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.
Wow, this place looked stunningly beautiful! I would love to visit, and I know all about traveling with kids..my three are very content with lots of snacks and entertainment.
We love to travel with our kids too and I agree with your tips! We do take lots of stops so the kids can stretch their legs, eat a snack, go potty and get a little sight seeing in. This helps keep the complaining down.
Traveling with kids isn’t easy. These are great tips! We have 5 we travel with and these will be helpful!
Those are some useful tips. My kids seem to travel really well. Sometimes it’s hard to get them to unwind and go to bed, but other than that, it’s good. Love little mans red glasses.
That place looks so beautiful, the kid also looks so happy!
It looks like you guys had a great time. That’s what traveling is all about.
That sunglasses pic is adorable! We always take our kids with us when we travel. Finding a kid-friendly hotel is a must. We like to go someplace that has a pool or playground so that the kids can burn off some energy.
Traveling with kids can be a challenge if you’re not prepared. I have only made that mistake one time. LOL!
Traveling with kids can be rough. I agree that taking breaks really does help. It gives everyone the chance to take a breath!
These are great tips for traveling with kids. It has been many years since i had to travel with my kids. I always packed lots of snacks and activities they could do in the car.
wow if my kids all slept in till 10 I would also think the place must be amazing! Great tips.
I always had to keep it interesting. Also my kids never brought enough clothes so I had to help them pack!
looks like you had a great time. we took a big family trip when i had a 10 year old and a 10 month old. it was easier than I thought it was going to be. great tips!!!
Great list! We always take breaks and look for places we can amuse the kids along the route! So far, we’ve been smooth sailing!
We don’t travel with kids but those tips can apply to traveling with husbands too 🙂 A good hotel is a must do to any road trip in my opinion.
Great tips right down to the toys and lodging. We always have to think of all scenarios when travelling with our kids, if they are happy – the vacation is happy!
I can feel my mom is stress when we have car rides. But I think this will hep her. 🙂
Travelling with kids is definitely an art. Taking breaks is a must. Thanks for the great tips!
We travel with the kids a lot, but mine are older now (7&10), so they are pros.