The Ultimate Family Road Trip Packing List
A family road trip is filled with possibilities. During the ride, emotions can range from excitement to irritability, so it’s best to have a plan in place before heading out the door. Taking a family road trip can be a blast as long as you are prepared.
Why Go On A Road Trip With Kids?
A road trip with kids is a great way to travel as a family, especially during the summer.
When you fly, you miss out on so many amazing places along the way. But when you go on a road trip, it gives you and your family so much freedom to explore new places, allows you to travel on a budget and creates many fun and unexpected memories.
Road Trip Essentials
These road trip essentials to pack for your trip may not prevent missteps or meltdowns, but they will certainly prepare you for whatever comes your way.
Trash Bags
For all kinds of trash, motion sickness, wet or dirty clothes and swimsuits, trash bags are handy to have on long car rides. Try using biodegradable bags to be more eco-friendly.
Wet Wipes and Hand Sanitizer
Chances are, the kids are going to want to eat snacks on a long drive, so having wet wipes available to clean up before and after is essential to any road trip. And bring along hand sanitizer for anytime wipes aren’t available.
Games and Activities
Have games and activities prepared to keep your kids entertained. Bring books to read, coloring books to color, movies to watch or play games like I-Spy.
Blankets
Perfect for family members who can’t stand the air conditioner or for kids who want to have a nap, packing a compact, lightweight travel blanket won’t take up extra trunk space and will keep everyone comfortable.
Snacks
Don’t forget to pack the most important thing for any road trip — snacks! When you’re planning your car snacks for kids, don’t take just anything. Pack non-sticky, mess-free and crumble free snacks.
Cooler
Once you have all these snacks, you need a place to keep them out of the heat. Fill the cooler with ice packs and keep it within easy reach of the back seat so you don’t need to pull the car over to access the food. It’s also a great place to keep cold drinks for the long car ride.
First-Aid Kit
Especially with kids, you will want to bring along the basics as well as any prescription medicine you need. Pack band-aids, pain reliever, allergy medicine, cotton balls, q-tips and sunscreen.
Car Emergency Kit
It’s always good to have a roadside emergency kit in case of an emergency. And depending on your definition of emergency, you might want to pack a power inverter in case everyone’s electronics die along the way.
