How do you road trip?

Wow! Now that's a Road Trip! Capital R, Capital T. My best advice is to try and keep the driving time down to about 7 or 8 hours a day, and yes, stop and see the sights if there's something interesting along the way. You should actually stop about every 2-3 hours just for bathroom breaks and to stretch your legs. Stop at Information Booths and pick up all the brochures and maps they have. Remember, it's the journey, not the destination! Even though the destination is important, too, but make it a fun adventure. I would give your kids each a map and a pen/marker and a notebook and have them help with the directions, stops, notes of interest, etc. If they feel like they're "navigators" and not just bored passengers, it will help pass the time. We used to start out about 9 or 10 in the morning and stop for the night around 6 or 6:30. This is important, especially if you're driving west, as the setting sun will be right in the driver's eyes soon after that time. Get a room, go have a nice dinner and get a good night's sleep. And then do it all again. Hope you have fun and that you and your family learn lots about the places you visit!

We drive 24 hours from San Diego to Vancouver every three or four years.

The best thing you can do for your kids is to have a DVD player, laptop or other device that can play movies. Mine don't have their heads down the whole way, but they do really help the time go for long stretches. If DH is with us, we can do the trip in two long days and only make bathroon/food stops. Starbucks, Home Depots and Barnes & Noble are our favorite bathrooms. A few bad gas station experiences mean I refuse to give them another chance.

We have had both drive straight through trips and slowly stop and poking our way along trips. I love the stop everywhere and usually research the route and have decided where we are stopping. I also will let the kids pick between two options and that is the reason we still haven't been to the Shasta Caverns (Jelly Belly Factory beat it out one trip and a river boat ride on the next). Last summer the kids also researched and picked where we ate (variety and no chains were the only rules). The more involved they are in picking what we do and where we go the more enjoyable the trip is. 

Book where you are staying!!! You usually can cancel without charge up to 6 PM that day, so you don't have to use them but there is nothing more horrible that trying to find a room in a booked up small town and facing another hour of driving because that is the only place with a room within 100 miles (Eureka CA I'm thinking of you). I don't know how easy it is to get an RV spot last minute.

We have a cooler in the car for drinks and snacks. When the kids were younger, I would make a treat snack bag and they had control of when they ate what. They didn't have to eat the same thing at the same time, but they had hysterically serious discussions about what they would eat when.

We've done 18 hour road trips 4 times over the last 3 years (with now 10 yo DD, 8 yo DD and 4 yo DS). Dh naps during the day. We leave about 5pm. DH drives until about 5am. Kids and I sleep and then I drive the rest. The way back in February there was snow on our way so I went on hotels.com and booked a hotel in a town we were approaching. Worked out great. If we had time to stop on the way we would break up the trip but it's always constricted with school/work schedules.

For all 3 kids I pack a backpack full of activities for each of them which they are not allowed to look in before the trip....notebooks, markers, new book to read, ipad, hand held games, dry erase boards, fun stuff from the dollar spot at target, their own snacks. Rules of the trip... can play electronics as much as they want (which we really restrict at home so it's a big treat for them), can eat their snacks whenever. We get a couple of cheap movies to watch as well. We also let them pick a couple of things they want to bring.

Have fun! I love road trips!!

If you have an RV I am assuming you will be staying in that? We like to do about 350- 400 miles per day since we travel a bit under the speed limits & especially towing something. Amom is right , we are willing to drive farther/longer in a car. I like to make reservations ahead so we are not trying to find someplace in the dark & still having to level, set up & cook (assuming you are doing that. ) If you are able to take your time getting to Yellowstone, I would have a day where we parked & then take the car to see some sights. Gives the driver a break. We like to take secondary routes rather than interstates-generally more scenic. As for the kids... Electronics are your friend.?How about a book on cd that the whole family would enjoy? I also love gramasue's suggestion about them learning to read a map. Take lots of pictures & have a wonderful time.

DH and I are driving from SW Florida to Oregon this summer.  We are in no hurry, we have no schedule, we'll stop if we see something that interests us.  Some days we may drive as little as 300 miles.  We have some places that we want to stop (national parks for example) and will make reservations a day or two ahead of time for a hotel near or in the parks.  We have 3 adult children, when they were young we did several road trips, we had a van with TV with VCR (it was years ago), that kept them happy, plus they had books and music.  We stopped often for them to get out and move, often packed lunch and ate at rest areas which gave them room to run.  Now we stop often so my arthritis doesn't freeze my joints!!  I love road trips, we get to see so much of the country and meet so many interesting people.  

I drove 17 hours last summer from AL to WI, stopping only for gas. It was supposed to be 14 hours but road repair changed that. I was a zombie for several days.

On another occasion I drove 42 hours, never leaving my U Haul and sleeping about 2 hours at a time. Not fun.

I'd really like to go places where I could stop when and where I wanted without trying to keep to a schedule. Go with the flow with no expectations of when I'd arrive at my destination. I have a 23.5 Class C so travel can be fun. But unfortunately I usually drivr the car for speed and gas savings.

It depends on how fast you think you can drive pulling your car and how many hours a day you think you can drive.  We've driven many 15 hour road trips.  When there are two drivers, we trade drivers about every 2-3 hours and drive straight through.

When I've been the only driver driving the same distance I like to stop after about 10 hours.  Much more than that and I can't stay alert.  The advantage of having to stop is that we've reached our destination in the early afternoon and could get settled in, have a decent meal, go to bed, and then start the fun part of the vacation.

Will you plan to stay in your RV while on the road or will you stay in a hotel?  That will make a difference because you'll want to set up camp during the daylight hours.

When it's time to stop for a potty break give the kids 10-15 minutes of warning so they can get their shoes on and get ready for the stop.  When you have a long road trip like that you don't want to spend 30 minutes at every potty stop.

My favorite places to stop when traveling are McDonald's.  They're well lit, easy to find, the bathrooms are clean, and if you need a snack it's right there.  Rest stops are hit and miss as far as safety and cleanliness are concerned.

YES! YES! YES!  If/when you see something of interest along the way stop and check it out.  America is an amazing country and there's no better way to fall in love with it than to go on a road trip and seek out adventure!

Do you have reservations for Yellowstone?  I think that most of the camp sites used to sell out, but I don't know if they still do or not.  

Take lots of pictures!  Take a different route home than the one you used to get there if by doing so you'll be able to see some interesting things.  

Do you kids have a Kindle or other type of electronic device?  I'd download books, puzzles and games for them.  Just know that while you're driving you likely won't be able to access the internet.  

Headphones and bonine will be appreciated.  

Every time you stop throw the trash away.  

Last fall we did Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Grand Canyon NP, Death Valley NP and home through Yosemite. We caravaned with two other rigs. We drove about 6 - 8 hours per day, stopping when anyone needed/wanted to and found campgrounds along the interstate/highway. WE didn't travel with any kids, but one couple brought their dog. And she was no trouble. We never "cracked it" (getting up and pulling out at the crack of dawn), but we were on the road by 9am and only drove during the day.

How do you do it?

*If going to FL, we have only taken my convertible. 
If going other places, we rent a car

How many hours a day do you drive?

*NO MORE than 8-9, if we can help it.

Do you know where you're staying already, or find something along the way?

*It depends. We have done it both ways.

Do you stop and see the sights?

Or drive right on through?

*It depends on where we are going, and if there is anything we really want to see. We have not stopped to see anything on the way to FL, but we have to NY and MT

what time of day do you drive?
*We usually try to leave around 8AM and arrive by 6-7PM.

I make the same trip every year, from Texas to Michigan and back again. I do it alone except for my animals, which is currently 4 dogs. I always stop in Little Rock and Champaign, which makes for about two 8 hour days and one four and a half hour day. I like it because it is familiar and I arrive in daylight, and when I leave I have a short day after hours spent closing the cottage. I'm a night person, and because of the extra time the dogs take, I usually don't leave the hotel until eleven or twelve. This year my 24 year old daughter is driving up with me and she only wants to stop once or not at all. I agree about having movies or shows and video games available for the kids. Let them know at the beginning of the day how long before you stop for lunch and for the day. Rest stops can be your best friend because exercise is a nice outlet. Some my favorite memories are road trips as a kid and with my own kids. Have fun!

We've done many long road trips over the years. From WA to CA numerous times. WA to Michigan twice and WA to FL once. I just drove with my mom from WA to Missouri then on to Michigan. Luckily I flew back to WA. We got on the road by 6-630 everyday this last trip and drive until about 6. There were time changes in play too.

When we had the kids for the FL they were about 10 and 13. We stopped at Redbox along the way and rented movies for them so they would have new ones to watch. They had other electronics with them to keep them occupied as well. When they were really little I used to pack little gifts for them to open everytime we stopped for gas, usually something from the dollar store.

As far as booking rooms it depended on the time of year we were traveling. In the summer I was more apt to make reservations but usually the same day when I had an idea of where we would be. We never had a problem getting a room. Booking RV spots may be harder, not sure.

Have fun!

The furthest we've driven is 15 hours from Houston to Omaha. Always straight through. When the kids were small we would do it overnight and DH and I would alternate sleeping and driving. We also had a minivan with a DVD player in it - before iPads and other types of screens.

There are no sights to see between here and there! LOL

But these days we almost always just fly.

We did nine hours across Texas to Alpine last year. The girls are older now and generally happy with electronics, though they did bring books as well - cell signal in west Texas once you get off I-10 is spotty at best.

Last year we did a 10 state 30 day road trip.

We pick points of interests that we wanted to go. I will map it out and see what cities we will be going through and then pick things to do in some of those cities to just get out of the car for a few hours.

I never want to be in the car more than 4 hours. I make somewhat of a schedule with "free days" in it so if we decide we want to stay somewhere longer we can.

I don't book my hotels ahead of time and just use choicehotels.com or priceline usually the day we want the hotel. Never went in RV so not sure how that would work.

We also will look up food groupons in some of the major cities to save money.



This year we are doing a 24 day road trip to Pennsylvania, NY, NJ, MD and Washington DC and all the states between there & Florida.

This is my off beat nj suggestion www.groundsforsculpture.org/cms.cfm?category_id=202&content_id=208