• Plan Ahead Activities
Pack an activity bag for everyone or one for each child. Include games, crafts, coloring books, crayons, pens/pencils, and anything else age appropriate that will entertain. See our kids travel activities article here.
• Take along plenty of snacks
Fill up a carry along bag with travel friendly snacks, or make a snack kit using lunch boxes and bags for each kid. See our one minute snack mixes article for plenty of healthy snack mix ideas to get started.
• Stay hydrated
Along with snacks, your going to want to bring along plenty of drinks. What I do is fill up everyones reusable bottles before we go, and keep cooler in the trunk with larger bottles to refill drinks at each stop we make. You could also bring a long a smaller cooler to keep in the vehicle.
• Don't forget comfort items
Special blankies, travel sized pillows, and your toddlers ragged teddy will be welcome additions for the long drive.
• Vehicle Maintenance
Be sure to perform an inspection on your vehicle in advance of your trip, or take it to a dealer or your mechanic. You will want tocheck fluids, tire pressure and tread, brakes, belts, hoses, and so on. Nothing is worse than breaking down on vacation!
• Roadside Service
AAA, wireless providers, dealerships, insurance companies, and many others have roadside service programs. Vacation is a perfect time to look into getting such a service or checking up on the terms and conditions of your current program. When the worst happens, having roadside assistance will save you a lot of headaches.
• Map it
Plan out your route ahead of time and take along maps or an atlas. AAA has very detailed maps and directions called triptiks that even find ways to get you around construction. You may think you know your way, but what happens if you run into an accident and need to get off an exit and work around for several miles? You can also use a navigator, as we do..but I still bring maps along anyways. They make for fun scrapbook additions later, and are another way to keep your kids entertained on the trip, they can pretend to navigate.
• Potty Breaks
Your husband may be able to hold it for 6 hours but more than likely your 3-year-old cannot. Be sure to stop plenty, and add these stops into your time schedule. Mapquest may say you'll be to your destination in 8 hours, but that's not including stops along the way. I love stopping at the really big rest areas that have picnic areas so we can get out and stretch, enjoy a packed lunch and let our son run around for a little while. Be sure to keep some hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes, and tissues in your purse! You may come across a rest area that with bathrooms in less than desired conditions.
• Bring the camera
I'm sure you'll be taking it along for vacation anyways, but snap some pictures along the way also. Your kids will enjoy making a scrapbook of their adventures later.
• Emergency Kits (first aid and roadside)
It's a good idea to always keep emergency kits in your vehicle. If you don't have either of these vacation is the perfect time to get them or take inventory and replace out of date items in your existing.
For the first aid kit be sure to include Band-Aids in a variety of sizes, Gauze pads, Q-tips, cotton balls, alcohol wipes, hand sanitizer, antibacterial cream, Ace bandages, scissors, tweezers, ice pack, and any medications you feel safe for your family such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen for pain and swelling. See the about.com build your own first aid kit guide.
For the roadside emergency kit you need flares, jumper cables, tire gauge, roadside triangles, jack and lug wrench, rags, jug of water, and a flashlight. See Consumer Reports roadside emergency kit directions. Of course you could always buy pre-made kits as well.
Overall, have fun and prepare for the unexpected. Keep your time schedule negotiable, and enjoy the ride!
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