road trip for 1 year old

Road Trip With a 1 Year Old: A Handy Guide

• Date: July 18, 2022
• Time to read: 5 min.

Traveling in the car is a great way to vacation with a one year old! It can be tricky, but I got all the tips and tricks you need!

Plan to Stop every 2 hours, pack a variety of snacks and travel during nap times to make the trip go as smoothly as possible. Plan stops where babies can walk around and get in some exercise. Pack the essentials in arm’s reach to make stops easier. 

When you are traveling with a 1 year old I like to keep a diaper basket under the seat. Keep diapers, wipes, diaper cream and a changing mat in this basket so that you can quickly grab everything for a diaper change. 

Older babies can enjoy some toys on a road trip as well. Pack some books, small toys and snacks in another basket that is in easy reach. 

Stopping every 2-3 hours is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics to help prevent positional asphyxia. This can happen when babies slouch down in their car seats and stop breathing. 

This happens more often in younger babies, but it can happen in older babies if they get themselves in a weird position and cannot get out of it. 

As a general rule, you should have an adult ride next to the baby to monitor their breathing and their comfort. 

Be careful when offering snacks on the road and be sure that you monitor the baby if they are eating to ensure they are not choking. 

Be sure to slow down and enjoy the trip. Traveling with a baby has it’s own pace and it may take some getting used to, but slowing down will make the trip much less stressful. 

Spend an extra night at the hotel, make an extra bathroom stop, slow down and embrace the trip. 

Packing for a 1 Year Old 

When you are packing for your one year old I recommend that you pack 2 extra outfits per 5 days of your trip , and be sure to have a plan if you need to do laundry. 

Eating habits can change on vacation and that can result in some messy outfits. 

Be sure to pack your regular brand of diapers, wipes and diaper rash cream. This can avoid a painful rash or allergic reaction while away from home. 

Choose engaging toys for travel times when your baby is awake and ready to play.

I have a packing for kids guide that might be helpful when you are making your packing list and organizing all the little outfits. There are some free printable checklists included in the linked post.

Great Road Trip Toys for a 1 Year Old

A 1 year old may be distracted by some well chosen toys on your road trip. 

These are the best, low mess, solutions that have worked for our family on 10+ hour road trips. 

Small board books are a great toy for the car. We love big sets of small books like the linked set, and classics in small board book form. 

Corduroy , We’re Going On a Bear Hunt , and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? have all been winners with my babies. I often find these at local thrift stores. 

Reading these to babies can be a great distraction on a long stretch of driving. 

When you need a sure fire distraction bubbles can be really special in the car. Choose a bottle that fits in the cupholder to keep the mess down. 

If you have responsible older kids this can also be fun for them to blow bubbles for the baby. 

Magnet toys are great for the car and they stay contained very well!

We enjoy magnet blocks like Magna Tiles . Just 2-3 blocks are really fun for a 1 year old. They also rattle when they are shaken, which is fun for a baby as well. 

Light Up Toys 

If you will be traveling at night, a light up toy can be super engaging. 

Simple toys like a small flashlight, a puck light, or glow sticks can be magical in a dark car. 

I know that my kids love traveling at night because it is such a new experience and the light up toys are just magical even for my 7 year old. 

Tips for a Traveling Alone With a Baby

I recommend that you travel with two adults whenever possible, but I know that sometimes you must travel on your own with a baby. 

I love a good adventure and this is what I have learned by traveling alone with my babies. 

Stop Frequently

You should plan to stop every 2 hours or less. This gives you time to check in on the baby and to be sure that they have what they need. 

This also gives you a chance to feed and change the baby. 

Mirrors that allow you to see your baby can be helpful, or a deadly distraction, consult your pediatrician about installing a mirror. 

Pack snacks and drinks for both of you in case you need to change plans suddenly. 

Be sure to pack any special foods that your baby needs, formula, snacks or medicine should be well stocked. Don’t forget mom’s favorites too, pack substantial snacks and cold drinks in the cooler. 

Having everything you need just feels good and makes you feel more secure. 

If you don’t feel comfortable stopping or your baby is sleeping you can choose to keep rolling and eat out of the cooler. 

I always think of my car like Mary Poppins carpet bag, or Herminone’s purse. Full of everything we could possibly need. Magically prepared. 

Be Sure To Rest

Drowsy driving is really dangerous and traveling alone with kids is exhausting. 

Be sure you are getting enough sleep to safely drive. Caffeine can help for a short time, but if you find yourself getting tired, plan to stop. 

The biggest tip I have for you is to go slowly. Do one thing at a time and try to be intentional. 

For example, be sure to put the keys in your pocket before leaving the car to unbuckle the baby, be sure to change diapers at each stop and double check buckles before you start driving. 

There are so many little things to do and check it is easy to forget and become overwhelmed. 

Rushing can make things much more stressful. 

When I travel with my husband he loves to rush and do things quickly, but I have to go slow or we will regret it later. 

Don’t be embarrassed by your pace if you are with a group of kid free companions. Focus on mindfulness and be present in each task. 

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45 Road Trip Activities for Toddlers That Will Keep Them Entertained For Hours

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Road trips are a great way to bond as a family during travel but little ones can get antsy sitting for so long.

If you're planning a road trip with your toddler, it's important to be prepared with activities to keep them occupied.

After all, a bored toddler in the backseat is a recipe for disaster! 

To help you out, we've put together a list of road trip activities for toddlers that are both fun and educational.

With these 45 road trip activities for 1-year-olds and 2-year-olds, your little ones will stay busy (and happy) throughout the entire journey.

Road Trip Activities for 1-year-old Toddlers

My 1-year old absolutely loves pop-its . They are quiet, easy to find, and light to pack – the perfect travel toy!

2 Audiobooks

Playing an engaging audiobook will help distract your toddler. Be sure to choose books with a very animated narrator to catch their attention.

3 Little People

Little People are a hit with toddlers. They love to look at them, hold them and explore them. Consider grabbing a set and offering them to your toddler on the road trip.

4 Bristle Blocks

A few bristle blocks can go a long way on a road trip. Toddlers will love building with them, and they can even teach some basic shapes and colors.

5 Fabric Books

While 1-year-olds aren't the best book handlers, they can still explore soft fabric books . Choosing one with different textures and interactions is a great way to keep them busy.

6 Finger Puppets

A finger puppet set will keep your toddler's hands busy. They'll love putting the puppets on and moving them around.

7 Vtech Remote

There's just something about the remote that is highly fascinating to 1-year-old toddlers. We love the Vtech toddler remote which is complete with functioning buttons and sounds – the perfect road trip activity for toddlers.

8 Chewbeads

If your toddler is in the chewing stage, silicone chew beads should be on your road trip list! These links are not only safe for chewing, but your toddler can bend, fold, and connect them together.

9 Magnatiles 

If you're looking for a more educational road trip activity, consider packing a few Magnatiles . These tiles are great for little ones to stack and build with in the car and at home!

10 Animal Figurines

From dinosaurs to farm animals , your toddler will enjoy handling animal figures on a road trip. Look for lifelike figures with distinct features to grab their attention.

11 Cheerio Bracelet

Snacks are a hit for 1-year-olds on a road trip, but try offering something a little more creative than a snack cup. Look for some flavored cheerios and string them on yarn for a ring of snacks they can see and enjoy eating! Bonus – there's less chance of them throwing them on the floor!

12 Textured Bean Bags

Toddlers love exploring sensory items and these bean bags are one of the best road trip activities for toddlers.  The toys are brightly colored and have interesting textures that will keep toddlers engaged. Come up with some sorting games or ask your toddler to hand you a certain bean bag.

13 Buckle Toy 

This soft pillow buckle toy has plenty of activities to keep your toddler busy. They can zip, lift flaps, and learn to buckle.

14 Hot Wheels Cars

Hot Wheels are a fun toy for you toddlers to bring on a road trip. These are something small they can hold, and you can point to out similar cars on the road.

15 Blocks & Balls

Infantino Balls, Blocks and Buddies set is a something 1-year-olds will love for a car activity. They can touch different surfaces and even chew on them them. Divide them up by type and offer them at separate times for more variety.

16 Baby Dolls

A soft baby doll will not only be a cuddle toy but a great road trip activity for toddlers. They can dress the baby and give her a bottle.

17 Sing-Alongs

One of the best road trip activities for toddlers is music . Sing-alongs are always a hit, and there are plenty of classic kid songs to enjoy. Choose a kid's music channel on your favorite streaming service.

18 Peek-a-Boo

This simple game is one that never gets old. You can play it with a stuffed animal, blanket, or your own hands. Peek-a-boo is sure to get some giggles from your 1-year-old during your trip.

19 Snack Breaks

Snacks are essential for a fun road trip, but they're especially important when you've got little ones in tow. Hunger and thirst can lead to crankiness in even the happiest of toddlers, so make sure to pack plenty of snacks and drinks for the journey. And if you're looking for healthy snack ideas, see our list of road trip food for kids.  

20 Playground Stops

It's important to take breaks often when you're on a road trip with toddlers—both for their sake and for yours! Consider making pit stops at playgrounds along the way – they'll love getting to run around and explore!

Road Trip Activities for 2-year old Toddlers

1 the quiet game.

This is among many parent's favorite road trip activities for toddlers! If your toddler is any good at this game, you'll be enjoying plenty of relaxation on your trip! See who can be quiet the longest and that person wins a special surprise!

2 Paint with Water

Paint with water sets are the perfect toddler road trip activity. Water Wow sets from Melissa & Doug include a fillable pen that holds the water and comes out the brush. Virtually mess-free and very amusing for your little one.

3 Sticker Books

We love sticker books to keep toddlers entertained on a family road trip. They love peeling the stickers which is a great fine motor skill.

4 LCD Drawing Tablet

If your 2-year-old loves to color, LCD drawing tablets are a must. They can color whatever they want and erase it when they want a new canvas. Not only is it mess-free, the tablets are an inexpensive travel toy!

5 This or That

One of our favorite road trip games is one we made up. I played this with my oldest when she needed to be distracted in the car. Say two things and ask which is their favorite. You can use animals, food, or toys for example. It's a great activity to avoid meltdowns when things are going south.

6 Counting Things They See

Keep your toddler learning by counting the things you see. Look out the window and see 3 birds – 1, 2, 3! This is a great activity to help keep them occupied while on a road trip.

7 Squigz Suction Toys

These suction toys are a great road trip activity for toddlers because they will keep them entertained with building and creating new designs. Additionally, the suction cups on the toys will stick to windows and other surfaces, providing an extra level of fun.

8 Magnetic Puzzles

Magnetic puzzles can keep toddlers entertained for hours while on a road trip. The puzzles are easy to carry and keep toddlers busy as they try to move the pieces with the magnetic pen!

9 What Do You See Out the Window

Practice object recognition, colors, and shapes with your 2-year-old by asking them what they see out the window. If they see a tree, ask what color is the tree? Continue the conversation with questions for them to answer.

10 Connectable Fidget Tubes

Fidget tubes can be connected together to create a chain, and your toddler can twist and turn them to their heart's desire. This will keep them occupied and happy, which is essential on long road trips.

11 Lacing Cards 

The repetitive motion of lacing and un-lacing helps to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. We love these small lacing cards as they are portable and offer just enough practice for a 2-year-old.

12 Lego Duplo Blocks

Let their creativity run wild with Lego Duplo Blocks. They can build towers, cars, and other structures with the blocks that come in various size kits.

13 Memory Game Cards

While 2-year-olds may be a little young to play Memory, they will certainly enjoy looking at the picture cards. Memory cards are durable and the perfect small, learning toy to bring along on a road trip.

14 Vtech Laptop

The Vtech laptop is a fun learning game for toddlers. It's not quite screen time, but it is interactive with songs and games that will keep them engaged.

15 Glow Sticks

Road trip activities for toddlers don't have to be limited to just watching movies or looking out the window. A great way to keep them entertained is by bringing out some glow sticks . If you're traveling in the dark these are an ideal way to have some fun when you're almost to your destination.

16 Reusable Sticker Scenes

Reusable stickers are a great car activity because they can easily be moved and manipulated by your toddler. They will enjoy creating stories and using their imagination. Just ask them what they made!

This classic road trip game is perfect for toddlers because it's easy to adapt to their limited attention span. Keep it simple by spying something that's a certain color or shape.  Keep the “spied” objects inside the car to give time for your toddler to find them!

18 Masking Tape

Toddlers love playing with random objects, and masking tape can be used to your advantage. They will enjoy peeling it, balling it up, and making designs on the windows. This is a great way to keep them entertained in exchange for a little cleanup.

19 Mess-Free Coloring

Coloring is a great way to keep toddlers occupied, plus it's a quiet activity that won't disturb other passengers in the car.  Crayola Color Wonder is an amazing gift to parents. The markers only draw on the special paper and leave no other mess. They come in cute sets and are sure to keep your toddler busy.

20 Road Trip Scavenger Hunt

Make a scavenger hunt list of things they can look for outside the car window. Include things like different colors, shapes, and animals.

21 Seek and Find Books

Seek and Find books are excellent road trip activities for toddlers because they can keep them busy and engaged. Bring along a few beginner seek and find books to look at together when they need a break from looking out the window.

Limiting screen time is one thing, but you may need a little more of it on a road trip with toddlers. Download some age-appropriate apps on your phone or tablet for them to play during the drive.

23 Story Time

Reading stories is always a hit with toddlers. Bring along some of their favorite books or download some digital ones before you hit the road.

24 Pack Some Surprises

Save some of your toddler's favorite snacks or toys as “surprises” for later in the trip. This will help break up the monotony and give them something to look forward to. These are also great to take out when things aren't going well (i.e. traffic.) 

A portable DVD player will give your toddler the comfort of their favorite movie. Use movies to wind down before rest time on your road trip.

Road Trip Activities for Toddlers

A road trip with toddlers doesn't have to be stressful—as long as you know how to survive a road trip with kids !

1-year-olds and 2-year-olds have unique needs when it comes to car activities.

They have a shorter attention span and need a larger variety of things to keep them occupied.

However, with these 45 road trip activities for toddlers, you can rest assured that your little ones will stay entertained the whole way!

And who knows, you might even have some fun yourself in the process!

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Road Trip With A Toddler: 15+ Tips After 50,000 Miles On The Road

Family road trips can be either amazing or super stressful. This is especially true with younger kiddos who have a harder time sitting still and entertaining themselves. But clocking in over 50,000 on the road in the last few years with our 5 young kids has taught us some tips to road trip with a toddler.

Here are some of our favorite toddler road trip tips, road trip hacks, and family road trip essentials. I hope they help make your journey a little smoother and more enjoyable!

1) Road Trips With Toddlers: Start Small

My first tip to successfully road trip with a toddler is to start small. A full 8 hour road trip with kids is probably not the best way to start out. Kids take time to adjust to new situations, and if you haven’t road tripped before, that’s a lot – even for an adult! Instead, start small. Start with a 1-3 hour ride. Get acclimated and make sure everything is comfortable and in working order. Once you have a few of those under your belt, you can slowly start to increase your hours in the car. You will be a road tripping family in no time!

2) Pack Clean Snacks

One of my favorite tips for road trips with toddlers! If your kids are anything like mine, they like to be eating practically nonstop when in the car or RV. But we’ve definitely made the mistake of choosing snacks that cause a giant mess and we regret it forever after. We also don’t like giving them tons of junk – that just makes them even more wiggly and unsettled. It works better for all of us if they have regular meals and healthy snacks. Definitely our most important family road trip essential!

Here are 50+ of our favorite healthy (and non-messy) road trip snacks for kids !

3) Use Stops To Get Out Wiggles

When we first started road tripping, we’d treat stops like we did when it was just adults – to sit and eat food. But we quickly figured out that road trip stops with kids are a different animal. Instead, with kids, we like to use these stops almost exclusively for movement.

It’s hard for young kiddos to sit still for long periods of time in a vehicle. Their bodies are designed to be moving frequently! So whenever we paused for gas or for a break, we make sure to take this time to get out wiggles. This might mean pulling over near a big field or playground where they can run around. Or it may mean doing jumping jacks on the grassy area of a gas station. Either way, we try to get out as many wiggles as possible.

Plus, movement often takes less time than sitting and eating. Kids often get antsy sitting down for full meals, anyway, so there’s no reason to make them sit in a restaurant and then sit even more in their seats. Instead, we like to pack easy-to-eat road trip meals that they can have while we’re on the road.

Of course, be very cautious about food that you give to young children and make sure they are supervised, and avoid choking hazards.

4) Always Use The Proper Child Restraint

This is at the top of the list as far as importance goes for road trip tips for toddlers. It can sometimes be tempting to allow a young child to slide under a shoulder belt to sleep while the car is moving. This could be super dangerous in the event of a crash. Instead, if you have a child who is likely to fall asleep in the car at some point, avoid using a low-back booster that requires them to keep their bodies upright.

Instead, a 5-point harness is a safer option when road tripping with toddlers. If your child has outgrown a 5-point harness, a high-back booster or this booster Ride Safer Vest are great options that keep them in better positioning. (Here are our favorite travel car seats .)

5) Make Sure Everyone Packs An Activity Bag

I love having each of my kids pack their own travel backpack with essentials that they can easily access. This can be especially useful for long road trips with toddlers. This also tends to keep things better contained than a basket of stuff, which often gets stepped on or otherwise destroyed.

I love that having their own activity bag means they can choose what they’re interested in for a long family road trip. This makes it so they are much more likely to stay engaged with those activities. This is a great way to keep toddlers busy on long road trips.

Here’s everything they keep in their kids’ travel backpacks . They often bring more activities for a road trip than when flying, of course – more books and perhaps a few little toys to keep them occupied. And here are our favorite toddler road trip activities !

6) Give Everyone A Spillproof Water Bottle

When on a road trip with toddlers, spillproof water bottles are the very best way to make sure spills don’t ruin the car and its contents. We make sure everyone has their own so they can stay hydrated.

Insulated kids water bottles are my preferred oens so that drinks stay cold for a while (especially helpful if you need milk for younger kiddos). I like this  hard spout insulated sippy  for babies and young toddlers. The  Contigo Stainless Steel Water Bottle Autospout  and the  Thermos Funtainer 12oz. are great travel water bottles for younger kids. I also like  the Contigo Spill Proof Tumbler  (which is surprisingly spill-resistant, but the straw can get dirty since it doesn’t have a cover).

My older kids absolutely LOVE the  Takeya Actives Insulated Water Bottle  – it’s a great size, fits in a side pocket, and keeps drinks cold for sooo long. If we’re planning to hike quite a bit on our travels, my kids pack their amazing  kids hiking hydration backpacks  and generally just use those for water on the road trip (we don’t often fly with these).

For adults, we really love the  Contigo Autospout Water Bottle and Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Straw Lid .

7) Listen to Audiobooks & Music on Long Road Trips

Audiobooks are for sure our #1 favorite way to pass time on long road trips with kids. We almost always download them from the Libby app through our library, then play them via Bluetooth on our car’s speaker system. Everyone stays interested and engaged and QUIET, and the grown ups like them as much as the kids. You could also just read out loud to everyone if you prefer! Podcasts can also be great, especially for younger kiddos (Circle Round is wonderful even for toddlers!).

If kids want to listen to individual audiobooks, the Yoto player is perfect for that. These headphones are perfect in the car because they’re soft and don’t interfere with car seats. (My oldest prefers these .) Music on the Yoto is also really fun to listen to! (You can use this link to purchase, and the code PREETHI10 for 10% off the regular Yoto player.)

Here are some of our favorite USA road trip novels for kids .

8) Pack 8 Million Baby Wipes to Road Trip With a Toddler

Even if you don’t have kids in diapers. Even if you think you have enough. I promise, you will use them for everything. Cleaning faces and hands. Wiping down the car dash or seat. So many things on a road trip with a toddler or even big kids.

9) Keep Trash Bags Accessible

All those baby wipes need to go somewhere! A great long road trip tip is to hang trash bags where kiddos can reach them and immediately throw stuff away instead of letting it all accumulate. Of course, be very cautious about not having plastic bags too close to babies and young children.

10) Put On A Bib For Little Ones

We absolutely love full coverage bibs at home – they’re the only ones that actually work to keep kiddos relatively clean, it seems. And they work in the car, too! Since they go on from the front, we just put them on their arms on top of the car seat, and it keeps them a little bit cleaner during family road trips.

Ikea is the cheapest place to get them (and ours have held up perfectly for years and years), but if you don’t have one close by, you can also purchase the Ikea one on Amazon . There are also some similar ones available , as well.

11) Pack Extra Ziplock Bags

This is another item where I’m often shocked at how useful they are. Handing out snacks. Gathering up snacks. Or, in the event of a car sickness emergency, handing back as a sickness bag that can then reseal. They’re so helpful in so many instances when road tripping with kids.

12) There’s No Shame in Technology On Family Road Trips

There’s no shame in watching movies while on the road. We usually hold off on them because our kids tend to get grumpy when we watch too much. So we might have one at the end of a really long road trip driving day, but they’re rare. But if they work for you? Awesome. They might be absolutely worth it for your family and might be great with your kids. There’s zero shame in that. Use it if you need to. Use an iPad if you need to. It’ll be just fine.

We personally LOVE traveling with kids Kindles . They’re easy to pack, the battery lasts for forever, and they hold soooo many books. They keep our reading-on-their-own age kids occupied for hours especially on busy family road trips.

13) Use Sleep Cues to Successfully Road Trip With a Toddler

If we’re driving late on a long road trip, it’s often best if we can get our kids to fall asleep in the car. Neither Dan nor I is good at staying up through the night, so we never drive that long. We have gotten in well past kiddo bedtime many times before.

We find it’s really helpful to have their regular sleep cues handy while driving. As it gets closer to evening, we have them change into pajamas, get an animal (and pacifier for the baby), and sometimes a blanket or pillow (easier in the RV).

We also have one particular CD of peaceful religious music that we’ve had for years, and it always signals to our kids that it’s time to go to sleep. They’ve heard it during enough late-night drives that it cues to them to settle down. We’ve also been known to play white noise on an app on our phones that we play through Bluetooth on the car stereo, but this is obviously less pleasant for us to listen to. 😉

14) Carry Emergency Supplies for Family Road Trips

There’s nothing like having a vehicle break down while on a road trip with kids. We always like to carry a few emergency supplies just in case. Here are some family road trip essentials for emergencies:

• Portable car battery jump starter (can jump your vehicle without another one present)
• Car tire air compressor
• First aid kit
• Drinking water
• Portable phone charger

15) Practice

“Practice makes perfect” is true for road tripping with kids, too. My final tip to road trip with a toddler is to practice. Our kids have gotten really good at road tripping and occupying themselves on the road because they’ve done it a ton. And anytime we haven’t been on a long ride in a while, they get more antsy the first day, but then get the hang of it by the 2nd. If it doesn’t work out the first time, try again. Try different things that might work for your family. Stop frequently if you need to, or drive longer through the night if it works better. Figure out what is best for your family to successfully road trip, and do it.

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST ABOUT TIPS TO ROAD TRIP WITH A TODDLER, YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE POSTS TOO:

• Toddler Road Trip Activities
• 50+ Healthy Road Trip Snacks for Kids
• Tips for Travel with Baby or Toddler

DON’T NEED TIPS TO ROAD TRIP WITH A TODDLER QUITE YET? PIN THIS POST FOR LATER!

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11 responses.

Hey Preethi! Love this post:) we have almost 5 kiddos (#5 in June) and our eldest is 6. I want to be more comfortable with road trips and I found this really helpful. I can’t find a link for the bibs you recommend. Any chance you could share that with me?

Thanks you!

Congratulations on your baby!! I’m so glad this was helpful. And so sorry about that – I’ve updated the bibs info with links. Enjoy!

Love this! My parents live about 3hrs away, do kids are used to a longish drive. We are inbarking on our first big road trip this Spring.

Q – how many hours do you try to drive a day, if you’re going far from home? Especially without an RV? I(‘m anticipating that 6 hrs is the most we might do in a day, and am really only expecting 4 hrs at most before meltdowns begin.)

Hi Leticia – how fun!! It really depends on how far we drive based on our destination, how much we’re seeing along the way, etc. If we’re just trying to get to a destination, we’ve done up to 12-13 hours in a day before. I wouldn’t do that as a first big road trip, but it also totally depends on your kids. Have a great trip!!

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Road Trippin’ with a 1 Year Old

Feb 24 Uncategorized

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Traveling – especially road trippin’ – with a 1 year old can be tons of fun, but it can also take a turn for the worst if you don’t prepare for it properly. We took our first family road trip with our oldest daughter when she was one and we had one baby on the way. Our final destination, Seattle, was 15 hours from our hometown, but we stopped at the 12 hour mark, which was Portland, to spend two days before heading up to Seattle.

Pack Plenty of Snacks and Water

One of my favorite things about road trips is all the snacking I get to do! Of course, I don’t want it to be a full-blown snack-fest, but it does make the road trip go faster if you can eat along the way. While we normally only do one snack in our home each day , when we went on our road trip I let our daughter eat snacks several times along the way.

The best kinds of snacks for one year olds are finger foods , like fruits and veggies, cheese, crackers, muffins, dried fruit (if you already know your child can safely eat them without problems), etc. Yogurt is also a great idea if you can keep it cold and aren’t worried about the mess. If your one year old is closer to two or has more teeth, you may want to take homemade trail mix, granola bars, and homemade cookies.

To save a little money, you will want to take most of your own food, and possibly even make your own homemade baby food to take on the road. I did that on this particular road trip, and I even had an entire week’s worth of food I had prepared and frozen just for my daughter. We put the ice cube purees in the bottom of a cooler and covered them with ice, but we didn’t realize that even after replacing the ice every time we stopped for gas, the food would not make it the whole way! I wish I would have had this list of 7 incredibly easy and healthy snack ideas instead so that I didn’t have to deal with the stress of melty homemade baby food!

If you are still breastfeeding your child, be sure to take care of yourself, too, by drinking plenty of water and eating lots of snacks along the way!

Bring Music

Music is a wonderful distraction for littles that are restless and don’t want to be stuck in their car seat. Be sure to have a list of songs at the ready that you can sing (you might have to sing until they zonk out!), or have a playlist on YouTube or a favorite Pandora radio station that your child can listen to and calm down. It’s also fun to just be one of those families that is singing at the top of their lungs as people pass by and stare!

Remember Books and Toys

It’s quite obvious that you will want some toys and books for your child to keep them further distracted, especially when snacks and songs just aren’t working. A few days or weeks before your trip, set aside a few toys and books that your baby really likes but you know they won’t really notice are missing. Then when you are on the road, and they need something now, get out one book or one toy and they will be excited to see it! You could also just buy some new toys and books for those moments when you feel like you are losing absolute control!

Drive at Night

One thing we did on this trip that I would highly recommend (especially for kids who can sleep well in their car seats) is to leave in the middle of the night or even right before bed time. If your destination is 10-12 hours away, this would be perfect to arrive in the morning. The only people who would probably not enjoy this solution so much is mom and dad, of course!

If you do decide to drive at night so that your baby can sleep for a lot of the ride, make sure you have something that can prop your child’s head up if it falls down while they are sleeping.

Take Frequent Stops

You’re probably not going to arrive at your destination as fast as you could without kids. With a 1-2 year old, you’ll probably want to stop every 2 or 2 1/2 hours so they can walk around and explore for a good 15-30 minutes.

Before you leave on your trip, check along your travel route to see what places you could stop at. There will probably be some parks or a mall that would be great for running, walking, and just stretching your legs. We stopped at Walmart about 3 hours into our trip, and my daughter had a really good laugh when my husband kept hiding from her and popping out.

Block Out the Sun

The biggest complaint I noticed from our daughter was the sun in her eyes. We were traveling to the west and had left at 6 AM. Once the sun came up, it was hitting her eyes, because she was facing backward. So I put a thin blanket over the top of her car seat so she could be shielded from the sun until it got high enough in the sky.

The window coverings we had on both sides in the back were not very effective, and I would have loved to get the type that cover the entire window. The downside to those, though, is that reviewers said that you cannot see through them and it creates a problem when you are trying to change lanes and cannot see in your blind spot to safely move over.

Keep Baby Cool

Traveling in the summer? You will probably have to come up with a solution for keeping your baby cool as you drive. Turning on the A/C full blast in our car did not work very well, especially because her car seat was facing backwards. You could keep some cool water in a container and have a washcloth that you give to your child and change out after 10-15 minutes. This would work best if one parent is sitting in the back near the child and can help them do this. It would also work to have a fan and a spray bottle, again, if a parent is helping the child in the back seat.

One Parent Can Ride in the Back

Which leads me to my next point. If you only have one child, they will probably get bored in the back by themselves, so you may want to take turns sitting in the back with your child if it is just you and your spouse. We did this, and noticed that our daughter had a much better time because she could actually see us and interact throughout the trip. We could also give her toys, books, and snacks without stopping the car.

Bring Stuff for Messes

Obviously, you will want to remember to bring plenty of diapers and wipes for your baby, but you may also want to bring a few extra plastic changing pads. Not all rest stops are clean, and a plastic changing pad that you don’t care about could be a lifesaver.

I would also suggest that you bring towels and paper towels to clean up any big messes that might happen in the car. Not all kids can handle a car ride for very long, and you may have to unfortunately deal with a child who has car sickness or lots of diaper blowouts . So remember some extra outfits as well!

Finally, you will want to keep a few empty sacks in your car for any trash that will inevitably happen.

There are just a few other things I would mention to help make your road trip one of the best ever (with kids!).

First, don’t forget your baby’s favorite “thing,” whether that be a binky, blanket, bottle, or toy. A road trip can make kids all kinds of uncomfortable, so your child will be needing their lovey more than ever!

Second, if you think your child might struggle on a long road trip because they have shown signs of not enjoying car rides in the past, consider bringing calming bottles to hand over to them in these moments. A calming bottle is a wonderful way to soothe your baby and help them deal with their big emotions. You can find some really great ideas for calming bottles over on The Realistic Mama .

And finally, if you have room in your car bring the big stroller. We made the mistake of taking just our small umbrella stroller, and it was a bit difficult to push that thing around some of the places we went. A larger stroller also has space to hold bags and belongings, which would have been so nice since I was pregnant at the time and carrying one more thing on my shoulder wasn’t my idea of a vacation!

What tips would you add for traveling with a one year old?

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02.18.21 at 5:11 pm

This is perfect! We are planning a trip in a couple of months with our now 17month old and I’m pregnant. So all these tips are extremely helpful that not a lot of other articles bring up. I love the blanket to shield from the sun idea. Thanks!

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16 of the Best Tips for Road Trips with Toddlers

Updated on May 1, 2024   |  By Jamie Dorobek   |   16 Comments

We love to travel! My son took 10 plane rides before he was 5 months old! (Here are my tips for traveling with a baby via airplane .) Our longest car ride to date with two toddlers (1.5 year old and a 3 year old) was from Texas to Florida. I put together a list of 16 tips for road trips with toddlers. Oh and if you have older kids, don’t miss these 26 car games for kids .

* A giant thank you to Kia for letting my family borrow a Kia Sorento for our 12 hour road trip to Seaside, FL! What a difference a car can make!

After meeting the Kia team at Mom 2.0, a blog conference, and then checking out their fleet of eco friendly cars in San Diego, CA I was sold on driving a Kia Sorento for our family road trip this summer. I can’t get over that 10 years ago Kia was at the bottom, and over the next decade, Kia dedicated itself to quality craftsmanship. In 2016 Kia earned the top spot on JD Power and associates study of best initial quality in the entire car industry, above all of the luxury car brands! That’s impressive.

*This post contains affiliate links.

16 Tips for Road Trips with Toddlers

If you’re new here we have a 1.5 year old and a 3.5 year old and we drove to Seaside, Florida from Texas. According to Google Maps, 788 miles should take a little less than 12 hours. It took us about 15 hours. I put together a list of tips I wish I would have seen before we set off on on our crazy road trip adventure.  #9 ensures 4 hours of peaceful driving, don’t lose kids shoes with #14, and if you get nothing else out this article, pack whole apples for car snacks!

1. Dry Car Snacks

Next to #9, this is the most important tip for my hungry crew! I love to use diaper boxes for traveling. The boxes are sturdy, have built in handle, and I have plenty of them on hand. I rip the flaps off of the diaper box and fill it with easy, healthy snacks. I also put the snack cups and paper towels in this box too. ( These snack cups are the best!)

Here are a few of our favorite car snacks

• Apples (Whole apples are the best because they aren’t messy and take longer to eat.)

2. Cooler Bag Car Snacks

We use a medium sized soft cooler so that it can fit on the floor in the middle of the back seat of the car. We also love this kind of cooler for bringing snacks and drinks to the beach. At some point on the road trip, we grab a bag of ice from the gas station to keep our cooler cool. Plus my kids love ice cubes! ( This is the cooler we use! )

Road trip cooler snacks

• Peeled whole carrots (Same idea as the apples above)
• 2 no spill 360 cups filled with water
• Cut up strawberries in zip lock bags
• Bottles of water
• Yogurt pouches

3. Car Activities

I fill another diaper box with car activities including books that I know my 3.5 year old loves. I like to pick a few books that he knows by heart and can “read” to his 1.5 year old sister. ( Pout Pout Fish  and Brown Bear, Brown Bear are always winners!) I usually buy at least one new book too.

Travel toys for a 3 year old

• Magnetic drawing board
• Rescue bots
• Toy vehicles with moving parts

Best toddler travel toys

• Hand held mirror
• Leap Frog word book
• First 100 Words Book
• Anything the 3 year old is holding, ha!

4. Best Car Activities for Toddlers

Sticky notes and pipe cleaners will bring your toddler and preschoolers hours of fun in the car!

Post It Notes

Pick up a few packs of Post It notes in different colors and let the kids go wild sticking them all over the car. Or make a fancy container like the one below and hand it to your toddler.  Sticky notes on an oatmeal container, who knew that could provide so much entertainment? Oh and store the extra sticky notes inside of the container so that you can remake this fancy contraption if necessary.

Pipe Cleaners

As for pipe cleaners, I got this idea from my friend Cassie who wrote a blog post for C.R.A.F.T years ago. You can read all of her great ideas to keep kids busy on road trips  with pipe cleaners here.  Since my kids are both really young their favorite thing to do is make loops and connect the loops. My 3 year old enjoys stringing Cheerios too.

5. Electronics

Feel free to judge, but electronics are a must for us on long car rides! I’m all about that iPad or Kindle Fire . My 1.5 year old could care less about shows, but the 3.5 year old will almost watch an entire movie. So, if the little one is sleeping, I insist the big guy watch a movie. We have about 10 of his favorite movies/shows downloaded on the Kindle Fire, and it wedges perfectly wedges between the 2 front seats the Kia Sorento.

6. Find Playgrounds

There will be lots of pit stops when road tripping with babies, toddlers, and/or preschoolers. Our 3.5 year old is potty trained so we stopped multiple times for him to use the restroom. We typically tried to combine that with getting gas, changing the 1.5 year olds diaper and possibly grabbing coffee or a real meal. If you’re traveling through small towns there might not be playgrounds readily available so one thing I like to do is search Google maps for “Elementary schools”. If it’s the weekend or summer, likely no one is on the playground and it’s the perfect place to stop and play.

How to find a playground while traveling

• Chick-fil-a
• Search “Elementary school” or “public park” on google maps
• Download the app “Playground Buddy”

7. Music and Car Dance Parties

My kids love a good dance party. At home, we turn the music up really loud and “do circles” around the dining room table. Dance parties cure most bad moods even in the car. Find a song with a good beat and turn it up loud! It’s even better if your kids are familiar with the song or you have a few favorites ready to go on a Spotify playlist or a CD. Maxwell’s very favorite right now is the Hamster Song . (Listen at your own risk, kids love it, but it’s fairly annoying.)

8. Learn Something New

Since you’ve got lots of time, why not teach the kids something new! I found number flash cards in the Target Dollar Spot and decided to teach Maxwell to recognize numbers 0-9. On one side of the card was the number (3) and on the back side was for example, 3 apples. Sometimes I quizzed him, sometimes he quizzed me, sometimes he would ask for a hint and I would hand him the card so that he could count the items on the back of the card. We worked on numbers in sets of 3. So, we started with 0-2. Once he mastered those we would try and find those numbers on road signs. We did this in spontaneous spurts of 5-10 minutes or whenever he asked to “learn numbers”. There was also a prize involved, ha! It worked surprisingly well, upon arriving home he could identify all 10 numbers!

9. Leave Early or Drive Through the Night

Driving through the night is not an option for us, but I know lots of people that swear by this method. Mama needs sleep or everyone will be grumpy! We were on the road by 4am to get 4 hours under our belt while the kids were sleeping. When both kids were up and ready to move by 8am, we stopped and had breakfast. Here’s picture proof we were on the road by 4:36am! For the record, I love the navigation system in the Kia Sorento. It’s bright, user friendly, includes street signs, speed limit sign, and you can see how many miles until the next turn on the driver’s dashboard.

10. Leave Room Between the Car Seats

We are going to talk about car organization in #12, but I think this is worthy of its very own bullet point. It’s very simple: Do not pack anything to go between the 2 car seats in case you need to jump back there and console a total meltdown. I only had to use this tactic once per 777 mile trek, but when you need it, you really need it.

11. Window shades

The Kia Sorento comes with window shades built into the back windows! You can roll down the window and the shades stay up. It’s amazing! I’m a big fan. If your car does not have built in shades, you can buy these that suction cup to any window .

12. Recline Car Seat

This is especially important for our 17 month old. Our Britax Marathon car seats have 7 recline positions and we adjust hers to recline to the 7th position. It ensures she is ready for sleep at any moment! Also fair to note here, dress kids comfortable and bring their favorite sleep item in the car. Don’t pack it in the suitcase like I did one time. My kids need their “blanks”! After all, the ultimate goal of the road trip is to get the kids to sleep! Also, I spy a lone Cheerio on the “blank”, ha!

13. How to organize a car for a toad trip

The next tip for road trips with toddlers involve how and where to put things in your car. I swear just knowing where stuff is hiding in the car is half the battle. I cut the flaps off of diaper boxes and use them to store dry snacks and books/activities on the floor of the back seat. The soft cooler goes in the middle.

Another tip for road trip car organization

Use a hanging jewelry organizer ( this one is perfect! ) to hang on the back of the passenger seat to house things like toy cars, kid sunglasses, hair ties, socks, chap stick, and small fidget toys!

14. Road trip shoe trick

In the name of car organization and knowing where things are, Andy invented this shoe trick. After hunting for kid shoes at multiple pit stops, he started stowing kiddo shoes in the space behind the carseat. Genius!

15. Hand Sanitizer

Go ahead and stick it right in a cup holder so you don’t loose it.

16. Diaper Bags & Trash Bags

The diaper bag should include bazillions of diapers, a ridiculous amount of wipes, and at least one change of clothes for each kid. I pack these goodies in my everyday backpack diaper bag and make sure it is the last thing packed in the trunk of the car. If you have a diaper situation, you’re stopping anyway so I prefer the diaper bag in the trunk versus at my feet.

If you are looking for more travel tips with kids, I’ve got you covered:

• Tips for  long road trips with a bab y
• Tips for traveling with a baby via airplane
• Traveling with a  mobile lap baby via airplane
• Tips for  flying with a toddler
• 26 Car games for kids

Did I miss any tips for road trips with toddlers? I’d love to hear…

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Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply, comments & reviews.

September 3, 2020

Is it okay to have his seat reclined forward facing? My son is 3 and I have the option to recline it and just want more tips on how to make it safer!

September 4, 2020

Hi Amber! I would check with the maker of your brand of carseat.

August 27, 2020

Thanks for the great article, love the tips. But, with the pandemic still in effect, do you have any additional tips that are specific to travelling now? We have an 18 hour drive planned for October and we have a 4.5 year old and a 1.5 year old who have never done more than 2 hours in the car. I do not think we will be able to stop at playgrounds and we have to be really particular about what “to go” food we partake in because restaurants will be out of the question. Thanks!

October 18, 2020

The only thing extra that I’m adding to my list that isn’t suggested here, is an on the go potty station for my trunk (with corresponding toiletries in diaper bag). We’ll be stopping for picnics and stretches in parking lots as opposed to utilizing restaurants and public spaces (6month old and 2.5 year old)

December 1, 2019

When temps are high slip an icepack behind the cushion of their car seat.

July 30, 2019

1.5 year old should be rear facing..

August 7, 2019

I bet the kid survived just fine.

August 10, 2019

Not if thay are over 20 lbs

August 16, 2019

In several states Amber is correct- it is legally required that a child under two is rear facing. And the thing about driving through other states on a road trip is that you’re required to follow their laws. (You wouldn’t tell a cop pulling you over for speeding, “Well, the speed limit is higher in my state!” would you?). Regardless of laws, children under two are safest rear-facing according to science.

October 22, 2020

You are correct. Best practice is to leave. A child read facing until at least 2 years old or they maximize the harness weight for the rear facing position of their car seat.Children are much safer in an accident rear facing.

June 20, 2019

This was really helpful for me as we are about to take our first road trip as a family with my 2 year old in August. He’s never been in the car longer than 3 hours and even then it seemed challenging. I would love to get more information on who to contact about a collaboration with Kia as well if you don’t mind sharing? Ironically I own a 2017 Kia Sorento but would also be very interested in testing out a newer one with a navigation system like the one you drove and bonus features. Thanks so much!

June 16, 2019

Best tips I have read. Affiliate links are subtle, ads are not overwhelming, I love it so much. Great travel hacks, we are traveling soon and I will be using all of these! Thank you! Just gained a fan.

July 21, 2018

August 29, 2017

I have a trip tomorow with my kid… Definitely going to have to give that a try.

August 26, 2017

These are all fantastic tips! We have three kids between ages 2 and 8, and road trips are becoming more and more common. We love to have the oldest run a few rounds of Mad Libs during a trip. It’s a great way to reinforce language skills and writing during the summer. Though, using the post-its is total genius with the little one. Definitely going to have to give that a try.

Ohhh Mad Libs is a great idea with oldder kiddos!! PLus I LOVE them! Thanks for the tip!

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How to Take a Road Trip With a Toddler

Fact-checking standards, latest update:, tips for taking a road trip with a toddler, consider your departure time, plan for breaks, read this next, map your route, bring out the entertainment big guns, but don't hand everything over at once, alternate drivers, if possible, prepare for queasiness, expect some stress, road trip essentials for toddlers, personal care items, entertainment, toddler comforts, best snacks for a road trip with a toddler, toddler road trip activities.

Long car trips with toddlers can certainly be taxing, and reaching your destination will likely take longer. But with a little advanced planning (and plenty of breaks!), you can navigate the inevitable speed bumps and reach your destination with a happy passenger. 

What to Expect the Second Year , Heidi Murkoff.  WhatToExpect.com, 9 Fun Travel Games for Kids on the Go , October 2021.  WhatToExpect.com, Healthy Snack Ideas for Toddlers , February 2021.  WhatToExpect.com, Toddler Air Travel: What to Know Before You Fly , January 2019.  American Academy of Pediatrics, Is It Safe for My Baby to Travel in a Car Seat a Few Hours At a Time? , August 2021.  American Academy of Pediatrics, Travel Safety Tips , August 2018.  KidsHealth From Nemours, Staying Healthy While You Travel , January 2021.   

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20+ travel toys for a 1-year-old: entertainment for road trips and long flights.

Keeping your infant entertained on your next vacation

I won’t deny that one-year-olds can be one of the most difficult ages to travel with (ok, for parents!) especially flying! They are still so tiny but wriggly and active and unsure of what is happening around them; they are not quite a toddler but beyond a baby .

How on earth do you entertain your one-year-old while you’re travelling?

There are plenty of great one-year-old toys, but for this age group, they are often large, clunky, interactive (i.e. noisy!) and not particularly luggage friendly!  You really do need to consider a separate set of portable plane and travel toys for 1-year-olds. 

Other than our baby travel essentials , here we’re going to talk you through over 20 great ideas on what you should be packing to entertain a 1-year-old while travelling – our big focus is on being road trip and flying friendly toys.

This post is part of our tried and tested travel gear series – don’t forget to also check out our baby travel advice home page

Buckle buster, finger puppets, classic baby beads, cute character snack cup.

• Lamaze Plush Puzzle Toy

Sensory Fidget Toys

Learn to dress monkey, felt quiet books, stacking cups, tissue pouch toy, board books, soft activity book, chunky crayons, magnetic drawing board, fubbles bubbles, sand toy kit, toy safety straps, what 1-year-old toys should i leave at home, more tips for baby travel.

If your child is slightly older, don’t miss our post best travel toy ideas for a 2-year-old . 

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The Best Travel Toys for a 1-year-olds

The most difficult thing about this age group is their propensity to want to either a) insert everything they find into their mouth or b) throw it on the floor! 

Therefore, finding travel toys for 1-year-olds that are made for chewing is great, but also look for items that are easy to clean and not too small so you can find them if they fall into a small confined space! 

Here’s our selection of the best travel toys that have stood the test of time with our 1-year-olds.

Buckle Toys Buster is ideal for travel as he folds up quite small and is great for those fine motor skills and problem-solving.

There are six different clasps and buckles, allowing for several different activities. Buster also has many colourful pals these days, some bulkier than others, but all offer great opportunities for your tot to work on their hand-eye coordination while keeping them occupied on the move.

An interactive fun way to play along with kids is  finger puppets .  They definitely fit well into the portable category, much smaller than most soft toys but not too tinee tiny that you will lose them under a plane seat!

These are the best toys for one-year-olds in any situation, as there are plenty of imaginative games you can make up—and worst case, if they simply end up in your tot’s mouth, it’s not the end of the world!

Manhattan Toys Classic Baby Beads  are a baby essential from this maker of unique educational toys ( do check out the  full Manhattan toys range   – we ended up with a toy box full of their stuff we loved them so much! )

The beads are solid wood but portable, and the rattle is fun but not an overpowering noise it won’t annoy your neighbours on a plane. It’s great to see young toddlers through the  teething stage , and also perfect for those fine motor skills.

We all know just how important it is to keep little bellies satisfied, whether it’s at home or on the move. And we all know how quickly kids knock these things over?

Cue the latest generation of infant snack cups from Skip Hop that are not only designed with an (almost) spill-proof lid; they come in some cute and fun designs too that will only add to the enjoyment factor of snack time – hence we include in here amongst our favourite travel toys for 1-year-olds as they have definitely been a saviour in the past for quick and easy toddler entertainment – two birds and all that.

Lamaze Activity Spiral

Have we mentioned before how much we love Lamaze products? Their activity spiral is an absolute beauty and the perfect travel toy for a 1-year-old.

With all the sensory pieces that we love above Lamaze, it is easily attached to your tot’s infant seat, ideal for long road trips.

A reluctant inclusion as I truly hate any baby travel toy that makes an irritating sound – if it’s annoying me, it’s got to be annoying others around me too – but car keys really are one of those wonderful reality toys that infants simply can’t get enough of, perfect for long car rides.

No losing your own keys mid-journey, these B.Toys Funky Toy Keys are super easy to fit into any diaper bag and a sure-fire quick win for teething tots – even if just a little noisy, they are the closest to ‘the real thing’!

These simple plastic contraptions have taken the world by storm! Even since my bubs have grown into tweens , they STILL love these sensory toys .

The small but satisfying pops and different textures are a great way to keep fingers busy in a way that’s non-disruptive to other passengers.

Bonus if you can find a fidget toy with a suction cup , too, for on-the-go; they can easily be placed on windows, an airplane tray table, and even bathing; a sensory toy is perfect for a 1 year old when travelling.

Learn to dress mo n key is a wonderfully loveable teddy that comes with 11 different activities for small hands, from ties to zips and buttons. A guaranteed entertainer and perfect for long flights, he’s pretty loveable and cuddly too.

Also comes in Learn to Dres s Kitty if you are after different designs, a great toy for travel and at home.

Felt Quiet Books are a fabulous baby entertainer and make the perfect travel toy for 1-year-olds in any situation.

Young children can independently explore with a variety of different scenes to choose from. All the parts attach to the quiet book, so no missing spare parts, and no problem if it ends up in their mouth as it’s machine washable.

Such a simple but vital travel toy. We never went anywhere without our stacking cups – in fact, I’d argue these were our favourite travel toys!

Because they so stack away so small, they’re an easy grab-and-go item, and most importantly, we have been able to double these up as a portable bath toy and a baby beach toy on the go, too – these should be in every family travel bag!

Hands up whose infant LOVVVVVVES pulling tissues out of the box? OK, any infant worth their grit in cookie crumbs will work out this is a fake next to the real thing, but the My Tissue Pouch Travel Toy is as close as it can get to the real thing for this super fun baby activity!

With 11 brightly coloured, machine washable and totally reusable ’tissues’, plus a fun character packet to play with, this will surely gain you 5 minutes of peace on long road trips with your 1-year-old, right?!

We will always throw in at least one set of board books traveling with babies and toddlers.

They’re great travel toys as they’re small enough to slip a different one in your diaper bag or carry on each time you leave the house and pretty robust against little fingers and searching teeth!

Another great book option for a one-year-old is a soft activity book.

The MAMMA Kiddie soft activity book is a great travel toy for a 12-month-old as it comes with lots of added extras, including sensory touches that are chewable and bead counters. It’s still super light, so an easy carry-on bag inclusion for your one-year-old.

As your baby transitions to the toddler years, colouring games are great, but finding the right sort of product is tough.

We love the chunky crayons by Honeysticks – completely infant safe made from Beeswax and easy to grip in those sweet chubby little hands, an ideal travel tour for 18 month old.

Is your infant ready for a car seat travel tray? As infants progress to toddlers, they may benefit from having a good surface to eat and play on on long car journeys especially – see all our favourite car seat trays here!

Another super portable toy that’s not too chunky for travel is a magnetic drawing board, best from 18 months+. Always best not to go too cheap in design for these products – and not too many ‘extras’ that can go missing.

We like the design of Fly2Sky Magnetic drawing board as it has a sealed back to prevent scratching, and it’s small enough to still slip into a carry-on.

This one is not for you to hand to your one-year-old unsupervised, but more an emergency piece of kit that every travelling parent should have handy!

Be it making a roadside stop and getting your little one to stretch their legs, or when you’re waiting for rides at an amusement park, a quick bubble blow is an INSTANT crowd pleaser! – be warned, though, other kids will always want to join in!!!

We like Little Kids Fubbles No Spill Bubbles , which are much less messy than larger novelty wands if it’s for travel. (NB, obviously this includes liquid, so not a good one for the plane – but it’s one of our favorite camping toys for toddlers )

This was another reluctant inclusion as we know it can be a little bulky for travel – we’re hardly suggesting this will work for the plane – but no beach vacation with the kids is complete without your very own sandcastle!

From activity moulds to a watering can, you’ll want some sort of beach activity kit if you’ll be travelling anywhere with sand; these are the best travel toys for 1-year-olds on a beach vacation.

We share more beach toy ideas for toddlers over here!

Last but not least, we’d be remiss at this point not to introduce you to the sheer genius of Toy safety straps .

No more dropped pacifiers on the plane floor or sippy cups that have fallen in the seat well at your child’s feet. Anything that you can strap on – do! These work great for all types of toys with a loop that can be locked into any of your 1-year-old travel toys.

These are items that we have either had bad experiences with or, for the sake of safety or commonsense, we do not recommend using as a travel toy for one year olds:

Tablets/iPads – I won’t deny that I’ve let my kids use our devices from a pretty young age. But not all the time, and certainly not on the plane. The main reason is the best younger kids’ apps tend to be noisy, and a one-year-old is not for keeping headphones on. Save the screen time and toddler apps for at least 2+.

Playdoh – there, I said it. I’m going to have some haters shouting NOOOOOO!! But sorry, this one is on my banned travel toy list!! Some love it, but it’s icky, messy and ends up everywhere, but where you want it (mashed under fingernails, smushed into the airplane seat), you get the picture. At your peril.

Reusable Stickers – these are still really a bit too small and chewable for the one-year-old age group and they may not yet have the fine motor skills for peeling, leading to frustration. Felt books are the best alternative for this age.

Musical instruments – no matter how much they love these at home, loud, noise-making toys on a plane or transport with others is a big no-no.

Jigsaws – again, these may be favorite toys at home, but too many items have been lost down the side of a seat over the years. I recommend this as a good travel toy.

Shape sorter – for much the same reason as jigsaws. We love the hand-eye coordination aspect and won’t deny that they’re great toys for 1-year-olds, but with small pieces that can easily get lost, they don’t make our best travel toys list.

Novelty Suitcases – sorry folks, one is waaaay too young for these!! When they reach at least 2, you can start introducing their own cute independent toddler backpacks with a harness , but I would wait until at least 3 or 4 before trying ride on or wheeled luggage for kids.

Leave us a comment below if there are any other one-year-old travelling favourites you think we should add to our list! (or something that should definitely be left off!!)

Search Different Age Groups

Toys for 2-year-olds

Toys for 3-year-olds

Toys for 4-year-olds

Toys for 5-year-olds

Are you new to travelling with a baby , or would you like some more pointers and advice to make your first trip run smoothly? We recommend you also pop over to these pages:

• Our very best baby travel advice
• Safety, essential gear and tips & hacks you will want to know road tripping with a baby
• 10 baby travel essentials for every journey
• How to tackle your very first baby flight
• Are you ready for a camping trip with a baby?
• How to fly with a baby once they no longer fit the baby bassinet
• Do I really need a travelling high chair?
• Best pop-up sunshades for babies and toddlers at the beach
• Best lightweight strollers for travel (that can even fit on the plane)
• The best infant sleep solutions on the go

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2 thoughts on “ 20+ Travel Toys For A 1-Year-Old: Entertainment For Road Trips And Long Flights ”

My 1 year old son loves Melissa & Doug Take-Along Shape Sorter. I gave it to him to keep him busy on his first plane ride. The shapes are of good quality and a good variety. I was worried that it would be too difficult for him in such many shapes, but he caught up in no time. It’s easy to move, overall, he loves it! I would definitely recommend it to others. It is made of excellent quality materials and will keep your child entertained.

So glad you enjoyed it, it’s definitely a winner travel toy.

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How to Take a Road Trip With Toddlers

The term "road trip" might be enough to make you wince, but what happens when you add a toddler to the equation? Contrary to popular belief, a long car ride with your toddler doesn't have to be a complete nightmare.

Taking a road trip with a toddler in tow can be fun and a lot less expensive than air travel . Follow these tips to stay safe, make the most of your time on the road and keep your sanity intact.

Prepare Your Car

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You're going to be spending a lot of time in the car, so it only makes sense that you'll want it to be in the best shape possible. A lot can happen on the road, so don't put it off.

Don't wait until a downpour to find out that your windshield wipers need replacing or until you're stranded on the side of the road with an overheated engine refilling your coolant. If you don't feel like your car is capable of handling a long road trip, consider getting a rental.

Invest in Roadside Assistance

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Roadside assistance seems like an unnecessary expense...until you need it. Then it's worth every penny and then some. Before you purchase a standalone plan, check to see if you're covered. It could already be part of your auto insurance or cell phone plan. Wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam's offer roadside benefits as part of membership, too.

Make sure your plan covers the worst road trip nightmares, like a tow to a service station, a fix for a flat, or an unlock if you leave your keys in the car.

If you lock the keys inside the car with your child inside, don't rely on calling roadside assistance. Call 911. If it's hot outside, don't think twice about breaking a window to get your child out.

Avoid Leaving Your Child in the Car

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We've all heard news stories about a child being left in a hot car alone and wondered, "What were those parents thinking?" It's another story entirely when your toddler is finally fast asleep, you're running on empty, and you pull into a gas station where you can't pay at the pump.

Any number of circumstances can lead a parent to be tempted to briefly leave their child in the car, but it's better to be safe than sorry. It only takes a moment for someone to break in and take your child while you're taking an emergency bathroom break, and it only takes a little warmth to quickly heat your car to dangerous temperatures.

Get Your Toddler's Car Seat Inspected

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It's just as important to make sure your child's car seat is safe as it is to have your car inspected. A certified Child Passenger Safety Technician can check to make sure your seat is in good shape and is installed correctly. The best part of this inspection is the free education you get with it.

Your technician won't just be installing the seat and sending you on your way, but will actually teach you how to install it right every time and will even give you usage tips that go beyond the bare minimum required by law.

Fasten Your Child in Correctly

Once the car seat is inspected and properly installed, you'll want to make sure you keep it that way. It might be tempting if you're the only adult on board to turn your child's car seat around so you can see what they're doing when it  should  be rear-facing .  

You might also want to put your child in the front seat so you can reach them and give them toys or snacks more easily. As tempting as it might be, don't do it.

According to certified Child Passenger Safety Technician Heather Corley, "The most recent study shows that toddlers are up to five times safer if they remain rear-facing until age 2. Turning baby's car seat around isn't a milestone to rush on. It's actually a step down in safety, so don't be in a hurry to make the big switch."

Keep a First Aid Kit Handy

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Be prepared for scraped knees, allergic reactions, sunburns , splinters, bumps, bites, stings, and bruises by keeping a first aid kit on hand. Accidents do happen on the road, and it's best to be prepared for whatever might come your way, big or small.

Before you go on your road trip, it's also not a bad idea to brush up on your first aid and CPR skills if you haven't in a while.

Keep Toys Close

While it may seem like your number one priority is to keep your child happy and entertained, if you're the driver, that can be a tall, unsafe order. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel by keeping toys, books, and snacks within easy reach of your toddler.

The more they can do themselves, the safer and happier you'll both be.

There are a variety of backseat organizers, but we especially like those that fit right in right next to your toddler's car seat. An over-the-seat organizer can work too, but if your toddler is properly strapped in they might not be able to reach it.​

Arm Yourself With Entertainment

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Toys and books will help pass the time and keep your toddler occupied, but at some point, those toys will lose their luster. Supplement with a supply of fun music CDs and be ready to do some singing yourself. If your car has satellite radio, don't forget the kid stations that add variety.

While your toddler's screen time should be extremely limited on a normal basis,   using a DVD player can help pass some of the time on a road trip.

If you have a portable DVD player, put it to use and pick up something appropriate, fun, and educational, like That Baby DVD . Learn some new games and play those along the way, too.​

Pack Blankies and Binkies

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Road trips can be full of fun and excitement for your toddler, but there can also be moments of insecurity and stress. You're going to be away from all the comforts of home and spending quite a lot of time confined to the car instead of being active. Be ready for those trying times with a dose of comfort.

Keep binkies, blankies, and other comforting objects close at hand, and bring extras since your sanitation options are probably going to be limited.

If you're planning on weaning from any comfort items or undertaking anything new close to trip time, like potty training or weaning from the breast or bottle, consider postponing until after you are home to maximize your child's chance of success.

Avoid Panicking Over Tears

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When your toddler starts to get weary of the ride and the tears start, the best thing to do is make a pit stop. If you're nowhere near a rest stop or safe place to pull over, do what you can to calm and reassure your toddler, but remember to stay focused on the road.

Driving is your priority and if you become too distracted with trying to soothe your child, it could have dangerous consequences.

Remember that even though your child is crying, they are safe in their seat and no harm will come from waiting a few minutes until you can pull off the road and take a break. Try singing songs, playing soothing music on the radio, calling attention to things outside, or offering a drink or snack to distract.

Split the Trip and Take Breaks

When you're planning a trip on paper it makes perfect sense to minimize the time you spend in the car and speed right to your destination. After you've been on the road for about five hours, this becomes completely unrealistic. The whole trip will seem like a death wish around hour nine.

Save the long road trips for the days when your child is older. As long as you've got a toddler in tow, spread a trip over a few days.

Choose cities on your route that have lodging and things to do during the day. Better yet, lodge in one city, wake up and travel for a few hours, then plan a stop along the way in a city with things to do, even if it's just a museum and lunch. Each break you take leads to a more peaceful time on the road. Take plenty of them.

Avoid Too Much Nighttime Driving

Just like you've heard you should zip straight to your destination, you've probably also heard you should postpone driving until your child's bedtime and then drive while they're asleep. This isn't a problem if your trip is only a few hours long and you'll be turning in at a decent hour, but if you plan on reaching your destination much later than your normal bedtime or beyond the few hours of energy that a venti mocha might afford, don't bother.

You are actually putting your life in danger by driving drowsy. Driving drowsy can be just as dangerous as driving drunk.

Consider, too, that you'll be completely worthless the next day without enough sleep while your well-rested toddler will be raring to go, and that's no way to start a great vacation.

Have a Full Tank and a Full Stomach

Topping off the tank, having a hearty lunch, and heading out while your toddler is almost ready for a nap will most likely give you the most drive time. You can look forward to a good hour while your toddler is satiated and then a couple more calm hours as they sleep. By the time they wake up, you'll both be ready for a stop to fill up the tank, stretch, and grab a snack.

This is true not just for road trips, but on errand runs that don't require you to get out of the car or trips to a relative's house not too far away. Be sure you've got the potty situation under control to minimize possible awakening. Equip your toddler with a fresh diaper, or if potty trained , make sure they've gone to the bathroom.

Prepare for Potty Emergencies

Keep a complete arsenal of potty supplies at your disposal. You just never know. If your child isn't potty trained, keep plenty of diapers, wipes, and a changing pad close at hand. If your child is transitioning into potty training, consider using disposable training pants just for the trip, even if your child normally wears underwear since there are no great solutions to a soiled car seat on the road.

Even if you feel your child is completely potty trained, you might find yourself nowhere near a bathroom. Consider bringing a travel potty or emergency disposable training pants for situations like this.

Have Plenty of Snacks and Water

You'll want to make sure to keep enough water for you to cover drinks for everyone in an emergency situation and a little extra to help with things like cleaning up accidental messes. An excess of snack items, and plenty for you, too, is never a bad thing to have since even just a few bites of cereal or fruit can provide just the thing to dry up toddler tears and keep everyone from getting cranky.

Good picks include soft fruit, cereal, and crackers. Avoid giving too much juice and opt for water instead to avoid sticky spills and too much sugar. Carrying a small cooler on board will extend your snack options to items like yogurt and cheese.

Keep Essentials Handy

It might seem like this goes without saying, but you might overlook throwing these things in the car until your toddler sneezes and has a half-mile-long river of snot dribbling down to their chin or the lid of the sunscreen bottle comes off, spilling the entire contents on the back seat. Let there be no shortage of cleaning materials on your trip.

National Safety Council.  Kids in Hot Cars .

Durbin DR, Hoffman BD. Child passenger safety [policy statement]. Pediatrics. 2018;142(5):e20182460 doi:10.1542/peds.2018-2460

Council on Communications and Media.  Media and young minds .  Pediatrics.  2016;138(5):e20162591. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2591

National Safety Council. Drowsy Driving Is Impaired Driving .

By Stephanie Brown Stephanie Brown is a parenting writer with experience in the Head Start program and in NAEYC accredited child care centers.

Road Trip with Baby: How to Survive Long Car Rides

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Our oldest child logged more miles in the car his first few months of life than I can even begin to count.  I’ll thank our family and friends all over the eastern part of the United States for that! A road trip with baby requires a lot flexibility, especially given that the car ride can change so much during each stage of your baby’s life. A road trip with a newborn is MUCH different than a road trip with an 8 month old baby, for example.

With some advanced planning and trial and error, road trips with babies do get easier! Below is a rundown of our best tips and products for surviving long car rides with baby.

Disclaimer: Toddling Traveler participates in the Amazon Affiliate program and other affiliate programs. That means we may earn a commission qualifying purchases through our links, at no cost to you.

Road Trip Tips for Long Car Rides with a Baby

We learned a lot about drives with a baby after all the miles we logged in that first year. (And some things were definitely learned the hard way!) Below are a handful of our best tips for road trips with a baby after many long drives with two kids.

1. Accept that a road trip with a baby is going to take you longer

I typically estimate about a 30 minute stop for every 2.5 hours of driving.  There have been times, however, that I stopped every 2 hours (or even more.) Given the differences in mobility and sleep, a road trip with a 6 week old baby is going to be very different than a road trip with a 6 month old baby. When my son was in that 6-12 month stage, road trips were a little more difficult and often required more stops to allow him to stretch out.

Bottom line, give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination safely and comfortably!

2. Pack as much of the car as you can the night before your road trip with baby

Whether you’re leaving at 5am or 5pm, try to pack the car ahead of time to minimize stress the day you’re leaving for your trip. Ideally, I try to have everything in the car but the diaper bag and cooler well before our departure time. That usually means packing the car the night before for early departures.

The last thing you want to do is to have to jam a week’s worth of stuff into your car while trying to hold the baby or wrangle older siblings. (Especially since there will be times when just walking out the door is a feat in itself.)

3. Try to sync up long drives with your baby’s sleeping schedule

When my oldest was only a few months old, it worked best for us to leave early in the morning. He was taking several naps and would fall back asleep in the car, making road trips with a 1 month old baby and up to about 4 months pretty easy. As he got a little older and was more mobile, he was the most active early in the morning. That meant we had to adjust our approach and leave a little later to coordinate drives with his nap schedule. (Or just be super effective at keeping him entertained first thing in the morning!) This was also the case for our second child.

For really long drives, splitting the drive up also works well. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to stay overnight. Just stopping for an hour or two to stretch and get a change of scenery works well too. Especially when babies start to become mobile and need to get those wiggles out.

For those moms or dads to-be, I don’t want to give you a false impression that every single baby sleeps well in a car. We were lucky with our son in that he always slept in the car at some point during the drive, but you might need try out different approaches to get this right.

4. Pack extra snacks and meals for road trips

Once babies are starting to get into the solids phase, you’re likely going to be bringing a lot of their food from home. For snacks that travel well, we love teething wafers or puffs . We also loved snack catching cups as our son got older and started eating snacks more independently. They’re a lifesaver with preventing snacks from getting dumped all over the keep your car by your little ones!

While we like fruit and veggie pouches for easy on-the-go nutrition, I don’t recommend them for car rides. Speaking from experience, they can make a mess unless you have someone in the backseat to help.

Be sure to also have more food and milk/formula on hand than you think you need. You never know when you’ll get stuck in traffic or your drive will take longer than planned.

5. Bring different forms of entertainment for the car

Babies can easily get bored looking at the same thing for ours on end. (And so can adults, for that matter!) Regardless of their age, proactively keeping your baby entertained in the car definitely helps minimize the fussing.

Screen time is one form of entertainment many parents use in the car with babies or toddlers. We don’t typically use iPads or Kindles at home, so they’ve always been a special treat for long drives or flights. Our favorite device for kids is the Kindle Fire along with a Kindle Fire tablet case for kids . We also have this tablet holder for car that hooks onto the headrest and can be used for a rear or front facing car seat. If you’re planning to use screen time in the car with baby, I recommend using other forms of entertainment first and keep the tablet for playing learning shows like Miss Rachel when they get really restless.

A few of our favorite toys for a road trip with baby are below.

• A sensory   toy that’s multifaceted like  this one .   It also has rings, a teether, a mirror, a rattle as well as multiple sounds and textures.  
• The  Wubbanub Pacifier is great, even if your baby doesn’t take a pacifier. It was a lifesaver on our road trip home from Omaha with a newborn when we weren’t able to stop and feed our son right away.  
• A stuffed animal or lovey is great to give them comfort and something to grasp.
• When your baby starts teething, bring several teether options. Both for back up when they drop them and to switch it up with something new. Some of our favorite tethers are Nubby Chewy Rings , the Chicken Wing Appeteether and the Banana Toothbrush Teether .
• If another adult is able to be in the backseat, you can bring books to read to them. Check out our page on travel books for children for more ideas.
• As your baby gets closer to 1 year old, sticker books are a great toddler road trip activity with adult assistance.

Related Post: 10 Baby and Toddler Toys for Travel Under $10

6. Make sure you can access an open seat in the car

When driving for long periods of time, I’ve found that the car often becomes ground zero for anything you need to do to take care of the baby.   For this reason, it definitely helps if you leave the backseat next to your baby open.  (This gets a little tougher when you have other kids in the car, but it’s helpful for new parents trying to navigate everything.) Whether you need to go back and check on the baby or quickly change a dirty diaper, that extra space is key!

As a breastfeeding mom, I also felt more comfortable nursing from my car with it parked in the corner of the parking lot versus trying to manage it inside a rest stop.  This is totally a matter of personal preference, and I admire anyone who can breastfeed anywhere!

7. Know where the rest stops are for those frequent stops

If you have a navigation or app that shows where the rest stops are, use it! Knowing how many miles away the rest stops are is super helpful when trying to time out feedings and diaper changes in the car.  

Have to stop when there’s no rest stop near you? Many toll roads and major highways have emergency rest stops.  I found these to be especially helpful when I was driving by myself. There were quite a few times that my son became hysterical, and I had to stop either comfort him, feed him or change his diaper. (Hence, why the prior tip on leaving an open car seat comes in handy!)

If your child is just starting to become more mobile, try to use rest stops to help them stretch out and move around as well. Sitting in a car that long is hard enough for adults, much less babies who just want to move and don’t understand why they can’t.

8. Try to bring reinforcements when you’re tackling a long car ride with baby

I’ve probably done as many road trips with my son solo as I have with someone else in the car. For obvious reasons, it’s much easier to get through the long drive with a baby when you have someone to help you. You can actually check on the baby without hanging to pull over. And rest stops are easier to tackle since you can split up getting guess, using the restroom and taking care of the baby.

9. Ziplock bags are your friend

I never leave the house without Ziplock bags when traveling with a baby, whether I’m road tripping or not. You can use Ziplock bags for dirty clothes and diapers, snacks, other trash that you don’t want to stink up the car. We usually have some in the diaper bag, and they’re small enough that you can keep a few large Ziplock bags in the glove compartment or other car storage just in case.

10. Stay focused on the road when you have a baby on board

This one may seem obvious, but it’s easy to get distracted when driving with a baby. As a multi-tasker at heart, it’s tough for me not to feel like I’m super woman and can focus on the road while simultaneously singing to my son and picking up that sippy cup I swear he tried to throw at me.

I’m constantly having to remind myself of this and will often stop to pull over in a safe spot if I need to check on something for peace of mind. It’s much better and safer than trying to do it all from the driver’s seat.

5 Must Have Products for a Car Ride with a Baby

In addition to the above-mentioned items, below are some things we swear by for your road trip with baby packing list. For any moms-to-be out there, I definitely recommend planning ahead and considering these items for your baby registry.  

1. Baby Mirror

A baby car mirror was critical for us for both safety and peace of mind for car rides of any length. We relied pretty heavily on these to see our son when he was rear facing. The mirror especially comes in handy if you’re doing a solo road trip with a baby. It makes it much easier to check if they’re sleeping, crying or throwing their toy for the millionth time when you don’t have a co-pilot to help.  

We have this backseat car mirror . I love that it’s big enough to see the baby’s entire body, and it’s easy to install and adjust when needed.

2. Car Sunshades 

Our son HATES the sun in his eyes, especially in the car. While our newer car came with sunshades, our prior car when we first had our son did not. These white-hot car safety shades are perfect. Not only do they have an indicator that shows if the car is too hot, but they also retract easily. Every car is different, so make sure you measure your car windows to ensure you’re getting adequate coverage for your window size. I’d recommend avoiding the stick-on car shades that fold up, since they easily fall off.

As your little one gets older, baby sunglasses are a great option if they’ll keep them on for the car. You can find the best baby sunglasses here .

3. Small Cooler

A cooler is critical for any road trip, but especially with a baby when you can’t easily get drinks and snacks for them at a rest stop.

We bought this freezable lunch bag cooler after it was recommended by a friend.  The bag itself freezes, and it can keep the contents cold without a separate freezer pack It also easily folds up when you’re not using it.  It’s the perfect size to keep a couple bottles and snacks cold for that long car ride. And it’s also great for milk on a plane ride with a baby or traveling without baby while breastfeeding .

Looking for a larger cooler for car rides? This soft-sided cooler is large enough for several drinks and food. Plus, it’s foldable and easy to pack away when not using it.

4. Hands-free diaper bag

This probably seems too obvious, but the hands-free part is key when making those pit stops while juggling a baby. I have this diaper bag that I wear like a cross body diaper bag. (Although sadly the champagne color I have is discontinued.) I also have this diaper bag backpack that we use periodically.

In addition to the multiple pockets, a changing pad that comes out separately and velcros shut is also a necessity. You will definitely want something that can easily be washed after multiple uses on those dirty roadside changing tables.

5. Light blanket

Whether in the car or just pushing the stroller, we almost always had a thin muslin blanket on our son’s lap. Not only does it help make sure baby is warm enough in the car, but it also gives them something to grab onto for comfort. We love muslin baby blankets because they serve a number of purposes and are light, breathable and easy to pack.  

Target also sells a similar, less expensive set of muslin baby blankets that we’ve used as well.

Do you have any additional tips for long car rides with a baby? Please share in the comments!

Related Posts:

• 9 Baby Travel Essentials + Packing List
• 6 Toddler Road Trip Tips
• 12 Reasons to Travel with a Baby or Toddler

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19 thoughts on “Road Trip with Baby: How to Survive Long Car Rides”

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I love you tips.Thanks for putting this together I will pin for later to have it handy then I travel next time.

You’re welcome! I’m so glad to hear it was helpful.

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Such brilliant tips, which take me back to many years ago – am sure these will be useful for so many parents. Also, the photos are adorable!

Thanks so much!

oh dear. we did not get a car until my son was about 15 months old so on the rare times he was in one as a baby, OMG he hated it! We did a road trip from Raleigh to the outer banks when he was 5months old and he screamed the whole time!!!!!! def takes longer, driver has to stay focused. plastic bags, extra clothes, prepare for it all!

That’s quite the drive! It’s definitely tougher when they get more mobile!!

I agree with you that it was easier when the baby was between 0-4 month old. The baby mirror and car sun shades also helped us a lot. Now our baby is 13 years old. 🙂

Time flies! We’re about to start doing this all over again so I’m hoping these baby road trip tips stick for baby #2!

You always have the best insight for traveling with our youngest travelers! Great tips as always…!

Thanks so much Jen!

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Car Trip With a 1 Year Old

Introduction: Car Trip With a 1 Year Old

Recently we took a road trip from Utah County to Orange County, California for spring break. I was a little nervous to make the trip with our almost-one-year-old daughter, but planned ahead to make our trip a little easier. Our little girl is a very wiggly baby and often times loses her patience in her car seat during a 15 minute car ride. However, we made it the whole way only stopping for gas and also lunch in Vegas for 1/2 an hour at a Subway. She never cried, never threw a fit. She didn't even get wiggly until the last 2 minutes of our ride. Here are some things I kept in mind while preparing... 1. We left at 5 AM. Lily slept until 7:30, so by the time she woke up 2 1/2 hours were behind us (as well as some icy roads and a snow storm.) She took her morning and afternoon naps in the car for about an hour each, so she really was only awake for a little more than half of the trip. 2. Since I am only bottle feeding now, I put water in 6 of her bottles and just brought the whole jug of formula. This was very convenient that I didn't have to stop to get water at a gas station every time she needed a bottle. 3. Every time we stopped for gas we got Lily out of the car and let her walk around and threw her up in the air and stuff to help get her wiggles out.

Step 1: Finger Puppets

I went to IKEA and bought finger puppets for just $5 per package of 10.

Step 2: Toys

I got a bunch of random toys from the birthday section at Walmart and from the dollar store. I tried to buy things she had never seen or played with before to keep her attention.  She hadn't ever played with maracas, a slinky, a noise-maker stick, or rubbery bunnies so I thought I'd give them a try. They were all just $1 each. I also got this jack-in-the-box on clearance for $2 or $3 at Walmart. I know a lot of kids are scared of these toys, but Lily LOVES it. This toy alone entertained her for at least an hour and a half in the car. Not to mention when we got to our condo it entertained my husband and 3 brothers for almost as long as they timed themselves to see who could make it through the song the fastest.

Step 3: Books and Puzzle

She loves dogs and cats so I bought her board books about them for just $1 each. I also got a great puzzle. I know she is too little to do puzzles by herself, but she LOVED taking the pieces out and playing with them. Then she would give them back to me to put back in so she could take them out again. I also LOVE buying toys that she'll "grow into" that will benefit us for more than the 3-6 months she is in her current stage.

Step 4: Presents

After I had purchased all of the toys I wrapped them all and put them in a bin with her other toys we were taking and added some books. She could play with her other toys and books whenever she wanted, but I planned on letting her open 1 present every 2 hours to keep her entertained and change things up a bit. I also planned 1 extra present for the way there, and 1 for the way back, in case we had a "major meltdown" that we needed something quickly for. The wrapped presents worked great! So great in fact that we only needed 3 of them on the way there instead of the 6 I planned for. Between naps, and the jack-in-the-box entertaining her so much, she never got bored! My favorite part about wrapping the presents is that it took her a long time to unwrap each one. Often times she took 20 minutes or so just unwrapping it because she was so interested in playing with the wrapping paper before she played with the toy. I did bring a garbage bag for the car, anticipating a lot of trash from this activity.

Step 5: Portable DVD Player

We brought a portable DVD player as well. Lily is too little to watch DVDs or TV for long and be entertained, but I did make a 30 minute slide show to music with pictures of our family last Christmas that she will watch over and over if I let her. Often, when she is sick or too tired, this slide show is the only thing that will make her stop crying. Lily only watched the family slide show once through because she was so entertained with everything else. Still, it was nice to have so I could have a little break and time to myself.

Step 6: Snacks

I packed a box of snacks just for Lily - with toddler snacks, a water bottle, and an emergency stash of smarties and dum-dums. I also packed snacks for the adults in the car. I packed them in a shallow box so they were all accessible from the top. We had an SUV with the back seats down, so I put the food on top of the two biggest bags right behind the seat I was sitting in. I put the tub of toys and presents right by it, so everything was accessible within arms reach.

Step 7: Magnets

I brought magnets I made and a magnet board to go with them. This was an awesome car toy!

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30+ Awesome Road Trip Activities & Hacks for Kids

• Kindergartner
• Preschooler

INSIDE: 30+ Road Trip Activities & Hacks for Kids! Are you heading out on the road with the kids this summer? Check out this list of games, activities, toys, tips and hacks from some of the top kids activity bloggers around! This list of ideas will help make your road trip this summer a bit more bearable!

Road Tripping with Kids

Oh yes! the joys of a long journey on the road with a toddler, preschooler or a kid. We all look forward to it but the reality is often far from what we were hoping or even expecting!

Don’t worry you aren’t alone . And although I can’t promise you a perfectly entertained toddler for your entire journey I can promise you that this list will have you well prepared for your trip! From printable; activities; busy bags and binders; travel organization tips; travel toys to travel hacks and more. This list of ideas will definitely inspire you to organize the best road trip ever for your family!

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are a fun and easy way to keep your child engaged while at the same time capitalizing on the benefits of sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here .

I am so excited to announce that I wrote a book! Super STEAM Activity Book: Launch Learning with Fun Mazes, Dot-to-Dots, Search-the-Page Puzzles, and More!  ! It comes out June 8th. Click here to order it now !

30+ Road Trip Activities for Kids

• Sensory Kits – Happy Toddler Playtime

• Super STEAM Activity Book – Happy Toddler Playtime

• Road Trip Toys – Happy Toddler Playtime

• Would You Rather Questions for Kids – Happy Toddler Playtime

• Toddler Travel Toys – Happy Toddler Playtime
• Portable Lego Kit – The Gingerbread House
• Portable Car Play Kit – Mama Papa Bubba
• Dry Erase Road Trip Activity Book – Glue Sticks and Gum Drops
• EASY Portable Activity Kit for Road Trips – Mama Papa Bubba
• Road Trip Drawing Prompts – Free Printables – Pickle Bums
• Easy DIY Travel Felt Board Tutorial – Mama Smiles
• Take Along Activity Kit – Mama Papa Bubba
• Road Trip Scavenger Hunt Printables – Party Through the USA
• Cereal Box to Foldable Doll’s House DIY (perfect take along house) – Red Ted Art
• String Cheese Road Trip Games with FREE Printables – Arts and Crackers
• DIY Mini Road Trip License Plate Game (with free printable) – Comic Con Family
• Awesome Alphabet Road Trip I Spy Printable – Sunny Day Family
• Pipe Cleaner in a Bottle for Toddlers – The Piri Piri Lexicon
• Yellow Car Game Busy Bag – Adventures and Play
• Lego Suitcase Hack – Stir the Wonder
• Car Trip Game: Are We There Yet – Growing Book by Book
• Road Trip Activities: Travel Bags & Buckets – KCEventures
• Car Yoga for Kids – Sugar Spice and Glitter
• Create a Travel Art Kit to Keep Kids Busy on the Road – Mama Smiles
• Road Trip Kits — Easy Altoids Tin Craft – The Soccer Mom Blog
• Road Trip Bingo for Kids – Only Passionate Curiosity
• DIY Road Trip Activity Kit for Kids – Comic Con Family
• Our favorite road trip games for young kids {12 free and fun ideas} – Playful Notes
• DIY I Spy Bag – Handmade in the Heartland
• How to beat backseat boredom: 5 easy travel games for Roadschooling – Board Games for Learning
• Snack Ideas for Road Trips with Kids – 3 Boys and a Dog

The Best Travel Hacks For Traveling with Toddlers, Preschoolers + Kids

• The Best Toddler Road Trip Ideas – Toddler Approved
• Road Trip with Kids – Days With Grey
• 15 Brilliant DIY Car Organization Ideas That Prevent Clutter And Mess – Crafts on Fire
• Tips for Successfully Traveling with a Preschooler – Thrifty Little Mom

Age Suitability

These activities vary in skill and ability. Depending on the activity they are good for kids 3 years and up. My kids are 3, 3, and 6 year old.

The Best Book of Sensory Bins

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids . Or grab your copy at Amazon .

WILL YOU TRY ANY OF THESE ROAD TRIP ACTIVITIES WITH YOUR KIDS? PIN IT FOR LATER!

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Family Road Trip Packing List (+Essentials for Kids & What Not To Pack)

By Author Jurga

Posted on Last updated: September 8, 2023

Looking for a family road trip packing list or wondering what are some of the road trip essentials for kids ? This packing list should give you a good overview of the things to pack (but also the ones to leave at home). Take a look!

We have a standard packing list for all kinds of trips: beach vacation, city trip, skiing holiday, and, of course for our favorite way of traveling – road trips with kids. But I recently looked at our family road trip packing list and realized how outdated it was. So it’s high time to update our family road trip packing list , and I thought I would share it with you as well.

This road trip packing list contains all the items that make our life easier and road trips with kids more enjoyable. At the same time, it’s not a complete road trip packing list.

I guess you don’t need someone else to tell you how many socks or t-shirts to pack for your upcoming road trip, or to remind you to carry car registration and insurance documents or a passport if visiting a foreign country…

There are two types of road trips – the ones you make with your own car/ campervan, and the ones where you travel overseas and rent a car. Needless to say, you will be able to pack much more if you are traveling close to home. After all, you are probably not going to carry a huge cooler or a car seat organizer on the plane.

So use this ‘road trip essentials’ packing list as a guideline , to check if you haven’t forgotten any of the useful items that will make your family road trip more comfortable. Find out!

READ ALSO: Top Tips for Traveling with Kids

Before I tell you about the more traditional items you need to pack for a family road trip, let’s start with the most important things first. You may not have needed any of this ten years ago, but now it’s unthinkable to set on the road without these items.

This is our road trip packing list for families:

Tech gear and entertainment

• Smartphone and charger
• Battery pack  to charge all your electronic devices. It’s a true life-saver if your phone tends to run empty long before you reach your hotel for the night. Check out this best-selling battery pack !
• Tablet/ DVD player/ or an MP3 player to keep your kids entertained in the car. I’m not going to tell you to pack your favorite CD collection for a family road trip. If you are road tripping with kids, you will never get a chance to listen to it anyway. Instead, make sure you have plenty of DVD’s with children’s movies ( check here for some popular kids’ DVD titles ).
• Alternatively, pack a tablet with some games (but you’ll likely need one tablet per kid). Or – my best suggestion – an MP3 player with audiobooks for children  (our kids’ favorites are Harry Potter audiobooks ). Here you can read more about our experience with audiobooks during long car rides with kids .
• Make sure you also pack chargers for each of these devices. That’s where the battery pack comes in handy. We also always pack a USB-charger for in the car .
• GPS or Google Maps app on your smartphone . Make sure you download the maps of the area where you will be road-tripping. In the past, we used to pack our TomTom GPS for every trip. Nowadays, we usually rely on Google Maps, unless traveling to a place where it doesn’t work well.
• Camera gear . A tripod and wireless remote control for your camera  are nice to have when road tripping with the family. It allows you to easily take nice pictures of the entire family. Extra batteries and memory cards , etc.

First aid essentials

The following items are among the most important road trip essentials for kids. So put these on your checklist and make sure you always have them at hand!

• First aid kit  (such as this compact first-aid kit ) is good to have on any trip. But it’s literally a life-saver on a family road trip!
• Ice spray.  Ice spray or a cold pack is a must when traveling with young kids. Our boys are so active and adventurous, so when they were little, they used to fall all the time. But on a road trip with kids, you don’t have an ice pack or ice cubes at hand. An ice spray is a real life-saver!
• Band-aids . Make sure to pack some in different sizes and always keep at least a few of them within easy reach.
• Disinfectant.  We use iodine antiseptics for wound treatment.
• Pain medicine (for kids and adults) .
• Mosquito repellent. We usually pack mosquito repellant spray , but recently we bought mosquito repellent bracelets and they seem to work well too.
• Sunscreen lotion. We always pack SPF50 sunscreen lotion for all our trips.

Road trip essentials for kids

Here are some of the main items for your road trip with toddler checklist:

• Comfortable car seats for kids adapted for their age. When traveling in our own car, we use Britax belt-positioning boosters for all our kids. When children sit in a car for hours, it’s important that they are comfortable, safe, and also have good head support. When we rent a car overseas we never rent children’s car seats. We carry our Trunki BoostAPak for each of the kids instead.

READ ALSO: Best Booster Seats for Travel

• Car seat organizer . Car seat organizers are really useful if your family likes road trips a lot. They will hold all the kids’ stuff in one place and will save you lots of frustrations (‘mom, where is my…’ or ‘dad, could you pass me my… ‘).
• Activity books and coloring books.  Check these Amazon bestsellers for preschoolers ,  kids ages 7-9 , and for older kids .
• Crayons, pencils, and pens . We usually pack twistable crayons since they last longer than any pencil or pen.
• Road-trip games and books , e.g. Travel Scavenger Hunt , Spot It! on the road , Mad Libs on the Road , and more … Just don’t pack too many of these. Often, a simple car game played by the whole family is much more fun for the kids than any game you can buy.
• Magnetic car games . If you are planning to pack any games to play in the car, go for magnetic versions !
• Extra diapers/wipes/clothes/quiet toys for the youngest ones.
• Sickness bags and an easy-to-access clean pack of clothes for the kids. Motion sickness bags are ideal to pack for a road trip.
• Ball or a frisbee . If you have some space in the car, pack a ball. It’s a great way to tire out the kids during short stops on the road. Alternatively, pack a frisbee or a foldable frisbee .

READ ALSO: Toddler Car Travel Tips & Best Travel Gear for Kids

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Food and drinks

Here are some useful items that should be on your family road trip packing list as well:

• Reusable water bottles . We usually pack one reusable water bottle per family member. In most places in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe you can easily refill water bottles with tap water. It’s free, it’s healthy, and it’s environmentally friendly. On top of that, water doesn’t leave any stains if the kids spill it in the car. We always buy a few large bottles of water as well, so that we can refill the bottles if there is no good tap water available.
• Cooler . If you have space in your car, then a cooler might be a nice thing to pack for a family road trip. If you’re looking for a heavy-duty waterproof and leak-proof cooler that has plenty of space to store food and drinks for the whole family, check this portable travel cooler . Not only does it have a practical and stylish design, but its advanced cooling performance with high-quality insulation also promises to keep your food and drinks cold for up to 3 days. There aren’t many other coolers out there that can do that! And yes, quality has its price, but we had to throw away several cheaper coolers (and the food inside) after just a few days of use, so now we rather go for quality and certainty.
• Snack containers with separate compartments (something like this ).
• Dried fruit, nuts, cookies, etc. Small snacks should always be on your family road trip checklist! There’s nothing worse than a couple of tired hungry kids stuck in a traffic jam for a few hours…

Miscellaneous

• Printed map, a road atlas,  and a travel guide of the area you are traveling to. Do you really want to drive on the main highways all the time when there might be an alternative scenic road leading to your next destination? Plan your trip well: include some stops for the kids to play, add a few off the beaten path places to your itinerary. When you use a good old-fashioned map, you can see so much more! GPS is important in order to guide your family to your hotel or camping at the end of the day, but it can ruin the joy of a traditional road trip.
• Roadside assistance emergency pack and a Swiss knife . We never ever leave on a trip without our Swiss knife. We have used it on more occasions than I can remember and it served many purposes, from peeling apples and carrots in the car, to repairing a broken air pipe of our car’s engine. And while we always have good travel insurance , without that Swiss knife we would have probably been stuck in the middle of the highway in France on a rainy Sunday evening… Since that trip, we always have a  Swiss knife and a  roadside assistance pack or at least a couple of screwdrivers in the car.
• Flashlight .
• Instant stain removers like this one from Tide .
• Paper tissues, wet tissues, kitchen towels , and – if you have some space – a picnic blanket . You will need all of these when road-tripping with kids.
• Quick-drying towel.  Microfiber travel towels are very handy for any road trip.
• Trash bags .
• Sunglasses .

Best bags for road trips

• Duffel bags . Pre-kids we always traveled with hard-shell suitcases. But if you ever tried to squeeze more than two suitcases in the trunk of the car, you know that they are pretty useless. No matter if we are making a road trip close to home or flying overseas, we always use duffel bags with wheels. Here you can read more about the travel bags that we have used for the last 3 years – Thule Subterra luggage .
• Day backpack and rain cover . We have many backpacks in various sizes, but the ones we tend to pack for most road trips are our 30-liter backpacks . If you plan on spending lots of time outdoors, get a universal rain cover (if your backpack doesn’t have one yet).

READ ALSO: Best Travel Bags for Kids

Clothing that is always in our car

As already said, I’m not going into detail on all the clothing you should pack for a road trip. So here are just the main, essential clothing and footwear that you should always have with you when road-tripping with kids:

• Rain jacket . We never pack umbrellas when we travel, but a good light waterproof rain jacket is a must.
• Sneakers or walking shoes . Also Flip flops or crocs .
• Sun hat and swimwear.

Nice to have for road trips

• Binoculars. We have small binoculars for each of the kids and it keeps them busy on the road. We used them in Africa , in Australia , in Yellowstone , and pretty much on any road trip ever since.
• E-book.  Kindle e-reader is always in our bag.
• Headphones.  My husband likes to pack his noise-canceling headphones for those moments when the kids get too loud in the car.
• Travel mug , in addition to a reusable water bottle. We only pack these when driving in our own car from home.
• Neck pillows and blankets. We always pack light fleece blankets in the car for kids if planning to drive at night. They are also very handy for those winter road trips to the mountains! If you are looking for a compact neck pillow that doesn’t take up too much space, take a look at this highly-rated best-seller .

What not to pack for a road trip

Here are some items that you better leave at home:

• Hard shell suitcases.
• Too many toys for kids . Definitely leave all the noisy toys at home.
• Umbrella . We never pack an umbrella for a road trip. Take a rain jacket instead.
• Too many clothes and shoes . Pack less and make sure you can layer when needed.
• Sweet food and drinks , or anything else that gives too much energy and makes their hands sticky.
• Too many food containers or other items that take a lot of space in your car.

So, these are our road trip packing tips for families road-tripping with children. Do you have any tips or packing essentials to share? Feel free to leave a comment below!

READ ALSO: Most beautiful road trips in the world

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Tuesday 19th of December 2023

Thank you !!!!

Saturday 25th of June 2022

Very helpful! Thank you!

Monday 27th of June 2022

Glad to help. Have a great trip!

Tuesday 6th of October 2020

A very comprehensive travel list Jurga. Thank you so much for taking the time to share essential items and reasons for bringing them.. It did help me remember a few things I had not thought of.

Wednesday 7th of October 2020

Glad to hear that, Al. That's how we use our packing lists too - to quickly check that we didn't forget something essential. Happy road-tripping!

Wednesday 1st of July 2020

Thank you for sharing these packing tips. It is so helpful for this summer as we are planning to take our first road trip EVER.

Glad you found this useful, Jennifer. Enjoy your trip!

Wednesday 15th of May 2019

This is a very comprehensive list to have a successful and smooth road trip. Having a road trip means that you want to have fun, relax and enjoy your vacation which is why it's very important to check almost everything to avoid any hassle along the way. The least we wanted is to get stuck on the road due to car problems instead of enjoying our trip. That is why I make sure that my car is in great condition before the said date. What I usually do is to visit my car shop at least a week before to have my car checked for possible repair and maintenance. I think this would be a great addition to your list.

Hi Erwin, yes, absolutely - checking that the car is in good condition is vital before any road trip.

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The essential road trip packing list with kids

There’s nothing like the lure of the open road to give you itchy feet – but tempting though it is to just jump in the car and go, for a trip to remember, don’t set off without reading my road trip packing list with kids first.

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Driving can be a great way to explore as a family: my daughter ventured down the Pacific Coast Highway before she turned four, while there’s so much more road trip inspiration to be found, from Route 66 and the American Midwest to Ireland and a drive along the Great West Way in England.

So whether you’re starting slow and staying close to home or finally ticking off your bucket list adventure, this family road trip packing list is full of tips, essentials to remember, ideas of what to pack and more advice to avoid being asked ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ before you get five minutes from home.

Contents - click to jump to a section

Car Essentials

When you get in the car for a road trip, there’s plenty that might come in useful (because it’s easier than stopping a million times to grab the things you forgot!) but before don’t forget the essentials that you really need to have with you for a road trip with kids.

So the first step in this family road trip packing list is those things you absolutely shouldn’t forget to make your journey more comfortable, safe, and fun.

For more tips on planning a road trip with kids , check out my top tips

If you have small children, it goes without saying that you’ll need a car seat that is appropriate for their age, height, and weight.

If you’re planning a family road trip abroad and want to take your own car seat, make sure it complies with local law – otherwise you’re probably limited to hiring one along with your car.

Booster seats

For older children who no longer need full car seats, but are not yet tall enough to sit in a seat with a seatbelt.

High-back booster seats are the best option but if you’re looking for options which take less space, check out the MiFold booster seat and Bubblebum inflatable booster seat

Whether you prefer to use a separate satnav, Google Maps or another app on your phone, having a good GPS system to give directions is pretty well essential if you’re unfamiliar with the area you’re visiting – and handy even if you’ve visited before.

Even if you have a GPS system, it is always a good idea to have a map of the area you are visiting, in case your GPS system fails or you lose reception.

If you don’t want to buy a book of maps for a single journey, consider printing out directions as a back-up, but if you’re planning a long road trip, a map of the area is good to have to hand.

Snacks and drinks

Having snacks and drinks available for your kids (and yourself!) will help to keep everyone happy on your road trip – c heck out my tips for the best road trip snacks for kids

Activities for kids

I’ve got a whole post on the best road trip activities for kids , with over 50 ideas of ways to entertain everyone on a long drive.

Run out of time to plan? Bring along some fidget toys as an easy solution – small, quiet and they won’t make a mess!

First-aid kit

No one likes to think you’ll need a first-aid kit, but from unexpected teething to minor injuries as well as travel sickness or illness, it pays to have one to hand in the car.

Check out my essential first aid checklist for ideas on what you need for your family travels

Emergency supplies

Just like the first aid kit, it’s a good idea to hope for the best but plan for the unexpected, so always keep some emergency supplies in your car, such as a flashlight, a whistle, and a blanket .

Some countries also require you to have a specific breakdown kit – if you’re driving in Europe , check this list.

Although it’s not a legal requirement in many countries (although it is in Spain, interestingly!), having a spare tyre in your car – and one that’s road legal – is definitely a good plan in case you get a flat during your trip.

Car insurance

Unlike the spare tire, it is a legal requirement to have car insurance – make sure you’ve got any necessary paperwork before you set off on your road trip.

If you’re driving abroad, check your insurance covers you there, or that you’ve got suitable cover for any rental car.

Essential paperwork

It goes without saying to make sure you have your driver’s license (and that it hasn’t unexpectedly expired) – but make sure you also have any other documents you need ( scroll down for more tips ).

If you’re driving abroad, this could be anything from an International Driver’s Permit to travel insurance .

How to make the car journey comfortable

Whether you’re in your own vehicle or a rental, car rides can be anything but comfortable – and uncomfortable kids (or adults!) are unhappy ones.

From practical essentials to ideas for entertainment, this family road trip packing list is just what you need to make sure the whole family is as comfortable as possible along the route! 

Portable DVD player

If your kids get bored easily, a portable DVD player can be a lifesaver on a long car journey.

If your family suffers from travel sickness, audio books can be a good alternative: a subscription from Audible is my top recommendation!

iPad or tablet

If your kids get to use a tablet as you travel, make sure it’s charged and any apps or content you want are already downloaded before you set off.

Coloring books and crayons

These are always a classic way to keep kids entertained, and they don’t take up too much space in your car. Washable crayons and washable markers are always a good plan though!

For my complete set of road trip activities for kids , check out this list

Games and puzzles

With lots of choice, these are always a fun way to pass the time on a long car ride, whether you choose family games , traditional car games or something for the kids alone.

Check out some of my ideas for toddler travel toys and for age 5+

Travel pillow and blanket

Travel pillows and blankets are great to have, whether you’re hoping your kids nap and sleep, or simply want to make them more comfortable along the way,

You can also get some great seatbelt pillows for kids to make it comfier to rest their heads on long drives – as well as these simple seatbelt pillows , younger kids will love these plush animal versions or the animal-themed Yondi neck pillow .

Memory foam pillow

If you want more support than a travel pillow, a memory foam pillow can help keep kids more comfortable, including smaller sizes that are handy for road trips.

Car organizer

Having a car organizer can be helpful for storing all of the snacks, drinks, toys, and other items you need to bring on your trip, as well as for safety reasons.

I’ve got a Diono Travel Pal which has space for bottles and room to store books, games, tablets and more.

Portable speaker

A portable speaker can be a great way to keep everyone in the back entertained (or headphones if you prefer not to be!)

if you’re traveling with more than one child, headphones can be a helpful way to keep them from fighting over what to listen to.

For younger kids, child headphones with a volume limiter can be a good option.

it’s always a good idea to have plenty of snacks and drinks available for everyone, whether you’re looking for something easy, something to help kids with motion sickness, something for picky eaters or healthy options.

I know I’ve said it before, but you can’t have too many snacks!

Check out my tips for the best road trip snacks for kids

Chewing gum

If your kids (or you) are affected by ear pain on long car rides, chewing gum can be a good solution once they’re old enough.

Ever got out of your car at the end of a road trip and sighed at the mess left behind? (Of course you have, we all have).

So having some spare bags available can be helpful for keeping your car clean along the way.

Essential documentation for a road trip with kids 

In addition to your driver’s license and registration, there are a few other things you should make sure to bring with you on your trip

Car insurance information

In case of an accident, you’ll need to have your car insurance information available.

International documentation

If you’re travelling overseas, make sure you have an International Drivers Permit if it’s needed, or any other required information for the destination, along with travel insurance .

If you’re renting a car abroad, some countries may need proof of insurance or official confirmation that you don’t have points on your driving license, for example.

Roadside assistance details

if you have roadside assistance, like an AAA membership in the US, Green Flag, RAC or the AA in the UK, make sure you have your details to hand, just in case.

Emergency contact information

It’s always a good idea to have any useful contact information with you in case of an emergency – again, if you’re travelling abroad, make sure you know the relevant numbers and that your phone will work.

Map and directions

If you’re traveling to a new area, it’s be helpful to have a map of the area with you, including an old-fashioned paper map in case GPS or reception fails.

It’s also worth printing out directions to your destination or accommodation if you’re not familiar with the area – having a string of landmarks to look out for can help if you’re asking for help, or to save you searching street names on a map.

Always, always, always let someone know where you’re going and what time you think you’ll be there too, for added security.

Clothing and toiletries for a road trip with kids 

Needless to say, clothing and toiletries are a must-have for road trips too! But it’s not just what you pack, it’s how you pack it…

If you’re stopping for a single night along the way to your final destination, try to keep a separate small bag full of overnight essentials rather than having to unpack all the bags.

Check out my tips on clothing and toiletries to consider for a road trip with kids or for a more in-depth packing list, check out my 23-page travel planner .

A change of clothes for everyone

It goes without saying that you’ll have spare clothes packed, but it’s a good idea to have a change of clothes for everyone in the car (or very easily accessible) in case of spills or accidents.

Place the extra pair of clothing in a resealable bag, so it’s both easy to grab if needed and means you have something to put the soiled clothes in when you change. 

If you’re traveling during the summer or you’re going to be near any bodies of water (which are safe to swim in), swimsuits can be a lifesaver to break up a long journey.

Even if you don’t plan on swimming, it can be worth bringing a swimsuit (and towel) with you for unexpected stops or extra pool time.

Sun hats and sunglasses

So easy to forget when you’re focused on the big things, but sun hats and sunglasses are one of the most important things you can bring on a family road trip.

It’s not just for the destination either, although for summer breaks, they’ll be essential to protect everyone from the sun. On bright days, you’ll likely want sunglasses in the car for during the journey too.

Rain jackets

If you’re hitting the road when there’s rain forecast, don’t forget your raincoat – and this is one you really do want to have to hand inside the car (you’ll be grateful when you don’t have to race round in the pouring rain to fish it out!)

Warm clothing/layers

On the same note, make sure you pack clothing for cool weather, whether that’s extra layers, scarves or warm clothing available for everyone in the car once you reach the destination.

Unless you’re heading somewhere with guaranteed sun, better to be prepared so dressing in layers is always a good plan when the forecast is promising sun, cloud and rain!

Comfortable shoes

Having a comfortable pair of shoes is always a good idea for long car journeys – ideally ones which are easy to pull on and take off as needed.

While you can usually stop and pick up essentials along the way, there’s no fun making a huge detour just to buy toothpaste.

Even if you’re planning to stock up on everyday items later in the journey, if you have particular products for your kids’ sensitive skin or your own favourite brands, it’s worth making sure you’ve packed enough for the whole trip.

And for shorter breaks, it makes life easier to pack everything you need on a daily or regular basis – from shampoo and conditioner to deodorant – as well as any extras like remedies for travel sickness. Having a roll of toilet paper is always a good plan too, even if you don’t expect to need it.

Entertainment ideas for a road trip with kids

Taking a road trip with kids can be a great bonding experience for the whole family, making some fantastic memories and also be a whole lot of fun!

But it can also be a bit challenging to keep everyone happy and entertained during those long car rides. Here are some entertainment ideas to make your next road trip packing list with kids complete – or check out my complete list of more than 50 of the best road trip activities for kids . 

Audio Books

Download some audiobooks for the kids to listen to during the drive – this is better than books or movies if they suffer from travel sickness too. As well as their favourite stories, you can check out non-fiction titles so they could learn something new while also passing the time.

We have a subscription to Audible which has been a lifesaver on car journeys long and short.

Bring along some portable games that everyone can enjoy, especially if you have siblings who’ll play in the back as you drive.

Travel versions of classic games like Monopoly or Scrabble are always popular, if you don’t fancy trying something new.

If you have a portable DVD player, bring along some of the family’s best-loved movies to watch for a spot of downtime. This can be a great way to relax and unwind after a long day of driving as well.

Make sure to bring along some fun music for the car ride, both to entertain and help keep everyone’s energy up.

You can stick with your best-loved tunes or singalong favorites, but for some added fun make a playlist that links to your destination, so whenever you hear the track again, it’ll take you straight back to your family adventure.

One word of warning: you need more songs on there than you think, or you’ll end up hearing the same ones over and over and over…

Crayons/drawing

Drawing or puzzle books and crayons/markers are always a hit with kids, with lots of different options to help them stay occupied during the drive and also create some artwork inspired by the trip as a souvenir.

Lap books/activity books

If you have small children, then lap books can be a lifesaver, with a variety of activities to keep toddlers and small children busy – everything from lift-the-flap pages to other hands-on fun.

Essentials for road trips with babies & toddlers

Babies and young children can be a handful at the best of times, so the last thing you want to do is be stuck in the car with them for hours on end without being prepared.

If you’re lucky, when they’re younger, they’ll nap once you set off: planning your drive around naptime and bedtime is always a good plan too.

But you can’t always rely on little ones to sleep when you need them to, so here is a list of essential items you should make sure you have in your car before setting off on a road trip with babies and toddlers.

• Portable Potty – as parents know, young children often have trouble holding it in for long periods of time, so a portable potty is a must-have on any road trip. Needless to say, plan plenty of breaks to try to avoid any emergency stops!
• Diaper/nappy changing essentials – make sure you have plenty of nappies/diapers, wipes, bags and cream packed and easily accessible.
• Plenty of baby toys – grab a few teething toys to help keep little ones distracted during the drive. If your baby is teething, keep the first aid kit close to hand as well.

How to get everything organized in the car for a road trip

Once you’ve got all your essentials, from documents to packing, take a bit of extra time to get organized before your road trip with your family.

Planning a road trip with your family shouldn’t stop at plotting the destination into your route map, so here are a few tips to help you get started:

• Keep a list – from notes of what you’ve got to take to what you’ve got to sort out, a planning list (or lists!) will help ensure you don’t forget anything important. Check out my complete family travel planner for ideas of everything you might need for your trip – available in bright colors and more neutral shades
• Pack an overnight bag – include items such as a change of clothes, toiletries, and any medications you may need.
• Pack a cooler/cool bag – this is essential for long drives. Fill it with snacks and drinks to keep everyone fuelled up.
• Organize your car – make sure everything has a place so it doesn’t end up scattered all over the car. Use car organizers to keep things in place in the back, or small bags for those ‘just in case’ back-ups.
• Leave room for everyone – you might have crammed in all the packing, but being squashed into a tight space won’t be a great start to your trip. So as you pack up the car, keep in mind everyone else that’s traveling with you and leave enough legroom.

When you’re planning a long road trip, there’s always a lot to keep in mind, so these tips are intended as a starting point to help you make sure you’re prepared for a road trip with your family.

Check out some of my other posts for more ideas of planning a road trip with kids , how to keep kids entertained on a road trip , road trip snacks , as well as travel checklists .

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Award-winning family travel blogger and mum to the mini traveller, aka Minnie. Together we've visited Europe, America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, tried a cruise and a road trip, and survived countless long-haul trips. London (UK) based. Serious beach habit.

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45 Healthy Road Trip Snacks for Kids & Toddlers

Road trips are fun, but they can also be stressful. As a mom (or dad), you have to pack all your gear for vacation plus snacks and food for the trip. Not to mention the great art of keeping your kids happy during the drive.  It can be hard enough just getting toddlers, especially out the door for a grocery shopping trip, let alone a long car ride. Here are some of my favorite healthy road trip snacks for kids !

What You’ll Need

If you are going on a long road trip with your family, packing some cold and refrigerated snacks is a great way to offer fresh and healthy snacks all day long. While you can get by on non-refrigerated snacks for shorter time periods, packing a cooler can be especially helpful for longer days or if you are packing lunch as well.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click & make a purchase, I receive a commission! Read my full disclosure policy .

Here are some of the things we find helpful when packing travel food for our toddlers:

• Cooler – Soft or Hard Coole r depending on the length of our trip and the activities involved.
• Water Bottle – This is our favorite insulated toddler water bottle to pack for travel for small toddlers and this one is great for older kids .
• Zip Top Reusable Silicone Snack Bags – We have both the piggy and the blue bear and my toddlers love these. They fit in cup holders well and I like that they hold their shape better than the cloth bags for small toddlers.
• Reusable Bumkin Bags
• Bento Boxes – These are great for prepacking lunches to eat on the go or as a picnic. We use either stainless steel or collapsable silicone bento boxes .
• Stasher Bags to store produce and homemade snacks in.

Road Trip Snacks for Kids

These kid’s road trip snacks can work as travel food ideas for older kids or toddlers. Packing your own snacks and food will not only help you eat healthier on the road, but save you time along the road since you will not have to buy food as often.

Healthy Non-Refrigerated Packaged Snacks

First, we’ll start off with some of the best non-refrigerated snacks to bring. Many of these include healthy packaged snacks for toddlers .

• RX Kids Bar
• Dino Bars (great texture for younger toddlers as well)
• Skout Bar Kid
• Larabars – Be careful with child’s age as some do contain larger pieces of nuts.
• Chewy Honey Oat Kid Kind Bars – At 5g added sugar these are higher than I usually serve my kids, but they are a fun road trip treat and something different for older kids.
• Triscuits (check out my other favorite crackers for toddlers here)
• Bitsy Brain Food Crackers – Opt for Cheddar Chia flavor for a low sugar option.
• Simple Mills Almond Crackers
• Annie’s Whole Wheat Bunnies
• Snap Pea Crisps
• Puffs (I love this grain-free brand best)
• Unsweetened Applesauce or fruit pouches
• Pirate’s Booty
• Freeze-Dried Fruit
• Peanut Butter (for spreading on crackers, produce, etc)

Refrigerated Packaged Snacks for Travel

If you are packing a cooler and ice or ice packs, it opens your options up a lot more for snacks you can pack especially by allowing you to pack a larger variety of protein and produce.

• Stoneyfield Yogurt Pouches – While I typically buy unsweetened yogurt and sweeten it at home, these are great for travel. They do contain 4g added sugar so I do not recommend below age 2 .
• Babybel Cheese or Cheese Sticks
• Cottage Cheese Singles

Road Trip Snacks to Make

If you have some extra time to do some baking of food prep, here are some of my favorite homemade road trip snacks. It is always nice to have something homemade when you are going to be away from home for a while. These healthy recipes are perfect for kids of any age and even for adults!

• Toddler Cookies
• No Sugar Pumpkin Muffins
• Toddler-Friendly Overnight Oats – Can make a great breakfast or snack if you have a cooler.
• Homemade Trail Mix – Just ensure it is age-appropriate for your children (ie no large whole nuts for toddlers)

Produce to Pack for Road Trips Snacks

With produce be sure to cut appropriately given the age of your child . Here are some options to consider prepping and packing. I like to prep my produce and then pack in stasher bags for travel.

• Grapes – Cut in half or quarters for toddlers age 4 and below.
• Berries – Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries
• Bananas – No prep needed!
• Apple Slices – Can be a choking hazard to young toddlers. Follow guidelines.
• Small carrot sticks
• Cucumber sticks
• Pepper sticks
• Roasted veggies – It takes a bit more prep, but I have certainly cut up and roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and other veggies before road trips, especially when my kids were babies and I needed healthy baby led weaning lunch options.

Road Trip Breakfast & Lunch Ideas to Pack for Kids

There are so many great options for road trip meals for kids as well. My personal favorite is to pack healthy sandwiches, fruits, vegetables and snacks that the whole family can enjoy and make a meal out of.

Here are a few of my favorite breakfast and lunch ideas to pack for a road trip:

• Favorite Homemade Muffins
• Overnight Oats
• PB & J Sandwiches – I prefer to buy Crofters Just Fruit spread
• Ham Roll-Ups (cream cheese middle)
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Crackers with cheese or peanut butter
• Tuna Salad with Greek Yogurt
• Chicken Salad
• Fruit Salad
• Carrot Sticks with Peanut Butter

Here are some of my favorite Healthy Toddler Lunch Ideas including packable ideas that may work for your road trip!

Tips for Packing Healthy Road Trip Snacks for Kids

Here are a few of my favorite tips to make packing road trip snacks for your little ones a bit easier and go a bit smoother.

• Start by making a list of all the snacks you plan to take and then create your grocery list.
• Pack more than you think you will need. It never hurts to have extra! You never know when you will end up needing to eat lunch late or even have an unexpected picnic. We have gone on many trips to National Parks or other rural areas where we ended up further than expected from restaurants and were grateful for our car stash!
• Pack healthy snacks and lunch for kids and toddlers in separate baggies or containers so you can pass them out quickly when you stop.
• Pack plenty of paper plates, napkins, spare baggies, trash bags, and eating utensils – you never know what you will need when you are traveling and eating on the go.
• Don’t forget to consider choking hazards and appropriate safety measures if you are allowing your children to eat in the car. For example, we do try to pull over to eat at a picnic table, but sometimes this isn’t an option. I usually only feed my kids in the car once they are older and with low-risk foods depending on their age.
• Don’t forget to pack easy snacks for yourself and your spouse! Adults need plenty to eat on long trips as well.
• Bring extra water to use to refill their water bottles .

Need More Snack & Meal Ideas for Your Toddlers?

The Complete Guide to Healthy Toddler Snacks

Healthy Packaged Snacks for Toddlers

Snack Ideas for Daycare

35+ Toddler Lunch Ideas

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Josten is a Registered Dietitian with over a decade of experience helping families enjoy healthy foods and find peace around the dinner table. She spends most of her time these days feeding her 3 tiny children. Whether you are a new mom or deep in the trenches, Josten is here to help save dinner...and your sanity!

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From saving on gas to driving with kids, here's your ultimate road trip planner

"Easy Travel” is a 10-part series focusing on how to reduce bumps during vacations, anticipate roadblocks and be ready when things aren’t going your way. If you'd like to contribute to our future reporting and share your experience as a source, you can click here to fill out this quick form .

Ina Daly has spent most of her life on the road.

“My dad was a truck driver and that led me to becoming a truck driver,” she said. “What we do in a day, on a daily job would be like a long road trip to most people.”

With nearly 40 years of driving for freight transportation services provider XPO and numerous industry accolades under her belt, including grand champion at this year’s Arizona Truck Driving Championship , Daly is a pro. She’s also a mom and a grandmother who’s happy to share her experiences to make everyone’s road trips better.

“Some of the things I'm telling you are what we truckers tell our family members,” she said. “I've had a lot of accomplishments in my career and going to the National Truck Driving Championships (this month) is a reward, but the bigger reward is being able to share some things … that have the potential to save lives.”

What to do before a long drive

“Make sure that your vehicle’s road trip ready,” Daly said. ”Really pay close attention to your tires, your coolant, your fan belt.”

She notes tire dealers often offer free inspections to ensure tires are properly inflated and undamaged.

AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz advises getting the whole car serviced before hitting the road.

“If you're a car person and you can, do that yourself at home, by all means,” she said. Otherwise, she recommends getting the oil changed and battery and tires checked professionally. 

To save time and avoid stress, Diaz also suggests filling up on gas the night before leaving and making hotel reservations well in advance, noting that many hotels allow cancellations without penalty up until the day beforehand. 

What do you need before a road trip?

It’s always good to keep an emergency kit with supplies like first aid, a flashlight and extra batteries, and basic tools in the vehicle.

“You want to make sure that if you do have a tire issue, you have the proper tools and jacks in your vehicle to be able to change it,” Daly said. She said warning signals like reflective triangles can also warn other drivers to steer clear in the event of a breakdown.

For road trips, both she and Diaz recommend shelf-stable snacks like protein bars that won’t melt and plenty of water. “Don't think that a bottle or two for everybody is enough,” Daly said. “You've got to have, you know, five or six bottles for everyone.” 

Diaz also recommends wet wipes, blankets during the winter, and any time-sensitive medication or pet food that might be needed in the event of an extended delay.

“These things ideally wouldn't take up too much room in your trunk but they're just good to have in case of an emergency,” Diaz said. “Just think, ‘If I were stuck for a long time, what would keep me comfortable until I was able to (get) help?’”  

A printed map and a general sense of the route can also help in case there GPS hiccups or a phone dies.  AAA’s free TripTik planner can help travelers plot their trips in advance and find rest stops, lodging, food and gas along the way. And its free Gas Cost Calculator can help locate the cheapest average gas prices for drivers when it’s time to refuel.

'Get out there': This mom is using a never-ending road trip to inspire Black family travel

What I should know before a road trip?

“Everything can be a distraction in the car – the radio, the kids, etc. But the phone is a big one,” Daly advised. “When you’re driving, that thing should not ever be in your hand.”

More than 3,500 people were killed on U.S. roads in 2021 because of distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration . 

Daly also recommends watching out for distracted drivers.

“You can tell a distracted driver by their fluctuating speed,” she warned. “They're drifting in their lane. Their head is looking down instead of focusing on the road. You want to give those people a wide berth.”

How long will a road trip take?

Road trips always take longer than expected because of traffic, construction and other things that arise en route.

Diaz says to expect at least an hour longer than whatever the GPS predicts. Daly recommends leaving at least two hours early.

“You don't want that stressful drive,” Daly said. “You’re hurrying. That lends to bad driving behaviors like tailgating and speeding, which leads to accidents. Don’t put yourself in that situation.”

How many hours a day should you drive on a road trip?

“It just varies so much from person to person, how long they’re comfortable driving,” Diaz said. “We want to err on the side of safety. We want people to be safe on the roads and drive the speed limit and not rush it, but everybody's different.”

Switching out drivers can lighten the load, but no matter who is driving, Daly said, “If you're starting to feel a little, less attentive, maybe a little fatigued, it’s time to take a break.”

What time is best to drive?

“We always recommend, especially during the holidays, leave early in the morning,” Diaz said. “The later you leave in the day, the worse it's going to be because a lot of times during the week … you're going to mix with those commuters on the road.”

“Some people enjoy night driving,” she added. “Once you get to like 8 p.m., 9 p.m. traffic comes down a lot.” 

However, she noted drivers who leave in the evening should watch out for fatigue and plan to drive less than if they started fresh in the morning.

How do you take a good road trip with kids? 

When possible, Daly recommends having a designated passenger to help with kids so the driver can focus on the road.  

Another important thing is to keep seatbelts on the whole way.

“Kids have a tendency to take those off,” Daly said. “Make sure they stay buckled up. I've seen some horrible things out there.”

'I just want to see more of us': The importance of seeing people like you while traveling

What do kids need on a road trip?

Entertainment helps pass the time, but it doesn’t have to be digital. There are all sorts of screen-free road trip games . 

Diaz recommends printing a map or list of sites or cities for kids to watch for along the way.

“You know, yell it out or mark it on your sheet,” she said. “Have some crayons in the car with them so they're following along on the trip, and they feel like they're part of it.”

“Point out historical landmarks and scenery; enjoy nature,” Daly echoed. “That's one of the things that we truck drivers love about our jobs is we get to see the country and nature.”

Stop at points of interest every few hours or simply for everyone to stretch their legs.

And for those times when kids are on screens, make sure to pack car chargers.

What is the best way to save gas?

Don’t speed. 

“Fuel economy peaks at around 50 miles per hour on most cars, and then it drops off as the speeds increase,” Diaz said. “You think, ‘OK, if I just go 70, I'm going to get there faster, and it'll be better,’ but essentially, you're just wasting gas at that point." Fuel economy can be increased by as much as 15% by reducing highway speeds by 5 to 10 miles per hour, she said.

Don’t idle unnecessarily either, like at rest stops.

“Your car engine consumes about a quarter to a half a gallon of fuel per hour while it's idling,” she said. “But a warm engine only takes about 10 seconds’ worth of fuel to restart, so if it's safe to do so, just shut off your engine.”

Story continues below.

What happens if my tire blows out?

“When you blow a tire, kaboom, it freaks you out. Do not panic,” Daly said. “Don't slow down abruptly or brake hard or jerk the wheel because that will cause you to lose control and have an accident.”

“Just focus on steering,” she added. “Slow very gradually, off to the side of the road in a safe area, and you won’t have any issue from your blown tire.”

How do you drive around semitrucks?

“Be aware of our needs and limitations,” Daly said. “You know we’re big. We need a lot of space around us. We have big blind spots. … If you can’t see the truck driver’s face in the mirrors of the truck, the truck driver can’t see you.”

She advised against passing on the right. 

“If you have to pass quickly, don’t linger over there. We see people driving over there for the shade (and it) puts us in a very dangerous situation,” she said. “And don’t cut in front of us and then hit your breaks. People don’t like to follow a truck because they can’t see around us, so they pass us and then cut in front of us.”

“It takes away that safety cushion we leave in front of us,” she added. “When you see all that space in front of a truck, that's not for your convenience so that you can pass us and cut into it. That’s for our safety and yours.”

By the same token, she advised fellow drivers to leave plenty of space in front of their own vehicles, so they have enough room to stop quickly in an emergency. If another driver cuts into that space, she suggested, “Take a break. Slow down again. Recreate that space. Bite your tongue and think pure thoughts.”

That last tip may not be so easy.

What has been your best or worst road trip experience?

The Beauty Queen Killer: 9 Days of Terror

In 1984, 16-year-old Tina Risico is kidnapped by a killer who takes her on a hellish road trip – and forces her to participate in a brutal crime. more

In 1984, 16-year-old Tina Risico is kidnapped by a killer who tak ... More

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Garden tours, plants sales and more ways to spend time among flowers

Visit Maine's botanical gardens or get a sneak peek of what your neighbors are growing in their back yards.

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One of the loveliest ways to ease yourself fully out of the post-winter blahs and into springtime is to quit being a wallflower and instead surround yourself with living, blooming plants.

From botanical gardens to plant sales and garden tours, it’s time to make like the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz” and while away the hours, conferring with flowers.

The waterfall at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay. Photo by Tory Paxson, Courtesy of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

TOTALLY BOTANICAL

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay is open for the season, daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Maine Days are May 31 to June 2, when anyone with a Maine driver’s license or state ID gets in for free. Ditto for dads/father figures on Father’s Day (June 16). Advance registration is required. With more than 300 acres of gardens and natural spaces, including a waterfall, there will be plenty to see, smell and bask in the scenery.

Here are more things to do in Boothbay

A tour group walks on the boardwalk at Viles Arboretum in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Viles Arboretum is a botanical garden in Augusta with 6 miles of trails and more than 20 botanical collections. It’s open daily from sunrise to sunset, and admission is free. There are 224 acres with all sorts of flora and fauna to discover. Leashed dogs are welcome, and the visitor center is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Viles Arboretum offers medicinal plant walks, and although the May 18 session is full, you can still register for the June 15 and Sept. 14 events, lead by herbalist, homeopath and flower essence practitioner Debra Bluth. Tickets are $25. Advertisement

The Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve has four areas to explore on its property in Northeast Harbor: the Asticou Azelea Garden (dawn to dusk daily), the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden (noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday from July 9 to Sept. 8, reservations required), Thuya Garden (dawn to dusk daily, June 15 to Oct. 14) and Little Long Pond Natural Lands (hiking trails and carriage roads open dawn to dusk daily). On June 26, at the Wildflowers of Little Long Pond event, participants can wander around the garden’s fields and forest, spotting wildflowers along the way while practicing how to identify them.

Joyce Saltman, right, and Beth Anisbeck embrace a tree for 60 seconds during a tree hugging event sponsored by Portland Parks and Recreation, at Deering Oaks Park last year. Carl D. Walsh/Staff Photographer

TOURS AND MORE

2nd Annual Tree Hugging 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Deering Oaks Park, Portland. portlandmaine.gov The tree hugging is a family-friendly community gathering to celebrate Portland’s many trees. Park ranger Liz Collado will lead a sensory awakening and forest bathing session. Along with tree hugging, there will be a storytime, and you can touch a forestry truck and meet naturalist Noah Querido and Portland city arborist Mark Reiland. Just down the road, you’ll find Fessenden Park, on the corner of Brighton and Deering Avenues. The tulips have arrived, and it’s worth a visit to see them.

McLaughlin Garden Lilac Festival 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 24. McLaughlin Garden and Homestead, 97 Main St., South Paris, $5. mclaughlingardens.org You’ll find more than 125 varieties of lilacs at the McLaughlin Garden Lilac Festival. Explore on your own or take a guided tour led by a horticulturist. There will also be family-friendly activities, and you can shop for native and unusual plants.

4th annual Woodfords Community Garden Tour 1-4 p.m. June 8. Woodfords Corner Community in Back Cove, Deering Highlands, Oakdale and Deering Center, $20 suggested donation. woodfordscorner.org Presented by Friends of Woodfords Corner, this self-guided tour features at least 10 gardens. As you make your way down the list, you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised by all of the hidden havens bursting with flowers, plants and impressive yardscaping elements.

Peony Society of Maine 23rd annual Garden Tour 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 8 and 15. Both tours start at 1348 Ohio St., Bangor, $5 donation. peonysocietyofmaine.net You’ll visit multiple gardens in Bangor, Winterport, Ripley and St. Albans, and your senses will be filled with countless peonies. A peony plant will be raffled off at the end of each tour. Advertisement

Hidden Gardens of Historic Bath 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 22. Sagadahoc Preservation Inc., 880 Washington St., Bath, $40. sagadahocpreservation.org The Hidden Gardens of Historic Bath house and garden tour features several homes in North Bath. Every stop on the tour will be a treat for your senses and may motivate you to make some of your own magic when you get back home.

Garden Conservancy Open Garden Days 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 29. Beckett Castle Rose Garden, Singles Road, Cape Elizabeth, $10. gardenconservancy.org You’ll see plenty of roses as well as ocean views at Beckett Castle, which sits right on the water, with views of five lighthouses. The castle was built in 1871, and its rose garden features more than 70 varieties of heirloom roses. A 50-foot stone tower doubles as the rose arbor entrance to the castle.

PICK A PLANT SALE

Tate House Museum’s Annual Plant and Herb Sale 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 18. Tate House Museum, 1267 Westbrook St., Portland, 207-774-6177.  tatehouse.org The wide selection includes perennials divided from the museum’s 18th century reproduction garden. Visitors can also make their own “seed bombs” and get a sneak peak at a new installation by artist Ashley Page from 10 a.m. to noon.

Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland Spring Plant S ale 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. May 18, Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, 217 Landing Road, Westbrook, 207-854-9771.  arlgp.org   Perennials, house plants and more will be on sale, and plants that don’t have specific pricing are “name your own fee.” Anyone interested in donating plants or pots to the sale should send a message to [email protected] .

Taking Root Plant Sale 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 1, Tom Settlemire Community Garden, Maurice Drive, Brunswick, 207-729-7694.  btlt.org This annual sale is organized by the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust. Proceeds benefit the Common Good Garden, which provides food and gardening education for the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program. Master gardeners will be on hand to help shoppers choose their best options.

Scarborough Land Trust Native Plant Sale and Spring Festival 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 1, Broadturn Farm, 388 Broadturn Road, Scarborough, 207-289-1199.  scarboroughlandtrust.org Visitors will find native plants, food vendors, local artisans, guided nature walks and activities for kids. To preorder plants, visit the Scarborough Land Trust website.

Maine Audubon Society Native Plants Sale and Festival 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 8, Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, 20 Gilsland Farm Road, Falmouth, 207-781-2330.  maineaudubon.org More than 75 species of native wildflowers, shrubs and tree seedlings will be available, along with workshops, info tables and experts.

Staff writer Megan Gray contributed to this report.

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