So we’ve had plenty of people ask advice about traveling with the family. They seem to like the idea of seeing and experiencing things with their families, however, they aren’t fully on-board yet with the actual process of getting to places that require a lot of driving. That said, we’ve learned a few things over the years that seem to make our travel experiences more enjoyable. Here’s a few of them…
First, insulated cooler duffle bags! We have purchased a few of these and they have been a HUGE help! When planning a trip that involves an airplane flight, we made sure to purchase TSA-sized (24”X16”X10” or smaller) insulated cooler bags to use as our carry-on bags. We pack our regular carry-on items in them but are sure to include an empty nylon laundry bag (or something similar) in there as well. Here’s why… When we’re going to be driving for some time to get to a particular location, we want to buy our lunch and snacks at a nearby grocery store so that we’re not stopping to eat and pick up snacks at restaurants and gas stations. When you buy your snacks and lunch foods at a grocery store, you’re going to save a LOT of money. When we hit the road, we’ll put the things that were in our cooler duffle for the flight into the nylon laundry bag so that we can now use our cooler duffles for food and snacks. Also, be sure to bring along something that can be used as a garbage bag in the car. This keeps the car from becoming a complete mess and you can empty it out each time you stop to fill up with gas.
Next, buy some ponchos for your travels. This pack of 5 amounts to about $1.40 each and when you’re out on the road in a must-have situation, we’ve seen stores/shops charging $10-$20 each! Every once in a while you’re bound to have some inclement weather, and rather than packing raincoats (which can take up a lot of space in your luggage), ponchos are much more convenient.
Next, if you love hiking and visiting the National Parks like we do, try purchasing a few small bells to attach to your shoes when hiking in forested places. This alerts the wildlife (namely bears) in the area of your presence. Bears’ natural instincts are actually to run away from humans, however when they are startled, they may instinctively react with aggression (especially if they have cubs with them). Bears have very acute hearing that is about twice as sensitive as humans, so these ringing bells alert them to your presence from a distance and can help prevent some scary and dangerous situations.
Next, I wrote about this in my post on 11/29/23… purchase some cinch bags or mini-backpacks for each person to carry. These come in handy because each person can be responsible for their own comfort items (i.e. snacks, drink, etc) instead of mom and/or dad taking care of everyone’s needs all day.
Next, besides having the kids bring their electronic devices (phones, Nintendo Switch, etc), try bringing along a couple family games for the long car rides. We’re big fans of the Star Wars movies, so we have the Star Wars Trivial Pursuit game at home. We’ll bring just the cards from that game on our road trips and play our own version of the trivia game to pass the time. We also found some printable travel scavenger hunt sheets that can be entertaining as well.
Lastly, inflatable neck pillows are a must-have. They don’t take up space in your carry-on luggage but can be very helpful not only on long flights, but also on long car rides when trying to take a nap!
So there you have it! Hopefully at least one of these tips will come in useful for you! Now get out there and enjoy your next road-trip!
Quest for 50 states 