6 Tips for Road Trips with Kids as a Solo Mom
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Arches NAtional Park on a 4 month solo roadtrip across the usa
Preparing for your first road trip alone with kids can be anxiety inducing, but I am here to tell all the solo parent travelers, you got this! Road trips as a single parent are not as bad as they may seem. I promise. This guide will give you 6 tips on road tripping alone with kids to make your journey easier and more enjoyable.
starting our 10K mile solo road trip!
I have been traveling alone with young children since my first born was only 6 weeks old! For a few years, I didn’t only road trip alone with a toddler, but I road tripped solo with two toddlers. Now I have 3 kids!
We have done everything from a day trip to a 4 month road trip across the United States camping in our minivan! Over the years I have mastered long road trips with kids and put together the best tips for Traveling as a solo parent. All of this to say, I have done all the trial and error for you! So, now, let me share my best tips to successfully plan a road trip with kids.
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Table of Contents
Whether you’re driving long distances with kids alone or planning to travel as a single mom for the first time, these tips will help you stay safe and keep you entertained.
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Exploring White Sands national park solo with the kids
If you’d like more tips for traveling as single parent, check out my Facebook group Solo Mom Travel where we have a community of 22K(+) moms!
Here are 6 tips for road tripping alone with kids as a single parent:
Plan Ahead
Big Bend National Park on a solo road trip from california to florida
When I am embarking on a road trip alone with kids, I am meticulous in my planning. I like to have a detailed itinerary planned, my route planned, and ideas for our pit stops. Can you take a road trip solo with kids without a plan? Of course, but it could end in heartache if anything goes wrong.
When I took a 10,000 mile road trip with my kids for 4 months in 2021, I would route our drive prior to leaving. I would know how far I wanted to go before stopping and try to plan in advance. I had an excel sheet with our itinerary I could share with family and friends to give them an idea of where we would be. Did I change plans on the way? Of course! If we wanted an extra night somewhere or if we needed a pit stop unexpectedly, we would take it. However, having this shell of a plan helped me know what was coming and how to prepare the children.
we’ve solo tripped to saint louis 3 times — we love it here!
Safety First
teddy roosevelt national park - we’ve roadtripped solo to north dakota twice
Safety is paramount when traveling alone with children. Here are some things I do to protect myself and protect my children while traveling alone:
Check your tires, brakes, and fluids before you start your journey. Also, have a plan for if you get a flat! I got a flat on the first day of our solo four month journey and it was a scramble to get it fixed and get on our way!
Pack an emergency kit with first aid supplies, water, and snacks. When traveling with children, I always keep a small first aid kit in the car. I also use THIS ELECTRIC CAR JUMPER so I can jump my own car if I need to! It is worth it’s weight in gold.
these guys changed my tired in under 10 minutes — such good samaritans
Plan & Share Your Itinerary: I always email my entire itinerary to a trusted family member or friend. Usually I send it to at least 2 people to be sure that someone knows where we are supposed to be. On a road trip I also share my GPS so that they can see my arrival time.
one of our many solo trips to washington dc! We drove up from florida.
Keep Valuable Safe: I keep a small safe in my car that I store our valuables in when we are out exploring. I like this safe because I can leash it to my car seat (under the seat) to prevent someone from taking it if they break in to my car. I can also bring it into hotels with us.
Have a back up plan: I lost my wallet on a road trip alone with my kids. I had no credit cards, no cash, nothing. Luckily, I had stored our passports in my safe and I was able to have my husband wire us money and I could use my passport as an ID to collect it. Now, I keep a spare credit card in my safe alone with a full set of extra Identification.
Avoid Over-Sharing: One thing to avoid is announcing that you are traveling alone with kids to anyone. Always pretend there is a second adult with you.
our second trip to north dakota
Entertainment is Key!
we spent 6 weeks roadtripping solo from texas to south dakota when the kids were 2 and 4
Entertainment for the driver: While the kids play or sleep, it’s time to keep yourself entertained while driving. Here are things I do to pass the time. Be sure to pre-download everything so you don’t get some where without service and can’t access the content.
Download Podcasts
Download Audiobooks - I like to keep two audiobooks in the queue. I use Audible and I get free audiobooks from the Libby app.
Create an upbeat playlist to keep you awake
Eat or Drink!
Entertainment for the kids on a road trip:
Keeping kids entertained as you drive is key to a successful trip. Here are a few suggestions to entertain your child on a road trip:
Both kids listening to the same movie with their connecting headphones
Pre download Movies and Games on a device. Here are the best Travel Apps for toddlers and preschoolers to entertain them on the road
Download Kid friendly podcasts
Create a soothing playlist for nap time or a playlist of your child’s favorite music
Keep the snacks flowing. Here is my complete list for road trip snack ideas — something I worked on after my 4 month road trip!
Keep a bucket of toys in the car and cycle through them as you drive. Here are my screen free entertainment suggestions for toddlers and preschoolers
Play a game as a family - some ideas for road trip games:
I Spy
20 Questions
Storytelling
Car Karaoke
Alphabet Game
The kids and I have driven to rocky mountain national park solo two times!
Find a Good Pit Stop
cadillac ranch is a really fun pit stop!
Every long road trip is going to require stops for the restrooms and fuel. If you are on a road trip in the United States, you have so many cool options for a fun road trip stop.
You can find fun stops on pages like Roadtrippers and RoadTripUSA. I realized we would be driving past Cadillac Ranch on a trip, so I added to my pit stops. It was a lot of fun for everyone!
For me, I like to keep my own potti in the car. I know that sounds funny, but I haven’t taken my children into a gas station to use the restroom in years. I like the Thetford Porta Potti because it can flush and does not take up much space. The kids have the privacy they need in the minivan. Having a porta potti also gives us so much more freedom in the National Parks and means we don’t need public restroom to make a stop!
I do love a stop for state signs or cool roadside attractions!
I planned our route so we could stop and see the famous monument valley — forrest gump hill!
Snacks on Snacks on Snacks
Pack as Many Snacks as You Can
On any checklist for solo parenting while traveling, snacks need to be at the top. I don't need to harp this, so I'll just ask you: Does eating make you happy? Probably. It also makes kids happy. My go-to snacks for road trips? Gummy bears, yogurt melts, goldfish, food pouches (easy + mess-free), Nilla Wafers, Apples, lunchables, beef jerkey, chips, Clementines, dried fruit, etc.
I keep plastic containers full of food in the back where the kids can easily reach. I also keep a small cooler on the front seat where I can pass back cold drinks. You can find my favorite travel cups for kids here.
snacks are life on road trips
ALSO - to prevent your little ones from squeezing out food pouches all over your car, try using a pouch cap! We have traveled with them for years and they are a must when traveling alone with young children.
i like to prepare before a long drive - this day we had a 3-4 hour drive so the kids got slushies
age appropriate carseats are a must
rear facing until at least 2 (or the correct weight/age) and some entertainment!
Relax!
No matter how long or how short these car rides are, it's going to end at some point. I have done everything from traveling with two toddlers alone to road tripping with 2 kids for 4 months. Trust me when I say, the destination is where the memories are made — not the car journey. My kids barely remember the actual time in the car.
my fave iced coffee always makes a solo road trip easier
There are so many ways to make road trips alone with kids easier and I hope these tips make you a little less anxious. When in doubt - refer to Tip #6. Everything that happens on your travel day is a temporary moment on the longer journey on your family trip. So whether you’re headed out on a solo road trip with kids, traveling alone with young kids for the first time, or just looking for tips for travelling as a single parent— you’re in the right place and you’re going to rock this trip!
Don’t forget to join one of the largest single mom travel groups (22K+ moms): Solo Mom Travel
me and the kids at mesa arch at sunrise — something that was clearly on my itinerary! No service in the park meant other people needed to know where we were in advance
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