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You are here: Home / Family life / Parenting / Road Trip: Tips For Traveling by Car with Kids

Road Trip: Tips For Traveling by Car with Kids

Sunday, January 31, 2010 by Lolli 18 Comments

Welcome to Food Fun Family!

I’m so glad you’re here! Feel free to make yourself comfortable and look around a while (and while you’re at it, be sure to grab your free copy of my newest ebook, 10 Rice Krispie Treats Recipes!).

road tripI was just reading an amusing post about the Dreaded Family Car Trip. The 7-9 hour trip with 3 kids that this dad writes about has nothing on our winter 18-hour car ride to Florida. With 5 kids and no empty seats, to boot.

Five children makes traveling by plane to see grandparents cost-prohibitive. After taking a few cross-country trips to the West Coast and several over-nighter drives to Florida to visit the kids’ nearest grandparents, car trips are still our favorite way to travel. And we’ve got the system down to a science. At least for our family.

Planning a road trip with the family? Traveling by car is afrugal way to take a family vacation...but it's not always easy! Here are 10 tips for traveling by car with kids.

How we survive long car rides with lots of kids:

• Travel by night: We always start our trip at night, so that the kids have an hour or two of excitement upon leaving and then fall asleep for several hours. When they wake up in the morning, we have breakfast out, and then get on our way. This method doesn’t work for everybody, but it’s ideal for us. My husband and I can sleep while the other is driving, we trade off when the driver starts feeling sleepy, the roads are clear, and the kids are quiet. By the time the kids wake up on day #2, we’re a good bit of the way there, so it feels shorter for them.

• Pack Individual Trip Bags: Everybody packs a pillow, a blanket, and a small bag of treats, books, and games. Individualizing the trip bags are a must for us. This includes Mom and Dad. My trip bag includes a couple of books, my iPod (especially handy for when I’m driving at night and the rest of the family is asleep), my camera, and a portable DVD player–although that is rarely used.)

• Pack Some Treats: Between the front seat, I pack a moderately stocked bag of treats (crackers, grapes, fruit snacks, popcorn, etc), along with empty ziploc bags and paper cups so that I can pass individual servings to the kids in the back.

• Bring Plenty of Water: I also pack plenty of water bottles. Everybody has their own water bottle next to their seat, and we fill up on the occasional pit stop.

• Plan some entertainment: Our van has a DVD player, so we do bring a selection of kids movies to watch. We don’t go over-board with the movies, though. On our 18 hour drive, the kids watched 2 movies.

• Stop and Stretch: We’re generous on the potty breaks (we stop whenever necessary) but don’t stop for very long. Everyone gets out of the car and stretches whenever we stop. When we drive cross-country, we look for the rest stops with play grounds or grassy areas and let the kids have a few minutes of fun.

• Sing Together–turn up the music and belt it out!

• Play Car Games: Search for things together such as State license plates, or find the entire alphabet in order on road signs and license plates.

• Read a Book Out Loud:  Read together, or better yet, listen to an audio book together. It’s amazing how fast the time goes when you’re immersed in a story. When you’re not listening or reading, you can talk about the book with each other.

• Rotate Seats–Mom and Dad (whoever is not driving) will take turns in the back seat every once in a while. Changing seats seems to help break the monotony.

What are some of your tips for surviving long car trips with kids?

Be sure to check out my Road Trip Tips for Traveling With Teens (now that my kids are a little older, it’s a whole different ball game!) and see what EVERY family road trip needs.

You'll love my new ebook - 10 Rice Krispie Treats Recipes! Download it free HERE!

© 2010 – 2016, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

About Lolli

Lolli has written 3741 post in this blog.

I became a mom in 1996, and in 2005 I had my fifth. Yes, 5 kids. In 2007, this blog was born (my 6th baby that will never grow up) and I've been sharing recipes, photography tricks, parenting tips, and everything in between. (Formerly Better in Bulk)

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Filed Under: Parenting, Tips for Moms, Travels Tagged With: Parenting, tips, tips for moms, travel

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Comments

  1. Emma @ P is for Preschooler says

    Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 5:27 am

    Great tips! I also like to hope my 5-year-old falls asleep for at least a few hours of long car rides! lol!

  2. Tara says

    Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 5:42 pm

    Great trips! Even for the older kids. :)

  3. Sharon says

    Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 6:50 am

    HI thanks for some great tips! Came in handy on a recent long train trip! I hope you dont mind but I mentioned your page in my blog recently
    https://sharonslittlechallenges.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/we-won-holidaywe-have-to-travel-with.html

    Thanks again :)

  4. NYC Single Mom says

    Monday, June 25, 2012 at 6:47 am

    LOL! I would be of the trying to “hit” them with the lollipops.

  5. Lolli says

    Monday, February 1, 2010 at 8:50 am

    That is the best traveling suggestion yet! Actually, you made me remember a little trick we tried once when the kids were not so cooperative in the car. We kept a water bottle (as in the squirting kind) by the front seat and reached back to spray any kids that decided they didn’t want to cooperate. That was fun.

  6. Mama Kat says

    Monday, February 1, 2010 at 1:55 am

    I throw suckers at my kids in the car. Sometimes for a treat…other times just to try to hit them.

    It’s a great strategy.
    .-= Mama Kat´s last blog ..Why Knowing The Sex Of Your Pet Mice Really Does Matter =-.

  7. Nicole says

    Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 11:31 pm

    Ughhh, just hearing those words brings back horrible memories from 2 summers ago.
    .-= Nicole´s last blog ..Cooking 101 – homemade fish and chips =-.

  8. Lolli says

    Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    Hopefully Daddy’s attitude won’t spoil it for the kids. :) I know that’s what happens in our house many times.

  9. Safire says

    Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 9:23 pm

    We love road trips! Well, I do. J doesn’t. I hope to raise my kids to enjoy long car rides.
    .-= Safire´s last blog ..Question of the Week =-.

  10. Lara says

    Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 6:46 pm

    We’re a road tripping family too and I second all your suggestions!
    .-= Lara´s last blog ..In One Ear, Out the Other… =-.

  11. Christine says

    Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 11:34 am

    Great post with lot’s of useful tips. Me? I survive with booze and pills…kidding! :P

  12. Lolli says

    Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 10:37 am

    I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who likes car trips! The kids continually ask me when we can take another cross country trip to see my parents on the West Coast!

  13. Susie's Homemade says

    Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 10:25 am

    I think that everything that you have listed is essential for long car trips!! It is our favorite vacation also:-)

  14. Lissa @ Whooo'sThatGirl says

    Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 9:58 am

    Personally, I don’t mind long car trips with my four kiddos!! In fact, we did a week-long, 3100-miler last February and it was a blast! (okay, for the most part. There were a few meltdowns, but overall it was a success)

    There own water bottles are a must, drawing pads, portable video games, MP3 players… Stop at parks/rest areas on the way to let them run around and blow off extra energy!
    .-= Lissa @ Whooo’sThatGirl´s last blog ..Dear Self… =-.

Trackbacks

  1. The (dreaded) family car trip | No Beaten Path says:
    Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at 7:37 am

    […] at Better in Bulk Lolli has written about car trips with kids. I remember many of the super-long trips we were forced to endure as kids, from one end of […]

  2. 40+ Tips for Road Trips with Toddlers/Pre-schoolers | Fun Learning Activities for Preschoolers and Kids says:
    Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 8:13 pm

    […] while we have adapted them, I am grateful to her for rescuing us with her tips!  And go check out Better in Bulk and My3Boys for their tips and suggestions too! Share/Save Posted in Baking, Budgeting, […]

  3. momshare.net says:
    Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    Have Kids. Will Travel By Car. | Better in Bulk…

    Mom of 5 and frequent car-tripper gives practical advice for traveling long distance with kids. From making frequent stops, to packing snacks, to entertainment, @1momof5 offers help for the family who need to travel long distances to see grandparents, …

  4. The (dreaded) family car trip « Let's do something different says:
    Monday, February 1, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    […] (dreaded) family car trip 2 02 2010 Over at Better in Bulk Lolli has written about car trips with kids. I remember many of the super-long trips we were forced to endure as kids, from one end of […]

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