Hey there, fellow travelers! Today, we’re talking about road trips with the family. We fly a lot as a family, but sometimes it’s nice to switch things up and take a family road trip. As you know, here at Wolters World, we like to share both the positives and the negatives of travel. So these are the five things you’ll love, and the five things you’ll hate about a road trip with kids. We filmed this one on a family road trip that took us from Illinois to Florida up to Prince Edward Island in Canada and back home. It was a trip alright.
Hate #1: Are We There Yet?
Try to keep track of how many times the kids ask “Are we there yet?” Sometimes it comes from the copilot, too. If you’re driving this is going to become your biggest pet peeve of the family road trip. You can head this off by having games and activities ready, as well as making sure all devices are charged and ready to use. And it might be good to set a rule on who gets to choose the music channel, as I feel it should be the drivers decision especially on long road trips.
Love #1: Brings Your Family Together
You’re experiencing this road trip as a family. We all remember the family road trips from our childhood, now this is our chance to make new memories with our kids. We’ll talk about these road trips for years and hopefully encourage our kids to do the same thing when they have families. I know for me I still remember sleeping in the rest stops because my dad wouldn’t spring for a hotel room as he thought he could make it from Florida to Illinois in one go. Good times.
Hate #2: Other Drivers
Driving isn’t so bad, but other drivers can turn your road trip into a nightmare. There’s always a slow driver that likes to hog the left (passing) lane or the guy who tailgates you until you can get out of the way. Of course, there are tons of drivers who are distracted by cell phones, which is kind of scary. So, make sure if you are driving through large cities you take extra care and don’t fall into the road rage pit of despair.
Love #2: Freedom and Independence
When you’re on a family road trip, there are no flights to catch or timetables to be on. You’re on your own schedule and you leave when everyone is ready. You pretty much have ultimate flexibility for your vacation. If you find a place you like, you can decide to stay a few extra days. If there’s bad weather, you can decide to move on to the next destination. We usually give ourselves a few days leeway in our road trips in case we do find that cute small town or fun national park that calls to us.
Hate #3: Pit Stops
Road trips inevitably involve pit stops. There’s usually junk food involved as you’re typically eating on the run. Pit stops are usually initiated by someone who has to use the bathroom, and depending on where you go, the bathrooms at roadside stops can be pretty bad. We always carry toilet seat covers with us in case we run into a nasty bathroom along the way. Also, it seems we pick up new wrappers at every pit stop and the car just gets messier and messier, so while you are pumping gas and the rest of the crew is inside using the facilities try to do a mini-clean by throwing away the easy to grab soda bottles, candy wrappers, and smelly beef jerky leftovers.
Love #3: Taking the Back Roads
We love to take the back roads rather than the interstate when we’re on a family road trip. You get to pass through small towns, and you never know what you’ll find once you leave the interstate behind. You also get the chance to support local businesses rather than the big chains. The food at a Main Street Cafe is almost always going to be better than McDonald’s. Road trip food doesn’t have to be awful! That is one of our favorite parts, whether it was grabbing a grinder in New Hampshire or a lobster roll in Maine the road trip back road stops and eating were always great.
Five Things You’ll Love & Hate About Visiting the United States
Hate #4: Rush Hour Traffic
We try to avoid hitting the major cities around rush hour, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. If it looks like we’re going to hit a city at the wrong time, we may stop and seek out something to do during rush hour rather than spend that time sitting in traffic. It is amazing how a couple hours at a park will help take the edge off of the kids and get you through the worst part of rush hour.
Love #4: Education for Everyone
A family road trip is an education disguised as a vacation. Every place you visit is an opportunity to learn some history of the country or the region where you are. In Mystic, Connecticut, my kids learned about the seafaring life in the 1800s. We visited Colonial Williamsburg and learned a ton about American history. When in Athens, Georgia they had a tour of the University of Georgia. This is a chance to learn history, geography, geology and so much more. You can even get the kids involved in reading the maps and planning out your route.
Hate #5: Road Construction
Summer is the best time for road trips, but it’s also the road construction season. Construction can slow traffic down to a crawl or a complete standstill, and accidents are more likely to happen around construction sites. Traffic apps like Google Maps or Waze are pretty good at alerting you to construction and delays so you can alter your route if needed. And remember, tickets in construction zones double in lots of places.
Love #5: Visiting Cool Spots
The whole point of a road trip is to see cool things. Sometimes a road trip is about getting to a destination, but as the saying goes, it’s not about the destination, but the journey. You get to see so many cool things when you’re on a family road trip. Your kids get to see how people live in other parts of the country. Whether it’s the world’s largest ball of twine in Kansas or an ostrich farm in Arizona, road trips open up a whole world of possibilities.
We love to take a family road trip each summer. Whether we’re overseas or home in the States, it’s fun to travel at your own pace and stop at whatever attractions catch your eye. Want more of our travel tips? Check out these blog posts: