Road Trips With Kids: Tips That Actually Work

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We’ve been road tripping with our kids since they were small — and our first attempt, with the girls at around 3 and 6, did not go well. Car sickness, boredom, whinging. The works.

These days, road trips are genuinely one of our favourite ways to travel as a family. We’ve driven the length of New Zealand’s South Island in a motorhome, done the Brisbane to Northern New South Wales coast in a Jucy Condo, the Great Ocean Road, and covered a lot of Australian highway in between. What changed wasn’t the kids — it was our approach.

Here’s what we’ve learned from years of family road trips, including the things that still catch us out.

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Road Trips With Kids From A Family That’s Done A Lot Of Them

We love to travel abroad with our kids, but every couple of years, we choose to do a big Australian road trip instead (or NZ a couple of times too) because some places are best explored on the road. We’ve learned enough to make them some of our favourite family trips together.

Before You Go

Plan Your Stops — Not Just Your Destination

The biggest mistake on early road trips was treating the drive as something to get through rather than part of the experience.

Planning a few interesting stops along the way — a good playground, a scenic lookout, a local bakery — changes the energy of the whole trip. Kids who know there’s something coming can hold on a lot better than kids staring at an endless highway.

Our rule now is roughly one proper stop every two hours, plus flexibility for anything unexpected that looks interesting on the way.

Make sure you read our huge guide to planning a road trip before you go!

Sort Out Car Sickness Early

This one is personal. Our youngest has always struggled with car sickness — just like I did as a kid too — and the New Zealand South Island roads were some of the worst for her.

These days, we give her travel sickness tablets for any drive over about 90 minutes, just in case. Don’t wait until someone is green in the face to deal with it.

Tips that help:

• Sit car-sick kids in the front seat if old enough and legal in your state
• Keep windows cracked for fresh air
• Avoid reading or screens for kids who are prone
• Have a bag accessible at all times — just in case
• Take a ginger tablet or children’s travel sickness tablet before travel
• Take a fresh air break for 10 minutes if queasiness starts

Pack The Right Snacks

Car snacks can make or break a long drive.

We’ve landed on a road trip food formula that works well for us: chips, homemade muffins, cheese and bacon rolls or other savoury breads that make for quick and relatively mess-free lunches, grapes and other non-messy fruit, crackers, and a few treats.

The key is avoiding anything that requires a lot of preparation or creates a huge mess — and going easy on the sugar, which leads to energy spikes and crashes that don’t mix well with being stuck in a car.

We know this one the hard way! Our eldest rarely gets any sort of travel sickness… unless she’s over-indulged on sweet treats and then, oh my! Regret.

Pack a small cooler bag within reach so nobody has to ask you to stop every 45 minutes because they’re hungry.

On The Road

Decide On Entertainment Before You Leave

When the girls were younger, we had to work a lot harder at keeping them entertained. DIY activity packs, car activities we could all play together, downloaded shows on the iPad — all essential.

Now they’re teenagers, it’s different. They largely manage their own entertainment — music in earbuds, podcasts, chatting — and the games we play together happen more naturally rather than as a survival strategy.

The family road trip games still come out on longer drives, though: the Alphabet Game is a staple, and trivia questions are a big hit.

Think about what your kids actually need at their current ages rather than loading up on activities they’ve outgrown. And build in some quiet time — not every moment needs to be stimulated.

Make Comfort A Priority

Long drives are tiring — for kids and adults. Pack pillows and a light blanket so younger kids can nap in the car.

Comfortable, loose clothing makes a big difference on a long drive. And a pair of socks each — even in summer — because air conditioning makes cars cold.

If you’re stopping overnight, try to choose places with something for the kids — a pool, a playground, or at least space to run around. It burns off the energy that’s been building up all day.

The Toilet Situation

Any parent of young kids knows this one. You will be in the middle of nowhere on an open stretch of highway, and someone will suddenly, urgently need a toilet.

Simon has always kept the Toilet Finder app on his phone, and it has saved us more than once. Worth downloading before you leave.

Keep Essentials Within Reach

Nothing derails a good drive like having to pull over and unpack the entire boot to find the paracetamol or a spare change of clothes. Pack a small bag for the back seat or footwell with:

• Snacks and drinks
• Wipes and tissues
• Any medication, including travel sickness tablets
• A bag for rubbish
• Entertainment for the first stretch of drive

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Be Prepared For The Unexpected

First Aid And Emergencies

Pack a basic first aid kit and make sure everyone knows where it is. Include any prescription medication and travel sickness tablets.

A car emergency kit with jumper cables and a torch is worth having in the boot, especially on remote stretches.

What are your essential ways of making it a great road trip with kids?