Ultimate Family Road Trip Packing List (+Free Printable Checklists)
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Planning a family road trip can be exciting but also overwhelming, not knowing exactly what to pack. That’s where our experience road tripping comes in handy.
We’ve created the ultimate family road trip packing list and FREE printable checklists to make things easier for you on the open road. Drawing on our years of experience from countless road trips with our kids from babies to teens. Including cross country adventures, and week long road trips, to everything in between.
This guide covers everything. From road trip essentials for the whole family, to car and safety gear, plus tips on what to leave behind. Which you can easily adapt for wherever you’re traveling to.
With our travel-tested advice, and free printable checklists, you’ll be perfectly prepared for your adventure, making packing stress-free, straightforward, and do we dare say even fun!
ROAD TRIP PACKING LIST FOR FAMILIES
Road Trip Essentials for the Car
When heading out on a long road trip, there are a few car essentials we think are important to add to your family road trip checklist.
We’ve found this, to be a fantastic tool for planning our routes & collaborating with others on the road.
- Driver’s License, Car registration and roadside assistance info – Check your glove compartment box before leaving your house to make sure you have any (and all) information you may need in a very worst case scenario.
- Extra Set of Car Keys – make sure to store it somewhere you won’t lose it, or give it to another family member. One of my fears is losing our car keys in the middle of no where, so having an extra set is peace of mind for me.
- Rental Car Agreement – If you are renting a car for your road trip, make sure to bring the agreement with you in the glove box.
- Sun Shades for the Windows – The sun can get a bit overwhelming, especially if you have really young children in the car. We’ve found Sun Shades like these super helpful.
- Cell phone holder – Especially when using GPS, having a Cell phone holder can be a game changer for your road trip.
- Car Seat or booster seat – Choose one that’s suitable for the ages of your kids, and somewhat comfortable for a long drive. We’ve found that stopping every two hours max keeps everyone happier.
Emergency Vehicle Kit
A Roadside Emergency Kit is one of the most important things we bring. It’s better to be safe than sorry and be prepared to handle the unexpected, like a flat tire is our motto.
It always gives us peace of mind knowing we have the basics, and think it will for you too.
Plus I don’t know how many times it has come in handy for helping other travelers out along the way during our own trips. It should include:
- Jumper cables
- Tow Rope
- Spare tire
- Tire Pressure Gauge
- Flashlight & batteries ( we prefer head lamps)
- Jack & Tools
- Matches / Lighter
- Flares
- Food / Energy Bars
What to pack “Just in Case”
Accidents happen. But, how you handle them can be completely different if you are prepared. Not to mention there are certain things you just don’t want to forget for a long car ride.
Add these to your road trip with kids checklist:
- Map – You may not ever need it, but make sure you have a paper or book road map. In case your phone dies, google maps steers you wrong, or anything else happens, you will be glad you have it.
- Paper Towel & Toilet Paper – Keep these handy for unexpected bathroom stops, or unexpected spills. Well with kids you can expect a mess!
- Wet wipes – Whether you have a baby or not, we think baby wipes are life savers & road trip necessities. You can clean up spills, hands, and even clothing with a few baby wipes. My daughter is 10 and we still use baby wipes for all our travels. Not just for kids!
- Small trash can – To keep your car clean, and organized with a small spill-proof car garbage can. Don’t forget the trash bags.
- Plastic bags– No one wants to talk about this, but you need to have extra bags in case anyone gets car sick. We also like to have a designated car garbage bag we empty out every day. That way the mess stays somewhat in check.
- Towels – As a safety precaution, it never hurts to add a few towels to your packing road trip. This can help in various situations of spills, sickness, and comfort.
- Licenses & wallets – Just as a reminder, make sure you have everyone’s licenses, wallets and debit / credit cards before you even walk out your front door.
- Health Care Cards / Medical Insurance Info – Also make sure to have your health care cards or medical insurance info handy.
- Extra food, water & games – In case you get stuck somewhere unexpectedly. Water is also good in case of overheating.
- Family First Aid Kit
Family First Aid Kit Essentials
If you are traveling anywhere, I highly recommend keeping a First Aid Kit in your car, and a smaller one in your backpack if you are off on hikes for the day.
Besides, if your kids are anything like mine, they go through bandaids like they are going outta style.
Here are some items we include in our family first aid kit, in addition to the usual suspects:
- Extra Band aids
- Mole Skin
- Blister Band Aids
- Disinfectant
- Polysporin / Antibiotic cream
- Acetaminophen & Ibuprofen (Kids & Adults)
- Prescription Meds
- Gravol / Motion Sickness meds
- Allergy Meds
- Rehydration Tablets
- Gauze Pads
- Medical Tape
- Mosquito Repellent
- Sunscreen
- After Bite
- Ice Pack
- Hand Warmers
- CPR pocket mask
- Small Flashlight
- Small Pocket Knife
- Hand Sanitizer
- Face Masks
- Plastic Gloves
PRO TIP: Buy a small cloth first aid kit, or toiletries bag and fill or switch out with your preferred Family First Aid Kit items. Keep First Aid Kit and medications handy and within reach.
Family Road Trip Essentials
When packing for your entire family, you may find that you don’t need (or want) as much as others. Or, on the flip side, you may find that you like to bring everything but the kitchen sink, just in case. No judgment here!
Do you have to bring everything we recommend on this list? Absolutely not! Specific items you pack for your family road trip will vary based on preference and destination.
Here are some family road trip essentials that can useful supplies for your next trip:
- America the Beautiful Park Pass – If you are planning on visiting USA National Parks, then a park pass will save you $$.
- Mouthwash – If you plan on bringing snacks, or even stopping to eat, having mouthwash is a must. Between having fresh breath and smelling fresh breath, you don’t want to forget this. Mints or minty gum also does in a pinch.
- Portable Charger / Power Bank – Save yourself trouble with a pre-charged battery pack. If you have teens, a portable power bank is a must for a successful family road trip. Or in our case keeping a device addicted adult happy.
- Car Chargers – Not only should you have a portable power bank, but bringing extra chargers that can be plugged directly into your car are a good idea. Don’t forget your device cables too for when you are in the hotel room. (Kindles, cells, tablets, gaming devices, laptops etc.)
- Camera / Go Pro – While you are out creating memories, be sure to document the fun, silly and sometimes ridiculous and unexpected moments along the way.
- Walkie Talkies – When traveling with friends and family in a convoy, we find walkie talkies are a great way to stay in touch.
Entertainment Essentials
The thought of packing for a road trip with kids can be overwhelming. But, it doesn’t have to be.
Keep in mind that you want to be including items for them to keep your trip stress-free as well. Road trip activities to keep them entertained.
- Tablet – For those moments when you just can’t take hearing another “are we there yet?”
- Headphones -You do not want to hear everything everyone is listening to on your road. A symphonic cacophony is not the most relaxing of sounds. So, save yourself the trouble, and pack headphones for everyone. If you are bringing wireless headphones, make sure to charge them before the trip.
- Books – If no one is prone to getting car sick, pack a few books or a Kindle for your family members to enjoy on your road trip. You can include learning books, entertainment, or even coloring books.
PRO TIPS: Make sure you charge any devices before you leave. Also, you will want to download any games, music, or apps beforehand.
PRO TIP: We’ve found it helpful to make sure each kidlet (and adult) has their own small travel backpack or bag with their own activities, devices, snacks, waterbottle & a change of clothes. Keep it beside them so they can easily reach it.
Kids Road Trip Essentials: Road Trip Activities for Kids
- Road trip games – There are plenty of road trip games or activities that you can include on your next road trip. Keep your trip fun and engaging for the kids! Here are a few of our favourites:
- Paper/ journal – If you have creative kids, I recommend packing some journals, a sketchbook or paper to practice art, writing, and crafting with. Let your kids keep their own memories of their trip, with a kids road trip journal.
- Crayons / Pencil Crayons: Pack a few different crayons / pencil crayons and let them go at it! You can also add markers or pens in your overnight bags, so they can “fill-in” later if you’re worried about felt pen marks in the car.
PRO TIP: We’ve found these twistable pencil crayons are perfect, so you don’t have little bits of shavings all over your car.
- Road Trip Activities – Bring a variety of age appropriate activities. Especially if you are traveling with toddlers & preschoolers.
- Outdoor Games – Bring a few outdoor activities like a frisbee, or bubbles. We’ve found this really helps to get the wiggles out at rest stops and provides entertainment at campsites along the way.
- Road Trip Playlist – While you could just listen to the radio, making and playing a road trip playlist will up your parent cred, and make groovin’ in the car a hit. Don’t forget to embaress your kids by singing at the top of your lungs. We do 😉
- Audio Books or Audible – Perfect for keeping everyone from young kids to the older kids entertained on long trips.
PRO TIP: Use a Back seat organizer that fits over the front seats keeps all the snacks, electronic devices, books, small toys contained and in reach of the kids.
Comfort Items
- Change of clothes – The last thing you want to happen is to have a mess with all of the extra clothes packed deep in your luggage. To alleviate the chance of this happening, pack an extra outfit in one small bag that stays on top of everything else.
- Pillows for Kids – A little comfort during your road trip can make all the difference. You don’t have to pack king size pillows, but letting each child bring a neck pillow (at minimum) is a great start! My daughter loves this bcozzy travel pillow.
- Travel Pillow for the adults – Just like for your children, the passenger also needs to be comfortable. Don’t forget to pack a pillow for you and/or your partner!
- Blankets – Kids love them & you’ll be happy to have them in winter months, or if you are driving overnight.
- Diaper bag – Include an extra in car diaper bag for easy access with young’uns. Fill with extra diapers, wipes, a plastic bag or a resuable wet bag, a couple of changes of clothes that is easy to grab and carry at rest stops.
- Towels – As a safety precaution, it never hurts to add a few towels to your packing road trip. This can help in various situations of spills, sickness, and comfort.
Bring Road Trip Snacks & Meals
Packing road trip snacks and meals will save you time and money while heading to your final destination.
Avoid the nasty gas station food and have healthy travel snacks on the go. Making a family vacation meal plan will make your meals easier.
- Cooler – If you have extra room in your car, or you are trying to save money on food costs, you can’t go wrong with packing a cooler. Just make grocery store stops along the way to pick up supplies.
- Road trip meals: Check out our Easy Road Trip Meal ideas
- Snacks – Healthy snacks are a must. This will save you hangry kid and partner moments and money. The best road trip snacks to pack are things like nuts, granola bars, sandwiches, beef jerky, protein bars, and string cheese. Avoid packing sticky and messy snacks.
- Drinks – Just like snacks, you need to pack some of the drinks your children like. We use resuable water bottles, and refill them as needed.
⭐️ Grab some easy travel snack recipes here for your next trip.
PRO TIP: Freeze a water bottle or two full of water, then you can have cold water as it melts. It can also double as an ice pack in your cooler.
🚙 Check out our delicious road trip snack ideas.
Road Trip Packing List: Clothing
I will highlight a few key pieces of clothing for family road trips.
- Rain jackets – Instead of carrying an umbrella, pack some light rain jackets for everyone. Keep everyone warm & dry. We like this one for kids , this one for men and this one for women.
- Footwear – Bring a few options. Walking / hiking shoes, easy slip on sandals for the car and warm weather, then boots for rainy and winter season. I admit I love my Crocs for road trip travel days. Easy to slip on and of and comfortable for walking around all day if needed.
- Sunglasses – Sunglasses will cut the glare, protect your eyes, and keep you in the height of fashion.
- Hats – Sunhats, ball caps, garden straw hats, water hats. The possibilities are endless to keep the sun off your face.
- Seasonal Gear – Depending on the time of year you road trip, you may want to bring ski equipment, bikes, boogie boards, kayaks etc. What you bring will depend a lot on the size and type of vehicle you are traveling in.
- Packing Cubes – For keeping your clothes organized
- Swimwear, suits, coverups – Check out our full Beach Vacation Packing list here
PRO TIP: If you are moving around a lot on your road trip, pack each days clothes into a ziploc bag or in a packing cube. Then you can just bring into the hotel with you, rather than bringing all the bags in and out each time.
What NOT To Pack for A Family Road Trip
Now that we have our road trip essentials list, let’s get into some things we think you don’t need to pack on a family road trip
- Everything but the kitchen sink – Once you pack in the kids, cooler, dog, clothes, road trip activities you may not have as much room as you think. Consider if you can rent gear, & what’s absolutely necessary for your families enjoyment, comfort, and safety.
- Lots of toys – Inevitably with too many toys, pieces get lost, favourite toys get left behind, or there are fights amongst siblings. Pack a few car games, and maybe one small toy, but leaving most of them home.
- Too many sweets – While it is fun to have some treats, too many sweets can bring everyone’s mood high and then low. A bad combo in a confined space! Balance it out with combo of whole fruit, and protein (nuts, jerky, trail mix).
- Avoid large & hard shell suitcases – Because they’re space hogs. We much prefer small duffels, or backpacks. I have even been known to just bring my clothes in a reusable shopping bag. You can pack them in tight around stuff.
- Messy car snacks – need I say more?
Road Trip Destinations:
✅ Kids travel backpacks are perfect for holding their road trip activities, snacks & water
Free Road Trip Checklists for Families
FINAL THOUGHTS: What to Pack for A Family Road Trip
There you have our list of what to bring on a road trip. Although you may need to be a bit more mindful when packing for a road trip with your family, it doesn’t have to be too complicated.
When making your packing list, ask yourself:
- How long will we be in the car?
- What necessities can my children not live without during this time?
- What will provide the most comfort for my family on this road trip?
Once you answer those questions, you will have a solid road trip packing list for your family.
