I am hoping this question can be answered one day since I have yet to take my girls on a major road trip as of yet. When I was younger my dad and I went on road trips all the time. We’d visit family in other states so we’d go from Nevada to California, from Nevada to Utah, from Nevada to Washington State, and from Nevada to Colorado. I think my dad’s idea of a good road trip was just to drive and not worry about things along the way. Me? I’m an over-planner so I can’t deal with just driving and seeing where the road takes us.
My husband and I thought about going to visit his family up in NY next summer and we think driving might be the cheapest way for our family of 4, especially if I happen to be pregnant at the time. I’ve already started to think about how we’ll handle this trip and I think the car is the most important part of the trip.
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It’s extremely spacious, seats 7, has a ton of trunk space even with the 3rd row seats up, and can come with a Navigation package which would be great for going through the different states so I don’t get lost.
So I ask you…
- What is your #1 road trip tip?
- Where was your best road trip destination?
- Do you have any advice for roadtrippers, like myself?
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Road trip tip – have plenty of snacks and water!!
Before you leave any place, always make everyone take a bathroom break. Portable DVD players are a must (I know some families can sing songs for 6 hrs straight, but I am not one of them), and a big pillow to snuggle into when they get a bit tired. I keep a bag of snacks and water up front to dole out when asked for (no juice if you value your interior) and have music recorded on the IPOD when the radio craps out.
I drove to Disney with the kids many years ago and we had so much fun playing car games and doing all these activities I’d planned that it’s a super happy memory for all of us!
I have been so blessed, because my son, who is almost 10, has always been wonderful on road trips. Since he was a baby till now, just great. So he’ll probably make up for it when he becomes a teen. lol.
A great road trip is one that doesn’t involve a vomiting toddler! I have one of those… miss our car trips!
Oh no! Yeah that doesn’t sound like a good time at all.
Driving to the grocery store is a major ordeal right now so a road trip will have to wait a while.
Oh that’s not good. Does Gus hate the car?
LOL — I am so not the one to ask about road trips. I just wrapped up one from this weekend and I HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE road trips. But, I have a 5, a 3, and a 1 year old .. so that might be it!
See but next year I might have a newborn so you saying this isn’t good. Lol
We are a road trip family!
If you are traveling with children, bring tons of snacks and car-friendly activities.
Driving to the Grand Canyon or Lake Powell is pretty sweet! And my number one advice is having plenty of stuff for the kids to do! I’m a big fan of in vehicle entertainment like DVD players!
Those sound like great places to visit. It’s been years since I was at either of them. I’d love to take my kids back to where I grew up.
I love driving from NYC to Charlotte, NC. We have made the trip a few times.
Even before having kids and dogs we road tripped as much as possible. Before it was about saving money and moving on our schedule, now it’s a necessity. With kids and dogs it’s so much easier to have control driving yourselves.
We keep the app handy for fast food we like – like Sonic. We have to know where on I95 all the Sonics are!
With four kids its much cheaper to travel by car so we do road trips all the time. Pack a ton of snacks, break up the day with an activity – a park, local attraction, etc, and everyone will be happy!
I love taking road trips with my family!
At this stage of life I’m OVER road trips thank you. Give me a comfy plane with someone at the controls. I do however LOVE that car for day to day driving.
I love a good road trip! I used to take a lot more than I do now, back when I had my Kia Spectra. The gas was so good in that little car!
Kias really do make great road trip cars- we took the Optima Hybrid on our last one & I’m excited to take a Sorento on one next month!!
My best road trip tip, is don’t forget to stop and enjoy the scenery. We can sometimes get so bogged down by schedules or getting there that we forget to just stop at what we find interesting.
We did a road trip this past summer! Make sure to bring stuff to keep the kids busy!
Love Kia and love roadtrips!
drive and have fun. I LOVE road trips
We love road trips! Snacks, pit stops, and items to entertain the kids are all keys to a great trip with younger kids! We have a portable DVD that helps too!
I don’t really road trip much… my toddler is a vomiter!
Love Kia! And road trips are always a blast.
I would say that a car with good gas mileage, music and someone that will stay awake makes for a good roadtrip.
oooh. Gas milage is a big one, especially with gas prices being so high. I guess that would make a road trip good because that stress of money and gas would be somewhat gone
Our best road trip was to OBX, driving on the beach was fabulous. I wonder how the KIA would handle the beach.
Hmm that’s a good question. I haven’t tested any of them on the beach yet.
My favorite road trip was when me and the hubs went to florida from jersey! So much fun! We brought a cooler and used that and stopped at little markets along the way.
oh that sounds so fun Courtney. Ahh, what it would be like to be child-free again, lol
ha true.. Now with baby we’re pretty much limited to short trips.. She’s a hungry little monster
We’ve been on two road trips; one to Key West, and one to Charleston, SC. It was pretty easy because I only have one child… I packed lots of snacks and entertainment.
We road trip to Disneyland every year. It’s about a 6-7 hour drive for us, so it’s a short road trip. My husband refuses to go anywhere further. I’m trying to get him to go on a road trip up the Pacific coast to Oregon and Washington.
I love road tripping and I love Kia, we have owned two of them.
I’m not much of a road trip gal however I happen to be on my way to Orlando in a Sorento right now. Love the car! I let my kids download movies on their iPods! Makes for a quiet trip other than my husbands music.
lol. that’s too funny. Hope you are enjoying the Sorento!
Can I sound old for a second and say that I had no idea you could put movies on the iPod! that’s so great!
LOL we are pretty techy in our home (well I am so therefore my kids are)
My number #1 tip is keep the kids happy, otherwise you won’t be. Make sure to have fun games or activities for them, snacks and drinks on hand.
great tips! Thanks Jen
What is your #1 road trip tip?
Make sure you are prepared for motion sickness. We took our oldest to Ireland when she was three, and had no idea the windy, bumpy roads would make her ill. We were not prepared for that at all but we learned FAST!
Where was your best road trip destination?
I think our best trip was when we moved back from Arizona to Portland, Oregon last December. We were so excited to see our friends, family and house again! We were just giddy!
Do you have any advice for roadtrippers, like myself?
Have a lot of food, water, plastic bags and gloves. I know that sounds crazy but latex gloves would have been very useful for us on some of our road trips.
hmm yeah I didn’t even think about motion sickness. My girls never experience it but the longest they’ve ridden in a car was probably 1 hour. Good tip.
I’m an overplanner too – especially when it comes to traveling. My #1 roadtrip is to take a lot of breaks to get out and stretch, it keeps the little ones from going crazy!
I’ve already decided the next car I get is definitely going to have a third row – that would be so helpful!
I think the 3rd row is really important for storage. SUVs with 2 rows and a normal truck just don’t cut it for my over planning, and WAY over packing self, lol.
thanks for the tip. Now that you said it I do remember my Dad always stopping so he can “stretch his legs”.
Road trips are pretty much the ONE thing I’ve gotten good at when it comes to parenting – this year I’ve driven over 3,000 alone with the kids. The hardest part is planning stops so EVERYONE gets to potty at once plus food, plus gas, so you don’t have to stop every 30 minutes. I always bring lots of coloring books and crayons, tons of snacks, and the iPad for emergency entertainment. Your best bet is driving when the kids are sleeping, so either early early or during nap times.
On Saturday we’re going back to Long Island for the second time in two months, which is a great destination for us because we can take a ferry – nothing makes a road trip more fun than driving onto a boat!
wow, that’s a LOT of traveling. You’re one brave mama!
thanks for the tips