How to Road Trip with a Toddler

One of the reasons Ryan and I were meant for each other is our mutual love for travel. Between us we’ve seen a lot of places: New York, San Diego, Nashville, Orlando, Los Angeles, Las Vegas twice, and a huge road trip up the Pacific Northwest Coast from Crater Lake, OR to Seattle, WA, just to name a few. After all of that travel, its safe to say we're no longer novice luggage packers, we have advanced to expert level. But... adding a little girl to our family changed the way we travel, in a big way. Last October, we went to Myrtle Beach, SC and learned a lot about how to over-pack with a baby in tow. This year, as we embark on a road trip through New England, we intend to pack a little lighter and a whole lot smarter. Here’s what we’re bringing, and what we’re leaving at home on our ten-day road trip. 

What we’re bringing:

1.     Adult suitcase – We packed one large suitcase for the adults to share. For ten days, we each packed 5 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of pants, 7 short sleeve shirts, 12 pairs of underwear, a sweatshirt, a jacket, a hat, 10 pairs of socks, and a swimsuit. I also packed 3 dresses, 2 pairs of pajamas, a hairdryer, a straightening iron, a hairbrush, toiletries bag, and my makeup essentials. We squeezed in 4 pairs of sandals and 2 pairs of tennis shoes between us. All of this fit in our large suitcase.

2.     Kid suitcase – All of CB’s belongings were packed in a small carry-on size suitcase. For ten days, we packed 12 warm weather outfits, 3 cool weather outfits, 10 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of shoes, 7 pajamas, 3 swimsuits, 2 hats, sunglasses, a fleece jacket, 1 package of wipes, and 1 package of diapers. We also squeezed in her toiletry kit and baby monitor. I packed each outfit in a Ziploc bag for a few reasons: I could squeeze the air out and create more room in the suitcase, each outfit is pre-matched so it’s easy to grab and go, and after an outfit is used, I can use the bags for dirty clothes to bring home or dirty diapers to throw away.

3.     Overnight bag – We decided to begin our trip at night to take advantage of a sleeping toddler and get as far as we could on night one. This meant that we would be stopping at a hotel on the road and would need an overnight bag so we didn’t have to drag everything in for just one night. Our over night bag had a fresh pair of clothes for everyone, the adult toiletry bag, pajamas for the adults, a sleep blanket and crib sheet for CB.

4.     Electronics bag – It seems as I get older, the list of electronics to bring just keeps getting longer, but we tried to keep it to a minimum. We brought, 2 laptops with chargers to do work after CB goes to bed, 2 phones and chargers, our good camera with lenses and charger, binoculars (not really an electronic but I packed them in the same bag, and 2 sets of headphones with a splitter (so we could watch a movie after CB is asleep).

5.     Snack bag – Since we would be in the car for 9 hours before arriving at our first destination, I knew we needed some healthy snacks. I packed, Teddy Grahams, apple juice, trail mix, apples, raisins, cheddar crackers, Cheerios, puffs and granola bars. This was a good mixture that both kids and adults could enjoy. In a separate cooler filled with ice, I packed whole milk, bottles of water and cheese sticks. I also packed 2 bottles for milk, a sippy cup, and a spill-proof snack cup for cheerios and puffs.

6.     Car entertainment bag – This bag was packed to occupy CB on the very long car ride. It contained 2 large activity books, a coloring book and crayons, stickers, pipe cleaners to make fun shapes, playing cards, an empty plastic container to just put stuff in. I also added some traveling essentials to this bag like sunscreen, bug spray, and Clorox wipes.  

7.     Miscellaneous – As you can imagine, this is a large category when traveling with a toddler. We opted to bring only the essentials for this trip to keep our modest car as comfortable as possible. For CB we brought a portable crib, an umbrella stroller for city walking, a backpack baby carrier for trail hiking, a changing pad, 5 books, toy blocks, and a shape sorter. Other items include a large umbrella, more baby wipes for the car, a flashlight, hand sanitizer, and about $20 in ones and change for tolls.

What we are leaving at home

There are so many other conveniences that we could have brought with us, but we decided to leave at home for the sake of simplicity. We did not bring a white noise machine. Instead, we downloaded a white noise CD to an old iPod. CB recently outgrew needing warm milk, but if she hadn’t, we were going to leave the bottle warmer at home and just run it under hot water to warm the milk. Instead of bringing our heavy-duty walking stroller, we borrowed an umbrella stroller from our parents. We did not bring a highchair or feeding chair of any kind. Most restaurants have high chairs and CB is old enough to sit in a regular chair on her own if we watch her closely. We did not bring any beach toys or floats. We figured plastic cups from the hotel room would work just fine. 

I find packing lightly and efficiently helps to keep me organized throughout a long road trip. There are fewer things to keep track of, especially when you are loading and unloading the car several times. The car itself felt more spacious and there was more room to move around. And of course, more room for souvenirs! What tips do you have for traveling with families? Did I forget something on the list?