*Originally posted on Fathersofmultiples.com
The family road-trip can be a lot of fun. I know because I just returned from a 12 day family excursion that started and ended in Seattle, Washington. I also know that the thought of even planning such an extended road-trip can be a bit daunting. These 5 tips will help ease the stress in planning and executing the perfect family road-trip. It will create memories that you'll want to re-live with your family for years to come.
Keep the Kids Entertained
Keeping the kids busy during a road-trip should be obvious. There's only so many big balls of twine they'll want to look out the window to see. Bring coloring books, reading material, handheld game systems, whatever works. You can also play games like road trip bingo or license plate state searches. Road trip bingo is a fun game that you can buy or simply download our version. We've also shared one of our favorites, State License Plate Scavenger Hunt. I always assumed Hawaii would be the hardest to find, since it’s an island. However, we found Delaware to be the hardest to spot when anywhere in the US other than New England.
Stay Charged Up
Don’t forget to take your device chargers along with you so you can recharge all devices each night at the hotel or while in the car. There’s nothing worse than going to take that one perfect, scenic picture with your phone, only to find that your battery is dead. In that respect, portable chargers are a good idea as well, since they provide a way for you to double your carry-along charge for your phone or other devices. Otherwise, your phone stays dead until you can find a place to plug in. Solar chargers are a good way to keep your charge going if you’re not going to have a spot to plug in any time soon on your outing. These come in especially handy while hiking and camping, since there aren’t usually many places with power outlets in those scenarios. For the hiking enthusiasts reading this, many solar chargers have clips so that they can clip onto your backpack and soak up the sun while you’re hiking.
Map it Out
While some like the adventure of flying (or driving) by the seat of their pants, mapping out your road-trip ahead of time gives you a few benefits you may not have considered. First, and most important, your GPS may not get a good signal everywhere you go. We’ve become so reliant on our GPS technology that we often do not have a backup plan. When you’re traveling down the road, the GPS loses signal, and you don’t know where to go. Well, it’s either time to wing it, hope for the best, and hope you don’t need to make it anywhere on time, or you could have a map. Pre-printed maps from Google Maps or Mapquest, printed to show your route with turn-by-turn directions, are a real help at these times.
There are side benefits to looking at the map websites ahead of time. You quite possibly might notice your path goes through an area you hadn’t thought about. Many times, I have planned my road-trip route and noticed that my route would take me through a town I hadn’t expected. Then I would google it to see what that town had to offer. I ended up adding quite a few fun stops to our trips over the years this way.
Be sure to account for time zones when mapping your path and planning your itineraries. If you have a relaxing, open itinerary, an hour change won’t affect you extremely. However, if you have any timed events planned for your day and you cross a time zone, an hour can really affect your plans! It’s great when you gain an hour, but absolutely terrible when you lose an hour and aren’t expecting it. Something to note, Arizona doesn’t play the daylight savings game, so factor that into your time planning if visiting the Grand Canyon State. If you’re unsure what time it is in a location, comparable to your own, google it. Google “what time is it in _____”. Just fill in the blank with the town name to find the current time in that town.
Ready to Board
You aren't always going to fly when doing a road-trip, but sometimes if you only want to see a certain part of the country, it just makes sense. We had less than 2 weeks to see everything we wanted, so we chose to save the driving time for the actual road-trip.
Airlines don’t always lose your baggage. However, the 4 times I’ve checked bags in my life, they’ve lost them twice. I eventually got them back, of course, but the temporary loss through a wrench into my plans. For me, that’s a 50% chance of loss! Regardless, even when your bags aren’t lost, it takes time to retrieve your checked bags. Instead, you can pack light enough to fit everything into your carry-on bag and your one personal item…which can be a backpack, aka a 2nd bag. Plan ahead while packing and leave some room to add souvenirs on the way home. Just be sure to check the requirements and restrictions of the airline with which you’re flying to ensure your bags and personal items fit their definitions.
Helpful Tip: Strollers and car seats don’t count as carry-ons. Also, you’ll get to board the plane early if you have kids in strollers.
Road-Trip at Night
On road trips, I like to get up and start driving in the middle of the night. My wife and kids sleep in their seats, so less stops are needed, and there’s less “are we there yet” conversations. Instead, when everyone else wakes up, you’re either at your new destination or you’ve at least cut the drive-time for everyone else much shorter. As most vacations happen in the Summer, it is also cooler at night, making driving (and for you passengers, sleeping) a lot more comfortable.
Bonus Tips: Call your credit card company before you leave and let them know of your trip destinations. Otherwise, you run the risk of having your card disabled during your trip. Often companies will take notice if they spot “suspicious” out of state purchases.
Keep all of your confirmations in one location. Plane tickets, hotel reservations, activity/excursion confirmations, and rental car reservations should all be kept in one place. It makes everything easy to find when needed. I like to use Microsoft’s OneNote to store all emails, notes, and saved web pages in one notebook.
Hotel Loyalty. If you pick one chain of hotels that you like and trust, join their loyalty program. The more you stay at that chain, the more free nights you’ll earn. Personally, I always do this unless I can find somewhere unique to stay. I love finding a cave, treehouse, yurt, train, haunted hotel, or a giant Beagle in which to stay. If those aren't available, I’m heading towards the tried and true hotel chain of my choice.