10 Travel Tips for Family Road Trips
The Thanksgiving holidays are here and we’re off on another road trip adventure headed towards New Jersey and the Big Apple. We often travel over the Thanksgiving holiday as it’s always a guaranteed four day stretch of vacation; opposed to the randomness of the Christmas holiday. Besides, there is much less schlepping over Thanksgiving! This year our Thanksgiving travels are a little bit grander than usual but we’re excited to visit family in New Jersey and after our epic road trip to North Carolina we feel like this 12 hour drive should be a piece of cake.
Recently, I’ve been met with looks of horror when I tell people that we’re DRIVING to New Jersey for the holidays. “You’re driving, really?” “Have you done that with all three kids, before?” Why, yes actually we have! Sure, we may be a little bit like the Griswold’s out on a wacky adventure but right now, driving provides us with a little bit more flexibility and the opportunity to travel more frequently. Both huge wins in my book! We’re lucky that our kids are very decently behaved and comfortable in the car but the trips are not without their moments! I’m just hoping that the two youngest (as demonstrated in the photo above) can get along this trip.
I never got around to writing a round up about our summer road trip but I wanted to share my TAKE on what worked well for us in hopes that it’ll help your next road trip pass a little smoother.
Top 10 Tips for Traveling with Kids (Road Trips)
When driving split travel into multiple days (I find that we max out at 8.5 hours)
Attempt to stay in a hotel with a pool; always a draw for the kids and a nice treat at the end of a travel day
On your first day of travel make sure to pack sandwiches (or something substantial) for the road. This helps to ensure that kids especially are able to get something decent in their tummies. Helps for grown ups too!
Eating on the road can be tricky but if your schedule allows it make time for at least one sit down meal each day. So helpful for the little ones to have some time outside of their car seats.
Snacks. Bring loads of snacks. My best advice here is to load the front pouch of your child’s backpack with 4-5 snacks; i.e. applesauce, cashews, granola bar, pretzels etc… This way your child can grab snacks from their pack when they want them. Your arm and shoulder will thank you for this!
I wrote an entire post about how to entertain kids while on a road trip (here) but the best tip is to have a gift or surprise for every state that you drive through. Our kids love this and it helps keep them off their tablets. Playing a road trip “theme song” as you pass into each new state can also be really uplifting for the passengers and the driver.
So, it’s true some states are really long and for those states that you spend countless hours driving through I’d suggest packing a handful of other activities to pass the time. A map of the United States from (Mr. Printables) to color in as you spot the state liscense plates, Imagination Magnets and travel bingo are some of our favorites.
Packing and preparation takes a lot of time but is worth it. There’s an entire post about packing that I wrote (here) but let me just reiterate that packing cubes are where it’s at. They’re such a time saver when you get to your final destination.
If you plan stopping overnight while en route my best advice is to pack a separate “hotel bag” full of your tolietires, pajamas and a fresh change of clothes for the next day. This saves us so much time and it’s so nice to just grab the bag and go when we’re rolling into a hotel past bed time.
The most important thing is to have fun! The best part of driving is that you get to plan your own adventure and experience different parts of the country along the way. Don’t take yourselves too seriously and don’t have too high of expectations for the kids and I promise it will be fun. After all, the best part of life is the journey!
P.S. The kids each have a travel backpack that they are responsible for on the road. It helps to contain their possessions and house snacks. Hopefully, it teaches them a little bit about responsibility and organization too! Backpacks (L to R) Lucy: Herschel Supply Co. Heritage Youth Backpack; George: Herschel Supply Co. Heritage Youth Backpack and Maggie: BlaBla Panda Backpack (I don’t believe BlaBla makes these anymore but I’ve been saving this one for years and did a quick search on Amazon and found one ladybug available.)