Road Trip to Florida with Big Kids: The Ultimate Family Drive Adventure

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A family drive to Florida is a true adventure.  For our family the drive is 20+ hours so it is a quite a journey.  There are many reasons that you may choose to take on the drive rather than fly including cost or even wanting to have your car while in Florida.  If you have children that are 10 and over it is a lot different to plan for than under 10.

Though the drive is LONG- it can be a really fun time and a unique bonding time as well.  It is important to keep in mind that the journey to get to your trip needs to be part of the trip too.

Planning the Route and Stops

It is a good idea to take time and think about the route.  Research the different ways you can take and check out which are better for different times of the year.  If you are traveling during winter it is good to have an idea of what winter is like on your route.  It can get really cold even down into the Southern States and that can impact your travel.  This is a fun book to help the trip https://amzn.to/476h7ZO.

We have followed this book before and it is so helpful.  There are lots of great ideas of where to stop and gives tons of information about the areas you are traveling through.

If you have younger kids traveling along with your big kids it may affect how long you plan to drive in a day.  We have never attempted the drive through the night- we always do 1 or 2 nights along the way.  If you have packed food for your trip then you may only have to stop at gas stations to fill up and use the bathroom.

Even with our older kids we usually stop around the 4 hour mark even just for a stretch.  If you are planning to spend a night on the road we love to stop at the Drury Inns https://www.druryhotels.com

If you haven’t stopped at a Buc-ee’s before then you need to!! They have so many gas pumps, an amazing store and food and TONS of slushies- which are a favorite for the kids.

Packing Essentials

There really isn’t a way that I have found yet to eliminate the complaining of “how much longer” but packing for everything that you need can help to lessen it.  It is a really long drive even for the adults.  So making sure your vehicle is equipped with everything you need will make for smoother travel.

Have your kids pack their pillow and blanket, even though there might not be a ton of room it will make them more comfortable.  This does make it a challenge when you stop as everyone tries to climb out between the pillows and blankets- but still worth it.  Encourage your kids to wear comfy cloths- pick them up a new sweat suit or fun pjs.

Here are some of our top things to pack for the journey:

• Headphones: https://amzn.to/3JpAcNs
• Ear buds: https://amzn.to/4oBDg8q
• Light:https://amzn.to/3WmOzoK
• Charging Bank: https://amzn.to/4neVMlT
• White Board: https://amzn.to/3KVLr0K
• White Board Markers:https://amzn.to/49fnI5t
• Drawing Pad: https://amzn.to/43oXjP0

Include Them

As you plan this big trip be open and honest about it.  Tell them how long it will be, what the expectation of how long you will drive for at a time.  Ask if there are any interesting things they would like to see or restaurants they would like to go to.  For my kids explaining to them why we were driving vs flying helped them to be more accepting of what they thought would be a grueling drive.

I hope your travels with your kids will be full of family fun!  For more travel tips be sure to check out more of our blog posts at Blog – Together We Can Travel .