My teenage daughter and I once took a fun, adventure-filled road trip from Oklahoma to California and back. The trip was a great opportunity to have some much-needed mommy-daughter bonding time and we shared some amazing experiences. As we planned for the trip and as we were on it, we learned some valuable tips that might come in handy the next time you take a road trip with your family.
Calculating fuel costs:
Before my daughter and I embarked on our journey, we checked online for a fuel cost calculator to get an estimate of how much we could expect to pay for gas along our route and the total cost for the round trip. Fuel prices are rising again so the fuel calculator may not be exact, but it is a great tool to help you determine how much you will need to budget for gas. There are also sites available that can tell you the best price for gas in many major cities, so you may be able to find a cheaper price by searching those before you fill up. You might be amazed to find a variance of several cents depending on the location of the gas station and its distance from the highway and other stations.
Also, be sure to check ahead to see how much distance there is between available gas stations. Since we were driving through the desert, my husband had checked for us and warned us of any long stretches of road without facilities and fuel so we could prepare before reaching those and make sure we did not run out of gas. Unfortunately, we did see a few drivers who had run out of gas along those stretches of highway and we were very grateful to my husband for making sure we knew where the last stops were so we did not have the same problem.
Cutting food expenses:
My daughter and I were on a strict budget for our trip. Knowing we had a set limit for spending, we looked for ways to reduce the expenses we had control over, such as food costs. We packed two ice chests full of lunch meat, fruit, bottled water, tea, soda pop, and snacks. We took a loaf of bread and ate sandwiches, fruit, and chips for as many meals as could possibly stand. If your younger kids like “lunch in a box”-type meals, you can easily create your own by cutting up lunch meat and cheese into circles or squares and combining them with crackers. Be sure to pack some fruit and yummy snacks too to add to your meals and to keep munchies at bay during long periods of driving.
Taking our own food dramatically decreased our food cost during the trip and allowed us to splurge when we really wanted to eat at a restaurant. You do have to remember to buy ice along the way though. And we learned that if your ice melts and you don’t have your lunch meat well protected, the water will seep into the bag (even if it is sealed well) and ruin it. So you may want to double bag it in zippered sandwich bags just to be on the safe side. It also helps to get hotel rooms that have a refrigerator, so you don’t have to buy ice as frequently.
Finding good hotel deals:
If possible, it is best to reserve your hotel stays before your trip, so you have more choices available to you and can shop around for the best deal and the amenities that you may want, such as a pool for the kids to swim in after a long day of traveling. There are many travel sites available so I recommend checking multiple sites and doing a comparison to find the best rates. Don’t forget to check the hotels’ websites too for internet rates and other specials.
We usually book in advance when traveling as a family, but for this road trip, we weren’t sure how far we would be able to go each day, since I was the only one driving the entire way. Fortunately, since my husband was at home, he served as our travel agent and helped us find hotels as needed. We were very lucky to find some great deals along the way, but may have been able to save even more had we planned in advance. Be sure to check as many reviews as you can on any hotel you consider staying at, to learn as much as you can about the room, location, and any complaints. We were able to avoid potential bad experiences by passing on some of the hotels we initially considered simply by checking the reviews posted by previous guests.
Cost is an important part of any trip, but it is not the only factor that requires careful pre-planning to make your road trip a success. Planning on how to entertain the kids during the many long hours you’ll be spending in a small, enclosed and confined space can make all the difference between having a great time and enjoying your trip or being cranky and miserable by the time you arrive at your destination. Here are some tips for making your family road trip memorable and fun.
Rest stops
When you chart your trip on the map before you leave, make sure to plan your stops along the way for meals, bathroom breaks, and time to stretch and play. It is unrealistic to expect young kids to be able to sit in a car seat for several hours without breaks to move around and run off some energy. Check for rest stops, gas stations, restaurants, and even parks along your route and plan to make frequent stops. Factor in extra time for stops so you don’t feel pressured to keep driving when everyone needs a break. This may mean allowing an extra few hours of travel time to your trip, but in the end, everyone will be a lot less cranky and much happier if they know they will not have to sit for too long at one time.
Entertainment kit
Another way to help kids enjoy a road trip is to bring along an entertainment kit with some of their favorite things to do. The kit can be any kind of small container, preferably with a lid so contents don’t spill out everywhere, and should be easily accessible to the kids. Another option to keep items organized and accessible is an organizer with several pockets that fits over the back of the seat in front of your child. Some of the items we packed when my kids were young included coloring books with colored pencils (crayons can melt in the heat and make a mess and markers can be used to color on the car interior, so colored pencils are ideal), books, hand held video games, a travel size Etch-a-Sketch, and an mp3 player with headphones. Many travel size board games are on the market too, but most have small magnetic pieces that could be a choking hazard for young children, so make sure you check the age recommendations first. If your vehicle is equipped with a DVD player, or you have a portable one, bring along some of your family’s favorite movies for the ride. And be sure to bring along your child’s favorite doll, stuffed animal, or blanket to keep him company on the trip.
Car games
Remember the road trips you took as a child? Most of us didn’t have all the electronic hand-held or portable entertainment devices our kids have available to them today. We had to find other ways to keep ourselves occupied during those many hours of riding in the back seat. The same games we played as kids can still entertain our children and help them enjoy the drive. Some classic favorites include:
License Plate Game
There are several variations of this game but one of the easiest is to simply keep track of how many states’ licenses plates you can spot on the road. The person who finds the most states is the winner. Another way to play is to try to figure out what vanity plates say. Whoever figures it out first is the winner. There are many ways to play this game and your family may even want to create your own unique version.
I Spy
Remember this game? The person who is “It” describes an item by color, shape, or other features and everyone takes turns guessing the item. This can be a fun game for young kids and teaches observation skills as well as how to describe an item they “spy”.
Story Time
This is a fun game to involve the whole family and can lead to a lot of laughs as the story takes twists and turns. One person starts to make up a story and says the opening sentence. Then each person takes turns telling another sentence of the story. The story might end with the last person or everyone may take several turns to make up a longer story. Try to be as creative and silly as possible and let your imagination run wild! Another variation on this game is the Alphabet Game. Each person says one word instead of a whole sentence. For example, the first person may start out with a word that begins with the letter A and next person has to use a word that starts with the letter B and relates somehow to the previous word.
Driving to your vacation destination can be a fun adventure for the whole family, if you do a little planning beforehand to keep the kids happy and entertained along the way.
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