Family Travel Ideas

What did the shark say when it ate the clown fish? Tastes funny.

Why does a duck have feathers? To cover his butt quack

What did the triangle say to the circle? You're pointless.

Why should you never give Elsa a balloon? Because she’ll Let it Go.

If you were an Olympic gold-medal athlete, which sporting event would you want it to be in?

If you could have any super power, what would it be, and why?

How were you kind to someone today?

If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, which one would you choose?

Granola bars are so easy to travel with, and are a hearty road trip snack that still tastes like a treat.

Goldfish crackers, of course! They will almost certainly get all over your car, but IMO are still worth it for the ease and universal kid appeal.

Grapes are good healthy road trip snacks as they hold up much better than most other fresh fruit while traveling. If you've got little ones, you can cut them after washing to avoid a possible choke hazard.

Apple sauce or other fruit pouches.

My kids LOVE using grabbers, and picking up litter at the beach is really and truly one of their favorite beach activities - helping the environment is just a bonus. I've gotten grabbers on Amazon, at the dollar store, and at Costco, and they all seem to hold up about the same (which is not all that long, unfortunately), so I suggest buying the cheapest you can find. The grabbers with a trigger rather than a squeeze handle seem easiest for little hands to use.

Looking for seashells is a classic beach activity for kids that mine love to do every single time we go. I usually set a limit for how many they can bring home each time, and have learned to designate a special jar or mesh bag as the "seashell" holder to avoid creating an entire beach at home!

Spike ball is a fun outdoor game that transports easily and is perfect for the beach. My teens especially enjoy it, but all of us have fun playing together.

Dig a huge hole (but don't forget to fill it in again before you leave!). My kids love digging, and they think gigantic holes are just about the coolest thing ever. Even more than making sandcastles at the beach, they love digging, and digging, and digging, until they've made a giant hole they can fit inside.

Join the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) reciprocal network. Register with a flat yearly fee at your local children's museum (it pays itself off very fast!) and you'll receive 50% off at sooo many children's museums nationwide. (You'll earn free membership at your local museum, too.) Where are you headed? Find a children's museum in the ACM network here: https://findachildrensmuseum.org/

Though dining out is part of the travel experience and something to embrace, we never fail to make a quick grocery store run on day 1 of the trip, especially for breakfast items so we can wake up and casually eat at "home": cereal, milk, bagels, fruit, coffee, etc. This is less expensive (and less time consuming) than eating out every single morning.

We bring breakfast for our hotel room or rental. One less meal a day at a restaurant saves money every trip.

Our family's credit card of choice offers us 2% cash back in travel rewards. This really adds up! We often use the earned points to book a free car rental.

I use old flat bed sheets as beach blankets. I always pack icy cold water bottles and ice packs in insulated bags with fresh fruit and snacks. In my beach bag, I always keep kids sand/water toys, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, hand soap, hair ties, lotion, band aids/emergency kit, napkins, tissues and bug spray. Don't forget beach towels, sunglasses and spare swimsuits!

If you can find beach chairs with straps for carrying on your back, it makes the trip to and from the car so much easier!

Baby powder lives in my beach bag — easiest way to get sand off skin. One would think it would just brush off dry skin, but that’s never the case. With baby powder, problem solved. Game changer.

One word: Bogg Bag. Splurge on the real thing. Washes easy, easy to carry, fits so much stuff and has great add-ons (bags, cup holders, etc).