Skip to Content

How to make your next road trip with kids amazing

Dreading your road trip with kids? Don’t worry, these 5 tips for traveling with kids will help you enjoy the ride!5 Best Tips for traveling with kids. From Toddlers to Teenagers a long car ride can be boring. Check out how we keep the wiggles at bay, and even have some fun on our road trip!

Road Trip With Kids

Travel season is right around the corner. For us, being a Military Family, that means a lot of car rides and sore butts.  With our average car ride being around 7 hours, at least 7 times a year, I have learned a thing or two when it comes to surviving a road trip with kids.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, we may receive an affiliate commission.

Timing Is Everything When Traveling With Kids

By this I don’t mean pick a time, I mean really look at when to leave. Find out if you will be hitting a major city at rush hour. It isn’t worth leaving at 6:00 AM if this causes you to be stuck in traffic for an hour because you hit St. Louis. However, I DO suggest leaving early. Even if the kiddos are excited they are more likely to stay calm and relaxed for the first leg of the trip. Take full advantage of this!

Sleepy=Quiet

Choose the right road trip snacks

If you are going on a long-distance road trip with kids, you will have to pack snacks. This might be where I have learned the most from trial and error!! This is where my ‘reading every label’ days have really paid off! If you want to maintain some sort of sanity, avoid letting them pick up HoHo’s and Twinkies for the ride. Loading them with sugar, then expecting them to have an “inside voice” or sit still…not gonna happen. Also, steer clear of artificial colors in food. There are many studies that link artificial colors to hyperactivity, you can check one out here.  Car rides and the wiggles don’t mix well.5 Best Tips for traveling with kids. From Toddlers to Teenagers a long car ride can be boring. Check out how we keep the wiggles at bay, and even have some fun on our road trip!

When You Are Road Tripping With Kids -Don’t Down the Drinks

The same rules as the munchies apply here. Stay away from loads of sugar, caffeine, and colors. Water. That is all my kids have in the car. We also keep the water in the front seat with the adults. If it’s sitting with us, we can control the liquid intake.  They get enough to stay hydrated, but they’re not downing a whole bottle in five minutes.

Less drinks=less bathroom breaks.

Traveling with younger ones? Check out these tips for surviving a road trip with Toddlers!

Get Out for Lunch

This might just be the most important one of the tips for traveling with kids. Plan ahead and pack lunch. We usually do sandwiches, carrot sticks, and apples. Find a Rest Stop to have your lunch. Get Out of the car. Let them get out of the car and run around, play, be loud, & stretch! You too! Being stuck in a car all day gets exhausting for Everyone involved. This will give you all a chance to blow off some energy. Since they are right off the interstate. You won’t even lose much time. It will be well worth it when you can pile back in the car, and have some good quiet time again. ***Don’t forget to use the restrooms before getting back on the road!

Find Fun Travel Activities for Kids

We have all heard this one. Yes, there are tablets & portable game systems… but those batteries can die. We also don’t like their faces in tablets the whole time. The boys are always in charge of packing up backpacks for the ride. They make sure to have at least one reading book, colors, coloring books, & a few action figures.

We block off ‘quiet time’ during the ride. Don’t make the quiet times too long, we have 15-20 mins that they pull out a book to read. 5 Best Tips for traveling with kids. From Toddlers to Teenagers a long car ride can be boring. Check out how we keep the wiggles at bay, and even have some fun on our road trip!I also always bring something New for the ride. A new coloring book or activity. It will hold their attention longer if it is new.

Play Games or even sing songs… (does anyone do that anymore??). Anything that gets the whole car interacting together. It can really help the time pass by.

We used to spend our family road trips making friendship bracelets!

Check out our collection of printable road trip games! From bingo to I spy, there is something for everyone!5 Best Tips for traveling with kids. From Toddlers to Teenagers a long car ride can be boring. Check out how we keep the wiggles at bay, and even have some fun on our road trip!

Whether it is a 3-hour trip to visit Grandma or a 10-hour trip to the ocean. You don’t have to dread the car ride. With these tips for traveling with kids, it will be a bit more bearable, maybe even a little bit of fun! 

Pin this to your Vacation BoardGreat tips for traveling with kids in the car. These are good for long car rides or just short trip. Free game in post!

How to make a Chinese Staircase Hemp Bracelet with Beads

Thursday 27th of October 2022

[…] Create them during a summer road trip. […]

How to make a hemp choker necklace with square knots and beads

Thursday 27th of October 2022

[…] Create them during a summer road trip. […]

How to make an easy adjustable bracelet knot - Twitchetts

Tuesday 9th of August 2022

[…] Create them during long car rides. […]

How to make a 3D Chevron Friendship Bracelet: Video & Step-by-step Instructions

Tuesday 9th of August 2022

[…] Create them during long car rides. […]

How to make a spiral bracelet: forward knot friendship bracelet - Twitchetts

Tuesday 9th of August 2022

[…] Create them during long car rides. […]