The car’s packed; no one but the driver has leg room. Snacks, books, vacation essentials- check, check, check. The GPS shows twelve hours remaining. It will be more like fourteen. We pull out of the driveway, “Goodbye house,” a little voice says from the backseat. My mind races: chargers, Dramamine, boogie boards, goggles, glasses. “I forgot my sunglasses.” The car makes a U-turn, and I run back inside. I grab the water bottle my son forgot, the journal my daughter left on the kitchen table, say one more goodbye to the cat.

Fifteen minutes later, still within city limits, my daughter asks for a snack and says she’s bored. An hour later the Kindles they forgot to charge die. Two hours later we’ll make one of many stops to pee and stretch our legs.

Long car rides are a piece of my family’s story. Eight hours to Grammie’s. Ten to the beach. My parents drove my sister and me all over the east and west coast when we were children. Now, my husband and I pack up our children and do the same.

The supplies we bring and where we stop are key to any long car ride. Below is a list of things I’ll be gathering for our upcoming road trip. Maybe they’ll help your family the next time you’re headed out on an adventure.

12 Essential Road Trip Supplies

Snacks

Number one on my list of things to pack, good snacks are vital for a road trip. By good, I mean a couple of things.

Good snacks are- 

1. Special- My family doesn’t get them every day, so it is exciting to have them.

2. A mix of healthy and treat. Sugar crashes and upset tummies don’t add to the fun, so I look for trail mixes (with chocolate), bars filled with protein, flavored popcorn, high-quality beef jerky, and crackers.

3. Not sticky and are easily vacuumed up because they will spill and be left in every crevice of the car.

4. Do not include anything with dairy. If you have a child who gets carsick, dairy will be a sure fire way to find yourself on the side of the road cleaning up vomit. Sadly, it took us a few times to come wise to that.

5. Don’t live in a gas station. It’s worth the extra time and money to stock up on snacks before you go.

Audiobooks

Borrowed from the library or downloaded, audiobooks are a must. When my children need time off of screens, when we all need a distraction, a good story always saves us. They bring laughter and conversation, quiet, and create a sense of connection and comfort when we are feeling frustrated and uncomfortable.

I often bring ones related to our trip. We listened to Harry Potter on the way to Universal Studios, the Little House series while traveling in the Ingalls footsteps, and we’ll listen to Misty of Chincoteague on our way to Assateague Island.

Podcasts

Podcasts save me while I’m driving. Especially late at night, when everyone else in the car is asleep, a good podcast makes the time fly.

If we’ve run through audiobooks or need a change of pace, they are great for my kids too. (I often recommend books and podcasts in my weekly newsletter. Subscribe below to find out the things we love to listen to).

A captive audience, I’m also known to share my favorite podcast episodes with my husband while we’re driving. They give us new topics to talk about and again, make the time go fast.

Music

When my children were little, good music was especially important. Fun, silly songs, music that calmed them, and songs that got us all singing were key.

Electronics

Our screentime limits bend on long car rides. Airplane rides too. It’s okay. Once we reach our destination, we put them back into place or let them be a little loose until we’re home again.

When our children were little, we used a laptop for movies. Positioned between them, they took turns choosing what they watched. Now they each have a Kindle Fire. The batteries only last a couple of hours, so while they charge, they take screen breaks.

Car Games

Handheld or made up, here are our favorites-

Lunch

Lunch is a pretty easy meal to bring along, and I find having a decent meal mid-day is important. So is finding a place for kids to run around after they eat.

Look for rest stops with playgrounds or better yet, take a little detour to a state park. One of the best car trips we had included an hour-long picnic and swim at a local lake. Worth every second of the extra hour, we wouldn’t have saved that much time if we ate at a restaurant, and our kids were tired and happy when they got back in the car.

Water

A reusable water bottle for each family member helps cut down on trash, expense, and the urge to stop for sugary drinks.

Pillows and Blankets

It’s pretty impossible to get comfy in a car, but it’s important to try. Small pillows and blankets make uncomfortable sleep a little more bearable.

Patience

At some point, EVERYONE will melt down. Truth. Expect it. Maybe it will happen all at once. Most likely, you’ll each get a turn. Deep breaths, good snacks, hand holding, audiobooks, running around a park, a game of hangman or ten, you’ll make it there.

Change of Clothes

If you’re traveling, there is a change of clothes packed, but where is it? Are your kids’ suitcases at the very bottom of the trunk or packed behind everything else so to get to them, unpacking the entire car is the only option? Tuck an extra outfit for each child somewhere you can easily get to it. Spills and accidents, like melts downs, just happen.

Travel Apps

Yelp– We do purchase food on the road. What we buy often looks like coffee and dinner. Not wanting to fill our bellies with bad coffee or fast food, Yelp easily directs us to the best local options or a Starbucks.

Google Maps- When our GPS isn’t quite updated, when we’re looking for a place to pull off and play, when there is a detour, Google Maps pretty much always helps out.

Groupon– There have been times when we’ve realized we couldn’t go any further or we planned to camp for the night, and huge storms changed our plans. Almost everytime I’ve found a great deal on a hotel through Groupon.

Star Gazer Apps- there are many. I have Star View Lite. It’s free and occupies the child who can’t sleep well into the night.

Angry Birds- best way to kill time for all.

There are many reasons to take a road trip with kids. Ease is not one of them. But with the right supplies and mindset, long drives and the time together can be a real gift.