12 Strategies For a Successful Road Trip with Kids

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Recently we packed up our 4 young kids (ages 8, 6, 3, and 1) and headed out on a 16-hour road trip from Southern California to the Oregon Coast. My kids are no strangers to long drives. I mean we live in the traffic capital of the world and love to get out and go; so, to an extent they are use to long bouts in the car. However, when I say long drives our typical trip usually maxes out at about 5 hours. So, to triple that amount had me a little anxious. Mostly about the baby and toddler. So, we prepared as best we could, held our breath and hit the road. And, you know what? It honestly was NOT that bad. But there were definitely some things that helped. Here are 12 strategies to making your road trip with kids as pain free as possible.

1. Car maintenance: Get all the necessary details out of the way the week leading up to your departure. Oil changes, tire rotation, brake checks, do it all beforehand so you hopefully (fingers crossed) don’t have to deal with vehicle maintenance on an already long drive. And maybe investing in a roadside assistance program wouldn’t be such a bad idea either.

2. Prepare your car beforehand: Wash the inside and out. Pack what you can the day before. Make your “car” as nice to be in as possible. You’ll basically live there for a couple of days and it will acquire new nastiness. We kept a trash can designed for the car for candy wrappers, straw trash, cups, random pieces of cereal and french fries. But the cleaner you can keep it, the easier it will be to get in and out and feel good while you are driving for hours or days.

3. Plan to travel at the time of day that best suits your needs: I’m talking about leaving early morning or late evenings. We try to either wake up at 4am and hit the road to win about 2 hours of sleeping children. But, when that isn’t possible, we will leave around 6 pm, so that the kids eat and basically fall asleep until we get there. It’s made long road trips much easier when we can do either of those options. And if you know you have to drive through let’s say LA during rush hour traffic, maybe changing your route, eating a long dinner out, or changing your departure time would be in your best interest. No need to add hours to your drive due to poor planning.

4. Research some cool stops: I looked up some neat “rest stops” before we even left. I had an idea of where to go before we even started the trip so we had some fun things to look forward to. Sure, the fun spur of the moment stops are great, and you should definitely take them; but having a loose plan and a couple of ideas will really help things go more smoothly. On this specific road trip, we found a fun stop on the I-5 in the middle of nowhere. Bravo Farms was a welcomed leg stretch. I would have never known about this place without a little research beforehand. And knowing where to stay overnight can make the best of your trip by adding little sub-trips on the way to your destination. On our drive to Oregon we stayed overnight in Northern California in Redding. It was an awesome place and one we wish we would’ve planned more time to explore. Read more about that city here. At certain road trips we have also planned Zoo trips or State Parks into our itinerary. That way we would could have a break for a couple of hours and see something new and fun at different places along the way. More bang for your road-tripping buck!

5. Go at your own pace: We met up with my brother in law and his family on our most recent trip. They have 4 little boys who do not sit well for long periods of time. They took 3 days to get to Oregon and back. They stopped often at small zoos, parks, splash pads, etc. Our family prefers to stop as little as possible and make the drive go as quickly as we can; only stopping at the points we have previously chosen. At rest stops I have my kids run, and stretch, but we tend to not do parks because I know what my kids can do and what is easiest for us. I recommend taking some smaller drives, test the waters if you will, then plan for what you and your family need. Each family’s needs are different, and it is important to go at your own pace.

6. Pack a small cooler

7. New toys: I don’t pack a lot of toys but I do pack new and interesting ones. This go around I packed a clear baggie and a snack bottle and gave the baby a bag of little craft puff balls from the Dollar Tree. She transferred those puffs for over an hour between the two. It was new and kept her hands, and imagination busy. Be creative and have new things for the younger kids. Other ideas are stacking cups, or measuring cups/Tablespoons, teaspoons, etc. boogie boards (which are amazing!). They even had some pre-made road trip games with stickers, and a white board. They were thrilled to use all these new things on our drive. I limited the new toys to every 1-2 hours so it was exciting. Don’t pack too much though because space will probably be limited and you want them to enjoy the things they have. We purchased a little bin at the Dollar Store and only things that fit inside it were allowed to come along. You can also have a small backpack for each kid to fill up. That way it can be stored, transferred and easily packed.

9. Did I mention snacks? Don’t forget snacks!

10. Movies: Like snacks this one is essential for a road trip. Movies or electronics as I am sure most of you parents know can keep kids occupied easily all day. We bought portable DVD players for our car on Amazon. You can get them basically anywhere. The player we have sits on the back of the headrest and the kids can manage it all themselves. We also hit up Walmart and Target for their $5 movies and let the kids pick out a few new ones before each trip. We have acquired a great DVD collection for cheap and it keeps them happy for hours and hours and hours. Sometimes you won’t have internet access so these are great and won’t go out on you. However, as much as technology kills boredom and keeps kids entertained, don’t forget to take a little break and teach kids the classic car games like the “A-B-C game, where you find all the alphabet in order on other cars and signs. “I-Spy with my little eye…..” and even the license plate game.

11. There will be rough moments— hang in there, it will be fine: Going into it with low/real expectations is important. You are traveling with kids; they will probably have some “moments”. But they will be fine. You will be fine. If you need to readjust the plan, readjust the plan. But, don’t forget, these are the moments they will remember. You will have time together in the car that will be unlike anything else. Conversations will happen, and you will see new and amazing things together. And sometimes, the biggest disasters make for the best stories later.

12. Have fun and enjoy the ride! Road trips are the best way to enjoy the beautiful country in which we live!

As our kids grow, I hope the length of our road trips do too. I am excited to see more of America and do it at our own pace.

I would love to know if you have done a long road trip. If so, where did you go? And, what are your road tripping essentials or advice?

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