Does the idea fill you with fear or does hitting the open road with the family appeal to your sense of adventure?
Seasoned traveller Kelly Cookes embarked on exactly this during 2023’s summer holidays and gives you her top tips to make sure that it is a trip to remember…
We have always been big fans of the US, so in August 2023 I packed up my husband, 6-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl and headed west for a couple of weeks. Our itinerary was the result of months of research and a lot of good advice from expert travel agents. We visited Nashville, Pigeon Forge (for Dollywood), Savannah and Hilton Head Island.
Overall, it was great mixture of city, theme park and beach. Would I do it again? Absolutely! But that is not to say that we didn’t learn a lot, so here are my top tips for those looking at doing something similar.
INVOLVE THE CHILDREN IN PLANNING!
Before the holiday, we involved the children in the planning of the trip by telling them where we were going, what we might see there and by showing them each place on the map. This helped to get them excited about each stop on the itinerary.
CREATE A PLANE PACK FOR THE KIDS
This was made up of activities, toys and snacks that they hadn’t seen before, and they were not allowed to open it until we were on the flight. It helped to keep them entertained (at least for a while!).
TAKE MINIMAL HAND LUGGAGE
After a long flight children will be tired, so try to plan for the fact that you are likely to be carrying them at some point, and having little hand luggage will allow this. The less hand luggage the better, but always have a spare set of clothes and PJs just in case of delays.
BE REALISTIC
You won’t be able to spend hours walking around a city. When in a city, plan in kid-friendly stops like local parks and play areas. If you can find a restaurant with a play area, then even better!
PLAN CHILD-FRIENDLY STOPS
For long journeys, make sure you plan in some child-friendly stops – the quirkier the better. We found the most bizarre rock city out at a church in the middle of nowhere that was a big hit. The kids also developed a love for Dollar Tree so we made some pit stops there.
CHOOSE SUITABLE PLACES TO EAT
We spent a lot of time researching the best spots to eat, and on the trip visited an ice cream shop holding an afternoon fete to celebrate its birthday, a country bar with live music and a creek-side restaurant with wild gators.
PLAN GAMES
We played license plate bingo trying to find a license plate from every state as we were driving along. We made it to 45 states and had a lot of fun with the challenge!
DIGITAL PARENTING
Sometimes digital parenting is ok! When you have exhausted everything else, have an iPad with games and films on it for the journeys.
WEAR THE KIDS OUT!
A couple of hours in the pool before we hit the road did the trick!
My advice would be – go for it!
Doing a road trip with young children is certainly different from doing one as a couple, but we had an incredible time, having made some amazing memories. Booking with a travel agent like we did will mean that they’ll also share their recommendations, book your accommodation and help plan out your itinerary for you, to help make the trip run seamlessly from start to finish.