Road trips… ah yes… what once was the ultimate freeing feeling: put the windows down, blast the music and see how long you can drive before absolutely needing a rest stop.

Wait, with a toddler?

“Mommy up up” pointing at the windows crying as we’re listening to “baby shark” for the 17th time hoping it keeps her from getting car sick as we sing along.

Oh how the times have changed.

I will admit - road trips are not exactly as they used to be. But, during the time of COVID19 and wanting to avoid planes, road trips are the way to go.

Whether it is a day trip to a remote lake, a weekend trip to the mountains, or a longer trip to disconnect from work - experiencing somewhere new has an unbelievable affect on your mind.

We just took a 2.5 week road trip from Germany down to Southern France in July 2020 (the borders to European countries are currently open) and stayed at 7 different locations throughout France, Switzerland, Italy & Germany. (full itinerary blog post). Along the way we learned a few tips that we wish we knew from the start - so I thought i’d share!

Let me also note: My parents used to drive down us to Florida to visit my Grandparents & go to Disney World. I am one of FOUR children. New York to Florida is 16 HOURS. How did my parents do that?! Several times!

Keep in mind: This is built from my personal experiences with our two year old daughter, Charlotte. I can imagine road tripping with more children / different ages you may have completely different experiences & needs. As all parents know - every child is different. So I hope there is at least one helpful tip in here for you! Also - please share any recommendations you have for road tripping with a child!

TIPS & TRICKS FOR ROAD TRIPPING WITH A TODDLER

MY STRATEGY FOR BUILDING A ROAD TRIP ITINERARY WITH A 2 YEAR OLD:

What are your must have locations? Ours was Provence & Nice.
What is the driving distance? Nuremberg to Provence is about 11 hours of driving.
Break up the drive: For us, we’ve found that drives shouldn’t be longer than 4 hours each as it would be too much for Charlotte. She gets antsy / car sick / etc. So I tried to find two stops on the way down that would help break up the drive. (Colmar & Geneva).
Spend at least 2 nights in a location: That way you have a full day to explore and don’t feel rushed. In our favorite spots we would spend 3 or 4 days in a location.
Time the drive for nap time: (she typically naps around 12-3ish). The days of our drive we would get breakfast (a light breakfast for her) play / pack / shower and get on the road around 11ish.
While you’re driving: We try to stop with less than one hour left on the drive. I would try to find a rest stop with a playground (surprisingly easy!) so Char can get out/play/stretch her legs. You can just google “playground” or “spielplatz'“ etc in google maps (thank god for iphones).

WHAT TO PACK FOR THE CAR:

A bag of easy/not messy snacks: Pretzels / Puffs / Rice Cakes / Fruit pouches / Raisins. (Char is also prone to carsickness so I kept snacks quite mild). Also - bonus points for snacks that take a while to eat! Any way you can pass the time driving with a toddler - take advantage!
A bag of toys/books: barbies / magnet book / favorite stuffed animal. We hadn’t done the ipad just because we weren’t sure if it would make her car sick.
White noise: We unfortunately didn’t think of this until our last 3 hour drive. Playing white noise through the bluetooth of the car speakers! DUH! She slept over 2 hours! it was amazing.
‘in case’ bag in the trunk: Change of clothes / Plastic bag (for carsick clothes) / roll of paper towels / wipes. Unfortunately we did have to use this one. On the side of a highway, a carsick-covered car seat, a sick baby, and 1.5 hours of driving still to go. It was one of the lowest points of our trip.
Distraction (make the kid laugh): With over an hour left of driving and a car sick toddler - we thought - we’re never going to make it. What do we do? Do we drive and she may get sick again?? The answer: make her laugh. We found that if she was laughing, she wasn’t getting sick. That included:
- Songs (Baby shark, Moana soundtrack, nursery rhymes)
- Playing: (Charlottes favorite) Take her Barbie or Bunny and make it jump around the car / bounce off of daddies head / etc. She thought it was hilarious.

HOTEL MUST HAVES:

Balcony: We’re not at the point of booking a ‘suite’ where we have a living room to hang out in after we put charlotte down to sleep, so we always look for a balcony. That way once shes asleep around 8:30pm, we hang out on the balcony most likely with a glass of wine. My goal was to either read or write in my journal, but most of the time I was posting picture from the day on Instagram.
Pool / Beach / Splash Park (in the city): Indoor or outdoor pools at the hotels are amazing. But if thats not available a beach or a splash park/fountain is equally fun (Found great ones in Colmar & Nice). This was probably her most favorite memories from our vacation.
Breakfast included: Such an easy way to start the day. You don’t have to think about where you will eat, just roll out of bed. And you can snag a croissant/apple/banana on the way out for a snack for charlotte later on. (oh god… i’m one of THOSE parents now!).
RANDOM TIP: RESEARCH PARKING - This was usually the most stressful part of the road trip. After driving 4 hours, Char wants to be out of the car, we’re stuck on one way roads trying to find the parking garage, we make a wrong turn, Charlotte is crying, we’re fighting. UGH! What a terrible way to start a new city. Research beforehand!

I know that I seem to be writing quite negatively about the drive, but there were some funny & memorable moments and once you’re in the location - it is SO worth it.

I would love to hear any other tips on traveling with a child! Please share in the comments below.