It’s that time of year. We are all wanting to plan road trips and travel! With two kids I like to think we are pros at road trips since we visit family in Houston quite often. It’s a solid four-ish-hour drive from us. We are also planning a big road trip to Florida for September! We just got back from a trip and I wanted to share my summer road trip essentials that are kid-friendly. So if you have little ones you don’t want to miss this!
Summer Road Trip Essentials (Kid Friendly)
- Car toy organizer: I have posted about this a few times but I am obsessed with this thing! It fits perfectly between two car seats and both my kids can reach their toys, books, waters, snacks, etc. It’s so much easier than us being asked for toys every 5 minutes. It’s all right there for them.
- Trash can: This is an all-the-time thing for me. I keep a small trash can in my car behind the passenger seat. I love this for easily having all the trash there vs all over the floor!
- Water wow books: These are THE BEST for car trips! Mess-free “painting” and something both my 18-month-old and 4-year-old can enjoy. So easy to refill since they only need water. Plus once they dry you can do them again!
- Kindle Fire kids tablet: We have one of these for both kids. They are great for watching TV and movies and also playing games! Plus they are pretty hard to break!
- Bogg Bag: I actually have a dupe of the over $180 bag and this is perfect for the pool and the beach. Plus when you are storing it or traveling with it in the car it’s great to hold beach/pool toys!
- Reusable snack cups/bags: This is pretty much a no-brainer. Snacks are a necessity in the car. We love snack catchers but I have also heard amazing things about these bags! Both are dishwasher safe!
- Bluetooth headphones: Liam loves his headphones and they are great when you don’t want to hear Paw Patrol at full volume trying to drive.
- Yeti travel mug: I haven’t been to Starbucks in almost 4 months since I got my Nespresso so being able to make a coffee for the road is great! I love my Yeti travel mugs for coffee!
As with kids, nothing is perfect, and sometimes even being the most organized, and on top of things, road trips can be terrible. But it really helps to have all the tools and all the things to hopefully keep kids entertained so you don’t lose your sanity!
What would you add to this summer road trip essentials list?
This is a great list. You have to have that entertainment when you’re traveling with the kiddos.
Entertainment, containers. You thought of all the important stuff. Kids need entertainment and they need snacks!
I love our water books as well. They’re a great way to keep kids occupied without the mess.
I miss organizing our baby bag for road trips, which we regularly did before the pandemic.
It is indeed important to come well-prepared for any trip. Most especially when kids will be involved! Will check the Yeti travel mugs out as I am a coffee-lover, too.
Road trip essentials are so important! I can’t wait to get another one started.
So important to make sure you are prepared for road trips. Kids get so antsy and it is very important for peace on a road trip.
Great list of things we need for our road trips. It’s been so long since we’ve been away that this reminder is KEY.
I have never heard of Water wow books. Should look into that. It sounds like fun! One thing I always have to include for road trips is toffees to suck on. It really helps with carsickness.