Road Trip Tips For Traveling With Kids From The Dating Divas

Let the road trip planning begin!!

Road Trip Tips For Kids

 Long car rides with the kids can be a challenge. We’ve searched the web for all of the best long road trip tips to help make your next road trip stress free, fun and easy!

1. How to Take a Road Trip with a Toddler – Traveling with young toddlers is a real challenge. Luckily, my good friend Chelsea has some great tips to make it go a little smoother. As an added bonus, Bankrate also shares some incredible tips on how to travel with a BABY.
2. Road Trip Tips for Kids – Use these great tips to help make packing for a trip a little less stressful.
3. Ultimate Road Trip Packing List – Here is a great packing list of things to keep in your car so you are always ready to travel with your family.
4. Drinking Tips for Kids – While driving, you want to stay hydrated, but you don’t want to be pulling over for the kids to use the restroom every 30 minutes. Make sure to have water bottles for each child and play a little game where the kids have to complete a task such as finding a specific sign or word before they can have a drink. It will minimize the number of stops and keep the kids from constantly asking for a drink!
5. Ouch Kit – A first aid kit is essential for any traveling with kids. Just grab some neosporin, band-aids, pain killers, gauze, etc. and there you go! A great DIY kit for your car!
6. Emergency Car Kit – Be prepared for ANY situation with an emergency car kit that has all the essentials!

How To Make a Road Trip Fun

7. Kid Clips for Road Trips – This is such an amazing way to keep the kids on their best behavior! All you need are some clothespins and miraculously the kids will be on their best behavior! Genius! I’m so doing something like this when my kids are a bit older!

8. Save the Technology – While it’s important to keep the kids entertained, you might find that a little too much screen time in the car makes kids whiny and irritable! Let them entertain themselves for as long as possible. This way, they’ll look forward to playing games or watching a movie on the tablet as reward for good behavior!

9. Picnic Placemat – This would be great to have in the car for any quick stops or just to make snacking a little cleaner!

10. Road Map on the Van Ceiling – Tired of hearing “Are we there yet?!” Make a road map visual on the ceiling of your van or car so the kids can see how far you’ve traveled and how much further you have to go.

11. Baby and Toddler Road Trip Tips – Love tip #6 – always check for the blanky!

12. 40+ Tips for Road Trips with the Littles – So many amazing ideas for keeping kids entertained. Plus, some great bits of wisdom like: how often you should stop for bathroom breaks and how to make the most of those breaks!

13. Secrets for Family Vacation – Start rested, grab a comfort item, and other great tips to help your child cope with life on the road! 45 great ideas!

14. Car Maintenance – Get a check up for your car before a road trip to make sure everything is in order! Nothing is worse than being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a car full of kids!

15. Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Sleep! – You might get busy having fun on your trip, but you don’t want to pass up on nap time on a road trip! Make sure to plan some ZZZZzzzzzz’s in for the kids!

16. Packing a Busy Bag – This is amazing! It shows you exactly how to pack and organize a travel bag to keep the kids entertained! Love these tips!

17. Tips and Tricks for Traveling with Kids! – Here is another great list of tips for traveling with kids.

18. Kids Size Travel Pillows – It has pockets for books and activities!

Road Trip Tips / Hacks to Make Life Easier on the Road

You would be amazed at all of the hacks out there. Hacks for keeping things organized and accessible, plus other hacks to make driving with kids a little (or a lot) easier.

19. Road Trip Tips for Kids – I have totally used the ziploc bag for each day method and it makes traveling so much easier. Just grab a new bag for each day. This also helps a ton in emergency situations when you need a new outfit quickly!
20. Cosmetic Entertainment Organization – Crayons, cars, stickers, etc. You can easily store all of the toys and activities you want in a compact and neat way with a roll-up cosmetic case!
21. Take Screen Shots of Your Route – Just in case you lose access to GPS or service, take some screen shots of your trip!
22. Use Glad for Jewelry – This hack is genius. Glad can keep jewelry from getting tangled in your packed luggage!
23. Create Backseat Pockets Using a Shoe Organizer – Keep organized while on the go! A shoe organizer can make it easy to keep track of all the things you want easy access to, but still keep everything in it’s proper place so you can stay sane!
24. Bucket and Pulley System – Oh, my husband would love this one. Rig up a bucket and pulley system so you can easily pass things from the front of the car to the back.

Road Trip Entertainment

25. Store Cosmetics in Contact Case – If you don’t want to take the whole bottle, this is a great way to store cosmetics!

26. Along The Way App – An app that tells you of cool places to spot all along your road trip!

27. Mini Emergency Kits – You never know what’s going to happen on the road, and you want to be prepared … without having to carry around the entire medicine cabinet. Here are 5 different types of MINI emergency kits you might find helpful!

28. Keep a Container of Quarters – You definitely don’t want to be left stranded without any money! I’ve had this happen before–so stressful! Avoid the stress by making sure you always have some cash and coins on hand!

29. Silicone Cupcake Liners for Cup Holders – Ten great road trip ideas for families including using silicone cupcake liners for cup holders. So many amazing tips and tricks to make life easier!

30. Shower Caddy for Storage – Use a shower caddy to store food, activities, craft supplies, etc. Even better, grab one that you can attach to the window; now it is easy to store out of the way!

31. Kid’s Car Organizer – What a great way to help the kids manage themselves on a car ride; provide them with all of the entertainment and snacks they need for the trip!

32. Car Boot Organizer – This is a great find to keep you organized on the go!

33. Messy Car Solution – Keep all of the trash picked up so that it doesn’t get overwhelming! You’ll be so glad you did!

34. Keep Earrings Safe – This is such a clever way to keep earrings together in a pair. Don’t let another trip be the cause of losing another pair of earrings.

35. On the Go Play & Snack Tray – This will help keep you sane and organized! Kids will be able to easily keep everything they need within reach and have a nice station to play on!

36. Printable Storage Labels – Print out labels so that you can keep everything neat and organized!

37. DVD Coloring Case – Take an old DVD case and make a fun coloring kit!

38. Surviving A Road Trip with Toddlers – Road trip ideas to help you survive, and thrive, on vacation with the kids!

Road Trip Entertainment for Kids

Keeping little hands busy on the road is important! If kids get bored and frustrated, the trip can be a little uncomfortable (or worse) for everyone.

39. Mini Road Map Busy Bag – If you have a little one who loves cars, a few Hot Wheels and a map will keep them occupied for a couple of hours!
40. Travel Chalk and Magnet Activity Board – Art and learning on the road! Paint an old baking sheet with chalkboard paint, grab some chalk, and you are set with a fun and easy way to keep kids entertained!
41. Portable LEGO Kit – My kids love LEGOs! There is an endless amount of creativity and fun to be had with this fun travel size LEGO Kit. Grab a lunch box and make your own!
42. Kid’s Travel Binder – Make a binder filled with activities the kids can work on the entire trip!! This is a great resource with 150+ ideas for printables.
43. Teen Road Trip Survivial Kit – A teen busy box to keep your teenagers entertained while on the road! How neat is this!?
44. Road Trip Bingo – All of the kids will love this bingo game designed especially for road trips!
45. DIY Travel Bags – Create your own travel bag and fill it with your kid’s favorite activities and new, unique activities to add excitement to the road trip.

Family Road Trip Ideas

46. A Bag by Fun on the Fly – For less hassle and stress, just grab one of these nifty bags all prepped and ready to go for you! This is my kind of travel prep!

47. Magnetic Snack Tray – Make the hours go by faster with this cool magnetic snack tray!

48. I Spy Jar – What a fun idea for the littles… and so easy to throw together in just a couple minutes! {Find a jar, Here}

49. Portable LEGO Kit – These fun LEGO activity cards make playing with LEGOs a more fun and challenging task.

50. Crayola Mini coloring pages – Everyone loves coloring; grab a few extra books to store in the kid’s travel binders!

51. Fun Dry Erase Activity – This is just the cutest idea for entertainment! Ha! Print out some pictures and laminate them… then you can add some cute art to the family photos with dry erase markers!

52. Ultimate Road Trip Games Book – This book is full of fun road trip games that everyone will love.

53. Travel Memory Board – An easy felt memory board that you can DIY!

54. Kids Travel Binder – There are even two versions available – one for Pre-K / Kindergarten age kids and one for older kids!

55. On the Go Reading Pillow – A free sewing pattern for an On the Go Reading Pillow Tutorial, perfect for long Summer road trips!

56. Travel Coloring Cases – Small and compact storage idea for crayons and other travel entertainment!

57. Portable Travel Tins – What would you fill a portable travel tin with!?

58. Kids Travel Supply Case – Fill up a personalized supply case for each child!

59. Printable Sewing Cards – Teach your kids a new skill on a road trip! These printable sewing cards look so cool and could easily fit in a travel binder.

60. Kids Travel Bag Activities – A whole list of possible resources to occupy the kids on the go! Check this out and you’ll know exactly what to put in the kid’s bag!

Family Road Trip Ideas

Use time on the road to bond as a family! Here are a bunch of fun road trip tips to entertain everyone! 

61. Travel Bingo – Get the whole family involved in a game of “I Spy” or Bingo! here are so many fun games that you can play with this fun set of cards!
62. Road Trip Adventure in a Box – Our fun-filled Road Trip in a Box has EVERY car trip activity idea you need while traveling with kids, your family, or just your spouse!!!
63. Would You Rather Game – If you are stuck in the car you might as well get to know your family a bit better! These fun questions will provide some fun entertainment.
64. The Road Trip Date – Fun date idea if it’s just the two of you traveling!
65. Would You Rather Disney Trip – Everyone loves Disney! A fun car game will let everyone show off how well they know their Disney trivia.
66. Road Trip Kit – Our Summer Boredom Busters Kit comes with a mini Road Trip Kit that is PERFECT for keeping the whole family entertained.
67. Create a Countdown – Make the hours go by faster by creating a fun countdown for each hour that you pass in the car!
68. Kid Road Trip Games – Favorite games that I’m SURE you’ve played, plus some you’ve probably never heard of! Try some of these out on your next road trip – there’s 10 so you’re sure to find something you love.

Road Trip Activities For Tweens

69. Scavenger Hunt – Hand a scavenger hunt to everyone in the family and race to see who can find a Bingo FIRST! A little fun family competition goes a long way!
70. Brain Games – You’ll love these brain games. With all that time on the road, this is a great way to get to know the way your kids think!
71. The Great Alphabet Race – The alphabet game taken to a whole new level!
72. Amazing Race Family Style – We love the amazing race! Now you can make your road trip into your own amazing race adventure!
73. Great Road Trip Games – Want to do your duty to help keep the driver awake?? These 11, fun games will help!
74. Best Kids Road Trip Games – Keep your little traveling companions happy with food and fun!
75. Road Trip Truth or Dare – Truth or dare is a fun game… check out this fun road trip version found in our adventure box!

Road Trip Tips for Making Memories on the Road

Since road trips are all about family time, having traditions and meaningful activities makes vacation time even more exciting! 

76. Travel Photography Tips – Capture the heart and feelings of the places you travel! Here are 8 tips to create beautiful images that will transfer you back in time to the places you visit!
77. Tips for Collecting Mementos – Darn this link is no longer available 🙁
78. Ticket Jar – Grab a jar to collect all of the tickets from your trip! These can be a great visual reminder to display!
79. Sand Jars – Collect sand from each beach you visit and label it with the destination. I’ve seen this done as beautiful DIY home decor. These jars would be perfect!
80. Postcard Travel Journal – How neat is this idea? Send a postcard to yourself each day from your destination. When you get home, you’ll have a journal with fun memories from your vacation.
81. Road Trip Shirts – If you really want to go all out, consider getting special road trip shirts for the vacation. You’ll remember the fun memories you made every time you wear them – and, they look extra fun in your vacation pics.
82. DIY Pocket Travel Journal – Make this adorable journal BEFORE your trip to help you collect memories along the way!
83. Vacation Memory Jars – Every time your family goes on a vacation, make a memory jar to display in your home!
84. Travel Photo Checklist – Pictures are great because they capture and freeze memories. Use this travel photo checklist to see how many memories you can capture in pictures.
85. How to Make Travel Special – The best tip for making memories – relax and let things go! The best memories are made when you just go with the flow! This is something I learned from my in-laws and it has drastically changed the way that I vacation.

Road Trip Tips / Hacks for Eating On the Go

I always say food is the most important part of a trip! Eating on the go can be a challenge, but here are some great road trip tips to make it easier to stay nourished while on the road!

86. Road Trip Snack Boxes – Keep your kids fueled on the go with snacks in hobby boxes. These look so fun, I totally want one!
87. DIY Snack Bags On the Go – Save some money by making your own snack-size bags!
88. Frozen Fruit for Trips – Along with keeping things cold, frozen fruit is also fun for munching. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes from watermelon or honeydew, and toss them in a plastic bag alongside grapes, blueberries, or even strawberries. Freeze them overnight, then use ’em as cold packs for other basket items.
89. Salad in a Jar – A healthy meal on the go will keep you fueled and ready for anything!
90. To Go Cold Cuts – Easy peasy sandwiches; perfect for traveling!
91. Plastic Easter Egg Carrier – This is just too cute! Fill up some Easter Eggs for some fun snacking in the car!
92. Road Trip Snack Boxes – 44 healthy options to fill up your snack box!
93. Easy Vacation Food Prep – Save money and eat healthier on vacation with a little food prep. Fill up some containers with fruit, veggies, and all kinds of snacks! Who said you have to buy take-out?

Road Trip Snacks

94. Pantry Snacks Pack – If you are looking for some snacks that don’t need to be kept cold, here are some great road trip tips!
95. Refrigerated Snacks Pack – Here are some great road trip tips for healthy and fun, refrigerated snacks.
96. Mason Jar Snack Shaker – This idea is GENIUS! Grab a mason jar and put one of these snack shakers together for less mess on the go!
97. Uncrustables – Wouldn’t your kids love these?? Everyone will feel good about this on the go sandwich that you can make with a sandwich sealer!
98. Snack Necklace – You’re kids will LOVE this snack hack that doubles as a fun activity!
99. Packed Snacks for a Car Trip – With a little planning ahead, road trip snacks can be healthy AND easy!
100. Veggie and Dip Cup – This makes healthy eating and snacking on the go SO easy!
101. Road Trip Snack Box – A sectioned box for snacks your kids can help themselves to anytime! Good luck on your future Summer Road Trips! We also have rounded up some tips for organized travel, check them out, Here! If you are looking for some more Summer fun, you should checkout our Summer Boredom Busters! Or, for even more fun, take a look at these 101 Cheap or Free Summer Activities.