Ten Tips for Doing Great Road Trips with Kids

Is your vision of a road trip cruising the open highway beneath an endless blue sky, the top down, the wind blowing in your hair, and Rascal Flatt’s Life is a Highway spooking the cows that you pass en route?

You possibly don’t have kids. Road tripping with the tin lids is a whole different ball game, and a skill that all parents must master. But the rewards of getting it right are many, including extended quality time with loved ones and the opportunity to create shared memories as you explore this incredible country together.

Here are ten tried and tested tips for doing great road trips with kids.

1. Choose an appropriate route

Realistically, parents with young children should halve the distance they could comfortably travel by car on their own. Save those epic road-based adventures for when everyone gets a little older, and choose short, sharp trips of no more than two or three hours in a single day. Set clear expectations for the trip in terms of travel time, get everyone involved in the route planning, and talk up the wonders that await you all at your destination. Sell the dream and build the anticipation!

2. Plan your on-the-road activities

You don’t need to plan activities for every last minute of the trip (sometimes it’s nice just to chat!), but having an assortment of games and pastimes up your sleeve is a key part of the successful road trip equation. Research a selection of new games to add to the repertoire of established family favourites, and make sure you have any required hardware.

3. Create individual activity centres

Creating a simple activity centre for each child is also a good idea (which everyone can be involved in as part of the pre-trip preparation). There are some super-fancy options on the market, but simple, brightly coloured clip folders stocked with paper, pencils, colouring-in templates, and the like are really all that’s needed.

4. Pack healthy snacks

Filling kids with sugary snacks from roadhouses is a short cut to backseat chaos. The peaks will be higher, the troughs so much lower, and your purse or wallet that much lighter. One thing that all road-tripping mavens agree on is that a good supply of healthy snacks is essential. And generally the advice is to triple what you think you’ll need. Pack individual servings of snacks that are high in complex carbs and protein, rather than processed sugar. Fresh fruit can be purchased along the way.

Don’t forget the drinks! Freeze them in appropriate containers the night before and they’ll stay cool for much of the day.

5. Bring a road trip clean-up kit

Mess happens. Sometimes it’s minor; sometimes you may need to bring in the professionals. But regardless, being prepared will lessen the pain. Have an on-board clean-up kit close at hand complete with tissues, wipes, hand sanitiser, emergency loo paper, compostable disposal bags, and so on. A travel potty for toileting trainees will take some of the stress out of an unscheduled roadside stop. Keep calm and carry on afterwards.

6. Get going reasonably early

Travelling in the morning when it’s cool and everyone is well rested is your best chance at a harmonious road-based family holiday. As the day wears on, tempers and your patience may fray. Plan to be at your overnight stop no later than lunchtime, leaving you plenty of time to explore in the afternoon.

7. Take plenty of play breaks and make them memorable

Just like using trampolines and custom swings for kids at home, playtime on the road is super important; it’s an opportunity for pint size passengers to burn off their excess energy. Research interesting places to stop and take a play break, including parks, community playgrounds, beaches, riverfront recreational zones, and the like.

8. Ration screen time

Sometimes it may be tempting just to plug the kids in on a road trip, but experts suggest screen time should be limited. Tunnel vision is one problem (where your child only engages with what’s on their screen and not what’s happening on the holiday); the impact on quality family time is another. It’s important to lead by example and to have some healthier alternatives on hand. Audio books and children’s podcasts are a great option.

9. Swap seats

Think back to the road trips of your own childhood. Did one of your parents ever sit in the backseat? Possibly not. And ‘why?’ is the question. Nowhere in the roadie rule book does it say that a parent must always ride in the front passenger seat. Mix things up regularly and give all pint-size co-passengers a go at being wing person.

10. Travel safe yourself

The responsibilities of the driver on a family road trip are obvious and the importance of safe driving practices can’t be overstated. Know your limits behind the wheel, swap with a co-driver every 90 or so minutes, and keep up your concentration by refuelling with healthy snacks and drinks.

This post was published thanks to Vuly.

Do you have any tips for doing great road trips with kids? We would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.

The information contained in this story is general in nature and does not constitute professional advice in any way. We make every effort to ensure this content is accurate, but we do not guarantee it. You should do your own research and seek the advice of professionals before acting or relying on any of the information provided in this story.

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