The idea of packing the whole family into the car and travelling hundreds or thousands of miles across the country can fill you with dread. Road trips with friends can be exciting and whilst road trips with family can be too, they need much more planning. When you have young kids in the car, you need to keep them entertained, happy and healthy. That means planning pit stops, sharing the music selection and ensuring you have what you need in the car to enjoy the trip. Let’s have a look at some family road trip essentials that can help the journey fly by.
List Of Family Road Trip Essentials
GPS
Even if you know the direction you’re heading, it can be a great idea to have a GPS with you. Whether that is your phone or a dedicated sat-nav system, GPS can help you out on your road trip. You might find yourself in traffic and need an alternative route, or need to find the nearest petrol station. A GPS is a great addition to your family road trip essentials list.
Map
Of course, technology can often fail. Meaning we can’t just rely on our phone or satellite navigation. So when you pack a GPS, make sure you have an up to date map in your vehicle too.
Phone & In-Car Charger
Whilst most of us have our phones in our pockets all the time, it’s a great idea to ensure it is charged and you have an in-car charger. A phone can help you out if you break down, get lost or have another emergency.
Snacks & Drinks
With kids in the car, you’ll need a variety of snacks and drinks to keep them fed and watered. Bottles of water, soft drinks, sweets, crisps and sandwiches are all great items to pack into the car. They’ll keep tummies full and thirst quenched.
Wipes
With all those snacks and drinks, you need to be prepared for mess and spillage. Wipes are your tag team member when you are packing your family road trip essentials. They’ll wipe up all sorts of situations!
Toilet Facilities
It’s not always easy to get to a rest stop to use their toilets, especially when you are travelling with children. What do you do when there is no toilet around or the sign says the next one is 30 miles away? You can get travel urinals, which are basically fancy plastic bottles and even pop up toilets where kids can ‘go’ in a bag. You’ll probably need to use some of the wipes we previously mentioned too.
Blankets
Blankets can help you out when the kids go to sleep and need tucking up-tight, as well as keeping you warm should you become stranded in weather. They can also help in other emergencies, so they are well worth adding to your list of family road trip essentials.
Entertainment
Keeping everyone entertained during long road trips is hard. You can pack a variety of music to play on your journey as well as books for people to read. Maybe take a tablet or portable DVD player with an inbuilt screen so the kids can watch a film. That 90 minutes of peace and quiet whilst they watch an animated classic can be glorious for the driver!
Camera
You want to remember your road trip. Memories are the best! By packing a camera you can capture everything that happens on the journey. This is a must-have when you are making your family road trip essentials list.
Torch & Emergency Kit
We’ve touched on emergencies already but it’s a great idea to have an emergency kit in your car. This can include jumper cables and a tow rope all the way through to first aid supplies. A torch can help you out if you get stuck in the dark, even better if it’s wind up so you don’t rely on battery power!
Add A Little Bit Of Patience
On top of all those things on the list, you need to add a little bit of patience. You’ll probably have to stop a few extra times than what you are used to. You’ll likely have to hear the same song over and over again for a couple of hours. There will be times you may wish to scream because the noise is annoying you more than the traffic. However, just remember, these are the moment you’ll look back on and smile about. A list of family road trip essentials can help you plan for the trip. However, perhaps the most important thing to add to the list is to smile and enjoy the journey. That’s often far more important than the destination!
