Travel Tips: ROAD TRIP!!

In preparing for our upcoming vacation, I have been scouring the travel magazines and websites for great travel tips to use and pass along. I was especially interested in ROAD trip ideas, given that this trip is going to be a long car ride with a child. Some of my favorite memories are from our families road trips, whether day trips into the White Mountains or longer trips to visit relatives or on vacations. I’m sure my parents heard the classic “are we there yet?” enough times and they probably find it odd that I have such wanderlust, given the complaints back then, but it’s thanks to their enthusiasm and planning that I hang on to those times and attempt to recreate them with my own family. Case in point: this past weekend, I was up for an adventure. My husband and I decided to pack up the car for a day trip to Machias, a couple of hours away. Our tween daughter had other plans with her friends and wasn’t happy about giving them up to ride all over Downeast Maine with us. We packed a picnic and set her up with movies and snacks and took off. She asked a few times about how much further and let out a few well placed teen angst sighs. She begrudgingly got out of the car when we got to some scenic spots to take pictures. She made it clear that she couldn’t wait to get home. Yesterday I was looking at her Facebook page and saw that she wrote: “The road trip was awesome!!” the same evening as our trip. You never know, do you.

So here is my compiled list of suggestions for a road trip with kids:



1. Pace yourself: remember that a kids sense of time is different than yours. You might want to go from point A to point B and get the trip over as soon as you can. it will be easier on all of you if you plan for multiple rest stops. It has worked well for us in the past to leave hours before breakfast, slipping the kid into the car in her pjs, tucked in (and buckled in) with pillows and blankets. Wake her up ten or fifteen minutes before you’re going to stop to give her time to get dressed and defog.

2. Games: games are important. They get you to interact with each other and some will get you to take a look at your environment. We have a magnetic travel bingo from LLBean.com that is different with each destination. There are loads of classic car game ideas online.

3. Creative time: we have a lap desk that I bring on our road trips that gives her a surface to use to draw, color, or doodle. She loves to make signs to put up in the windows for other cars to see. If you don’t have a lap desk, a clip board will do just fine.

4. Music: to the tween, music reigns. In advance of the trip, I will load her newest music onto her mp3 player, maybe even throw in a surprise track or two.

5. Audio books: another use for that mp3 player is for audio books. Our library has a free system to download audio books and carries a wide range of chapter books and other favorites.

6. Real books: nothing beats a good book on the road for me. I understand that this is not for all. My little one, though, has become a reader of late so I think I will get her a new book of her choice that she can begin at the onset of our trip.

7. Non messy, non spilling, non sticky snacks: is there such a thing? Stick with waters or sparkling water. It’s the best drink there is and isn’t sticky if (when) it is spilled and has other uses, like rinsing sticky fingers. Fruit like pre washed grapes, apples, and bananas are great. Cut up veggies and put them into plastic storage containers that you can refill at the supermarket later in the trip or use to store seashells. Pretzels, goldfish, crackers are pretty good travel snacks, if you don’t mind the occaisional one crushed underfoot. Use your judgement. If you’ve been a parent for any length of time, you know what works for you and your kids in the car. The basic rule is this: bring way more than you think they could possibly devour.

8. Active toys for breaks: we usually bring a jump rope or a rubber ball or a folding Frisbee just for something to play with at rest stops. It gives your legs a stretch, gets your blood going and doesn’t take long to shake off the auto stiffness.

9. Techno stuff: People have differing opinions about this. Some would prefer that the kids look out the windows or partake in conversations. That’s all great, but sometimes, we all need some downtime and nothing passes the ride like a good movie. Let your kid pick out a few. Maybe get a new one for the trip. Yes, I want to be able to talk to her about what we see out of the window, but there truly are some stretches of highway that offer little in the way of education or interest (stretches of Maine highway come to mind – pine trees, pine trees, pine tress). That portable DVD player can be a wonderful thing in a traffic jam. The Nintendo DS or Gameboy or iPhone game can ease some stress when a kid is bored and tired.

10. Their own stuff: when traveling by plane, I really have to limit what my daughter takes, given that I’ll most likely be the one schlepping it in the airport. Car road trips, though, have the benefit of a little extra space. I always let her pack a small totebag or backpack with her own “stuff.” For her it’s always her stuffed puppy as the number one choice. She also usually brings her little purse, some trinkets and little toys, and sometimes some cards. Whatever she wants.

Putting together this little list has clarified a few things for me and reminded me of others I had forgotten, which are now on my list. I am beginning to get more excited about this road trip ahead of us. We spent some time with the maps and tour books the other day and have discovered a couple of stops along the way that will infuse our vacation with something new. I will surely report them, complete with photos!



I’d love to hear from anyone reading this about their own suggestions and ideas for some smooth road trips with kids. In particular, the route between Maine and Virginia on 95.