pure Ella

13. A Nod to Social Media

There’s no denying that social media apps have played a large part in many of our students’ day-to-day lives. Choosing a yearbook theme that acknowledges this will poke friendly fun at the apps that they’ve spent so much time on, while reminding them even if they’ve Snapchatted a lot of photos, the ones in the yearbook are the ones that will last.

Source: Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)

14. Celebrating Future Travels

Travel and journeys are common yearbook themes — and for good reason. The class that is graduating (and the underclassmen as well) have been on a journey together. They’ve grown up, learned and explored, and are now facing the next chapter of their lives. Celebrate this experience with a yearbook theme using quotes and designs that remind them of how far they’ve gone already and all the exciting adventures still to come.

15. Fun with Animals

There’s a reason animal photos and videos dominate social media: Students love them! You can find so many great (and funny) animal photos out there on stock sites. Or have your students gather photos for the school! You don’t have to give the animals center stage, but using a photo here and there or along the bottoms of pages can really make for a fun, engaging yearbook experience.

Remember Me offers an impressive set of tools to make your yearbook process seamless.  Browse their themes and find out how they can help you.  

 Also, download the “making memories” poster from Remember Me. Hang it in your classroom to encourage memories.  Learn more here.

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Creative Memories Blog

We Make Scrapbooking Fun!

Head Out On Adventures with this Road Trip Scrapbook Layout

Who doesn’t love a good road trip? Sometimes, the journey of a trip is half the fun to your desired destination — especially if you’re on the road with loved ones! If you have road trip memories you want to bring to life, then you need the new Automobiles collection. Take a peek at how it looks on this road trip scrapbook layout!

To create this layout, you will need:

• Automobiles Paper Pack or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia )
• Automobiles Stickers or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia )
• Automobiles Laser Cut Embellishment Accents or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia )
• 12-inch Trimmer or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
• Tape Runner or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia )
• Repositionable Tape Runner or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia)
• Foam Squares or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia )
• Black Dual Tip Pen or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia )
• Photo Labeling Pencil or ( Shop Canada | Shop Australia )

Step 1: Use the cream patterned paper as the base for this layout.

Step 2: On the blue patterned paper, measure up from the right side 6”.  Draw a pencil mark.

Step 3: On the blue patterned paper, measure up from the left side 3”.  Draw a pencil mark.

Step 4: Use your trimmer to cut from marking to marking (at an angle). Adhere blue piece to the bottom part of the layout.

Step 5: Use the border sticker to adhere along the top edge of the blue paper.  Cut a portion from the second border sticker, trimming any excess with a scissors.

Step 6: Cut two pieces from the gray/grey paper to measure 12” x 3/4”.  Adhere these pieces to the bottom edge of the sticker borders at an angle.  Trim away any excess paper.

Step 7: Cut three pieces from the brown paper to measure 3-1/4” x 4-1/4”.  Adhere along the angle.

Step 8: Cut three photos to measure 3” x 4”.  Adhere to the brown mats.

Step 9: Cut a piece of light blue paper to measure 12” x 3/4”.  Adhere along the top edge of the layout.

Step 10: Adhere any other stickers/embellishments, using Foam Squares on some for added dimension.

Step 11: Journal as desired.

What do you like most about this road trip scrapbook layout and the Automobiles collection? Tell us, we want to know!

Love this post? Share it!

9 thoughts on “ head out on adventures with this road trip scrapbook layout ”.

OMG stop with all this gorgeousness! I am doing the mad save – I want it all! The punches, the papers, the stickers!!!!!!! BEST THEME EVER!

Loving this layout, Melissa! Can’t wait for my order to arrive!

Love this entire Layout! <3 Definitely need to add to the wishlist for my next order! So perfect for our 2018 Roadtrip from WI to UT!!

Wow is this ever cute!!! Gotta get the set and start working on my next trip album!

Love, love this layout. Waiting for all my auto stuff to get here. Perfect for my Rt 66 trip with my daughter a couple of years ago.

Love this layout Melissa! My stuff arrives on Saturday. I cannot wait to create this one.

Love this. Hope to remember the angle idea with my next road trip page!

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Megan and Wendy

Your Best Friends on the Internet

Road Trip Journal and Activity Book – Free Printables!

Parenting , Printables , Travel

We may be staring down the end of summer and the start of the school year, but road trips are here to stay. Whether it’s a road trip to chase fall foliage, or a weekend getaway to reclaim some family time, the road trip has made a major comeback in the last year.

In order to make the journey as much fun as the destination, we’ve created a Road Trip Journal and Activity Book for you to print out and take along with you!

What’s included in the Road Trip Journal?

Inside the road trip activity book you’ll find the following pages

• A Road Trip Daily Journal – print as many of these pages as you have days in your trip! You can bind them together at the end of the trip for a fun memory to look back on.

• The License Plate Game – We played this as a family on our recent road trip and it kept even my teenager engaged! Play as a family, or give everyone their own page and make it a friendly competition to see who can find them all first!

• A Road Trip Scavenger Hunt – Feel free to add your own items to the list!

• Road Trip Coloring Pages

• Squiggle Game Printable

• My Favorite Memory – Kids can draw a picture of their favorite part of the trip

• A Road Trip Map – List each of the stops of your road trip – you can do this ahead of time so kids know where they’re going each day, or have kids fill it out each morning!

• My Traveling Companions – Draw a picture or take a photo and write a little bit about each person on your trip

Download and Print the Road Trip Activity Book!

Don’t miss our tips and tricks for making the most out of your next road trip!

More Printable Fun!

• Road Trip Word Search
• Beach Word Search
• Summer Word Search

We’re Your New Best Friends

Hi, we’re Megan and Wendy! Join us every Wednesday for “Approved with Megan and Wendy” – the podcast where we ask each other every week what we’re currently using and loving. Don’t waste any more time or money on products that don’t live up to their promises.

You can also find us on “Girls Gone Hallmark” on Tuesdays and Thursdays where we review new and fan-favorite Hallmark movies and ask the question: Did you see that?

Long Story Short with Megan and Wendy continues on Patreon! New episodes, four times a month, where we cover everyday life, pop culture, and more!

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51 RV Road Trip Theme Ideas for Your Next Adventure

Creating a theme for your road trip elevates the fun real rvers share their road trip theme ideas to help you plan your next memorable adventure….

• 1 Creating a theme for your road trip elevates the fun! Real RVers share their road trip theme ideas to help you plan your next memorable adventure…
• 2 Road Trip Theme Ideas By Category
• 3 1. Historical Themes
• 4 2. Natural and Outdoor Themes
• 5 3. Quirky Attractions Themes
• 6 4. As-Seen-On-TV Themes
• 7 5. Art & Cultural Themes
• 8 6. Architectural Landmarks
• 9 7. Collecting and Hobby-Related Themes
• 10 8. Checklist Themes
• 11 9. Sports and Recreation Themes
• 12 10. Unique and Miscellaneous Themes
• 13 We're OVER 11,500 members in our NEW Community!

If you've ever thought road trips were just about long drives and random stops, think again! The open road offers an incredible canvas for themed adventures that cater to every imaginable interest.

Whether you're a foodie on the hunt for the best diners, a history buff tracing historical trails, or simply someone looking for the road less traveled, themed road trips are your ticket to a more personalized adventure.

The following themes represent the wide variety of interests and inspirations of REAL RVers, showing how diverse themes can cater to different passions, hobbies, and curiosities. We also include related links to help you start planning.

Road Trip Theme Ideas By Category

In our RV Lifestyle Community and Facebook group, a Top Contributor asked:

“ Have you ever planned a themed road trip, like dinosaurs, cemeteries, DDD restaurants? I’d love to hear your ideas! “

Our community responded with hundreds of comments, sharing themes they've done in the past and themes they hope to do in the future. We categorized their responses under the following themes and share some of their specific suggestions.

1. Historical Themes

It's no surprise that historical and cultural attractions were mentioned often, but there were some uniquely specific ideas. Here are a few that stood out:

• Ghost towns
• Presidential libraries
• Civil War and Revolutionary War battlefields
• Pioneer trails, like Lewis & Clark and the Oregon Trail
• U.S. Route 66 historical road trip

2. Natural and Outdoor Themes

Many RVers chose themes based on natural features and outdoor activities. This is a great way to dig deeper than just planning to “go to the mountains” or “go to this region.”

• Hot springs
• Most beautiful hikes
• Fishing locations
• Dark Sky stargazing
• Caves and caverns

3. Quirky Attractions Themes

This theme is all about the strange factor. The kind that makes you say, “ Why in the world…?!” It really is amazing… and dumbfounding… what some people will invest their time and money to build.

This theme can also include unusual local myths, monsters, and lore.

• Cheesy tourist traps (e.g., Corn Palace, Cabazon Dinosaurs)
• World's biggest attractions
• Alleged alien sighting and abduction locations
• Monsters & Myths locations

4. As-Seen-On-TV Themes

It's one thing to see something on TV. It's another thing to see it in person! Many of these suggestions were more about tasting than seeing, though, based on restaurants featured on popular TV shows.

But, many also included HGTV or DIY Network shows, as well as famous movie filming locations.

• Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (DDD) restaurants
• Restaurants from “Somebody Feed Phil”
• Irish Pubs, casinos, and bar/restaurants featured in “Bar Rescue”
• Towns of HGTV shows (i.e. Fixer Upper, Home Town, Fixer to Fabulous)
• Movie filming locations

5. Art & Cultural Themes

When it comes to art and cultural themes, there are SO many you can run with. Each of the following can be niched down further, like ‘miniature museums' or ‘blues festivals.'

So, you can first narrow down your theme to a type of art or cultural thing you're interested in. Then, narrow it down even further. We've included links to a few niched-down options)

• Zoos and aquariums (i.e., California Animal Tour )
• Quirky sculptures (i.e., Troll hunting for Thomas Dambo Troll
• Music festivals
• RV shows and Meet Ups
• Botanical gardens (i.e., 10 Beautiful & Unique Gardens in the U.S. )

6. Architectural Landmarks

Architectural landmarks is a great regional theme! Many areas around the country are known for certain architecture, like covered bridges and lighthouses.

Furthermore, there is certain types of buildings you can see pretty much everywhere you go, but are built in a completely unique way. These include buildings like churches, cathedrals, and courthouses.

• Lighthouses
• Covered bridges
• Churches and cathedrals
• Courthouses
• State capital buildings
• Cemeteries and old graveyards

7. Collecting and Hobby-Related Themes

Why not turn your hobby into a road trip theme? Whatever it is, we're sure you can find related destinations and attractions.

Or, you can consider trying unique camping hobbies !

• Pressed Pennies collecting
• Trains and train-themed trips
• Letterboxing
• Comic book stores and conventions

8. Checklist Themes

RVers love bucket list checklists! Every road trip can be designed to check more items off your list, whether it's hitting every presidential library or Waffle House in the country!

You can also narrow down these checklist themes to different states or regions.

• Earning Junior Ranger badges at every National Park
• All 50 state capitals
• All [fill in the blank] in a given state (i.e. all wildlife sanctuaries in Oklahoma)
• All [fill in the blank] in a county (i.e. all bakeries in Orange County)

9. Sports and Recreation Themes

A lot of people like sports and adventure… but don't necessarily like hiking. You can turn their active energy and passion for sports into a themed road trip.

For starters, you'd be surprised at how many amusement parks there are in America ( about 475 !) So, those alone can keep you busy! But here are some more great RV travel theme ideas…

• Major League Baseball parks
• Hall of Fame Museums
• Mountain coasters
• Amusement parks

10. Unique and Miscellaneous Themes

We had to include a miscellaneous theme because there are no limits to what you can come up with. Sometimes the most random, nonsensical theme will make the most interesting road trip!

• Haunted locations
• Towns with the same name (i.e., Springfield, Riverside, etc.)
• Towns with weird names (i.e., Embarrass, Cut and Shoot, Hell, etc.)
• Town names based on theme (i.e. towns with animal names)

And there you have it, folks! A whirlwind tour through the diverse, exciting world of themed road trips. Whether you're drawn to the call of the wild, the allure of historical sites, or the irresistible charm of quirky roadside attractions, there's no shortage of themes to make your next journey unforgettable.

So, what are you waiting for? Pick a theme that speaks to you, map out your adventure, and hit the road. 

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Published on 2024-04-04

Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy-award-winning Journalist, Podcaster, YouTuber, and Blogger, who has traveled with his wife, Jennifer, all over North America in an RV, sharing adventures and reviewing RV, Camping, Outdoor, Travel and Tech Gear for the past 12 years. They are leading industry experts in RV living and have written 18 travel books.

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Posted on Published: March 12, 2022  - Last updated: February 2, 2024

Road trip themes are a good way to plan a vacation you won’t ever forget. You can always just hop in the car and see what happens. You might start driving and see a million beautiful sights or end up somewhere you never want to leave. Or you might start a road trip with a goal, a theme, an idea of the types of experiences you want. These road trip themes and ideas are perfect for hitting the road and having incredible experiences.

Planning a road trip with a theme is a great way to drive your itinerary and ensure you’re seeking out unusual opportunities. I find that when we travel with a theme it helps us enjoy trips more because we have built in conversations comparing the experience we’ve had along the way. And education? Yes! Themed trips with kids are amazing learning tools.

As you read on, remember that any of these themes can be morphed to fit your road trip crew. Don’t pigeonhole your travels into a narrow path, but use road trip themes to enrich the travel opportunities you take.

Ideas for Solo Travel Road Trip Themes

I’ve always loved solo road trips. I love my family and the adventures we have together, but man oh man, there’s nothing quite like the freedom of the open road and nobody else to worry about. 

Epic Photo Journey

I love the idea of hitting the road with just my camera and a basic plan. Doing an Epic Photo Journey road trip can happen nearly anywhere. On the West Coast (USA), heading across the mountains to the desert landscapes full of buttes and canyons is a surefire way to capture unbelievable contrast in your photography. The sunrises leave you speechless and the sunsets are full of color from the dust in the air.

If you’re more of a mountain goer, there are many routes across the Rockies , Cascades and Sierras that will wow you.  The joy of doing a solo road trip up in the mountains is that you can push your limits and venture onto ridgeline gravel roads and jackknife highways that you may not feel comfortable doing with others.

Are you a weather chaser? If you’re planning a solo road trip in the right season, you may have the opportunity to set up your camera and just wait for storms to roll by. Having the freedom of only your own schedule to worry about gives you the chance to sit, enjoy the earth and photograph whatever inspires you.

Destination Suggestions :  Eastern Washington to the Columbia Gorge , Central Oregon , the Eastern side of the Sierras (CA) , Beartooth Highway (MT) , Tornado Alley (OK, NE, KS), Florida Birding Trail

Hikes Nobody Else Will Do

Am I the only one that likes hikes that start with a ridiculous climb and have zero people along the trail? Or to put a kayak into the water and not have a scheduled return time? Solo road trips, whether for a day or a week, are my chance to do those hikes and paddles.

Make special hikes your theme for a road trip. You’ll need to plan and prep differently for a hiking themed trip over a beach itinerary, and you may need to get yourself in better shape before you do it, but it’s well worth the consideration. Places like Gatlinburg, TN and Denver, CO are great for adding awesome hikes to other planned road trip activities.

Destination Suggestions :  North Cascades (WA), Joshua Tree NP (CA) , Voyageurs NP for Kayaking (MN), the Appalachian Trail (GA, TN, NC, NH) , Everglades NP (FL)

Historic Routes Road Trip Themes

Why are historic routes included in Solo Road Trips? Have you intentionally done an historic route with a significant other? Unless you’re both big history buffs or have the same level of patience, planning a road trip to follow an historic route can be a challenge. 

Of course, today there are lots more sights and activities along well known historic routes, but if you’re sticking to a theme and making all the stops and each historic marker or museum, it can wear on a person.

Having said that, pick an historic route and have a blast nerding out! I really love road trips through mining country . They provide beautiful scenery, lots of museums typically, rock hounding, and plenty of unique tours. The mountains of Georgia and Idaho are two really interesting, often overlooked road trip destinations.

Another historic theme is pioneer trails. While pioneer trails are mostly located in the west, they had to come from somewhere! The Oregon (MO -> OR) , Applegate (NV -> OR) , Mormon (IL -> UT) , and Pony Express trails cover diverse territory and offer different perspectives of history.

More Route Suggestions :  Civil Rights Trail (DC -> AL), Route 30 (OR), Route 66 (IL -> CA), Votes For Women Trail (NY)

Finding ALL the Food Trucks

One of the greatest developments of the 21st century is the popularity of the food truck, and street food is a great road trip idea. They’re mobile, they embody unique cuisines, and they’re all over! Even our neighborhood here in Saint Augustine, Florida has its own food truck culture. Just our neighborhood. And it’s then part of a bigger food truck culture in the city, which in turn is also found to the north in Jacksonville and to the South in Daytona .

Florida doesn’t hold a monopoly on food truck towns. Texas, Washington , California , and Indiana are food truck paradise as well. So, how do you turn this into a road trip plan? Easy peasy.

Here’s how you make a food truck themed road trip:

• Choose a region with a few good sized towns or cities
• Research “food trucks in _____ (city name)” for each major stop
• Build your route allowing you at least two meals in each food truck hub city
• Mix interesting sights and cultural spots into the plan
• Hit the road and eat…

Did you ever think traveling with the idea of trying lots of different food trucks would be something you’d want to do? It’s such a great way to experience local cultures and support small businesses while you travel. Even on our road trip around Oahu , the best places to eat were the food trucks !

Destination Suggestions :  Pacific Northwest , California beach communities , SE Texas Loop (Houston -> San Antonio -> Austin -> Dallas) , National Capital Region

Road Trips for Couples on the Road: rekindling fun together

I think back to before we had kids sometimes and get a sense of nostalgia. I remember how we would go camping at a moment’s notice or would drive through the night to get someplace extra early. I also think back to road trips I would NEVER take the kids on, either for safety or ridiculousness. These suggested themes are fun and offer plenty of quiet time together (and you could make them kid friendly if you wanted).

Lighthouses and Sleepy Towns

The USA and Canada have so many lighthouses that putting together a road trip plan for them is very easy. Did you know that some of the most beautiful lighthouses in North America are actually located on the Great Lakes? That’s right, you can do a lighthouse road trip starting in Milwaukee and circle Lake Michigan.

And with lighthouses often come sleeping nautical towns, sometimes still bustling, but often still set back in the days of small boat fishing. There’s nothing quite as romantic and strolling the streets of a town you swear is the set of a Hallmark movie.

Another reason lighthouse road trips make for great couple adventures is for the lodging. Where you find lighthouses you also find bed and breakfasts . The Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes and Northeast regions all have a remarkable number of B&Bs in their nautical towns. They are a wonderful romantic option, and often have just enough quirkiness that you’ll find yourself laughing together over stories of doilies at your grandmother’s house when you were a kid.   

Destination Suggestions :  San Juan Island Hopping (WA) , Oregon Coast Tip to Tip , Upper Peninsula (MI), Lake Erie Shore (OH, PA, NY), Nautical New England (ME, NH, MA)

Wine Country Exploration

I never met a wine country I didn’t love. Wine country road trips are wonderful for couples, both young and old, for a variety of reasons:

• Beautiful scenery
• Lots of outdoor activities
• Cute towns w/ unique accommodations
• Lots of wine

If you’re not into wine as a topic of interest or education, that’s okay. Visiting wineries is an opportunity to learn together and broaden your knowledge or palate. And if that doesn’t sound fun, then just know that there are amazing restaurants in nearly every wine region, so you can easily shift your road trip theme to become a culinary adventure.

PS:  you don’t have to travel to Napa, CA to do a wine country road trip. Did you know that wine grapes are grown in all 48 of the lower USA? And each province of Canada grows wine grapes too! And Mexico even has some wine regions. But if you did want to goes to Napa and Santa Rosa, there are some cool stops and awesome wine country glamping .

Suggested Destinations :  Yakima Valley / Tri Cities (WA) , Willamette Valley (OR), Ozark Highlands (MO), Loudon County / Northern Virginia (VA) , Upstate NY

Views that Inspire Romance

You’ve got a week on the road with your significant other. You can’t agree on a theme or what activities you both are interested in. But, you can agree that each day, you can find an Inspiration Point. You know, a place with a view so beautiful that you kind of just want to make out.

Okay, maybe that doesn’t sound ideal or sounds too much like “young love,” but it’s a great road trip theme! Planning a trip where you can end each day with a stunning view is easier than it sounds and it’s a great road trip theme. Where you’re hiking to a Mount Rainier vista or doing a jet boat through Hells Canyon , it’s an experience to share.

As you build your itinerary, make sure that each day includes an exceptional viewpoint. That could be a sunset hike (safety first, be prepared), starting your day watching the sun come up over a valley, lunch looking out over the ocean… There are many ways to enjoy beautiful views.

Besides making out, what’s the purpose in finding these views? I’m glad you asked. Enjoying a mutual view brings people together. Sure, there’s the moment everyone has to take a photo or something, but after that it’s just you two and the view. It’s a moment to be quiet and appreciate each other AND the adventure you’re on together.

Suggested Destinations :  Utah’s Canyon Country , SW Texas Sunsets, Blue Ridge Parkway (VA -> TN) , Door County (WI) , Florida’s Gulf Coast

Movie Location Scavenger Hunt

The reason movie locations is a couples theme and not a family theme is simple: not enough kids care deeply about the movies of the 80s and 90s, which make for the best movie themed road trips. True, there are lots of movies kids enjoy and they very well might recognize locations, but this is a chance to, as a couple, lose yourselves in movie nostalgia.

The most obvious choice for doing a movie themed road trip is to head to Vancouver, BC aka Hollywood North. The whole area is basically a familiar movie set, from Jumaji to the Never-ending Story . Even the small towns surrounding Vancouver are frequent filming locations and have been for decades. Movie location road trip themes tend to take you to charming towns not too far from major cities.

The other obvious choice, and truly it’s a good one, is Las Vegas to Los Angeles. This road trip is fun with kids too. Even without researching filming sites the drive from the Las Vegas Strip to Hollywood Boulevard is full of iconic shots, and you don’t even have to wander far off course. And you can’t overlook road tripping through the South with all of its familiar sights.

Suggested Routes :  NYC -> DC , Exploring Chicago (IL) , SF Bay Area (CA) , Grimm / Hipster Portland (OR) , Hallmark Movies and The Walking Dead (GA)

Family Travel Road Trip Themes

My favorite thing about being a dad is getting to share travel with the kids. They love it, whether we’re flying or doing a road trip. We plan trips together and they get to help choose what adventures we have. Family road trips are so special, and truly are at the heart of countless childhood memories for so many. Family vacation destinations can range from nature to city breaks.

National Parks and Junior Rangers

Before I go any further, did you know that adults can complete Junior Ranger programs within National Parks ? And you even get to earn the badge! Now that you have that nugget of information, how excited are you to start planning a few National Park road trips ?!

While some National Parks have become extremely popular in recent years, there are still many that remain rather undiscovered. The most popular parks, like Yellowstone and Zion National Parks , are very well developed both outside the park and within the borders of the park. Parks like this are easy to add to a road trip plan because there are ample hotels to choose from, so camping is just an option versus being required.

Some other National Parks are more remote and aren’t built up the way older parks are. For example, Wrangle St Elias National Park in Alaska is NOT close to any major cities or major roadways, but the adventure of getting there is remarkable and then the nature is unmatched. Adding Wrangle St Elias to an Alaskan adventure ensures you see more of the state than Anchorage and the well developed corridor leading to Denali National Park.

Note :  there are many state parks and Bureau of Land Management sites that rival the views, hikes, and history of National Parks. When you’re planning your National Park road trip, DO NOT OVERLOOK THESE PLACES. 

As you start to research and plan, take into consideration the popularity of National Parks for family travel in terms of scheduling. When school lets out the crowds increase, as happens on weekends as well. It’ll still be fun, but not as calm and potentially less active wildlife.

Suggested Destinations :  Sierra NPs of California , Olympic NP Loop (WA) , Shenandoah NP (VA) , Colorado Parks

Amusement Parks for Miles

One easy way to make an amusement park vacation more budget friendly is to drive there instead of flying. With the cost per person to travel being so much less, you’ll have more to spend on park tickets and experiences.

There are more amusement parks than just Disney Parks , and they are quite easy to add to the same trip plan. Also, if you’re not on one of the coasts, there are some pretty epic theme parks in the Midwest and Texas ( Texas National Parks are cool too !).

These clusters can be added to the same trips if you’re looking for non-stop park fun:

• Southern California:  Disneyland and California Adventure , Universal Studios Hollywood, Knott’s Berry Farm , Six Flags Magic Mountain, Legoland California
• Florida Fun:  Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure , Walt Disney World (four parks) , Busch Gardens ( Tampa ), Legoland Florida
• East Coast Parks: Six Flags Great Adventure (NJ), Hershey Park (PA) , Cedar Point and King’s Island (OH), loop back to Busch Gardens Williamsburg (VA)

Everyone has a different goal with family vacations, so if amusement parks are your thing go fot it! To ensure that nobody gets burned out or suffers from roller coaster fatigue, be sure to mix in some relaxation or other sorts of nature or culture into the trip.

Digging into History

Like with the Historic Route road trip themes discussed in the Solo Travel section, digging into history with kids can be a mixed bag. Some kids get so into it and others could care less. We’ve discovered some key things to make historic travel family friendly.

When you’re planning an historic trip, look for opportunities to take part in living history or reenactments. This is a great way to generate interest and give context to the history everyone is learning about. Depending on the age of the kids, sometimes you can even be involved in different historic activities.

Another way to approach a trip through history is by looking through the lens of current or recent history. While there may not be designated trails to follow, you can make requests in advance to visit the National or State Capitol buildings and, in some cases, even get to watch history be made on the floor of the senate or house.

Every family is different and will have a different take on how to plan a history themed trip, and it very well may not be for everyone. In any case, a little bit of research goes a long way and making a learning experience from family vacation is always a good idea.

Suggested Destinations :  Virginia’s Historic Triangle , Washington DC , Civil Rights in Alabama , El Camino Real (CA) , Lewis and Clark Trail (MO -> OR)

Science and Dinosaurs

“Geology rocks!” That will forever be my favorite dad joke. And I use it everyday, even when we’re at home. North America has some really fascinating places to explore when it comes to geology. 

Yellowstone really does live up to the hype and yes, it really is a trip that you should plan with your family at some point. You’ve got 18 summers with kids, I’m sure that at least one of those could include a road trip to Wyoming . And Yellowstone National Park really is more than its incredible geology, and you can even plan to stay at the Old Faithful Inn RIGHT NEXT TO the geysers. The wildlife and seeing scientific methods at work with the reintroduction of wolves, being able to observe weather patterns in one afternoon, observing the water cycle through geysers… So much science, so little time!

Check out our complete guide to everything Yellowstone National Park here!

Another incredible place to observe science is Central Florida. Most people think of Florida and being nothing but beaches and theme parks. And while those are elements of the Sunshine State, the true gems are the fresh water springs . Florida has over 1000 freshwater springs. Some are located in city parks or state parks, while others are on private property with camping all around them. Their consistent water temperatures are home to thousands of manatees in the winter months , and kayakers and alligators in the summer months.

If you’ve not noticed, there are lots of road trip themes that venture through Upstate New York. There is science to behold up in the Fingerlakes region with more than 50 significant waterfalls. From Watkins Glen State Park to High Falls in the middle of the city of Rochester , you can visit several waterfalls each day, hiking or strolling, observing erosion and wildlife with every step.

For one more really cool, really fun idea, consider a dinosaur themed road trip. Believe it or not there are quite a few places around the USA with quite the concentration of fossils. Utah and Montana come to mind to witness active dig sites, but did you know that Ohio and Oregon are known for their fossil deposits too? Even Los Angeles has an incredible active dig site DIRECTLY IN THE CITY.

Suggested Destinations :  Central Montana , Eastern Oregon , Ohio and Indiana, Denver Area (CO)

Favorite Family Road Trip Theme Ever:  Epic Towering Trees

I can’t even count how many road trips we’ve done as a family, but I can tell you which was my favorite. We went with the theme of Epic Towering Trees in the Mountain National Parks . Living on the West Coast evergreens are all around. These include Douglas fir forests in Washington , pines in Oregon , and sequoias and redwoods in California .

We made the trek to Sequoia National Park in the late spring, expecting hot days and unforgettable hikes among the sequoias . What we experienced was an impromptu blizzard and unpassable trails. We waited it out though and got to enjoy the vibrant red sequoia trees against the fresh snow. In Kings Canyon National Park we had the same thing. Walking through fallen tree tunnels, tromping through slush while groves of trees, so epic that they all have names, towered above us.

We continued onto Yosemite National Park , which is well known for its sheer granite cliffs, but also for its own groves of sequoias. Visiting the trees and then seeking out our own quiet side of the park, in the Hetch Hetchy Valley , we enjoyed the best of both worlds: giant forests and raging waterfalls.

From there, we hit the coast. Just out of San Francisco we came to Muir Woods National Monument. Talk about epic trees! Wow, so epic it felt like we were on the forest moon of Endor. Wait, what? Yes, these forests were home to the Ewoks and were the filming location for Return of the Jedi . We mixed a  Star Wars movie theme into our tree theme. Genius, if I say so myself.

After some time exploring the Bay Area National Parks and trees, we continued up the coast , eventually landing in Redwoods National and State Parks . Too long in the mountains was wearing on us “coasties” so getting to the redwoods that basically grow from the beach up into the hills was refreshing.

Besides the incredible groves of trees and ample hiking opportunities, we found some picturesque small towns to explore. Bodega Bay , where they filmed The Birds , Eureka and its colorful Victorians and Fort Bragg with its beach culture made for an incredible finish to our trip. We got to visit lighthouses , eat our way up the California coast (FYI: mashed potato cones, instead of ice cream, with gravy are a thing).

We rounded out our Epic Towering Trees road trip with a stay in a log cabin chateau . At Oregon Caves National Monument , instead of having a National Park lodge like most other parks, it has a chateau built from roughly hewn logs. As if staying in the most rustic accommodations wasn’t enough, the Oregon Caves were right outside our door and were perfect for exploring with kids.

Can you see why this is my favorite family road trip we’ve ever done? Such a mix of sights and activities, and all of it on one itinerary. In retrospect, we could’ve broken this trip up into three separate adventures, but if you’re going to go epic, go really epic with the road trip.

Getting Kids Involved in Travel Planning

I actually get a lot of questions about having the kids help us plan our vacations and road trips. Yes, our boys (6 + 9 years old) have opinions and interests and it’s extremely important that we consider those when vacation planning (even when it means we’re taking beach trips all the tim e). The best road trips will no doubt have lots of points of interest, but some will be more exciting than others depending on your family. We’ve certainly had some great ones… and some duds.

Get my book  The Ultimate Travel Journal For Kids to add to the fun!

If you’ve got kids, you have an opportunity to show them that you value their opinions and interests by getting them involved with planning a trip. We like to use travel books or multi page atlases to have the kids to browse through. We’ve done this for a few years now where each kid picks a trip or some sights they think would be the most interesting to them. As we schedule future travel, we incorporate their requests and sometimes even let them pick the destination outright.

Of course, as an adult you have to keep in mind things like budgets and your life calendar, but empowering kids to share what drives them and inspires their minds will launch incredible, meaningful road trips they’ll remember long into adulthood.

If you have any questions or additional road trip theme suggestions, send us a note or leave a comment. We’re always looking for great new ways to plan trips for our family!

22 Best Road Trip Books To Spark Adventure

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Travel around the world with the best road trip books. These fiction and nonfiction books about road trips are sure to inspire your next adventure.

If you love jumping into the car, hopping on a road bike, and revving your motorcycle’s engine to see the world, this reading list is for you.

Drive or ride across the United States, Brazil, Iran, and Scotland on journeys of self-discovery. Meet unique and life-changing people.

Maybe you’ll find a new lease on life and answer some pressing questions. Or, maybe you’ll be left with even more reflections that are bigger than us.

Plus, uncover the best books about road trips with themes of finding love, reuniting families, and examining capitalism and corruption.

Many of these road trip novels will make you laugh aloud. Others will invoke nostalgia — Are we there yet?! — or make you hungry for the most mouthwatering croissant in town.

So, what are the best books about road trips to inspire and spark your own traveling adventure?

While ‘best’ is subjective, these are the top classic, LGBTQ+, fiction, memoirs, travelogues, and nonfiction road trip books that we and our contributing writers recommend.

We promise: these road trip books are sure to motivate and leave you craving the wide-open road, jaw-dropping mountain ranges, and laughs with best friends.

We’d love to know your favorite road trip book in the comments. Let’s get started!

Hitting the road soon? Don’t miss the best books to listen to while driving .

Grab the best road trip novels and memoirs here:

• Audible Plus : From Amazon, listen to Amazon Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks. They add new titles every week.
• Book of the Month : Get the month’s hottest new and upcoming titles from Book of the Month. You might snag an early release or debut author. Along with selecting a book a month, find terrific add-ons, both trendy and lesser-known titles.
• Amazon Prime Video – Stream thousands of ad-free movies and TV series on demand with Prime Video.
• Express VPN – Using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) allows you to view movies worldwide – and they help keep your information safe. Our writers couldn’t have such diverse film reviews without using a VPN.

Table of Contents

22 Best Road Trip Books

By Tori Curran with additions from Christine

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

What has since become an American classic and pillar of beatnik culture, On the Road was one of the first adventure books about road trips and searching for meaning on the open road.

In fact, it’s one of the most iconic books to come from the 1950s .

Inspired by Kerouac’s own cross-country road trips with Neal Cassidy, this classic chronicles the adventures of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, along with their free-spiritedness and naïveté.

Follow their quest for revelation from Manhattan, to Denver, Texas, Mexico, and beyond.

Set against the backdrop of drugs, jazz, and poetry, On the Road represents the American dream, home, and the quest for true freedom and experience.

On the Road is a great road trip novel for those wishing to read across America . Read On the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Dylan and Addie fell in love four years ago in Provence, where Dylan was staying with his friend Cherry and Addie was working as a caretaker. Though their relationship ended two years ago, they haven’t spoken.

On the day before Cherry’s wedding, Dylan and Addie’s paths literally crash. Dylan wrecks his car by slamming right into the back of Addie’s.

Along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy they met on Facebook who needed a ride to the wedding, they set off to Scotland in a mini cooper for the wedding.

O’Leary seamlessly marries the awkwardness of the ex-lovers forced to spend time together trope with deeper themes of depression, heartbreak, and forgiveness.

Alternating between Dylan and Addie’s perspectives, and the past and present, each will be forced to come to terms with the choices that ended their relationship, and if it is truly what they wanted.

A summer 2021 book release, if you are looking for newer road trip novels, O’Leary’s The Road Trip will deliver. Read The Road Trip : Amazon | Goodreads

Mariam Sharma Hits the Road by Sheba Karim

Follow three Pakistani-American teenagers, each with their own burdens, across the country on a healing and transformative road trip.

Mariam, who recently ghosted her boyfriend, and Umar, struggling with being queer and religious, concoct a plan to rescue Ghaz. She is being punished by her parents for appearing in a billboard underwear ad.

What better escape plan than a road trip down to New Orleans?

With other friendship-centered road trip books being full of humor and antics, Karim doesn’t shy away from handling issues like anti-Muslim rhetoric, confederate propaganda, racist and anti-gay commentary, and parental shame that many experience across the US.

In fact, the author reminds us all that, quite often, the family you create is just as important as the one you were given. Read Mariam Sharma Hits the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang

The Wangs vs. the World is a humorous and heartwarming riches to rags trope and one of the road trip novels perfect for fans of Crazy Rich Asians .

Successful immigrant businessman Charles Wang loses his entire cosmetics empire amidst a financial crisis.

Forced to pull two of his children from boarding school and college he can’t afford, they set off from Bel-Air in their only car not repossessed.

Along with their materialistic stepmother, the family heads for upstate New York where the eldest daughter lives on a farm retreat.

Chang ponders on what it means to belong in capitalist America, especially as an immigrant, and begs the question: is money really what makes us successful?

Travel from California to New York with these reading lists . Read The Wangs vs. the World : Amazon | Goodreads

Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West

Get ready for an upcoming contemporary YA road trip novel from popular teen author, Kasie West, set to publish at the end of May 2022 .

It’s been years since Norah has seen her childhood best friend Skyler. Their childhood friendship has since been reduced to liking one another’s social media posts.

Eager to reconnect with Skyler, Norah is excited about the RV trip the families have planned together. But when she sees Skyler, it seems like he’d rather be anywhere else.

What’s left of the friendship heads south.

A summer on the open road, however, marks the potential for new beginnings. Can their friendship blossom into something more, or should they close the chapter on one another forever? Read Places We’ve Never Been : Amazon | Goodreads

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

Departing from the other humorous and quirky road trip novels, Lost Children Archive is a visceral story of a family road trip that collides with the immigration crisis at the southwest border.

A mother, father, and their two children set out from New York, where they were working on a documentary project, to Apacheria, Arizona, where the Apaches once called home.

A palpable rift between the parents grows clear, while the family road trips to music, plays games, and hears news of migrant children being detained at the border over the radio.

Both crises eventually intersect in a story of justice, equality, and humanity. Read Lost Children Archive : Amazon | Goodreads

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer

Popular YA author Joan Bauer takes readers on an open road adventure, as we discover the rules of the road, and of life.

Jenna Boller is an awkward 16-year-old employee at Gladstone Shoe Store.

To Jenna’s surprise, she is enlisted by company president, Madeline Gladstone, to drive her across the country to stop Elden Gladstone from seizing his mother’s company.

While we expect Madeline to impart her life lessons on Jenna and on the reader, Jenna’s character, who openly begins to share about life with her alcoholic father, delivers her share of wisdom, as well.

Rules of the Road is one of the older award-winning and award-nominated road trip books on this reading list. Read Rules of the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon

For more best road trip books set abroad, head to Brazil in a heartfelt, coming-of-age queer love story.

Cora and Julia reunite after a falling out for a road trip through Brazil, but as the trip progresses, the rifts in their friendship become palpable again.

In what is hailed as one of the finest explorations of love, Bensimon beautifully illustrates identity, love, and how they are sometimes one and the same.

At the end of the road trip, the women must decide what their future together holds, or if it involves one another at all. Read We All Loved Cowboys : Amazon | Goodreads

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

A 1960s travelogue and one of the classic modern books about road trips, Travels with Charley shares Steinbeck’s own road trip across America with his dog, Charley.

Compelled to see the country he writes about one more time, Steinbeck sets out from Long Island and embarks on a 10,000-mile road trip across the Northeast, Northwest, and finally down to California and across Texas.

Steinbeck shares not only the beauty of our country and the peace along our highways but also about the American way – both good and bad.

From racial hostility to loneliness and the kindness of strangers, he discovers that while so much has changed in America over the years, much still has not. Read Travels with Charley : Amazon | Goodreads

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad

A New York Times Bestseller and one of the most poignant road trip books, Between Two Kingdoms highlights what it means to not just survive but to live.

After graduating college, Suleika Jaouad is living in Paris, on the brink of becoming a war correspondent.

A few weeks before her twenty-second birthday, though, she learns she has leukemia and only a one in three chance of surviving the diagnosis.

For four years, she undergoes chemo, transplants, and clinical trials, chronicling her fight from her hospital bed in a popular New York Times column, Life, Interrupted.

Walking out of the hospital, a survivor, Jaouad discovers she has no idea how to live and be part of the world again. How can she make up for lost time?

Along with her terrier mutt, Jaouad heads out on a 100-day transformative cross-country road trip to meet the strangers and fellow cancer patients who had written her in the hospital.

While she can never reclaim her old life, she learns quite a bit about what lies between the kingdoms of sick and well. Read Between Two Kingdoms : Amazon | Goodreads

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway by Heidi Eliason

At the age of 45, Heidi Eliason makes a complete 180, determined to do what so many of us only dream of – get off the hamster wheel, quit her 9-5 job, and live life on her own terms.

Feeling depressed, lost, and suffocated by a life without joy, she sells her home, buys an RV, and sets out on a quest for self-discovery.

Not without a few bumps in the road, Eliason learns how to maintain her new motorhome, meets a new community of people, and encounters magnificent wildlife and nature.

In freeing herself from the chains, she discovers true freedom. Honest and self-aware, Eliason’s memoir is one of the best, but lesser-known, road trip books for anyone considering an alternative lifestyle. Read Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway : Amazon | Goodreads

Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon

The true American experience lies in each of us, even those who get lost on the map.

With so many travel memoirs focusing on National Parks, cross country highways, and epic adventures to see a nation before it’s too late, Blue Highways takes a different approach.

William Least Heat-Moon, with a need to put his past behind him and a desire to discover the lost towns that fill the gaps on a map, heads down the nation’s backroads.

From Remote, Oregon, to New Freedom, Pennsylvania, and more, he discovers incredible people and their experiences along the way, giving new meaning to forgotten, blue-collar America. Read Blue Highways : Amazon | Goodreads

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

In September 1992, Christopher McCandless’s lifeless body was found in an abandoned bus along the Stampede Trail in Alaska.

A few months prior, he had sold his belongings, shed his legal name, and hitchhiked his way into the Alaskan wilderness as “Alexander Supertramp.”

A few years later, Krakauer recounts McCandless’s steps, recalling his own experiences in the wilderness and those of others lost in the wild.

Sharing parts of McCandless’s own journal, Krakauer presents the heartbreaking true story of someone who simply wanted to discover enlightenment and self-solitude in nature.

While some controversy surrounds not only the book, and whether it’s entirely true, but the cause of death, Into the Wild still serves as one of the best road trip books of all time.

We can all appreciate McCandless’s desire to lead a life of appreciation, rather than materialism.

If you enjoy hiking books , Into The Wild is also for you – and you may wish to watch the movie .

Explore even more essential books from the 90s . Read Into the Wild : Amazon | Goodreads

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson

Popular and humorous author of A Walk in the Woods , Bryson first took his adventures to the road.

Wishing to reclaim his youth, Bill Bryson leaves his hometown and sets out on an adventure across 38 states. While some places he adores, some he simply tolerates.

He discovers a nation cloaked in greed, riddled with pollution, and lost in its television sets.

With the humor and wit we’ve grown to love and expect from Bryson, discover a cynical portrayal of small-town America. Bryson is nothing if not honest. Read The Lost Continent : Amazon | Goodreads

American Nomads by Richard Grant

One of the most fascinating books about road trips in America, American Nomads infuses the fifteen years author Richard Grant spent traveling across the US with a history of the nomadic life in America.

Grant, intrigued by what lies beyond the horizon, spent more than a decade traversing the United States, never spending more than three weeks in one place.

He meets truckers, nomads, retirees living in their RVs, cowboys, and others, infusing his travelogue with their comedic and very real stories of life on the open road.

In contrast to the typical American dream, he chronicles the history of the “wanderer” from frontiersmen to the tradesmen of newly discovered America.

Beautifully narrated, Grant reminds us all that there is freedom in exploration. Read American Nomads : Amazon | Goodreads

If You Could Ask Everyone You Met Just One Question by Ty Sassaman

If you could ask everyone you met just one question, what question would you ask?

Ty Sassaman sets out across America asking that very question to strangers he meets along the way, hoping for a revelation about his own life.

From east coast to west coast, readers follow Sassaman’s cross country road trip and the wisdom he picks up from Americans along the way.

While his memoir is very much personal, it is clear that Sassaman is invested in the experiences, fears, and joys of everyone he meets.

The answers, from celebrities to strangers, will leave us all a bit more enlightened.

If You Could Ask Everyone … is one of these rare books about road trips that raises more questions than answers. Read If You Could Ask Everyone You Met Just One Question : Amazon | Goodreads

One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake

If you’re looking for more unique and alternative road trip books, One More Croissant for the Road will take you across France, via bicycle, in search of the country’s best culinary delicacies.

Cloake cycles 3,500 kilometers across France, trying various classic dishes – from bourguignon to quiche Lorraine – and, of course, looking for the best croissant.

As a self-proclaimed foodie and professional food writer, her quirky and alternative cross-country trip will make you feel nothing if not hungry!

Anyone looking for a good laugh and that feel-good je ne sais quoi of a trip of a lifetime will adore Cloake’s journey across France. Explore even more books set in France . Read One More Croissant for the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

Don’t Make Me Pull Over by Richard Ratay

Have you even taken a family road trip if you didn’t hear yourself utter the dreaded words, “Don’t make me pull over? “This family travel writer has certainly heard the words fly out a couple of times.

Don’t Make Me Pull Over walks readers through the history of the dreaded but lovable family road trip.

From seatbelt-less cars to roadside attractions and paper maps, Ratay and readers relive the nostalgia of the family road trip.

Amidst cheap air travel and distracting technological gadgets, Ratay reminds us that convenience isn’t always what makes the best family memories – and a family road trip might just be what you need to reconnect.

For parents, this might be one of the most relatable books about road trips on this reading list. Read Don’t Make Me Pull Over : Amazon | Goodreads

The Art of Free Travel by Patrick Jones and Meg Ulman

If you’re looking for more road trip books set outside of North America, travel across Australia on a 6,000-kilometer cycling journey with the authors, two kids, and their Jack Russel Terrier.

Craving adventure, the happy Victoria-based family decides to embark on an epic road trip across their country’s east coast.

In keeping with their already established lifestyle, their main goal is simple: road trip sustainably.

Cycling, foraging, and bartering their way through Australia, Jones and Ulman poetically document how their desire to live a life consuming less, influences their travels.

Anyone intrigued by road trips and nomadic life for sustainability purposes will enjoy their unique angle. Explore more books set in and about Australia . Read The Art of Free Travel : Amazon | Goodreads

Going the Wrong Way by Chris Donaldson

Going the Wrong Way is the autobiographical story of a young man who flees Belfast in the 1970s on his motorcycle.

Hoping to make it to Australia, he documents the places, unique cultures, and landscapes he experiences along the way. 

Donaldson, however, doesn’t escape trouble entirely. He finds himself in very dangerous parts of the Middle East and Africa, gets extremely sick, and often finds himself mentally exhausted.

Still, he presses on, often due to the kindness of strangers, many of whom are living in poverty themselves.

Donaldson’s epic, and almost impossible, road trip will leave anyone accustomed to traveling with some sort of convenience, direction, and safety in awe.

For road trip books for young and new adults, Going the Wrong Way is engaging and humorous. Read Going the Wrong Way : Amazon | Goodreads

Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce

While many of the best books about road trips boast of self-discovery, Revolutionary Ride beautifully shares a different discovery: one of country and culture.

In 2011, at the height of the British-Iranian conflict, travel writer Lois Pryce discovers a note left outside the Iranian embassy in London.  … I wish that you will visit Iran so you will see for yourself about my country.

Against the judgment of others, Pryce embarks on a 3,000-mile journey from Tabriz to Shiraz, meeting the people of Iran, from housewives to drug addicts.

Revolutionary Ride is an eye-opening journey into the heart of a country and misunderstood group of people who, despite extreme Islamic rule, live a life full of appreciation. Read Revolutionary Ride : Amazon | Goodreads

More road trip novels from Christine

Off the Map by Trish Doller

TWs for aging and parental death (not a spoiler)

One of the newer 2023 road trip books that made us cry , if you are looking for romance, Off the Map will not disappoint.

Plus, who can resist a jaunt around the Irish countryside with a hunky date? Just know that this can be read as a standalone in a series.

Carla Black is heading to her best friend’s wedding, meeting up with the best man to take her there. However, Eamon is not what she is expecting, and they immediately hit it off.

We watch as Carla falls for Eamon along their road trip detours – including a tipsy bull, off-roading, and even surfing – but has to unlearn a few of the arbitrary rules engrained in her mind from childhood.

Not to mention that her dad is suffering from dementia, and Eamon’s family has always put immense pressure on his success – and their definition of it.

Find a story of overcoming loss, standing up for yourself, and lots of steamy lovemaking along the way.

Trish Doller is becoming an “always read” author for us with her themes of travel, living an authentic and honest life, and relationships – romantic and family.

You’ll champion Carla’s direct and fiery spirit along with her lessons learned along the way.

Discover even more books featuring Ireland .

Read Off the Map : Amazon | Goodreads

Save These Road Trip Novels & Memoirs For Later

Grab your favorite road trip books here:

Thank you to TUL contributor, Tori Curran from Explore With Tori

Tori (pronouns: she/her) is a children’s librarian and mom to two boys living in New York. She’s an avid traveler, nature enthusiast, and writer, encouraging families to get outside and start exploring the world. When she’s not hiking or traveling, you can find her lost in a historical fiction book, watching Bravo reruns, or obsessively decluttering her home.

What are the best books about road trips in America and around the globe that you love?

What is your favorite road trip novel and memoir? Let us know in the comments.

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These books about road trips are a part of our 2022 Uncorked Reading Challenge .

Tori Curran

Tori, I just happened upon your post during a Google search. Thank you so much for recommending my book, Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway! I’m thrilled to be among such esteemed company. What a great website–I’m following!

We are so glad! Thanks, Heidi! ~ Christine

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