How to Successfully Travel with Kids

Traveling with kids is truly an art. For those children who don’t particularly travel well in the car, family road trips can quickly escalate into stressful situations. A few months ago, my family had an amazing experience exploring many Must See Family-Friendly Attractions in Arizona. Because my son HATES riding in the car, I was a little worried that our road trip would be disastrous. However, with a little planning and a few tricks up my sleeve, we pulled off a very memorable family vacation. Take the worry and stress out of traveling with little ones by learning how to successfully travel with kids.

I received a Residence Inn gift card in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own. 

How to Successfully Travel with Kids

Entertainment: Keeping kids entertained during travels can be tricky. However, the better distracted kids are, the quicker travel time passes. Entertain your kids with a mixture of activities: movies, books, toys, coloring, songs, making puppets out of paper sacks, etc. Don’t be afraid to get creative – something as simple as playing with a flashlight could keep the kiddos entertained for hours. If nothing else, resort to old fashioned car games – finding the alphabet using road signs, playing I Spy, etc. For a fun twist on the classic game of I Spy, check out I Spy Remixed.

Extra clothing: It’s no secret that kids aren’t the cleanest travel partners. Messes happen and that’s okay – just make sure to have at least one change of clothes easily accessible in case of accidents.

Take breaks: Make sure to take frequent breaks along your trip. Allow your children time to run around, enjoy the views, and expel their energy.

Toys: Bring toys that your children haven’t seen in a while. Before heading on your trip, rummage through the bottom of the toy box for those “forgotten” toys. Reintroduce these toys at various time intervals along your travels. It’s amazing how excited children get over toys they haven’t played with in a while.

Stay organized: Keeping the car clean can go a long way when traveling with kids. Bring plenty of trash bags in the car. At every stop, throw away all trash collected from that leg of the trip. Keeping up with the mess allows for more comfortable travel.

Kid friendly lodging: After a long day in the car, it’s important to choose a hotel that will help your little ones feel right at home. After-all, having well rested kids will make your next day of traveling that much easier. Need help finding such a hotel? Learn why my family chooses Residence Inn in my post Finding the Perfect Family-Friendly Hotel.

During our last family road-trip, staying at Residence Inn truly took the stress out of family travels. We loved everything about our stay at Residence Inn – our large and spacious room (we loved having a separate living room), full kitchen (provided a lot of storage), free grocery delivery, free wifi, spa-like outdoor area, free breakfast (the waffles were amazing), laundry services, low rates, and friendly staff. My family really felt right at home. In fact, we all slept so peacefully, no one woke up until 10 am (this NEVER happens) – now that’s a sign of comfortable lodging!

Pull off a successful family road-trip by including Residence Inn in your next family travels. With locations across the country, there’s a Residence Inn perfect for every destination.

How do you successfully travel with kids?