In order to have a successful road trip, it's important to plan on ways to keep your kids entertained during the car ride. We are fortunate that our son enjoys road trips, and we can travel up to 11-12 hours per day. I usually sit in the back seat with him so I'm sure that helps.
The following are the activities / games that Zach enjoyed along the way on this particular trip. He was 5 years old during our vacation from Texas to Colorado.
Other Tips:
The following are the activities / games that Zach enjoyed along the way on this particular trip. He was 5 years old during our vacation from Texas to Colorado.
- Tablet loaded with his favorite games and songs.
- Travel journal - We used a book that has a blank area to draw a picture on the top of the page with lines below so our son could write about what he saw. This was really cute - especially his spelling and the things he found interesting (a crane holding a star and punchbugs / VW Beetles).
- Uno - It helps if you use a card holder, which can be found on Amazon. A card tray also helps for playing in the car.
- Go Fish
- Travel Bingo - This is the version we have; however, you can find printables or other versions on Amazon.
- Scavenger Hunt - I create my own version using Excel with things I know we will see. However, there are printables that can be found on the internet.
- License Plate Game - This is the version we use, from MomsMinivan.com.
- Vtech V.Reader
- Watch DVDs - Make sure to pick DVDs that won't drive you nuts (No Barney!! LOL) We also allow the parents to take turns; otherwise, our son has been known to watch the same movie over and over and over again. (As Zach gets older, we will switch to Audio Books. However, at 5 years old, I'll do whatever I can to keep him entertained.)
- I spy
- Word games such as 20 Questions or "I'm Going Camping." This is where each player picks something to bring, going through the alphabet and remembering all the previous items. For example, Player 1 is going camping and is bringing an Apple. Player 2 would say he's going camping and will bring an Apple and something with a "B" such as a Banana. Player 3 would say she's bringing an Apple, a Banana, and something with a "C" such as a Cooler, and so on and so on, all the way through the alphabet.
- Listen to music - both kids and grown up.
- Have a lap tray handy for each child. This helps for coloring and eating in the car.
- There are so many more options. An excellent website that I have used to prepare for all my road trips is MomsMinivan.com. There are ideas for all ages, printables, word game ideas, etc...
Other Tips:
- For ski trips, check out Liftopia for lift ticket/rental packages in advance of your trip. We saved a lot of money by booking through them, but once purchased, tickets are non-refundable.
- Join AAA for travel discounts and free maps. Although we use a GPS, there have been times where we needed a map or we would have been stuck.
- Pack food and lunch supplies. Since you have a vehicle, make use of it. There have been times where we were literally in the middle of nowhere without a fast food restaurant in site.
- One thing I do is to plot out the route we take on a map using Mapquest. I also use this to help plot "Scenic Routes" for summer trips. I always print out the Mapquest instructions because the GPS has led us astray a few times.
- From there I use Trip Advisor to look for activities in cities along the way. It also helps to look for playgrounds along the way, especially for summer trips. We'll then let our son eat in the car so he makes the most use of his running around time.
- Use Trip Advisor to make the most of your trip. You can find information on local activities, restaurants, hotel reviews, and there are travel forums in case you want to ask questions to locals or others who have traveled there previously.
- Google activities you are interested in along with name of the state. That's how I found out about the sledding/ice skating place in Aspen. I've also used this technique to find Alpine Slides, cave tours, mining tours, etc...
- Visit state tourism websites to have literature mailed to your home ahead of time or view it electronically. For example, we visited Colorado.com to request travel information before several trips we've taken to the state.