Top Tips for a Successful Family Road Trip with Young Kids

This post is all about planning for a family road trip. All of our best learnings about how to plan and enjoy the journey with a baby or toddlers.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we have so many amazing places just a drive away. While we love a big, international trip, don’t forget to explore via car. We love a family road trip because they give us the freedom to enjoy not just the destination, but all the places along the way.

With a family, a road trip also is also a great way to practice traveling when you have young kids and you don’t feel quite ready for a plane trip. You can be less precise with your packing list, have more flexibility on travel days and can make the trip budget friendly.

Our Favorite Family Road Trips to Date:

1. Banff National Park (Seattle to Lake Louise)
2. California Coast (Seattle to San Diego)

Tips for a Road Trip with a Baby

1. Plan stops around feedings. We always tried to leave for the day after a feeding and some play time so baby was ready for a nap right away. Try to plan the next stop 2-3 hours out so you can do a good feeding, diaper change, gas refill and food stop for adults.
2. Plan stops with a green space. We would try to find a town with a small park so that we could grab food to go and sit outside. That way baby can lay down on a picnic blanket and get some tummy time or other movement different than how they sit in the car seat.
3. If baby is not ready for a nap, have a parent sit in the back seat and help baby play with toys or books.
4. If you have an SUV, try to create a space in the trunk where you could change a diaper. You never know when you may need to stop to change a blowout out or what your public restroom amenities will be.

Tips for a Road Trip with a Toddler

1. Set expectations with screen time before you leave on the road trip. We like to start without screens and then add them after our first stop or milestone (lunch, bathroom break, gas stop, etc.)
2. Engage them in downloading shows/movies from Netflix or Disney+ before you leave
3. Bring a portable potty if your child isn’t used to using public restrooms or as a backup if your stop doesn’t have a bathroom accessible
4. Pack favorite lovey/blanket for the ride
5. Be realistic about whether they will take a nap in the car. Our kids are hit or miss with naps so it doesn’t necessarily make sense to plan around them. We actually prefer to do more driving in the evening, because they are more likely to sleep.
6. If you know you are arriving at your destination past bedtime, we like to change into PJs before the last leg so there is one less thing to do when we get there.

Recommended Post: Travel-Friendly Tablet and Accessories for Toddlers

Road Trip Car Essentials

Water Coloring

Games (Car Scavenger Hunt)

Writing Tablets

This post has been all about planning a family road trip. Please let me know if I missed any of your favorite tips in the comments!