A road trip is what you make of it. It has the potential to be the best road trip ever, or it has the potential to cause everyone pain just by being on it. There are a few ways that you can work to make sure that your road trip is one to go down as one of the best road trips in family history. Follow these few tips to make sure you have a road trip that your family will remember for years to come.
Road Trip Tunes
It is important to have music that everyone is going to enjoy while on the road. Prepare a road trip playlist prior to your departure so it’s ready to go when you pull out of the driveway. Ask everyone you will be traveling with for song suggestions so that everyone has a say in it. A few song suggestions to get you started:
- 500 Miles by Proclaimers
- Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
- We Gotta Get Outta This Place by The Animals
- Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver
- Lean On by Major Lazer
Packing List
There are a few things that you will need to pack extra of or things that you may not think of that will help make the road trip go a lot smoother. Remember to include a container and a bag for trash throughout the trip to keep the car clean. Try putting a grocery or trash bag in a plastic cereal container and you have an instant trash can for your car. You may also want to pack paper towels in case of spills, tissues, toilet paper (the moment you need it and don’t have it you’ll thank us for this one), hand sanitizer, chap stick, and an odor eliminator spray (for when the kids take their shoes off). And don’t forget your car cell phone charger!
Road Trip Games and Activities
A road trip is no fun without various games to keep people entertained when the epic road trip playlist gets old. There are the old standby, classic games, such as Slug Bug, I Spy, and the License Plate Game, but why not try out a few new ones too? Make some print offs for a Car Bingo game or a Scavenger Hunt game. Things to find could include a person on a phone, a motorcycle, a semi-truck with no trailer, the color purple, etc. If traveling with small children, some other things you could do for activities are fill a tin lunch pail with Legos and glue a flat Lego board on the inside lid and they can build on that. You can also use an old DVD container and turn it into a coloring book by putting coloring sheets in the leaflet clips inside and storing a small pack of colored pencils in it. Make an activity station out of a toiletries caddy by filling it with activity books they might enjoy, coloring supplies, and other activities they might like to play with.
Road Trip Snacks
No road trip is complete without a plethora of snacks, both healthy and unhealthy. Put together a basket full of snacks prior to your road trip with non-perishable things such as crackers, raisins, cookies, nuts, and trail mix. If you’d like to pack a cooler with snacks as well, some options include string cheese, celery and peanut butter, fruit, and Go-Gurt. Remember to keep it simple and easy to eat in the car. Drinks are also important, especially water. You can freeze bottles of water to use as ice for your cooler and when it melts, you have bottled water to drink. Also be sure to pack soda, juice, or other drinks your family may like.
There are tons of ways to make sure your road trip is epic. For more road trip hacks, including apps to download to make your road trip easier, check our Pinterest page.