Family Travel Tips and Gear

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

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

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.

Apple sauce or other fruit pouches.

Dried cereal. You can put your families' favorite in baggies, or get the individually-sized snack cups.

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!

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.

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.

My little kids love to stand in the shallow part of the water as the waves roll in, then race to try and reach the shore before the wave does. I love how this simple beach game keeps them so entertained!

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.

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/

It's so hard to avoid sitting idle inside an airport and not giving into the temptation of the terminal's food court, newsstand or souvenir emporium. But prices inside airports are always SO inflated! Be prepared. Buy your celebrity gossip mags beforehand, eat breakfast at home, bring your own dry snacks, etc. And, remember, they serve [free] coffee on the plane too! Reserve that venti latte for outside terminal B ;)

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

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!

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!

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).

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.

I put together little gifts (think Dollar bin) wrapped up in bags with a time on them. My kids look forward to these gifts and it helps to pass the time on long trips!

My kids love trays that go over their car seats. You can find at Michaels or Amazon. Great for meals, coloring, legos, etc.

During a gas station break, we always let the kids pick out a special snack or two to enjoy in the car. They love getting the freedom to pick whatever they want.

Download an audiobook and/or pick a podcast that's appropriate for your kids' ages and would be interesting to the adults, too.

Category-type naming games. How many types of desserts can you name? How many countries can you name? How many different characters in Harry Potter can you name? Etc.

First letter/last letter. Not sure if there’s really a name for this game, but one person starts by picking a word (usually we like to pick a theme, like Marvel or Harry Potter). The next person had to think of a word that starts with the last letter of that previous word, still within the theme (if you are using one). For example, if the first person says “Harry,” the next person has to think of a word that starts with a “y.” Then we go around the car taking turns until someone gets stuck!

The Alphabet Game! This is a classic for a reason - just look around to find each letter of the alphabet in order, from A all the way to Z. Road signs, license plates, advertisements - plenty of letters all around us (most of the time!) - good luck with Q and X, though!

The license plate game. We did a cross-country drive last year and I found a free map printable online. We all kept an eye out for a license plate from each state, and the kids colored in the states on the map as we found them.

Would you rather fly or be invisible?

Would you rather play the hero or the villain in a movie?

Would you rather live in the future or in the past?

Would you rather spend a year on a deserted island or a day in a cave full of tarantulas?

Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy was he?

If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers Where’s the peck of pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked?

She sells sea shells by the seashore.