With summer, vacations, and family road trips on the horizon for many- and knowing while there are SO many pros to road tripping with kids, there can also be some challenges when keeping them from getting too restless, I figured it’s the perfect time to share some info that may be helpful!

Last year before our family vacation, I polled this amazing community and gathered LOTS of tips for traveling with babies, toddlers & kids and compiled them with ones I know are tried and true from my own experience - and it was SO helpful!! I’ve changed some things I’d do differently after our trip last year with our kids (they were ages 5, 3 and 2 year at the time), added in some things I’ll be trying this year, and kept all the good stuff in between so that you can hopefully benefit from all the tips as well as we head into summer fun!

First up, we polled for top tips & activities for ROAD TRIPS with kids to help break it up, survive AND thrive during them- here they are!

Pit Stops To Consider When Traveling With Kids:

Stopping along the way can make for an easier ride with your littles. I know it feels like you should just get to your destination as soon as possible, but breaking it up can ease the tension that comes with long car rides. Planning to stop in advance helps everyone know what to expect when it comes to come on the trip! Here are a few ideas to consider:

Locate parks or playgrounds along your route- the app Playground Buddy was highly recommended and it actually did help us easily find two playgrounds on our road trip last year!
Locate libraries along the way
Consider stopping at grocery stores over gas stations when possible - they allow for easier walks and added bonus - the snacks/food are usually less expensive (with more options!)
Locate Zoos/Aquariums/Museums along the way for longer breaks

General Roadtripping Tips While In The Car With Toddlers and Kids:

Some of these ideas may not be new to you, but we are always looking for new ideas or sometimes I need reminded of tips when I am trying to get a million things ready for a trip with three kids!

Leave in the middle of the night if children will sleep in the car and you feel comfortable/safe driving during the night -added bonus - usually less traffic!
Wrap up 1 new small toy for them to open each hour and/or when they’re getting restless/bored. Last year, I went to the dollar store and grabbed a few fun little things for each of them, and wrapped up some of the ‘keep busy’ items below as well and it was SUCH a huge hit and really helped keep them content!
Consider incentives - like giving one quarter each for every hour of no fighting that they get to spend at a special vacation store when you reach your destination
Consider having parents/adults rotate sitting in the back with the littles if needed/possible - last year I stayed in the back of our car with the kids for most of the drive to easily hand them things or help if they needed and it worked out great.
If they are content, LEAVE THEM BE, haha!
Give all the praise for a job well done in the car
Schedule quiet time with soothing music or a sound machine
Use of screens as you see appropriate

Snack Tips For Roadtrips

We personally do not usually allow eating while driving, but here are some things we have on hand for pit stops or gas/potty breaks!

Special snacks they don’t get all the time or are new to them
Small fridge/cooler for the car
Have a picnic at one of your stops (wipeable/washable picnic mats are AWESOME and something I always have in the back of my car!)
Snackle box to make snacks fun!
Snack tray - just ensure it does not strap to the car seat in anyway!

Keeping Kids Entertained In The Car On A Trip

For the ideas listed below, we actually ended up incorporating nearly every one of these games & rest stop activities on our 13 hour trip last year and it was so much fun, even if it only lasted for a few minutes each. PLUS, to get them excited about the road trip and keep it positive, we made a paper ring chain for each of our kids with the amount of days left before vacation, and they ripped off one ring each day which built so much excitement! Then, the week before we left for our trip, we drew out a physical map together with the planned stops listed - again, building excitement for the road trip portion of the vacation too. Having the kids check off each planned stop made seeing our progress towards our destination in real time so fun, and then we got to talk about & get excited for the NEXT planned stop on our map as we went!

Games To Play In The Car

Eye spy
Scavenger hunt
Bingo cards with things they will see during the trip
A physical map showing all the stops so the kids can see the progress
A velcro timeline outlining stops that they can remove once passed to see the progression

Ideas for Rest Stop Breaks

Ideally we aim to stop every two hours to allow for some movement & stretching (for us & the kids - we are tall!!) But we also try to make the time fun when we stop and let the kids get some of their energy out while they have the chance!

Play ‘Simon Says’ with fun stretches & movement activities incorporated to help burn some energy! If you need Simon Says ideas - we love doing active movements like lunges, jumping, running, skipping, bear walks, crab walks, toe touches, jumping jacks - there are SO many things you can do to get moving, stretch, get silly and have FUN!

Consider using PlayGround Buddy (a free app!) to find new playgrounds on your route
Tummy time/free floor time on a travel mat for little ones not yet walking

What Do I Pack & How Do I Get Organized For Traveling as a Family of 5?

Quick story time on this one category! Pretty much every time we are going to be away from home for a night, I bring along a Play Couch (like the Roo & You) and even though they are on the bigger side, there has NEVER been a time we didn’t end up needing to use it! Either for just a safe & comfy spot on the floor to sleep, or to help barricade/protect if there were dangerous or not easily child-proofable things in the room as well.

And this past year, we had such an unexpected hiccup at our initial location (basically, they overbooked and ended up telling us we had nowhere to stay after the first night…..while we were 13 hours from home with 3 kids during one of the busiest vacation weeks in a highly popular spot…. It was…not ideal, LOL) - BUT, fortunately because we had many of the things listed below prepped and ready with us, it was luckily just a small blip on our vacation radar and we were able to find a new place to stay and easily adapt to the room!

All that to say - when I say these items are tried & true for me, and things I have been SO thankful to have on hand when the unexpected happens, I really mean it!

Organizing & Packing Clothing When Traveling With Kids

How shoe organizers are the ULTIMATE hack you NEED to know about…..

One thing that has made a HUGE difference in helping me organize packing clothing specifically for multiple children is using a shoe organizer! They’re usually under $15, hang from the door, and I literally use one row top to bottom for each child. Then, within each ‘cube’ of the organizer, I rubber band ONE entire outfit together (shirt, shorts, underwear, socks, pajamas, bathing suits), for a total of however many we need. I then take it down, gently fold it up so everything stays in place and throw it right into a suitcase. VOILA! It is literally SO easy, SO organized, and you can check packing clothing right off your list in no time. When we get to our destination I just unroll it, hang it right on the door and because each child has their own designated rubber band color, they know exactly where to find their clothes & get be more independent getting them/getting dressed!

Then comes organizing & packing sleep related travel must haves -

you know…all the random little things many of our kids NEED to be able to sleep away from home that you definitely don’t want to realize you forgot when you’re a longggg way from home!

So…what are my must haves for staying away from home with little ones AND saving your sleep?! Keep reading to find out!

Similar to bringing along part of our play couches, in my experience it is SO much better to be over prepared when you’re not *totally* sure how the sleep set up will be, than to realize you forgot something or are now in an unsafe sleep situation. Because of that, I SWEAR by this toddler blow up mattress. Literally blows up in seconds, is SO comfy (I’ve even slept on it before!), has nice cozy bumpers built in on the sides to keep them contained & safe, and folds up nice & small for ease with traveling. Then, any pillows, sheets or bigger blankets I need to bring along get put into vacuum storage bags to take up less room - and sometimes, we haven’t even ended up needing to take them out of the car! BUT again…the times we have needed it, I’ve been so dang thankful to have it!

Next up in our sleep non-negotiables, I try to keep an ongoing list I add things to as I remember in the weeks leading up to vacation. I keep it right in a note on my phone so I can add & refer back to it whenever I need - but the big ones that are our must haves are our baby monitor, noise machine, black out curtains, inflatable bed bumpers and when our littles were in the crib stage, an easy to travel with crib or pack and play too!

Car Packing Essentials

If you’ve been here for any length of time, you likely know how much I swear by my trunk organizer and my absolute non-negotiable, must have in my trunk at all times items. I’m telling you - the amount of times the items on that list have absolutely saved my butt are impossible to count, *especially the portable potty with inserts for potty emergencies!* But when it comes to road trips, I also add a few “just in case” things (laid out below for ya!)- many of which I’ve found out the hard way are really helpful to have on hand when you need them!

Towels - keeping a towel in my trunk organizer is a non-negotiable for me, even just for wet slides on early playground mornings, but even more so for road tripping!
Large blankets - we have each family member bring one small, designated car blanket. They’re responsible for choosing it and bringing it to their car seat so they can get cozy if needed or just stay snuggled up while relaxing!
First aid kit - another absolute non negotiable for me - I have a first aid kit in pretty much every bag we have and always make sure we have a fully stocked one in the car, but even more so for road trips where quick access to medical supplies may be hard to find!
Diaper cream, Extra Diapers & Wipes - maybe an obvious one for those of us in this season, but worth highlighting because noone wants to run out of them!
Active Skin Repair - Honestly, I do not leave home without this stuff. I have a bottle of either the spray of gel in every bag and they’re my absolute go to for first aid, cleaning wounds, bug bites, anti-itch, sunburn - literally any and everything!
Extra grocery bags for vomit (or emesis bags) - …..just….trust me you don’t want to realize the hard way how helpful these are to have on hand!
Nausea bands - ^^ see above commentary
Silicone bibs for car sickness - again, super easy to roll up & store and just an absolute game changer if you run into car sickness or a bug in general!

Here is a full list of my first aid faves - most of which are listed above!

What About the Vacation MVP…Mama!

Consider this a gentle reminder….DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOU! When so much of the prep that goes into vacation, packing for the kids, trying to make sure you have it all together, etc often falls on our shoulders- it can be really easy to forget that this is YOUR vacation too! So don’t forget to pack some of your favorites - if you’re a big reader, definitely check out my Fave Recent Reads for some ideas you may love too!

Overstimulated Parent Pro Tip: Consider packing some earplugs - these are my sensory overload/overstimulation LIFE SAVERS. You can still hear your family, but they help reduce some of the noise/input SO much!

Lastly, don’t forget to pack up some of YOUR favorite snacks and your tumbler with a fav drink to stay hydrated! You already know I’ll be bringing along my Brumate and *of course* my LMNT.

For Beach Faves for little ones, definitely check out the link below:

Beach Must Haves

All in all, I know vacation and traveling with littles can be stressful at times, but it is SO special and you’ll make memories for a lifetime - for you AND for them! Try not to sweat the small stuff, remember that even the best laid plans often change a bit (especially with littles involved!), and try to soak in the time with your precious fam- you got this!