Family travel is a great way to make memories and introduce kids to a variety of experiences. I love traveling with our young family but we’ve learned a lot along the way. This summer we traveled across more than 5 states in a 3,000 mile family road trip! These family travel essentials are helpful for solving problems, encouraging kids to maintain healthy habits on the go, and keeping kids entertained on the road.
Efficiently Pack the Basics
My kids try to help with packing for a family road trip but they tend to throw everything into their bags. Moms can help kids learn how to pack efficiently so you only bring what you need. Make a list of essential clothing and hygiene products your kids can use to pack their own bag. Kids will also love organizing all their stuff into a personalized Stuck On You duffel bag!
The ultimate bag for transporting all of your family travel essentials! A Stuck On You Personalized Duffel Bag has side pockets and an extra inside zipper pocket with chunky circle zippers, providing a variety of places to keep all of your child’s belongings safe. Personalize this bag by choosing the color, design and font.
Trip Packing List – 1 Week
When your family is getting ready to travel, kids can easily pack their own bags with a little guidance. Kids can check off this free half sheet printable packing list for a 1 week trip and choose their own clothing items for the trip. If you are traveling for longer than 1 week, consider whether you will be able to do laundry or wear clothing items for more than 1 day and adjust the list accordingly. To download, right click on the list and “save image as”.
Maintain Travel Hygiene Habits
Even when traveling, it’s important for kids to brush their teeth, take regular baths/showers and keep their hair tangle-free. Dr. Plotka’s MouthWatchers toothbrushes offer a breakthrough in oral care by providing the optimal cleaning experience. The revolutionary antimicrobial dual layer flossing bristles reach into areas untouched by prior toothbrushes, leaving teeth and gums feeling just as clean as after a professional dental cleaning. Kids can use their MouthWatchers toothbrush to clean their teeth (especially after snacks) and help prevent cavities even on the road.
Beach trips and family hikes are alot more fun when you don’t get sunburned! Protect your skin from the sun with Babo Botanicals Clear Zinc Sunscreen Stick SPF 30. This sunscreen stick is great for the face, lips, nose, ears and anywhere with extra sensitive skin. This stick goes on clear and it’s non-greasy and rubs in well. The hypoallergenic formula contains the power-packed protection of Zinc, plus rich, skin-soothing certified organic oils, including Jojoba.
Choose Healthy Travel Snacks
Traveling with our kids on the airplane or in the car is much easier when we bring lots of snacks. Kids love passing the time by eating but it’s not helpful to provide an endless supply of junk food. Sneakz Organic Milkshakes with veggie nutrition are a great way to keep kids happy in the car. Each boxed drink has a 1/2 serving of veggies and vitamins from whole foods that are deliciously disguised alongside chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavors. Sneakz has more fiber, less sugar and less sodium than all leading chocolate milks. Next time your child asks for chocolate milk (which my kids always do!) give them a Sneakz Organic Milkshake!
Keep your own drinks from spilling and easy get refills in a GoSili Silicone Coffee an Tea To-Go Cup. GoSili cups are made with 100% European grade silicone and an embedded stainless steel ring to hold its shape. It won’t collapse when gripped. GoSili’s patented technology paves the way for a new drinking experience and is the perfect alternative to plastic to-go cups. This cup is dishwasher and microwave safe, easy to use, easy to clean and easy to GoSili. Available at Target stores and online.
Crackers and chips are another car trip must-have for kids. Milton’s Gluten Free Crackers are a healthy alternative to potato chips and cheese crackers and you can choose from many flavor combinations! Gluten Free Crispy Sea Salt Baked Crackers are made with five gluten free grains and the right amount of honest-to-goodness sea salt. This cracker tastes great alone or with toppings such as avocados, hummus, fresh salsa or roasted red pepper.
Milton’s Gluten Free Everything Baked Crackers offer something for everyone to love. Crafted with seven gluten-free grains and five seeds including caraway and sesame, they’re finished off with just enough garlic and onion to bring full flavor and a delightful crunch in every bite. Proudly certified Gluten-Free and Non GMO Project Verified.
Milton’s Gluten Free Cheddar Cheese Baked Crackers are a cheese lovers dream! Proudly certified Gluten Free and Non GMO Project Verified, they’re crafted with real honest-to-goodness cheddar cheese. These tasty, cheesy crackers are a crowd pleaser… whether you’re seven or seventy-seven! Snack on them alone or enjoy them as an accompaniment to your favorite dips and soups.
Milton’s Multi-Grain Organic Gourmet Crackers are the most popular cracker for both everyday and special occasions. These Organic Multi-Grain crackers are made with Certified Organic seeds, wheat, oats and corn. Each cracker offers a delicious, savory yet slightly sweet taste experience enjoyed on its own or shared with others; the perfect companion for your favorite cheeses and spreads.
Milton’s Himalayan Salt Organic Gourmet Crackers provide simple elegance with a delicate, satisfying flavor and a light crispy crunch. The subtle accent of authentic, pink Himalayan salt makes this a versatile cracker that can be enjoyed anywhere; from a broad range of gourmet toppings and accompaniments to everyday dips and spreads.
Made with authentic black olives, extra virgin olive oil, and Mediterranean herbs, Milton’s Olive Oil & Sea Salt Organic Gourmet Crackers deliver a crisp, satisfying flavor experience. These crackers are perfect when paired with creamy hummus, cheeses, Italian meats or fresh vegetables. Try any of these cracker flavors; you are sure to find a new favorite snack!
Easily take your snacks on the go with Revelae Kids cloth snack bags! These Eco-friendly bags are perfect for storing crackers, chips, pretzels, dried fruit and trail mix. Revelae Kids snack bags come in many colorful patterns. They’re made from moisture resistant food-safe material and close with a easy-open zipper.
Is peanut butter a lunch essential for your family? Easily make kids peanut butter sandwiches on the go with Pic’s Peanut Butter Slugs. New Zealand’s #1 selling peanut butter brand offers the world’s finest smooth peanut butter in a USA standard serving size of 32g (1.1oz). You can buy these single serve peanut butter packets individually or in multi-packs of 20 (available exclusively on Amazon). Robustly packaged in a peanut butter resistant foil tube, the new slugs offer natural feel good fuel, a high energy snack with no weird stuff, great taste and nutritional content.
Baby Travel Essentials
Traveling with a baby requires an extra level of preparedness. It can be overwhelming to try to anticipate your baby’s every need while on the go, but a few baby travel essentials can make your trip go much smoother. These baby travel essentials are very helpful for addressing all of baby’s basic needs.
Teething – A family road trip or even a 2 hour airplane ride can be much harder with a teething baby. A Toofeze Teether is a great solution for helping to relieve a baby’s teething discomfort, especially in tight quarters when your options are limited. Toofeze is functional, convenient and allows the baby to easily manage their teething pain independently, giving parents the relief they need too! A Toofeze Teether has three distinct chewing surfaces made of food-grade ingredients The soft silicone handle provides firm and even counter pressure, the cool stainless steel disk helps reduce gum inflammation fast and the secondary textured surface on the handle gives gums a gentle massage. You can even chill the stainless disk in a glass of ice water to provide additional comfort that’s hygienic and easy to handle.
Nursing – Easily and conveniently nurse your baby on the go with the original Covered Goods multi-use nursing cover. This multi-use cover provides full 360º coverage & converts into a car seat cover, scarf and shopping cart cover. It’s made of made of comfortable, stretchy fabric that comes in a large variety of colors and patterns.
Diapering – On the go diaper changes just got alot easier with the Diaper Quick! This streamlined diaper bag features a universal style for moms and dads and makes diaper changes quick and simple. You can easily open and close it with 1 hand and effortlessly grab diapers and wipes. It’s also made in the USA! See our full Diaper Quick review.
Where will your family adventures lead you this year? We hope you make lots of memories traveling with your family!
Hi, I’m Katie! I live with my husband and 3 kids in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I love Jesus, coffee, creative projects, taking photos and traveling. I’ve previously worked as a web designer, journalist and barista. I hope you enjoy our creative projects and family adventures!
That packing list is super helpful for families with kids! The peanut butter slugs looks like the perfect go-to snack while on the road.
this is a nice list! i’d definitely want to have a list to check on for my trip with my children
Thanks for writing this! It is so useful! I want to be an organized mommy like you are some day!
Great list. We always missed to pack the snacks. Good pointers of list of Gluten free and organic snacks.
Great lists. Traveling with kids and not without the good amount of snacks makes it difficult on the way. The made easy guide all through.
I always make a packing list too for each trip. It helps me get organized and ensure I remember to pack everything. I love checking off each item as it goes in. I agree that lots of snacks are always a must!
Mmm, those snacks look so delicious! And I think any travelling is not complete without copious amounts of snacks 🙂
This pack would be a life sent on my family Disney trip coming up. Snacks snacks snacks is my big one when keeping my kids happy. I love this post!
Great list! These are absolute musts and I like how well you laid everything out. This will be especially helpful for new parents.
I love that you make a packing list for kids to check off. I love the idea of giving kids independence and showing them how to do things like this for themselves.
Such a nice post and those are great essentials to have during every travels most especially if you are traveling with your kids.
All the above-mentioned things are essential when you travel with toddlers especially healthy snacks and water. Really helpful blog.
I just became a mom so this article was so incredibly helpful!
I remember during my childhood whenever we have trips, my mom would always be in charge of packing our travel bag. Definitely will take note of these tips when I become a mom someday!
All fo these things are perfect for traveling
When we take the grand kids they all have their own car travel pack, we pack snacks and drinks, games and they each bring videos
I love your packing list for kids! My daughter has a 6 year old learning to read and this is perfect for him! He likes to “help” pack when going on a trip and this would be great for him
I know how hard to travel with small kids. But being ready with the essentials can make a trip enjoyable or not. I like your checklist and it will certainly help other mothers with kids prepare for travel.
These are great ideas and items to bring when you are traveling with your kids. Hygiene essentials and snacks are really important for me.
Got a list of things to pack for my next travel with my kiddos! This is really essential for my kids and you have provided it all. 🙂 Great post!
Thank you for sharing your list. And it is a gkkd thing to know that I had almost of these.
I do a lot of traveling with my toddler. That personalized bag is adorable. He would love it!
Packing good snacks is really important as I find it sets the tone for the whole trip. The duffel bag looks so useful for trips away!
That nursing cover looks like a great idea for new moms. Also, it is so easy ti get unhealthy snacks when road tripping. I am going to have to be careful by packing all the healthy stuff beforehand so there is no excuse to eat unhealthy.
That packing list is super helpful for families with kids!
These are all awesome essentials! I never forget the snacks or activities, such as books. These snacks would be perfect for my son as well because he has a wheat allergy and eats gluten free. I’ll have to check out all these products, thanks for sharing!
Snacks are the MOST important thing I pack for my kids when we travel! You have some healthy options!
What an awesome list of essentials, thanks for sharing this! Those healthy travel snacks are a great idea.
Wow! Amazing travel ideas! These ideas will really help me when I have my kids travelling with me. Will jot down all of these..
We love travelling with the kids and I love the idea of a printed list so that younger children can have fun packing their cases themselves. We also always take some CDs (either audio books or music) for them to listen to.
Very informative post to me and my family! Gonna check all the products out!
This is an exhaustive list. Thanks for sharing. Love the personalized duffle bag
Great tips for Moms and family travelers! Going to send this off to my friends with kids, they’ll find this so helpful!
Yes! Packing lists are SO important. My sister is meticulous when she’s packing on any trip for my nieces. And then there’s me, who just kind of throws stuff into a bag! Ha!
We haven’t tried those snacks before. I’m curious about the Peanut Butter Slugs. 🙂
What an incredible packing list! I love all of the things that you’ve included — especially those adorable customized duffel bags!
Definitely going to share this with my brother. He has three little boys so they definitely need all the help they can get when attempting to travel. They always tend to WAY overpack yet still manage to forget some of the essentials.
Very informative post . You’ve got great products for travel there. I haven’t tried but I love the idea of Milton’s crackers!
We are looking to travel in the next few months – bookmarking this for future reference! Well thought out article.
Where were you and all these products and ideas when my children were young? I love the duffel bag, snack bags, and of course… the list. Thanks for sharing!
What a lovely post with great family travel ideas. I especially like the snack ideas and little baggies. We are going on vacation in a few weeks so this was a timely read as well.
I don’t have a little one anymore, but these tips would have been great when I did! I remember always bringing a mini first aid kit as well as the bandaids that you have listed. Snacks my son had never tried before were always a hit!
Very thorough list. For some reason, my kids seem to bring more stuff than I do when we travel. I would also include something for them to do while traveling.
Good to know! Traveling with kids can be tricky, but I find snacks and toys help out with that. I’ll have to enter the giveaway!
Very nice and useful tips, they should definitely work nicely. Awesome giveaway as well, good luck everyone!
I remember when i was a kit how packing for 5 children was. such a mess! lists were sure needed! But family travel was always a blast!
Family trips are always fun! I always tend to pack too much.,but id rather be safe than sorry. This is a great list of things to keep in mind, for us snacks is always a must for road trips!
I love family travel. You have your loved ones along for the journey. Milton’s products are great, and I’ll have to check out some of the others you mentioned. Nice checklist and tips!
Ooo fab giveaway! I love your travel checklist – so useful. And those snacks are all such good ideas 🙂
This one is informative and helpful for people with a family. I will share it.