In today’s post: 35 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.
Best Road Trip Ideas for Kids
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 to a faraway destination 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, family road trips 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 plenty of ideas to make your road trip with kids a little less horrible and a lot more fun.
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Road trip with kids: Prep + Get Organized
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 from video games and movies. Here are some great non-electronic activities for road trips with kids:
Road Trip Kit Ideas
Road Trip Printables
Best Activity Toys for Road Trips
Road Trip Snack ideas
Ways 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!
Kamiko says
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!
autumn says
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.
Barbara Mattson says
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?”
Lisa says
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.
Tiffany says
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 :).
Erica says
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!
rebekah says
I love your instant scrapbook idea. How cool! Thanks for sharing.