by Samantha Rivers
Whether you’re traveling across town to Grandma’s house for dinner, or cross-country on a vacation of a lifetime, you will want a family road trip tips to get you through the journey, especially if you have kids in tow. Keeping children and teenagers occupied or entertained in the car can be quite a feat. Here are several great family road travel tips to keep mind for the trip:
5 Family Road Travel Tips
1. Download Convenient Travel Apps
Before you gas up the car for your trip, make sure you have the right travel apps to assist you on your adventure. Apps like GasBuddy will help you find the cheapest gas stations in the United States and Canada. When it comes to discovering attractions and activities along your road trip route, try Roadtrippers Another great app is HotelTonight, which allows you to find last-minute markdown hotel rooms on the go up to seven days in advance, or you can even book the day-of.
2. You Gotta Have Food
Depending on the age of your children, you probably already know you need to have food on hand no matter how far you are traveling. It’s necessary to have some snacks (or meals if you are driving farther) packed in a cooler. Remember—hungry kids are grumpy kids!
When the trips are on the longer side, they require a bit more sustenance to avoid mindless snacking. Focus on foods that are healthy, and try to focus on items with protein. Veggies and hummus, whole grain tortilla wraps with turkey and avocado, and beef jerky are great options.
You can also pack some portable snacks such as crackers, cheese, sandwiches, cereal or fruit, as well as a flat of bottled water. It’s best to avoid food and drinks with sugar or caffeine.
3. Electronics + Toys
Even with children as young as 2-years-old, you can surely occupy their time on a road trip by bringing along a tablet, iPod or portable DVD player for them to play games, watch a movie or listen to music. For school-age children, you can fill the device with age-appropriate educational apps such as Zoo Alphabet For Kids and Coloring Pages For Kids
If you are traveling with teens (or if you need some quiet time!), it might be wise to bring some noise cancelling ear buds to drown out any unwanted noise, talking or music that may be going on in the car. Brands like Sony carry a variety of both in-ear and headphone styles. There’s nothing worse on a family road trip than kids arguing because the music is too loud, or because they can’t hear their movie!
Other devices to consider packing include e-readers, a digital camera to capture the memories, a power bank to keep your devices alive, spare batteries and sunscreen. You will also need some non-stimulating toys and books on hand such as coloring books and crayons, playing cards, sticker books and magnetic travel games.
4. Safety at All Costs
Remember to keep your car stocked with a first-aid kit and other safety items in case of emergency. This includes band-aids, matches, basic non-prescription drugs, hand sanitizer, a roll of toilet paper, baby wipes, and trash bags.
As for your car, your survival guide should include a basic safety kit with a fire extinguisher, reflective warning triangles, tire gauge and sealant, jumper cables, flashlight, duct tape and utility tool.
5. Unplug
It’s good to remember that these trips are also about family time; so unplug from the devices, and enjoy each other’s’ company! Connect as a family while playing I-Spy, counting cars, or hunting for license plates along the interstate! Savor the delays, and ditch the tight schedules. Appreciate the time you are having with the people you love. Nothing matters more than that!
Samantha Rivers is a freelance writer who lives in Chicago (Go Cubs!) and loves writing anything in the lifestyle,travel, and parenting realm both online and print. When she’s not running the Upward Onward blog, she enjoys reading, finding new restaurants, being active outside, and indulging in a glass of wine or two. Follow her on Twitter!
