It's Always Autumn

creative tutorials for everyday life

  • Holidays
  • Holidays
    • back to school
    • birthdays
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • July 4th
    • Mother’s Day/Father’s Day
    • teacher appreciation
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s
  • Crafts
  • Crafts
    • crafts + DIY
    • handmade gifts
    • photo crafts
    • kid crafts + activities
  • Recipes
  • Recipes
    • bread
    • dessert
    • main dish
    • side dish
  • Sewing
  • Sewing
    • free sewing patterns
    • sewing for women
    • sewing for kids
    • how to sew
    • gifts
  • Photography
  • Photography
    • beginning photography tips
    • posing tips
    • photo editing tips
  • Tips
  • Tips
    • parenting tips
    • travel tips
    • books I love
  • FAQ

crafts fun for kids kid crafts + activities tips travel tips
February 24, 2020

The BEST ideas, activities + hacks for road trips with kids

In today’s post: 37 hacks for road trips with kids! How to prepare, how to stay organized, and how to keep kids occupied, plus the best snack ideas and ways to encourage good behavior in the car.

Once again, it’s road trip season. Honestly, I used to think people who packed up a bunch of kids and drove for fifteen hours and called that fun were completely, certifiably insane. There are times when fifteen minutes in the car with kids who won’t stop bugging each other is almost more than I can handle. However, I’ve realized that with the right preparation, a road trip with kids can be rather less miserable than expected – maybe even fun. All sorts of smart people have posted their favorite tips for road trips with kids online, and I’ve sorted through to find the best ones (and thrown in a few of my own). From preparing the car and organizing your supplies to packing snacks and prepping activities, this post has you covered. You’ll find links to hundreds of ideas to make your road trip with kids a little less horrible and a lot more fun.

Best hacks for road trips for kids! Things to do, ways to stay organized, fun food, and more!

Road trip with kids: How to get prepared

1. Start your road trip preparation off right by making sure you have everything you need in case of emergency. This post at Simply Preparing gives great guidelines for collecting items for an emergency road trip kit.

20 best road trip with kids ideas and resources - everything you need to plan a successful trip in the car!

2. Here’s another car kit idea, this one from Simply Kierste:

Road trip car kit | Best ideas for road trips with kids

3. If you’re traveling with kids, one thing you definitely want to be prepared for is sickness. Cleaning up after someone’s been sick in the car is NOT FUN. Line a mini pop-up trash can like this one with a few grocery bags and stash it somewhere handy in the car. Hopefully you won’t need to use it, but if you do you’ll be so glad you have it!

A hand throwing trash into a pop up garbage can

Road trip with kids: How to stay organized

4. It’s hard enough fitting all your luggage in the car for a road trip, so when you add in things for kids to do (coloring books, iPads, toys, etc.) the stuff can get overwhelming. This is where seat back car organizer can really come in handy!

Here’s a seat back organizer that holds an iPad plus a water bottle, wipes, toys, books, crayons, and more:

Over the car seat organizer

And here’s one that folds out like a tray table giving kids a surface to draw on as well as keeping their things organized:

Seat back car organizer | Best ideas for road trips with kids

5. Or just buy an over the door shoe organizer like this one (from the dollar store!) and keep the things you or your child will be using the most in easy reach. Idea from Decor-ganize Crafts.

A shoe organizer on the back of a car seat with a sippy cup, wipes, sunblock, and diapers in it

6. Here’s an absolutely genius idea – build a simple bucket and pulley system using rope through the handles above the car windows – you’ll be able to get things back and forth to your kids without relying on their throwing and catching ability. Find more info at Kids Activities Blog.

A little girl sitting in a car seat reaching for a bucket that hangs in front of her

7. Pillows are a must on a long road trip, but full size pillows can take up too much room (and cause arguments when “his pillow keeps touching me!”). I made these travel pillows with carrying cases last year and the kids loved them – they’re just the right size for using in the car and the case has a velcro pocket perfect for books, crayons, or a kindle. Easy sewing tutorial and free pattern provided.

A small bag filled with a travel pillow hanging on a door now

8. I love this road trip idea: use shower caddies on the window to keep cups and toys handy! This idea plus 10 more road trip hacks at The Krazy Coupon Lady:

Use shower caddies to keep things organized in the car! | 37 best road trip with kids ideas

9. Organizing Junkie has great tips for corralling art supplies, DVD player, wipes, and snacks all in one place to cut clutter on a road trip. She also has some great printable picture packing lists the kids can use to get ready for the trip.

20 best road trip with kids ideas and resources - everything you need to plan a successful trip in the car!

Road trip with kids: How to keep kids occupied

This is the most important part, right? I’m totally ok with kids using electronics on road trips, but mine do tend to turn into monsters if they stay plugged in for 20 hours straight, so I try to make sure they take breaks and do other things as well. Here are some great non-electronic activities for road trips with kids:

10. Download some audiobooks! We love listening to audiobooks with kids on road trips: it helps everyone relax and quiet down. Check out my favorite audiobooks for kids, teens, and adults here.

Or play some fun games! This is a list of the best road trip games that don’t require any special supplies (plus they’re actually fun!).

11. Help kids keep track of where you are on the trip and countdown how much further you have to go with this road trip countdown from The Dating Divas:

Road trip countdown printable | Best ideas for road trips with kids

12. Another way to count down the hours is by prepping road trip goodie bags. Fill bags with small toys or fun things to do in the car, then let kids open one every hour or every hundred miles. Click through for 25 ideas for road trip goodie bags.

Brown lunch sacks with labels that say \"Do not open until\" on them and words: road trip good bags

13. Make a portable lego kit, like this one from Mama Papa Bubba, so kids can bring their favorite toys along in the car without making a mess:

Portable lego kit DIY | Best ideas for road trips with kids

14. Road trip bingo makes it much more fun to sit and look out the window for a while. Get the printables from That’s What Che Said:

Road trip bingo printables | Best ideas for road trips with kids

15. Keep kids from getting bored coloring with these alphabet pictionary printables from Laly Mom:

Printable alphabet coloring pages | Best ideas for road trips with kids

16. Play road trip games! Here are 10 games you can play together in the car, most of which don’t take any supplies (like the alphabet game).

17. This fantastic road trip post from Burlap and Denim has plenty of tips, including a printable packing list, but my favorite part is her take on the cookie sheet tray. Buy cheap cookie sheets at the dollar store to use as a lunch tray, magnet board, hard surface for coloring, or even a place to make friendship bracelets. The best part of this post is how she secured a cookie sheet to the booster seat arm rests so youngsters aren’t constantly dropping it during the ride.

1-Cookie-Sheet-Activity-Tray-514x717-custom

18. For more magnetic game ideas to use with a cookie sheet, check out this huge post from 123 Homeschool 4 Me. I especially love the idea of using family photos to make magnetic popsicle stick “puzzles”.

A family photo that\'s been cut up and glue onto popsicle sitcks to make a magnetic puzzle

19. Or make a chalkboard activity tray, like this one from I Heart Arts N Crafts:

DIY chalkboard activity tray | Best ideas for road trips with kids

20. Make your road trip time a bit more educational with this mini word building travel kit from I Heart Crafty Things:

DIY word building travel kit | Best ideas for road trips with kids

21. I just discovered the existence of this next item: washable window markers. Kids can color directly on the windows of the car! The markers wipe off easily with a wet paper towel or window wipe.

Crayola window markers package with photo of hand drawing a rainbow on a window

22. Creekside Learning has a really great idea for forestalling the constant “are we there yet?” questions during a road trip – laminate a map of your route and use dry erase markers to keep track of where you’re going and where you’ve been. You can keep kids updated on your location and they can cross off locations as you drive through.

1-road-trip-IMG_7093-768x1024

23. Download this road trip license plate map at Happiness is Homemade. Kids can color in the states when they see a car with that license plate!

Road trip license plate coloring map | Best ideas for road trips with kids

24. Here’s another variation of the license plate game, from Comic Con Family:

Mini license plate game DIY | Best ideas for road trips with kids

25. And I love this take along tic tac toe from Mama Papa Bubba:

Portable lego tic-tac-toe | Best activities for road trips with kids

26. Have fun talking to each other with these road trip story starters from Somewhat Simple:

Road trip story starter printables | Best activities for road trips with kids

27. Keep younger kids busy in the car with this DIY I-Spy bottle from Mommy Suite:

DIY I-Spy bottle | Best activities for road trips with kids

28. Here’s an idea for older kids – a road trip scavenger hunt for teen and tweens from Meander and Coast:

Printable road trip scavenger hunt | Best activities for kids on road trips

29. For even more car trip printables, visit The Crafty Working Mom. Print out your favorite activity pages, then slide them inside plastic page protectors to create a re-usable road trip activity binder (use dry erase markers).

Travel game printables like travel bingo and crosswords

30. Even more printable road trip games at The Joys of Boys:

Printable road trip games | Best activities for road trips with kids

 

 

Road trip with kids: Snack ideas

31. This post by Toni Spilsbury is actually about organizing snacks at home, but her “fridge snacks” example would be perfect for putting in the cooler for healthy road trip snacks. She also includes a price breakdown showing how much you can save by packing your own snacks instead of buying at the gas station or drive through.

snackorg10-650x975

32. Make a fun, munchable snack necklace like this one from And this is how the story goes:

A little boy that has a homemade cheerio necklace on

33. Kids are sure to love these tackle boxes turned mega snack packs, from Inner Child Crochet. I like the idea of giving one to each child and letting them control when and what they snack on, so I don’t have to rummage through the snack container every fifteen minutes to find someone more food. I’d be a little nervous about one getting tipped over, however, so I might look for a divided container that has separated lids so you can open just one compartment at a time (maybe in the jewelry making section).

A divided snack container box filled with different types of food for a road trip

34. Use straws for yogurt and applesauce – genius! I love this idea. We’ve done this plenty of times in the car, and even as a healthy snack at Disneyland. Cut straws in half so they’re not so long and tape one to the side of each snack in advance. (photo credit unknown)

Yogurt container and applesauce container with straws popped through the tops

35. For lots of healthy road trip snack ideas, visit this post from Wholefully.

Road trip with kids: How to promote good behavior

If there’s anything out there that will convince my kids not to poke each other while we’re on a road trip, I’m willing to give it a try!

36. Use these road trip clips to promote good behavior. If your clip is up, you know you’re doing well, but if it gets taken down…let’s just say you might not be getting a treat at the next rest stop. See how to make them at Just a Little Creativity:

Promote good behavior in the car with visor clips | Best ideas for road trips with kids

37. Or try rewarding good behavior in the car with printable car bucks from The Dating Divas. Click through and scroll to bottom of post to get the free download:

Reward good behavior in the car with car bucks | Best road trip with kids hacks

Good luck on your next road trip!

 

Over 35 of the best hacks for road trips with kids.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print

Home » crafts » kid crafts + activities » The BEST ideas, activities + hacks for road trips with kids


116 Comments

free email series

NO FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite EASY craft and recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

« One Basic Bread Dough + SIX VARIATIONS (rolls, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, etc)!
Easy tee shirt midi dress sewing tutorial »

Comments

  1. Julie @ Creekside LEarning says

    March 12, 2014 at 6:09 am

    What a great round-up! And, as I am about to drive 1200 miles in my mini van with my 3 kids, I TRULY, TRULY appreciate this post. Thank you for including our travel maps.

    Reply
  2. Lara says

    March 12, 2014 at 7:30 am

    We drove from Michigan to Florida last year with my then 7 yr old and 3 yr old. We borrowed the book traveling I-75 from the library, it gives you places to look that you normally wouldn’t see on the freeway. It also gave us adults go arounds and tips for where the police hide to where you might find backups. It was wonderful. We left at 3am so the kids slept at least until Kentucky, they got dressed we ate breakfast in the car. I had packed sandwiches for lunch and we ate them in Georgia at a roadside park, so the kids could get out and run.

    As kid my parents to long week to two week long road trips in the summer, so I had ideas to keep my kids busy that didn’t involve movies the entire trip. My kids were wonderful, leading us to want to do it again.

    Reply
  3. kathy says

    March 12, 2014 at 12:40 pm

    Wish you were planning a certain road trip for Spring break. Great ideas.

    Reply
  4. Emily says

    March 14, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    Thanks for this compilation, which I found via pinterest! I’m planning another cross-country trip to visit our grandparents, and these are some good new ideas. I’ve blogged about what has worked for us in the past here: http://www.everythingtosomeone.com/2013/07/10/road-trip-survival-tips/

    Reply
  5. Taunya Butler says

    March 16, 2014 at 11:29 am

    These ideas are all so cool!! I sure wish this info had been around when my kids were little. But now I can share them with my grandchildren for when they travel to come see us!! Great Ideas shared – Thank you so much!!

    Reply
  6. Jessica says

    March 21, 2014 at 6:40 am

    I’m driving fifteen hrs with my 4 kiddos (9,8,6&3) for spring break, while my hubby stays behind to work. I already raided dollar tree for flashcards, coloring books & crayons, snack containers, school work sheets (the fun ones), drink containers,puzzle/activity books, mechanical pencils (no sharpening needed) and so on and so forth! 🙂 I’m glad I found this post! Gives me a ton more ideas to keep them happy and me sane!

    Reply
    • autumn says

      March 24, 2014 at 4:10 pm

      Good luck on your drive – you’re brave!

      Reply
  7. Leanne says

    March 26, 2014 at 6:56 am

    We drive 1000 miles (one way) every summer to see my family. These are great ideas! We have used books on tapes, my kids (and my husband) like Hank the Cowdog, The Great Brain (a really good one for boys!), and Little House on the Prairie.

    Reply
    • autumn says

      March 27, 2014 at 6:35 pm

      We LOVE the Great Brain! I read them all as a kid and my older boys have been through the whole series. Little House is great too – I can’t believe kids don’t read it much anymore. Our city library only has one copy of the actual series – they have a whole bunch of shorter books based on the series instead. So lame! I’ve never seen Hank the Cowdog – I’ll have to check it out!

      Reply
      • Rachel says

        April 3, 2015 at 5:01 pm

        I second the suggestion to try Hank the Cowdog books (or audio books)! The Great Brain series is definitely one of our favorites as well. Most of the Beverly Cleary books (Ramona, Henry) are also available on audio book. A funny set for the younger kids is Mercy Watson. If you like the Little House on the Prairie books, you’d love the Ralph Moody series. It begins with the book Little Britches and there’s about 8 books in the series. They’re based on the life of the author and are a bit more action-packed than the Laura Ingalls series. They’re geared more toward boys but definitely keep the attention of girls and adults as well. Amazon has most of the audio books in that set, although they seem pricey. Our library does not have them. We’ve been reading the actual books together as a family in the evenings. Highly recommend!

        Reply
  8. Joy rikli says

    March 30, 2014 at 12:35 pm

    Fantastic post! We are driving from St. Louis to Orlando this summer with an extended family that includes 4 boys under age 5. I especially love the idea of the cookie sheet/lap desk! Thanks for the ideas!

    Reply
  9. Kira says

    April 9, 2014 at 8:22 am

    This is such a fun article! Thanks for all the tips! We will definitely try some of these out on our next road trip! Some sound so fun, I might even want sit in the back and try them myself!!

    Reply
  10. grace says

    April 21, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    Love, love, love this post! Thank you for obviously putting so much effort and time into posting! I will definitely utilize so much of these ideas! Thank you!!
    grace

    Reply
  11. GracE hill says

    April 22, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    Nice thinking

    Reply
  12. Erica says

    April 24, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    My girls love to watch DVDs on the laptop during road trips, so I get entire seasons of shows, like “Saved by the Bell”, “Brady Bunch” etc. shows they may not watch at home, but will happily watch on the road.

    I also bring along an individual binder ring/key ring and a hole punch for maps, brochures, souvenirs, paper menus from fun restaurants to collect during the trip. Once we get home, they’ll add trip pictures to their binder ring. Instant scrapbook!

    Reply
    • rebekah says

      April 23, 2017 at 11:30 am

      I love your instant scrapbook idea. How cool! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  13. Tiffany says

    April 26, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    Thanks for including us in your roundup. This is a great post. I love that pulley system idea…. we’re doing a ton of traveling again this summer…I think I need to work on making this happen :).

    Reply
  14. Lisa says

    May 13, 2014 at 4:10 pm

    Thanks for all the great ideas! Another game that is fun for kids old enough to recognize letters is one we play every road trip at least once. You look at signs to find a word that starts with the letter of the alphabet. We do the alphabet in order A,B,C,D, ect. It’s fun to see what the kids pick up on! Q & Z can be the hardest to find, until they learn about zone signs! 😉 My kids range from teen to baby so we have ages of all stages. It works well for all ages that can recognize letters. The little ones are a bit slower at seeing letters but they pick up quickly on a long trip.

    Reply
    • Linda says

      June 8, 2018 at 11:45 am

      What activities do you bring for 10/11 yr old boy to keep them busy in the car?
      We are traveling with 4 yr and 10 yr old boys 7 hrs ea way. I have lots of ideas for 4 yr but not 10 yr. Do not want him to play video games whole time.

      Reply
  15. Barbara Mattson says

    May 18, 2014 at 1:13 am

    We drove from Minnesota to Florida (and home again) last November with four adults and two children (6 and 8) in a minivan. We were crowded, but the best thing we had with us was something our daughter made to track miles. She had beads strung from one side of the car to the other. Beads marked every 25 miles. Larger beads marked 100 miles. The destination for the day was shown by yet a different kind of bead. Once the boys got the hang of how to track the miles, we never heard any “Are we almost there?”

    Reply
  16. Kamiko says

    June 9, 2014 at 9:37 pm

    I had the misfortune of having to take my daughter on a bus ride from Florida to Pennsylvania, it was interesting to say the least. i had to carry on a laundry basket, to keep some clothes and other items she would need for the trip.
    – i brought crayons and a color book, which was great.
    – then i read the color book to her, along with a story book she loved.
    – i got lucky there was also another mother with a boy the same age. they took turns sitting with each other, and the color book got more use with sharing.
    – both of us had finger snacks, and we shared with each other. the meal was great between the two of us.
    – we sang songs
    – we took naps together
    – when we came to terminals in between, i let her run around like a crazy kid, to run out all pent up energy in the grass.

    The article had many other items i wished i had back then when my girlie was little. i will share this list!

    Reply
    • autumn says

      June 14, 2014 at 10:33 am

      Great ideas! You lucked out finding another mom and kid – it’s always more fun for kids when there’s someone else to play with. Singing songs is a great way to pass the time – thanks for sharing your ideas.

      Reply
  17. bug says

    June 16, 2014 at 8:02 pm

    The best family friendly audio stories are at http://www.sparklestories.com. They also have a free podcast on iTunes — a best of 2013! Great for age 2 and up.

    Reply
  18. pinke92 says

    June 17, 2014 at 6:41 am

    Wow-i like the laminated map idea and the listen to CDs best. I like least the focus on buying plastic toys and getting gifts every few minutes. That means the trip is about getting more stuff and less about family. http://www.theonion.com/articles/child-entertained-for-5-minutes-by-plastic-toy-tha,36249/

    Reply
  19. Sarah says

    June 20, 2014 at 4:10 am

    Love this Pin. There are a ton of great ideas. The first road trip I planned to WDW last year with my girls I had my box of things for them to go. One thing that was enjoyed by all was a DVD of family photos from past trips. I’m going to make another one for this trip too. Enjoy your travels.

    Reply
  20. Kiely says

    June 30, 2014 at 10:16 am

    We go up north with the 9 youngest kids every year(family of twelve countin myself and honey ages 25 23 21 18 17 15 13 11 7 and 5) these are great ideas for them all

    Reply
  21. Katlynn Lane says

    July 6, 2014 at 12:24 pm

    I LOVE THE IDEA OF THE CHEAP COOKIE SHEETS, BUT THE ONLY THING IS, IF YOU WERE IN AN ACCIDENT, THOSE ARE NOT SOFT OR PLIABLE AT ALL AND COULD SEVERELY INJURE A CHILD IF HE/SHE HAD ONE IN THEIR LAP DURING IMPACT AT A HIGH SPEED ON THE HIGHWAY. JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. A PIECE STURDY PIECE OF CARDBOARD OR FOAMBOARD MIGHT BE SAFER.

    Reply
    • autumn says

      July 6, 2014 at 3:27 pm

      I’d never thought of that, Katlynn! Thanks for mentioning it.

      Reply
  22. KB says

    July 8, 2014 at 1:32 pm

    Buyer beware for anyone reading this post – I tried to order the Heaving Helper after seeing it here. They took my money, but it’s been 20 days and no product, so I think I’ve been scammed 🙁 Trying to see if I can get my money back from PayPal. The company has not responded to my emails and the phone number on their website is invalid.

    Reply
    • autumn says

      July 8, 2014 at 3:59 pm

      KB – that’s terrible! Thanks for posting this – please come back and let us know if it gets resolved. I’ll put a note in the post so others see your comment.

      Reply
    • margie says

      July 16, 2014 at 1:25 pm

      Thats horrible you should call the police or something

      Reply
      • KB says

        July 20, 2014 at 6:44 pm

        Finally got resolution from PayPal and got my money back. I suppose I need to figure out some other car sickness solution for my kids! There were a ton of great ideas in this post, thank you for collecting them all 🙂

        Reply
        • Rachael Clark says

          April 6, 2015 at 11:49 am

          What about a heavy duty leak free garbage bag, surely even a full sized bag will take up less space and cost less than pretty much every other solution you can find.

          Reply
  23. Sals Mexican Restaurant says

    July 15, 2014 at 3:13 am

    I’m not certain the place you’re getting your info, however good topic.
    I must spend a while learning much more or understanding more.

    Thanks for fantastic information I was searching for this
    info for my mission.

    Reply
  24. margie says

    July 16, 2014 at 1:24 pm

    Im going on a road trip on saturday at 5 am with my 9 yr old and 16 yr old the 16 yr old will probaly be listening to music but she gets bored of that sometimes so this was really helpful!

    Reply
  25. Stephanie W says

    July 17, 2014 at 11:25 am

    Just a heads up, the Heaving Helper, while it looks like an awesome product, the seller no longer is doing business the right way. I paid for my product and never heard a work back. The number listed on the website is no longer in a valid number.

    Reply
    • autumn says

      July 17, 2014 at 6:20 pm

      Darn! I’ll remove it from the list right away.

      Reply
  26. TAmi Charlton says

    July 24, 2014 at 7:51 am

    Lots of great ideas! Thank you!

    Reply
  27. Matt Da Mon says

    August 6, 2014 at 10:23 pm

    Really informative read, appreciate you taking the time to put it together, I’m also pleased to be able to share my own thoughts and am looking forward to returning to read what other readers have to say.

    Reply
  28. pixiedust says

    August 11, 2014 at 1:41 pm

    your kiddos are all good looking ! your husband’s genes and yours really match 🙂
    i just found out now that u only have a daughter… now it answers my question why she’s the only one modeling your clothes 🙂 she’s so adorable … messy hair +pretty smile 🙂

    Reply
    • autumn says

      August 14, 2014 at 3:20 pm

      why, thanks! My husband and I always say that the combination of the two of us turned out way better than either one of us alone 🙂

      Reply
  29. Elizabeth in Pipe Creek says

    August 11, 2014 at 8:23 pm

    I recently took a roadtrip that involved driving 13 hours, each way, with my 4 and 5 year old son and daughter. The best trick I used was pinning clothespins on the visor number 13, 12 ,11 down to 1. As each hour passed, I took down a clothespin (so after the first hour I took down the “13” clothespin, etc etc) so the kids could see the numbers getting smaller and smaller. No one was allowed to ask “how much longer?” … and it really worked!

    Reply
    • autumn says

      August 14, 2014 at 3:20 pm

      great idea – thanks!

      Reply
  30. Rachel says

    January 4, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    GREAT tips! I used the presents along the way during a 3-day car trip with my 3 and 5 year old! Activity trays with sides were amazing,and we did reward tickets for good behavior to turn in for special surprises! But oh my goodness, audiobooks are a must!!! The best one BY FAR that we’ve found is “A Thicket of Takes” by A.D. Hasselbring – they sell the CD on their website, and also have the mp3s on Amazon and iTunes too I think. We did the CD, just because that’s easier for me than dealing with charging an ipod, but I have a friend who thinks the ipod was easier on their trip. I have a boy and girl, and this is a nice collection of exciting, very family-oriented stories for boys AND girls, and a pretty good age range. Upshot? No fights. They’d both listen to them all. Plus, they all teach a lesson, and the vocab was FANTASTIC. Very visual, no issues about no pictures, short enough tat I wasn’t stuck in the car for a half an hour waiting for a story to finish before I could get them out for a potty stop… And they didn’t drive me nuts. No crazy voices or obnoxious “kid” music. You can’t overlook that on a car trip. Whatever you start, you may be in for about a hundred times, so make sure it doesn’t make you crazy. (Ditto for things that the kids will fight over. You will have the same fight a hundred times.) These were awesome – they even prompted some great discussions and I was amazed at how focused they were. It was especially helpful when they were getting tired of being in the car but WOULD NOT SLEEP. Audiobooks (especially this one) were something that we could all enjoy together and made them really enjoy the trip. Instead of zoning out on the DVD player (ad yes, we did also have that just in case, but surprisingly this worked better), they were awake and active and having fun. Kind of what I’d hoped it would be like all along!!!

    Reply
  31. izzy says

    January 22, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    Please forgive me if this has been mentioned already in the comments, but I believe the word you were looking for was “desert”, not “dessert”. When I read the line about being stranded in the “dessert” without water, I just had to chuckle because I had an image of a family stuck in ice cream (and I questioned if that would even be a bad thing lol).

    Anyway, the article will hopefully help us on our first family road trip!!

    Reply
  32. April says

    March 15, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    I love this list. My 3 children and I are driving from Nashville, TN to Los Angeles in April and then up to Vegas on the way home. It’s going to be a long month.

    Reply
  33. Jordan says

    March 22, 2015 at 6:54 am

    Where did you find those individual packages of pickles and dips? Those are adorable and would be perfect for my trip this week!

    Reply
  34. Rachael Clark says

    April 5, 2015 at 12:04 pm

    Car seats are made of hard plastic and can lead to painful rears after a while. Last 15 hour road trip I went on I bought cushions in the fabric department, cut them to size for the car seats under the liners so that the buckles still worked properly and things went way smoother without the kids asking to go pee every 30 minutes. Also this is really gross but but I made funnels out of plastic bottles at an angle so that my girls can pee by the side of the road if they absolutely have to and I make sure to dress them in medium length skirts. I include empty soda bottles for pee and TP.

    Reply
  35. Gwen says

    April 21, 2015 at 9:10 pm

    We’ve gone on long road trips every year since 2010. The boys are now 8&6 and do wonderfully in the car. We listen to lots of music (Christmas in July is great!), read lots of books, play games. I used to pack toys in ziplock bags, I got soft lap trays made for the car and the boys would play w their Legos etc. we’ve listened to some books on cd (Little House in ththe Big Woods is still a favorite) but we’ll have to do more this summer.

    Reply
  36. Tiffany says

    May 4, 2015 at 11:59 am

    I’ve been pointing people to this post for the last year- it’s so comprehensive! 🙂 Also, wanted to let you know that we have a new post up for 2015 :). Thanks again for all the hard work that you put into this post! http://www.playeatgrow.com/2015/05/traveling-with-kids-ways-to-keep-your.html

    Reply
  37. UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL says

    May 17, 2015 at 2:09 pm

    Greetings from Idaho! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to browse your
    website on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the information you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
    I’m surprised at how fast your blog loaded on my phone ..
    I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, amazing site!

    Reply
  38. Suzanne Holt says

    June 14, 2015 at 7:35 am

    Thanks for all of these great suggestions! Pinned to my “Traveling with Kids” board.

    Reply
  39. Melody says

    June 16, 2015 at 3:42 pm

    I hate 6 and 12.

    On cp6 the picture shows the girl reaching up in the bucket. The pully thing is just abused here. It’s the same just having a backpack Full of crap, I mean it’s just dumb.

    And on 12 it’s a major saftey hazard. One slam on the break and that tray will jab through your guts.

    Reply
  40. กล่องประหยัดน้ำมัน says

    July 7, 2015 at 7:31 am

    Great idea <3
    thanks!

    Reply
  41. cheap mac makeup,cheap mac makeup wholesale,cheap mac makeup for sale,cheap mac makeup online,mac makeup cheap,mac makeup for cheap,cheap mac makeup free shipping,mac makeup brushes cheap,cheap mac makeup brushes,buy mac makeup cheap,cheap real mac makeup says

    July 22, 2015 at 5:03 am

    http://africanscholar.com/activity/p/1452906/

    Reply
  42. Carrie says

    August 8, 2015 at 11:23 am

    Last road trip I took, we met each kid pick out a CD, and when they would get grumpy or tired of coloring, we would take a vote on which CD to play. They had a lot of fun singing along to their favorite songs and even dancing (safe in their seatbelts of course).

    Reply
  43. Lucy says

    September 23, 2015 at 2:59 am

    Thanks lady

    Reply
  44. [email protected] says

    March 22, 2016 at 10:54 am

    Great suggestions. We have done many of these before with our family of 6. On our last 24 hour road trip to Florida we did bring along the map so the kids could see where we were. This was great. It reinforced the benefits of a paper map (being able to see the whole trip at once) and provided a start and end point.

    Here was one of our favorite games to pass the time QUIZ QUESTIONS – http://growingplay.blogspot.com/2015/12/quiz-question-road-trip-game.html

    Reply
  45. Binfi says

    June 14, 2016 at 9:39 am

    Great ideas!! Weekly larger medicine/vitamin organizer would also work for #10 if you need individual lids, too

    Reply
  46. Lorrin @ embracetheperfectmess.com says

    May 21, 2017 at 9:34 am

    These are really great ideas! Taking road trips with kids can be interesting. We have taken many road trips with our kids, and some of these tips have really come in handy. there are a couple of new ones here too!

    Reply
  47. Laura says

    May 30, 2017 at 12:54 pm

    So many great ideas here! I plan to use some of them for our 12 hour trip in a few days. Thanks for the help!

    Reply
  48. Lisa says

    May 16, 2018 at 9:17 am

    My sister and I are going on a trip this summer. We’ll be flying to California and driving up the coast to Oregon. Do you have any suggestions for boredom busting for adults? I think the snacks are a good idea, but trying to come up with some activities for driver & passenger besides sleeping, music, and reading.

    Reply
  49. Melissa partida says

    May 22, 2018 at 11:40 am

    I live in Goodyear AZ Dec 28 2018 My husband 3 kids and i are driving Nakina North Carolina for my nieces wedding i need all the tips tricks and being sane for a 3 day long driving road trip
    Thank you for the Great tips
    Melissa

    Reply
  50. Rosealind says

    July 5, 2018 at 2:10 pm

    I am a mom with lots of kids and I saw a license plate game on Pinterest and clicked the link but it didn’t show up when I searched for it on this website. I LOVED the hacks and car trip tips, they were very useful and I used every single idea, genuinely genius! Although it was disappointed when I couldn’t find the license game printable.

    Reply
  51. Towing Service Pittsburgh says

    October 25, 2018 at 8:11 am

    Road trips are such a great way for the family to get away and see so many sights, we loved this article because it’s so jam packed full of ideas to stay safe and keep the kids busy too. As towing professionals we can’t urge enough the importance of bringing an emergency kit with you on vacation. A first aid kit, road flares, white cloth to hang from side window in case of breakdown, tire pump, spare tire, road map, extra cellphone batteries & jumper cables. Taking some precautions before your road trip like checking tire pressure, adding air to tires and making sure all fluids have been topped off in the vehicle are all important points to cover. An oil change before you go too is recommended. Happy travels! Great article! We are going to print it out and hang it up!

    Reply
  52. Leilani Gamboa says

    December 2, 2018 at 4:16 am

    Thanks for these ideas! I love all and planning to do it too

    Reply
  53. Car Travel with Pets: 10 Tips for Safety and Security says

    December 13, 2018 at 6:48 am

    Hey Autumn,

    Thanks for sharing your nice and informative words. Above tips road tips you have shared are not only the road tips but includes resources, activities and having a lot of fun with kids and family. Informative stuff… keep it up……..

    Thanks

    Thomson John

    Reply
  54. Tracey Jones says

    April 2, 2019 at 5:31 am

    Great blog! I was searching some good stuff regarding road trip with my naughty toddlers and to handle them. Wondering what things should get in the bags while having a road trip. Well Thanks much for sharing this amazing at least for me <3

    Reply
  55. Jurrien Collins says

    July 28, 2020 at 10:21 pm

    THANK YOU so much for this!! I just found out that I’m pregnant, and my husband and I are determined to not give up our love of travel when baby arrives. It’s wonderful that you have been able to share the world with your girl! Thank you so much for sharing all of this incredible knowledge and experience, and for demystifying the concept. This makes me even more excited to become a mom

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Road Trip with Kids, Printable Chore Charts, Spring Cleaning Checklist + more! says:
    March 21, 2014 at 10:53 am

    […] Road Trip with Kids (ideas, activities and resources) ~ @ It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  2. 40+ Road Trip Tips for Traveling With Kids - Singing through the Rain says:
    May 5, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    […] 20 Best Ideas, Activities, and Resources for Road Trips With Kids […]

    Reply
  3. Kids Summer Journals & Fun Summer Ideas says:
    May 23, 2014 at 6:03 am

    […] Taking a trip? Here’s some Road Trip Ideas to Keep them happy! […]

    Reply
  4. Tips for Road Tripping With Kids | Home and Heart DIY says:
    June 1, 2014 at 10:56 pm

    […] you dreading what to do with the kids for hours on end? Well, we have you covered. Head on over to Its Always Autumn and see their incredible list of ideas, crafts, and things to bring to make sure that your road […]

    Reply
  5. 15 Road Trip Games For The Kids - Mummy Deal$ says:
    June 2, 2014 at 8:45 am

    […] Travel Bag Surprises/It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  6. お菓子 | foosee[フーシー] says:
    December 31, 2014 at 5:01 am

    […] 出典:https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com […]

    Reply
  7. Preparing For A Road TripAlways Outdoors says:
    February 12, 2015 at 2:53 pm

    […] you pull over for a breather. An in-car source of entertainment could be based off of those popular DIY fun kits, but parents on the go could simply bring along a laptop or audiobooks to help them pass the time […]

    Reply
  8. 22 Ways to Make Road Trips for Kids Fun! - Chronicles Von Quandt says:
    March 13, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    […] delightful compilation of ideas to make road trips for kids fun over at It’s Always Autumn was just too good not to pass on, the first 20 are hers and the last few are those we plan to […]

    Reply
  9. Baseball Trips with Kids on a Budget | Ballparks on a Budget says:
    March 17, 2015 at 8:18 am

    […] 6. Rent an audio book from the library for the whole family to enjoy. For book suggestions and other games/activities for road trips, read this post at ItsAlwaysAutumn.com. […]

    Reply
  10. 20 best road trip with kids ideas and resources - everything you need to plan a successful trip in the car! - Amazingly DIY says:
    March 19, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    […] Via: itsalwaysautumn.com […]

    Reply
  11. heading out on a car trip this summer? this is the best road trip with kids posts - links to the very best ideas for food, activities, organization, and more! - Pinterest Fashion Style says:
    April 10, 2015 at 8:41 am

    […] Via: itsalwaysautumn.com […]

    Reply
  12. todo sobre la creatina says:
    May 5, 2015 at 8:16 pm

    todo sobre la creatina

    20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids

    Reply
  13. The Ultimate Guide to Travelling With Children | Our Little House in the Country says:
    May 25, 2015 at 10:07 am

    […] 20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids– It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  14. Road trip with kids - LA to San Francisco says:
    May 27, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    […] Road trip with kids activities and tips: http://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/2014/03/12/best-road-trip-ideas.html […]

    Reply
  15. 11 Steps to Planning a Successful Road Trip | Cindy Roy says:
    May 28, 2015 at 9:57 am

    […] see the huge red crate with all the other activities that they didn’t even touch.) It’s Always Autumn has a great post with 20 awesome road trip ideas and there are also some great ideas on Frugal […]

    Reply
  16. Road Trip Activities for Kids | Live Grow Write says:
    June 8, 2015 at 8:00 am

    […] It’s Always Autumn: big list of ideas that include getting organized, packing snacks and kid’s activities […]

    Reply
  17. www.yoursecrethotel.co.uk says:
    December 14, 2015 at 10:17 am

    http://www.yoursecrethotel.co.uk

    20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids

    Reply
  18. 6 Great Road Trip Games and Activities for Kids - Free Printable - Savvy Nana says:
    January 9, 2016 at 2:57 am

    […] Image from It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  19. Traveling With Kids - The ULTIMATE Round-Up of Ideas, Tips, and Tricks - Steadfast Family says:
    February 9, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    […] 20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids – Great little round-up of ideas. […]

    Reply
  20. Best Road Trip Food | easyclickmoney.com says:
    February 29, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    […] 20 best ideas, activities, and resources … – Find ideas, tips, and resources for road trips with kids – everything from car prep and snack packs to ways to keep busy and what to do if someone gets sick […]

    Reply
  21. 7 Genius Hacks for Your Summer Road Trip - Coupon Connections says:
    May 2, 2016 at 11:35 am

    […] Photo: It’s Always Sunny […]

    Reply
  22. Planning A Fun & Exciting Family Road Trip: Everything That You Need To Know! says:
    June 2, 2016 at 8:52 am

    […] and pencils, books, cards, board games, and downloading movies and games onto a tablet for them. To make the miles go faster and to stop constant cries of ‘are we there yet’, help your kids to track the miles. Print each […]

    Reply
  23. 16 Genius Ideas for Surviving Your Next Road Trip says:
    June 16, 2016 at 10:34 am

    […] photo: It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  24. 16 Genius Ideas for Surviving Your Next Road Trip | The Blog Box says:
    June 24, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    […] photo: It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  25. Different Road Trip Activities for Your Child - June 25, 2016 - Parenting Tips says:
    June 24, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    […] everything from car prep and snack packs to ways to keep busy and what to do if someone gets sick- Read more @ 20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids ( http://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/…/best-road-trip-ideas.html […]

    Reply
  26. Fun Things You'll Want To Do With Your Kids This Summer | Not So Average Mama says:
    June 27, 2016 at 7:16 pm

    […] road trip with your kids may not seem like a fun idea at first. But careful planning and a little negotiation can make it […]

    Reply
  27. Road Trip! • Nutmeg and Thyme says:
    July 7, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    […] I wanted something fun for them to look forward to along the way.  I found this idea for DIY Travel Bags (it’s #19 on the list).  Using paper lunch bags, I created one bag for every hour of the […]

    Reply
  28. The Best “Mom Blog” Tips for Road Trips with Small Children – Natural Living Experiment says:
    August 4, 2016 at 11:27 pm

    […] Its Always Autumn created the 20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids. Great resource. Here are some ideas that worked for my family this summer. First, I combined tips #1 and #5 from the list. I hung a car seat organizer and added the Emergency Necessities (sunblock, bug spray, wet wipes, umbrella, spray fan, diapers, wipies, first aide kit, flashlight, and extra batteries.) Perfectly accessible. […]

    Reply
  29. Family Friendly Tampa Bay says:
    August 24, 2016 at 12:56 am

    […] 20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids […]

    Reply
  30. Devices Blog says:
    December 21, 2016 at 4:15 am

    Watch Your Ideas Travel

    […] , cut them to size for the car seats under the liners so that the buckles still […]

    Reply
  31. common apps says:
    January 3, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    common apps

    20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids

    Reply
  32. Strawberries Blog says:
    February 25, 2017 at 5:34 am

    Sweet Surprises Gift Crate With Valentine Day Ribbon

    […] the side of the road if they absolutely have to and I make sure to dress them i […]

    Reply
  33. Baseball Trips with Kids on a Budget – Sports Wanderlust says:
    April 2, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    […] 6. Rent an audio book from the library for the whole family to enjoy. For book suggestions and other games/activities for road trips, read this post at ItsAlwaysAutumn.com. […]

    Reply
  34. Cards Blog says:
    April 7, 2017 at 4:05 pm

    Summer Road Trip Art

    […] e liners so that the buckles still worked properly and things went way smoother […]

    Reply
  35. 10 Tips for Traveling with Kids - The Crafting Chicks says:
    May 31, 2017 at 8:52 am

    […] 20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids from It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  36. Kids Summer Checklist | FREE PRINTABLE by Lindi Haws of Love The Day says:
    June 2, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    […] 20 best ideas, activities, and resources for road trips with kids […]

    Reply
  37. Passion Blog says:
    June 11, 2017 at 11:50 pm

    Watch Your Ideas Travel

    […] our road trip I went on I bought cushions in the fabric department, cut them to […]

    Reply
  38. 30 Patriotic 4th of July Dessert Recipes on Love the Day says:
    June 13, 2017 at 4:01 am

    […] 20 Best Ideas, Activities, and Resources for Road Trips with Kids […]

    Reply
  39. Vacations Blog says:
    June 13, 2017 at 2:10 pm

    Color It Wipeoff Activity Board Vacation

    […] them to size for the car seats under the liners so that the buckles still worked […]

    Reply
  40. Road Trip Bingo Game says:
    June 23, 2017 at 11:17 am

    […] You Might Also Like These Road Trip Tips: […]

    Reply
  41. Family Travel Tips | Oahu | Ohana Circle Island Tour says:
    August 23, 2018 at 12:08 am

    […] should have their own travel bag or backpack. Learn the best way to organize your entertainment in this post from It’s Always […]

    Reply
  42. Road trip with kids: Dos and don'ts | My Silly Squirts says:
    January 1, 2019 at 3:37 pm

    […] DIY Travel Bag Surprises […]

    Reply
  43. Simple street journey video games which can be truly enjoyable! – fooshya says:
    April 23, 2019 at 3:52 am

    […] One of the best hacks for street journeys with youngsters […]

    Reply
  44. How to Survive a Cross-Country Road Trip With Kids • says:
    May 14, 2019 at 9:48 pm

    […] Best Kid Road Trip Hacks by It’s Always Autumn […]

    Reply
  45. How to prepare your car for the holidays | CAR WASH BLOG says:
    July 31, 2019 at 1:27 am

    […] Holidays with kids read this. […]

    Reply
  46. December Road-Trip Survival Guide | theplaidlibrarian says:
    December 17, 2019 at 3:56 pm

    […] https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/best-road-trip-ideas.html […]

    Reply
  47. 6 of the Best DIY Games to Do at Home as a Family - Iscream Sundae says:
    June 1, 2020 at 10:01 am

    […] is a good example of fun family games at home that can also work for long car journeys as you can play ‘Too Big, Too Small, Just Right’ with or without […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hey, glad you’re here!

I'm Autumn, a mom of five who loves ice cream, Masterpiece Theatre, and clothes that hide the fact that I eat so much ice cream. When I was 18 I got a job at a craft store and told everyone (regularly) how much I hated crafts. Well, things change! Read More…

Find me here

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

free email series

NO FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite craft + recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

Popular Posts

101 fun activities that kids can do at home list on a colorful striped background

101 Fun + Easy Activities kids can do AT HOME

50 easy crafts and activities kids can do indoors! Perfect for cold or rainy days.

50 best indoor activities for kids: easy crafts + games

Gorgeous art projects for kids! Easy art that turns out amazing.

20 easy art projects for kids that turn out AMAZING!

Collage of different paper flowers tutorials

How to make GORGEOUS paper flowers

Various flavors of baked mini donuts made from cake mixes

How to make mini donuts! {baked cake mix donuts recipe}

Blog policy

All posts and pictures are copyrighted by Autumn Baldwin and blog content may not be reposted elsewhere. However, linking back to my content is just fine. You may use one photo as long as you link directly back to the specific post. Thank you!

Please view our Privacy Policy here.

Also, please note that this blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316192.168.1.1 router login

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

free email series

NO-FAIL CRAFTS + RECIPES

Get my favorite EASY craft + recipe ideas straight to your inbox!

x