Tips for Traveling with Kids on a Road Trip

When we decided to go on our first big family road trip the first thought that came into my mind was “How will we survive this with 3 little kids?” With three kids under six years old, I knew that it would take some organization and planning to make sure all our ducks were in a row and to ensure everyone was taken care of during the long rides on the road. I’m sharing the 10 Hacks for Your Family Road Trip that we will forever us for all future family vacations!

We were so excited to head to Utah for our big family road trip. We had traveled before with the kids, but nothing like 12 hours in the car. Luckily I found some really great hacks that made traveling in the car with little ones fun and bearable. Here are my 10 hacks for family road trips and traveling with kids.

If you LOVE to travel, make sure you check out the adorable National Park Themed Birthday we threw for Duncan! It is the cutest EVER! TAG ME on Instagram @projectwhim if you try anything from the blog! I love to see and share!

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Hack #1 Car Organization

With 5 people crammed into a car I had to stay organized to stay sane. I found some really great items on Amazon for keeping the car organized. My favorite were these backseat car organizers. They come as a set of 2 which was perfect for each girl. I used them to store their headphones, tablets, color books, loveys, water bottles, sunglasses, face masks, etc. Anything that I thought the girls would want easy access to while riding in the car.

My other favorite find was a car trash can. Why it took me this long to get a trash can for my car, I have no idea? With all the trash, and there was a lot of trash passed around, this was one of the best buys for the trip. An added bonus is that it is insulated and waterproof so you could also use it for drinks if you wanted to. I will be keeping the trash can in my car forever.

Set of 2 Back Seat Car Organizers | Collapsible Waterproof Trash Can |

Hack #2 Distractions While Traveling

All our kids are little, so they can quickly become bored. I didn’t want to have to rely on the tablets the entire time we were in the car, even that can get boring after a while. So, I packed plenty of fun activities for the girls. I bought them Crayola Dry Erase Board Binders. The girls loved them, and Duncan surprisingly played with it for a long time. He found it fascinating that he could scribble on it and then wipe it away. But these Sticker Books were the WIN! There are so many different themes to choose from, beautiful stickers, coloring pages and the perfect size for in the car. The Best Part- NO MESS! These entertained the kids for hours and are my go-to for traveling. I also bought everyone a Road Trip Bingo game which was really fun for all of us to play. The kids got a kick out of searching for things outside the car. Color books and Twistable Crayons are great too.

Hack #3 DIY Road Trip Fun Bags

This was the hit of the trip. You will have to try this Hack for Family Road Trips. I bought all kinds of small, inexpensive toys for the kids. Included in the bags were cloud putty, lego DOTs bracelets, some surprise balls that they could open, fun activity packs from the Dollar Store, matchbox cars for Duncan, etc. I picked one toy and one treat (bag of mini Oreos, cookies, and fruit snacks) and separated them out into paper bags. When the kids would start to get restless, I would grab a Road Trip Fun Bag and toss them back to the kids. They had so much fun with these. They loved that they didn’t know what was inside and that they would get something new to play with for a while. This is my favorite hack for the trip.

Lego DOTS Bracelets | Cloud Putty | Paper Lunch Bags | Mini Toy Cars

Hack #4 Containers for Food

Another genius idea for your next road trip. These plastic storage trays were used SO much on our trip. You get 2 for $2!! When we stopped for fast food, I would put the little bag of French fries, the box of nuggets and their juice box all in one plastic container and hand it back to them. This way we didn’t have nuggets flying all over the car and the kids could easily eat with their food in their lap. I also used these containers when we stopped in Grand Junction to grab Palisade Peaches (cue mouthwatering). The girls could eat their juicy peaches without juice getting all over their clothes and then when they finished, they would throw the pit in the container and hand it back to me.

2pk Storage Trays

Hack #5 Car Sick Kit

Oh, the dreaded car sickness. Everly is one of the kids that gets extremely car sick. Even if we are driving around for 10 mins, she can start to get queasy. I put together a car sick kit for her so if she started feeling bad, I could quickly help her feel better or do some quick cleaning if she got sick. In the clear bag I included some small trash bags, extra pair of clothes, crackers, water bottle, peppermint essential oil, motion sickness medicine, cleaning wipes, ginger chews, and a microfiber cloth. This was up by me so I could easily get to it while we were driving. Fortunately, we only had to pull the kit out once for her. The Peppermint Oil saves us 90% of the time. To use, she takes the cap off and she smells it straight from the bottle. You can also snag a car diffuser and diffuse peppermint and lemon oil while you travel. Your car will smell divine, and the combo will help when kids start to feel queasy. Another great tip we got from a follower on Instagram was to suck on a lemon. That one helped too! So, add some lemons to your bag!

Large Clear Makeup Bags | Peppermint Essential Oil | Kids Motion Sickness Medicine | Ginger Tablets | Small Trash Bags

Hack #6 Pack with a Purpose

Staying organized while traveling is a necessity for me. One of my favorite ways to stay organized is to pack together like-minded items. I bought a bunch of clear makeup bags and zip up containers so I could separate items by use. For example, all the medicine went in one container and all the kid’s bathroom accessories (hair ties, toothbrush, etc.) went in another. I used these clear packing cubes for swimsuits and the smaller one for sunscreen. I loved how it zipped up and kept wet swimsuits from ruining our other clothes. The pouch of sunscreen was really helpful because I could take the pouch and toss it in the pool bag or in our hiking backpack. Made it really convenient and easy. For our Texas Road Trip, I got this adorable Road Trip Bag. The quality is amazing, and we used it to carry all the kids’ toys that they wanted to bring.

You then want to pack the back of the car first with items you don’t need to get to. We started with all our bags of clothes. Then as you pack closer to the trunk door we put things that we might need to reach while on the road. I used my favorite Collapsible Utility Tote for things we might need at arm’s reach.

PRO TIP: I learned this the hard way: Don’t bring your expensive purse on your road trip. I was lucky that I bought this adorable (and really inexpensive) leather backpack for our TX road trip. At the start of the trip, I accidentally spilled an ENTIRE bottle of bug spray inside my backpack. It completely ruined it. So glad it didn’t happen in my expensive handbag. (BTW: I was so sad this happened, and I loved the backpack so much I repurchased it)

There were some home essentials I am so glad I added at the last minute. If you are staying in a hotel or an Air B&B or trying to picnic on the road these items are a MUST for a road trip.

Road Trip Tote | Set of Clear Makeup Bags | Clear Packing Cubes | Collapsible Utility Tote | Large Leather Travel Tote | Leather BackPack

Hack #7 Snacks and Treats

Don’t forget to load up on all kinds of snacks and treats for the ride. Not only do these come in handy when everyone start to get bored, it can lengthen your ride until the next stop if you choose things that take time to eat. I loaded up on lots of individual sized snack bags like goldfish, animal crackers, raisins, peanut butter crackers and pretzels. Healthy options were a must too. I premade bags of sliced cucumber and bell peppers and grabbed a bunch of whole apples and peaches. Surprisingly, the healthy options were the first to go. I made sure all the snacks were in the passenger seat with me so anytime one of the kids started to get a little feisty, I’d toss them back a snack. Worked like a charm!

Hack #8 Get out and Stretch

When the kids start to get restless and the distractions are no longer working it’s time to get out and stretch. It’s amazing what a 15 minute stop can do for everyone. Try to utilize those bathroom breaks or lunch pit stops as an opportunity to get the wiggles out. We made our own picnic lunch in a parking lot and then had the kids jump and run around some construction cones we found. Not only was it totally fun and something they will remember (Dad jumping over the cones), but it energized them enough to get through the rest of the drive. If you find yourself driving by a beautiful spot and you know the kids are starting to get antsy, use the opportunity to get out and check out the scenery. Take some pics and then get back on the road.

Hack #9 Bring Comfort Items

I am the type of person that can’t sleep without my pillow from home. So that was a must on my list. I also made sure to pack the kids’ loveys and blankets so they would have their comforts from home and easily fall asleep in the car. This was extremely helpful with Duncan. When he would start rubbing his eyes, I would lay his blanket on his lap and turn on our portable sound machine (one of my favorite baby items EVER) and rub his leg a little bit and he would quickly drift off to sleep. I also made sure to bring a heavy throw blanket from home. This was mainly for me. I have trouble sleeping without heavy blankets, so I brought this incase the places we were staying had the thin sheets on the bed. I ended up using it more than I thought. We sat on it for road trip picnics and for when someone got cold in the car. It was also nice to cuddle with at night after the kids went to bed while rex and I played cards or relaxed on the couch.

Hack #10 Get Digital

Don’t forget to pack your tablets for the ride. As much as I dislike too much screen time, sometimes throwing on a movie is the best way to knock out a few hours of the drive. We only had 1 tablet so we decided to buy a Kindle Fire so the girls would each have their own (in case they wanted to watch 2 separate things). They each got their tablets, and I preloaded their favorite movies (and some new ones too) on them. You can also download Audible and get books! When they wanted to watch a movie or listen to a story they could relax with the tablet and headphones. It was definitely a life saver when they were just wanting to zone out a little bit, and it helped keep the car nice and quiet!

We purchased the 10 inch Kindle Fire in the pretty teal color and I was really impressed with it! I actually preferred it over our other tablet.

We were so surprised by how well the kids did on the road. All the planning and organizing really helped us quickly meet everyone’s needs and keep them occupied. It ended up being such a memorable family vacation that we can’t wait to plan our next road trip adventure.

Interested in Exploring Utah for your next family road trip? Check out all the fun (family friendly) things we did and saw! Exploring Utah

Check out our latest road trip to Texas! Click HERE to see all the fun and unique things we did in TX.

If you love these 10 Hacks for Family Road Trips make sure to check out my blog post on 7 Creative Ways to Gift Experiences for Kids | Laundry Room Makeover for Under $200 | Kids Sleep Roller Recipe for Natural Sleep Support | Our First Year of Homeschool | The Ultimate Barbie Doll Storage Solution |DIY Non-Toxic MAGIC Stain Stick|

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for more tips, DIY projects and fun activities for kids. Check out my saved “Road Trip” and “Utah” highlights to watch videos of our trip.