• Games make time move faster on a bus trip.Bus. Bus in parking area/ parking lot/ car park image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
  
  Whether a bus trip is long or short, it's inevitable that someone will ask, "Are we there yet?" In order to make the trip go a little faster and keep everyone's eyes off the time, have a few activities planned. You can call upon them when boredom starts setting in.
  
  

Bus Bingo

• By planning ahead a little, you can draw up bingo cards for everyone on the bus, incorporating sights to look for along the road. Use road signs, landmarks, types of vehicles, restaurants, hospitals or anything else you might pass along the way.
  
  

Bus Scavenger Hunt

• FamilyFun.com suggests you give kids a number of index cards before the trip and have them draw a picture or write down one thing on each card that they see along the way. They can go through their own stacks or swap with friends to see how many items they find.
  
  

Car Search

• Another idea from FamilyFun: Before the trip, write down the names of 12 different makes of automobiles (Ford, Toyota, etc.) and an equal number of colors. Put the papers in two separate bags. When you hit the road, draw one piece of paper from each bag and let riders try to find the car they created, such as a gold Honda or black Buick. To makes things a little harder, you can also draw to determine whether the vehicle should be a van, two-door, four-door or SUV.
  
  

Paper and Pencil

• Sometimes the simplest ideas work the best. Bring along some paper and pencils, and let everyone play tic-tac-toe or hangman.
  
  

Screen Time

• A long bus ride might be the time to relax rules about screen time and give kids a little bonus session with their electronics and hand-held games. DS games are a popular choice for car and bus rides. You might also consider a portable DVD player or a mobile phone with video streaming.
  
  

Sing-a-long

• Older kids and some adults may think it's corny, but a good old-fashioned sing-a-long can get everyone's mind off the road. If you don't want kids singing about 99 bottles of beer on a wall, substitute 99 bottles of milk. Make as many verses as you like to "Old McDonald," as long as you can keep thinking up animal sounds. Of course, for younger kids, don't forget "The Wheels on the Bus!" If you're stuck for song ideas, search for lyrics online or head to the library before the trip and pick up some songbooks.
  
  

Spot the Golden Arches

• Pick a restaurant, such as McDonald's, and see how many you pass along the way. If you're traveling any distance by interstate, the numbers will quickly add up.