Traveling with little kids can be a hit or miss experience, but with a little bit of organization it can be like a breeze and a wonderful opportunity to build long lasting memories.
We traveled for almost 3 months, from coast to coast through 25 states, 12,000 miles, different weather, different environment. We stayed in 33 different Airbnbs with a 10-month-old baby and a 2-and-a-half-year-old toddler.
Everyone survived this trip; we all enjoyed our adventure and time together and already miss it.
Itinerary
You can follow our itinerary here. We had a rough idea of our itinerary that we prepared ahead of the trip, but we only had the first 2 Airbnb’s booked.
We prepared a spreadsheet with potential stops, hours required to drive, number of miles, etc. to give us an overall idea of the journey. However, we wanted to keep a little bit of flexibility as it is always possible to find options and book last minute. Although it did require some time while on the road, we were glad we did it this way as a few times when we liked a place, we were able to extend by a few nights.
We also changed our itinerary, sometimes based on recommendations or on the weather (for example to avoid a snowstorm).
We felt that it was good to have some structure and goals but keep it a little bit flexible to allow for some nice surprises.
Since we were traveling during a global pandemic, we would be careful to avoid crowed areas and big cities. We purchased the National Park annual pass for $80 and that was totally worth it since we ended up visiting 10 parks and saved about $250.
We also used the spreadsheet to keep track of our budget. Some regions are more expensive than others, but it is helpful to have an average price per night target and sometimes you will go above or below but this way we tried to stick to within our budget.
Drive
Since our kids are still young and both take naps, we tried to synchronize their nap times with the drive time.
In general, we were aiming to drive 3-4 hours per day maximum so it would be bearable for our children. We did have to drive more sometimes, and it was ok, but it would have been a nightmare if we had to do a few days like this in a row. Whenever we had big stints of drive, we were trying to have a restful day next so that our kids could rest and sleep in their portable beds for a real nap.
Airbnb
The Airbnb’s we stayed at were always very clean and the only thing we did was sanitizing the high touch areas upon arrival given the current circumstances.
We felt very safe during the whole trip and traveled at a time when restrictions were lifted.
The kids were always sleeping in their own bed (pack n play with mattress) which made them feel secure, even though we were constantly changing homes, their beds remained the same. They always slept very well despite all the changes!
Have a look at our travel inspiration website: Here & Away
Meals
We traveled with 2 shopping bags dedicated to food and kitchen condiments. We had the basic olive oil, salt, pepper, and some other basics for us: oats, baby cereals, baby food, apple sauce, pasta, etc.
Some of the Airbnb’s had plenty of condiments to use while others had nothing. We also felt that if sometimes we were arriving late and did not feel like going to the grocery store, we had the bear minimum to cook something upon our arrival.
With the kids and again the circumstances, we were always cooking dinner at our Airbnb. We were also preparing our lunch for the next day that we would pack in a Tupperware. We found it indeed very convenient to pack lunch with us to eat on the road. We tried to avoid eating sandwiches only and were cooking salads (quinoa, pasta, vegetable based) to ensure our children would eat healthy food. This allowed us to save some time and money.
We managed to do lunch breaks in amazing locations while sometimes having to stop at random locations. Map out breaks and try to coincide your lunch with a break in a nice state park.
Our must haves
- Roof rack to pack some extra items on your car roof, tarp, and straps.
- Pack-n-play: if your kids are young enough to still use a pack-n play, do not hesitate to embark one on your journey. We also purchased mattresses as well as bed set and took their blankets with us.
- Lunch Tupperware to pack healthy lunch and snacks
- We also packed bibs, 2 baby spoons.
- Hand sanitizers and sanitizing wipes
- Portable baby highchair. While we packed this highchair with us, we almost did not use it, especially if we were staying 1 or 2 nights.
- Stroller, platform, foot muff, baby carrier
- First Aid kit and essentials
- Toys: we took 2 books and one of their favorite toys. Do not take too much with you as it quickly requires space, and you will see that your kids will get creative and play with whatever they are able to find in their new environments. A few Airbnb’s even had toys, some even had the luxury of a playroom.
- We did not give screens to our kids as they were too young, and we are of the opinion that kids can get bored. We did however play some kids music while driving sometimes to entertain them.
This list is to give you an idea, maybe you do not need all these items and most certainly you will also think of different things to take with you but remember that you can always purchase anything you are missing, we often tend to take too much material.
Draft a packing list ahead of your trip as this is also helpful to remove some of the last-minute stress and make sure you pack everything you need (gear, clothing, toiletry, etc.) .