The Ultimate Family Road Trip Packing List

Family road trips are a great way to see the country together, especially if you plan to take a Route 66 road trip to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of America’s Mother Road. But deciding what to pack can get a bit overwhelming. You don’t want to forget the basics like medications or an emergency road kit and first-aid kit, but there are a few items you won’t want to forget to take your trip from good to great — no matter where you plan to stop and explore along the way.

Healthy Snacks — Favorites and Surprises
Snacks are a must when you travel, especially with long hours in the car. You don’t want to rely on junk food along the way, so make sure you pack along healthy snacks like fruits, veggies, cheese and nuts. Providing a variety of tastes and textures helps keep things from getting boring. Make sure your kids’ favorites make the list, but pack along a few surprises to keep things interesting.

Car-Friendly Games
Road trip games are part of the fun — you’ve got long hours to pass in the car together and boredom is a surefire way to tank the trip, so keep things interesting. Board games are out, so bring along some handheld interactive games that won’t take up too much space and can help pass the time. Consider a family-friendly, car-friendly car game kit to engage the whole family, like Dr. Biscuit’s Radical Road Trip. It contains 60 different games the family can play together on the road, all in one compact box.

Comfort Items
Humans are creatures of habit, and kids love their favorites, whether they are blankets, pillows or stuffed animals. Bringing along some of these items helps take away some of the sting they might feel from leaving their comfort zone behind and heading someplace new — especially if the trip involves long hours in the car.

Charging Cables
These are a must, especially if you’ve got tweens and teens. Make sure you’ve got all the charging cables you’ll need to keep the whole family connected. Even if you have designated device-free times for your trip, being able to stay connected to their friends and socials is important to them.

An Old-Fashioned Road Map
Today, road maps are readily available at your fingertips. With mobile technology, you don’t even need to be able to read one — our phones give us turn-by-turn instructions. But a paper map is always a good idea, just in case you lose signal or your battery dies. And they aren’t just a safety measure: A road trip is a great idea to teach your kids this lost skill. It also gives them a sense of responsibility when it comes to the trip and helps keep them from getting bored on long car rides.