road trip tips - Pitstops for Kids

How to get kids to sleep while traveling (no matter what age)

August 25, 2017 By Amy Hagstrom

I’ll be honest: we’ve had some insanely sleep deprived family vacations. We followed every parenting book in the…well, book, but when our kids were babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, they struggled to sleep anywhere, no matter what we did. This torture, of course, followed us on any trip we took. Now that our kids are older, we all sleep better, but there are still nights on the road when we need some extra help getting everyone enough rest.

If you, too, struggle knowing how to get kids to sleep while traveling, this post is for you. I polled family travel experts across the globe, soliciting sleep ideas from everyone with babies to teens. Not every idea will work for every family, but hopefully at least a few of these tips will resonate with you and your crew. Our own Pit Stops for Kids tips are listed first in each category, with tips from other experts below, marked by author and a handy link to each external site.

For parents with babies, toddlers and preschoolers:

Try to keep your child’s nap and bedtime schedule as close to normal as possible. This may mean skipping an afternoon activity or returning early from a tour to respect nap time, or settling kids in bed earlier than you’d like at night. Of course, short trips can survive a less rigid sleep schedule, while longer trips require more planning. Check out this nap guide from Nicole Wiltrout of Arrows Sent Forth. As an alternative viewpoint (parents have many styles!), try Jessica Bowers of Suitcases and Sippycups idea of doing whatever it takes to get kids to sleep, even if it means changing the rules.

Get a suite whenever possible! The good news: more and more hotels offer suites or ‘family’ room configurations than ever before. Having two separate spaces, even if it’s a bedroom and a living area, is immensely helpful when family members have different bedtimes. We often put the kids in the master bedroom and slept on the pull-out couch in the living space, just to ensure four walls and a door around our sleeping kids. Nicole Wears of Traveling Canucks echoes this tip!

Turn off air-conditioners and heating units. In mild seasons, turn off those noisy air conditioner and heater units that kick on and off all night long, waking everyone up. I’m embarrassed to say how long it took me to realize I could pull the plug on these and sleep better though the night.

Use a white noise machine. Cue up white noise on your phone (there are many apps for that), or bring along a travel-sized white noise machine. I know for a fact that my love of white noise machines is shared by Li Ling Pang of Trekaroo and Keryn Means of Walking On Travels!

Black out windows. The darker the room, the more likely it is you will all get more sleep. Robin Hutson of Luxe Recess says, “You can still make the room nice and dark by packing six dark black garbage bags and painters’ tape. Yes, garbage bags! If you tape the garbage bags up to the windows, it will create a serene sleep environment for you and your family. If you forget your garbage bags and tape, you can clip together curtains that won’t shut using the skirt hanger clips from the closet.” See more tips from Luxe Recess.

Break up the day. Marisa Langford of Trekaroo says, “Having four kids spanning from 2-10, we have 2 “fun shifts” on vacation, early and later. We are up early playing pool side or out and about in the new city, but them it’s back to the hotel to nap….and typically everyone naps, including my 10-year-old. We get up and we are back at it. This prevents melt downs from the baby and doesn’t push everyone to the brink of exhaustion.

Bring comforts of home. Hilarye Fuller of Dotting the Map says, “It really helps my little ones sleep in a new place that is unfamiliar with them if they bring a few comfort items with them that remind them of home such as a blanket, baby doll or stuffed animal.” Corinne McDermott of Have Baby Will Travel takes this idea a step further, and always brings baby’s own sheets from home to acclimate him or her to a new crib.

For parents with school-aged kids:

Consider meditation. Sounds too far out there? I get it. But for our kids, it has worked. Especially if kids listen to meditation CDs or audio at home, they will find the familiar routine soothing. We have recently been introduced to the kid-specific meditations at JoyOhBoy.

Only loosen bedtime rules if kids have time to sleep in. The way we travel, we’re busy during the day, and often getting up at the same time we do for school in our daily life, to meet guides, take tours, or explore. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense to extend bedtime for ‘vacation mode’.

Read together before bedtime: I know, that hotel TV has a zillion channels, and the kids haven’t gotten their Nick fix in a long time. But studies have proven that reading before bed instead of watching a screen helps kids relax. Get that required reading for school out of the way and allow the kids to doze off with books in bed. Better yet, read aloud to kids nightly as a family activity.

For parents with teens:

Adjust travel itineraries to allow for sleep-in days. This has been a lesson I’ve learned in the past few years. I’ve adjusted our go-go-go schedule slightly, to allow the kids to sleep in (even just until 8 am) a few mornings. This way, they can take up later at night to enjoy the destination or resort.

Eat healthy. When kids travel, they often eat differently while rules go out the window. Extra sugar, processed foods, and caffeine can affect sleep, as we all know. Stick to your usual diet, or at very least, limit sugar and soda after dinner.

Allow teens some ‘downtime’ with TV. Everyone, including teens, should read right before lights out, instead of looking at a screen, but first, some TV time can ease teens into a less-than-desireable bedtime. Note: if you watch programs via Netflix and you’re traveling outside the U.S., you may need to ‘unlock’ first with a vpn that works with Netflix, so you’re not blocked from viewing internationally.

On jet lag and time zones:

Don’t try to adjust to slight time zone changes. Leslie Harvey of Trips with Tykes says, “On short trips (2-3 days) where you are only changing a few time zones, don’t try to adjust your child to the new time zone. Stay on the time back home to avoid too many changes in such a short period of time. This method works especially well for West Coasters heading East, as you can keep your children up until 9 or 10 pm Eastern time with no problems. Just make sure your hotel has good blackout shades to prevent any early wakeups with the sunrise.

Embrace jet lag when it can’t be helped. Keryn Means of Walking On Travels says, “Embrace the 2 am or 4 am wake ups that come with jet lag, especially when traveling outside of the U.S. Have snacks or breakfast ready at those times so you can get up, have a little breakfast, watch a TV show or play for a little bit. After an hour or so go through your bed time routine again and hope the kids will go back to sleep.

Get sunlight. Becky Morales of Kid World Citizen says, “I really believe in getting outside in the sunlight to reset our natural, circadian rhythms. When it’s not the time zone change, but just the long days of traveling that’s causing stress, I like to get an early-ish start on the day, but then come back to the hotel for a siesta in mid-afternoon. Everyone can rest/read/sleep and then head back out for more sight-seeing and dinners outside enjoying the evenings.

Photo credit: Flickr/Ryan Dickey

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Renting an RV: Tips for RV summer travel

July 5, 2017 By Amy Hagstrom

As a parent, I understand it can be appealing to rent an RV for a family road trip. Your schedule is your own (and so is your bathroom!), and you’re not confined to airports, flight delays, or even hotel reservations. On a whim, you can detour to visit something new, or delay a day to remain somewhere special. Before you take the plunge and rent an RV for a family road trip, however, read the following tips gleaned from hard-earned experience.

Weigh the costs to have an affordable RV experience:

Consider what is typical for you while on vacation: do you seek a relaxed experience? Are you content exploring a single destination for longer stretches of time, and do you want the flexibility of making your own meals? Would you rather have your own space (which is mobile!) than nightly hotel rooms that are less flexible? The amount of vacation money you’ll save by renting an RV depends on your road trip style.

Ways to save money with an RV:

Stay in one place longer to save on fuel.
Plan to cook in your RV or over a campfire.
RV reasonably close to home.
Skip hotel rooms (more on this below).

If, for example, you normally spend a decent chunk of your vacation budget on hotel rooms, the $30-$45 per night on an RV camping space will be a deal. Of course, if you’re accustomed to renting tent sites, you’ll need to budget for the upgrade necessary for an RV space. As a beginning guide, use this Vacation Value Generator from Go RVing to directly compare vacation prices.

Embrace the RV vacation lifestyle during your road trip:

Repeat after me: you’re not in a hurry. You’re not in a hurry. You’re not in a hurry… The beauty of RV vacations is the slower pace. Plan a route that takes you along scenic byways and off the interstate. Create an itinerary that ensures less mileage and more pit stops. In most cases, it’s more affordable to rent and return your RV at the same city. In other words, travel in a loop instead of in Point A to Point B style.

Consider driving or flying to your destination, then renting an RV:

This combination seemed perfect for us. We knew we wanted to fly from our hometown to our primary destination (in this case, Chicago). From there, we wanted to take it slow, so we planned an RV road trip around the Great Lakes. We didn’t need to rent a car, and skipped all hotel and dining costs while in the region. After our Great Lakes tour, it made since for us to fly to our next destination. The moral of the story? Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and create the transportation combination that works for your family.

Eat on the road so you don’t feel deprived of restaurant dining:

If the thought of preparing all meals while RVing doesn’t appeal, try these ‘tricks’ to feel less deprived of restaurant food:

stop at farmer’s markets and roadside stands en route
eat a big breakfast out (the cheapest meal of the day) and skip lunch entirely
let the kids cook: in an RV, it’s somehow fun to plan and create meals
cook over a campfire (we love this Guide to Campfire Cooking)

Get more tips on RV rental affordability at GoRVing.com. As I disclose whenever applicable, this post was written in partnership with Go RVing. I found the information on GoRVing.com to be useful for planning an RV trip, and hope you will, too.

Photo credit: Trekaroo/mcfam

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Road trips with teens

March 28, 2017 By Amy Hagstrom

Anytime you travel with kids, you can expect a bit of work. Things that worked on your last trip might not work on your next one, especially if you will be traveling with a teen. This is also especially true if your travel includes hours upon hours of being in the car. Fine tuning travel with teens can be something that is tricky but especially when that travel will be in the car. A little bit of preparation can go a long way.

Driving

Depending on how old your teen is, learning to drive, or driving might be a segment of your itinerary. Don’t forget about that. Learning the ins and outs of driving can go a long way toward making sure that your teen is engaged while you are going down the road. If your teen has their learner’s permit or their license, make sure that you let them get behind the wheel… at least for a little while. Before you do that, though, make sure that they are listed on your auto insurance policy.

Involve Them

We all know that the best vacations are the ones that have something for everyone. Before you plan the itinerary for your trip, talk to your teen and find out what they would like to do. Traveling across the USA with kids can be more fun for them if they are involved. That doesn’t mean that you need to let them have complete control over the planning of the trip, though. Maybe they can help with narrowing down some of the possible activities or tours, choose a hotel, or even choose what roadside attractions you might stop to see. Giving them a say in the planning of the trip means that it will be more difficult for them to complain while you are on the trip.

Food

When you are traveling with teens on a road trip, you can really rack up the costs when it comes to eating. Kids can be picky, and finding a place to eat that you can all agree on can be a trial, too. However, if you have room in your vehicle for a cooler, you can alleviate this issue. Pack a cooler with somewhat healthy food that you guys can make meals out of or healthy snacks. Then, when you stop, it can be to see the sights as opposed to having to stop just to eat. This can save you money while also saving you time on the road.

Keep Them Charged

You can find internet access even when you are in remote locations nowadays. It might make sense to request that your teens take a breather from their iPods, phones, and other electronic devices, but taking those things completely away can mean wreaking havoc on your peace.

Keep Them Connected

Going a bit further with keeping them charged… Most teens are constantly messaging people or on social media sites such as Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. If they do this at home, it wouldn’t be right to all of a sudden change the rules while you are driving down the road. Allow them to communicate with their friends. If you made sure to do your homework before your trip, the chances will be good that they will be bragging about their trip or sharing photos from the trip.

Space to Pace

When you spend an entire day in the car, you will need to have a bit of time to stretch your legs. This is something that applies to all members of the family, not just the parents. Try to choose resorts or hotels where there will be space to pace after you guys have spent a grueling day on the road. Learning about the grounds of the property before you get there will let you know how much freedom you can give your teen while you are there. There are even some locations where the staff will get to know your child by sight and name, and this can give them even more freedom because they will all be watching out for them wherever they might wander off to.

How to prepare meals in a camper van

January 31, 2017 By Amy Hagstrom

When your family hits the road in a camper van, you want your kids to be well nourished throughout your journey. After all, well-fed kids are generally happy kids, which can make your road trip more enjoyable. However, a small campervan kitchen might pose a challenge and leave you scrambling for diverse and delicious meal options that your youngsters can enjoy. Once you’ve devised your road trip and secured your camper van rental, take time to meal plan before you hit the open road.

Know What You’re Working With

Before your trip, familiarize yourself with the campervan kitchen. Typically, you’ll have a refrigerator, a couple of burners, and a small grill. So, while real estate might be small, you’ll have enough basic tools to throw together a variety of meals for your hungry family.

Focus on One-Pot Meals

You don’t have to rely on hot dogs every night—even if your kids might love that—when you’re road tripping in a campervan. However, you do need to get creative to provide a well-rounded meal that doesn’t require too many pots and pans. One-skillet meals are a smart solution when you’re cooking in a campervan. For breakfast, brown sausage in a skillet, pour eggs over the cooked sausage, and top with cheese. You’ll have a hearty breakfast skillet, which you can serve on its own or wrap in a tortilla to make breakfast burritos. Diced potatoes, veggies, and kielbasa or turkey sausage is another mouthwatering meal that requires just one skillet.

Get Grilling

If your campervan includes a small grill, take advantage of this versatile appliance. Hot dogs and hamburgers are, of course, a simple and kid-friendly option when you’re exploring the open road, but don’t limit yourself to these classics. Tortillas can double as pizza crust—just top them with sauce and your kids’ favorite toppings for a simple and crowd-pleasing dish. Enjoy a Mexican-inspired night with bean and cheese quesadillas cooked on the grill. Grill packets are also convenient when you’re on the road, and they minimize messes. Chopped veggies and potatoes, along with an easy-to-grill meat, wrapped in aluminum foil requires little effort and delivers a hearty meal every time.

Minimize Cooking But Maximize Meals

Don’t spend too much time on your journey in the campervan kitchen. Instead, focus on ways to cook in bulk for your family and use up every last ingredient to create a diverse menu that pleases both kids and adults. For example, chicken breasts have a variety of uses, so cook several pounds of breasts at once. You can boil the chicken and shred it or fire up the campervan grill. Make chicken salad for sandwiches, add shredded chicken to tortillas for tacos or quesadillas, or toss some barbecue sauce on it and add it to a bun. This way, you’ll devise several convenient meals in one cooking session, which leaves you more time to enjoy your adventure.

Tip: Looking to have a camper van adventure outside of the states? Check out RV hire Australia for great options.

Even though the quarters are tight and the resources limited, cooking in a campervan doesn’t have to be frustrating. You can keep your family well fed during your getaway with thoughtful meal planning, simple recipes, and versatile ingredients.

Image BY studio tdes via flickr.com under a Creative Commons License CC BY 2.0

Top 5 Tips to Prevent Motion Sickness in Children When Traveling

October 16, 2015 By Sharlene Earnshaw

You’ve just booked the perfect trip. You and your family are about to experience the adventure of a lifetime. But if you have small children, motion sickness might put the breaks on your travels. Whether you’re traveling by boat, car, plane or train, small children are prone to nausea, light-headedness, and fatigue while traveling.

Motion sickness is usually brought on by mixed signals in the brain, usually when our eyes experience something different from our bodies. If a young child is traveling at high speeds for the first time and they’re situated in the back seat of a car or the passenger cabin or a plane where they can’t see where the vehicle is headed, their bodies might have trouble adjusting. Motion sickness is usually more common in children under the age of 10. Follow our tips to prevent motion sickness in kids and don’t let nausea and upset tummies interrupt your family’s vacation.

Provide a Distraction

A fun distraction is one of the best ways to prevent motion sickness is kids. You can focus their minds on other things by reading them a story, playing their favorite song, or engaging them with a fun game. You can also talk to them about the trip and explain the ins and outs of traveling. Encourage them to look out the window to help them understand how and why they’re moving.

Let Them Breathe

If you feel a bout of motion sickness coming on in your child, give them more room to breathe. Roll down the window in the car, open any vents nearby while turning up the cool air, or step outside when possible. Fresh air and an increase in oxygen will help settle your kids’ aggravated stomachs. Also get rid of any strong smelling foods, scents or odors that might make motion sickness worse.

Naptime

Use naptime to decrease your child’s sensory input. Fast-moving video games and movies can make things worse. Instead, give them room to rest their head and help them drift to sleep to lessen the effects of traveling. Some well-deserved peace and quiet can also help move things along.

Choose Pre-Trip Meals Carefully

Make things easier for yourself as a parent by feeding your children bland, easy-to-digest foods. Vomiting and upset stomach are much easier to avoid if your kids have had a mild meal before traveling. A peanut butter and jelly, crackers, or a grilled cheese can make for an excellent pre-trip meal.

Cool Them Off

If your child starts to feel sick while traveling, try combating the effects of motion sickness by cooling them down. A cold wet towel on the forehead can help with sweating and fatigue. Cold water can help reduce nausea and upset stomach.

When trying to prevent motion sickness in kids, a gentle touch is usually the most effective. Your child will slowly learn to adapt to the side effects of traveling with age. You can also talk to your doctor about certain medications used to relieve the effects of motion sickness. If you’d prefer more natural options rather than synthetic medications, you can try ginger pills before you travel or many stores carry topically applied essential oils that are applied behind the ears and help calm the nerves in the ear that cause motion sickness.

When in doubt, help you child relax and give them a chance to catch their breath. Now you can play some travel games in the car! Happy travels!

About the Author: Megan Gallagher works with Motioneaze, an all-natural, over-the-counter remedy for motion sickness symptoms.

Exploring Holland Michigan with kids

August 10, 2015 By Amy Hagstrom

The following post is written by Pit Stops for Kids’ Midwest contributor, Kate Basi.

The town of Holland, Michigan was settled by Dutch immigrants in the mid-19th century, and has made a name for itself as a go-to destination for experiencing Dutch culture. Situated near Lake Michigan, three hours from both Chicago and Detroit and 35 minutes from Grand Rapids, Holland boasts two stand-out attractions for families.

Nelis’ Dutch Village

One part amusement park, one part living history, and one part quaint shopping district, the Dutch Village is a compact, charming replica of 19th-century Dutch culture.

Originally opened as a retail shop for the Nelis family’s tulip growing operation, the village now boasts a carillon, cafe, pub, extensive gift shop, and attractions for kids and adults alike.

Start your day by saying hello to the families of ducks paddling in the Village’s decorative canals. Then listen to a performance of the “Gouden Engel” (golden angel), a 1920s street organ. This wooden-piped, ornately carved and painted work of art includes drums and mechanical figures. Periodically through the day, costumed employees converge on the square in front of the organ to demonstrate klompen dancing. Afterward, the crowd is invited down to learn a basic dance.

All-you-can-ride carnival-style swings, windmill-themed Ferris Wheel, small zip line and carousel are included in the admission price. For the little ones, there are also “petal pusher cars,” which run on railroad tracks and are powered by the children themselves.

It’s not all carnival rides, though. The Nelis family has set up a mock Dutch village where visitors can see short (5 minutes or less—perfect for little ones) demonstrations from cheese making to wooden clog making. You can even be weight on a scale to prove you’re not a witch. There’s also a petting zoo (hand sanitizer provided!).

Keep your eyes open for gems not included on the map. Behind the zip line stands a trio of old-fashioned water pumps attached to gutters for racing rubber duckies. Beside the school house you’ll find not only a bean bag toss, but a contraption that I can only call a “tandem” snow board.

Nelis’ Dutch Village is ideal for kids in the 3-10 age range. Plan at least four hours for your visit, and don’t be surprised if the kids clamor to stay until closing time.

Whether or not you have time to spend in the park, take time to visit the cafe and souvenir shops, which are accessible from outside the park. The cafe serves kid-friendly fare and Dutch specialties like Kroketten, a fried meat pastry, and Saucijzebroodjes, a sausage pig’n’bun. Kids can also make a “stroopwafel,” a thin waffle cookie spread with a cinnamon-sugar concoction.

The cafe offers the usual souvenir fare–t shirts, shot glasses and the like–but the real gems are found in the collection of Dutch gifts—blue china, cuckoo clocks, and other beautiful artwork.

Nelis’ Dutch Village is located at the corner of US Highway 30 and James Street. Hours vary by season and are posted on the website. (link: http://www.dutchvillage.com/park/hours.html.) Admission is $11 for adults and $9 for children 3-15.

Windmill Island Gardens

Windmill Island Gardens, operated by the city of Holland, Mich., is a beautiful preserve and botanical garden at the edge of the downtown area.

Entering Windmill Island, you will drive through a marshland grown up in cattails. The scent of flowers greets you upon getting out of the car. A street organ sits at the head of a breathtaking flower garden and lawn, where the mysterious snow-board contraption makes another appearance, along with hoops and sticks. Both of these are unique play opportunities for kids to enjoy while parents listen to frequent organ concerts.

The highlight of the grounds is, of course, the picturesque De Zwaan (the swan) windmill. This 250-year-old structure was relocated from the Netherlands, still in working order, and actually grinds grain that can be purchased on site. Costumed guides give klompen dancing demonstrations and offer tours of the first five levels of De Zwaan. Kids can turn a miniature millstone, and you can see World War II bullet holes in some artifacts on display. Although the inner workings of the windmill are fascinating to adults, the highlight for kids is going out on the “gallery,” where you can touch the windmill blades when the windmill is not in operation.

Note: although the rest of the grounds are accessible, the upper floors of the windmill are reached via stairs; strollers will have to be left at ground level.

There are picnic tables, and visitors are encouraged to bring food. The carousel here is smaller than most, so it’s particularly good for little ones. Behind the carousel you’ll find a playground and a small courtyard where children are encouraged to water from a rain barrel and get up close and personal with herbs and edibles.

If you want to get out of the sun, a building adjacent to the gift shop houses a 1930s-era model town (think model railroad, but with boats instead of trains). The gift shop offers snacks and Dutch souvenirs as well as bags of De Zwaan bran, corn meal, wheat flour, and so on.

While you’re on the grounds, you might well see people kayaking in the canal that flows through the property. Kayaks are not rented on site, but can be rented in town.

Windmill Island, located at 1 Lincoln Ave., is open 9:30a.m. to 6p.m. daily from mid-April to the beginning of October. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children 5-15, but residents of Holland are admitted free with proof of residency.

As we disclose whenever applicable, Kate and her family experienced Holland Michigan with compensated attraction tickets, for the purpose of review.

Five budget travel hacks you thought you’d outgrown

March 20, 2015 By Amy Hagstrom

You traveled extensively as a young adult, but now you’ve settled down with a job and kids. Think your budget travel days are behind you? Think again! The following budget travel hacks can still be implemented with kids in tow. All that’s needed is a little flexibility, nostalgia, and sense of adventure!

1. Take the bus or train:

Train travel is admittedly less convenient in the US than many points abroad, but great deals and experiences can still be had. Get out of the ‘road trip by car’ mindset and save on gas money on your next trip by booking Amtrak or VIA Rail (in Canada). Reserving sleeper compartments is a blast, but often more expensive than flying to your destination. Instead, use the Amtrak Fare Finder to locate Saver and Value coach seat fares for day time rail journeys. Stay the night in cities in-between for a road trip on rails. On VIA Rail, rail passes can be bought for youth, perfect for regular routes (such as to Grandma’s house). Plus, the scenery on VIA Rail cannot be beat. Grab a seat in an observation car and soak in the views for a fraction of the price of airfare. Read an entire post on affordable rail travel.

2. Stay in a KOA:

Have you visited a KOA Campground recently? They’re no longer you mom’s budget campground. KOAs are designated as Journey, Resort, or Holiday campgrounds now, making it easier to discern before booking what might be in store. What’s a Journey campground? It’s a pit stop…a place to stay near major roads and interstates while you’re traveling. Given the choice between a basic roadside motel room or a campground with a cabin and plenty of outdoor space, we choose the latter every time. Want to ‘glamp’ instead of camp? Try a KOA Destination or Holiday property. They’ll be located near major attractions and have plenty of on-site activities. We think there’s a time and place for both types of KOA resorts, and you’ll save money every time.

3. Eat at farmer’s markets:

Remember your bohemian days, when you ate and drank your way around new cities, soaking up the culture and learning about its people and history through tactile experiences and carefree exploration? You can still do this with kids…er, sort of. While the ‘carefree’ aspect of your trip may be lost to nap time schedules and early bedtimes, families can still find the heart of any city’s personality in farmer’s markets and street fairs. Instead of stopping at a fast food restaurant en route, seek out the area’s farm-to-fork offerings. On weekends in cities and agricultural areas, this will likely be in the form of a farmer’s market. On weekdays, look for food trucks or natural grocery stores. Buy the makings of a picnic, and eat at a public park, historical site, or designated nature area. The food is likely to be fresher, healthier, and cheaper, and everyone will burn off energy.

4. Stay cheap on a farm or ranch:

Farm stays are the very definition of family travel chic…they’re adventurous, ultra-local, and an absolute blast for kids. The nightly rate at most farm stays may not be cheaper than your standard B&B or hotel, but all those extras you usually have to buy when traveling with kids will disappear, like entertainment and food. Kids are content to roam the farm, help with chores, and play in a hayloft instead of requiring expensive admission tickets to museums and attractions. Farms and ranches offering stays range considerably, so do your research before pulling in. While some farms offer complete cabins or condos for families, others provide single guest rooms. The best will cater to families with included interaction with any animals on premises.

5. Backpack:

Have you been reminiscing about that summer you backpacked around Europe? Kids can certainly accompany you, though in some cases, hostels that charge a price per ‘head’ won’t be as economical as they were when you were single. Instead, look for European campgrounds located just outside major cities (some of the best we’ve seen are located in Croatia and Slovenia). If you’re craving a wilderness adventure, don’t shy away from backpacking in national parks or national forest service land with kids. Families who are prepared for a backpacking trip, and remain flexible en route, can have a very rewarding and low cost adventure the kids will remember for years. Learn how to plan a multi-day backpacking trip.

What are your best budget travel hacks? What ways does your family save money while traveling?

Winter driving tips for holiday road trips

December 3, 2014 By Amy Hagstrom

It can happen in an instant, and last February, it did: one moment, we were making the turn from an icy highway onto a ski resort access road, and the next, we were sliding into a snowbank, nose first. Luckily, everyone was ok, but our car suffered upon its impact with the wall of snow. After rolling into the parking lot, we spent valuable ski time accessing the damage and making sure our car would be able to deliver us back home safely. Our brush with the snowbank turned out to be only a minor inconvenience (and the cost of our deductible), but it served as a good reminder to always be prepared.

Read on for winter driving tips for holiday road trips

Keep snow chains in your car at all times:

I’m embarrassed to say we had our chains with us the day we got up close and personal with the snowbank, but hadn’t taken the time to put them on. If you’re not familiar with their installation, practice at home (this can be a good activity to do with school-aged kids and teens). If you really don’t want to hassle with it, consider winter snow tires.

Travel with extra supplies:

In winter, we have two extra blankets, a few flashlights (with batteries), and a jug of drinking water in the back of the car at all times. You never know when you’ll be caught on a pass that closes or stuck roadside. If you’re not already packing these items, also pack:

a pair of winter boots
gloves
a small shovel

You’ll be very glad to have them if you need to get out to install chains or dig yourself out of snow.

Know your comfort level:

In our winter driving experiences, we’ve seen it many times: a driver slows past the point of caution and to the point of danger to others. When climbing a steep, icy hill or navigating a windy winter road, slowing too much can cause traffic behind you to lose momentum…and then traction. To avoid causing a mess behind you, only drive a road you feel comfortable navigating at a steady, safe speed, in a vehicle that’s up for the challenge. Of course, this is easier said than done. If you do feel overwhelmed in a white-out or ice situation, wait until you reach level ground, and pull over when safe. Better yet, consider paying for a shuttle from your resort to your ski area or even from the airport. The price may be worth the peace of mind.

Check tire pressure and windshield wiper fluid levels before leaving home:

We learned this tip the hard way, when forced to search everywhere for an open garage on a holiday weekend in December, while road tripping to Canada. Tip: ask for recommendations at local gas stations. Attendants there can often point you in the direction of shops that remain open. It’s far easier to deal with mundane maintenance issues while you’re still at home. Using precious vacation time to inflate tires gets old very fast. Also make certain you replace older tires and have the proper tires for your car, in all seasons. Tyre-Shopper is a good place to start for UK readers.

Have roadside assistance at the ready:

Whether you opt for a pay-as-you-need-it service like Allstate’s Roadside Assistance, which you can learn more about in this post on road trip tips, or subscribe to AAA, have a plan in place for roadside emergencies.

Top travel apps for winter road tripping:

You’ll need plenty of pit stops during your winter road trip! In addition to utilizing the hundreds of reviews on Pit Stops for Kids (did you know your smart phone will automatically load our mobile app?), check out the following for indoor play spaces and museums, low cost gasoline, and road side help.

Trekaroo app: Leave your own reviews of the restaurants, hotels, and attractions you visit on the road and help out other parents. The Trekaroo mobile app works much like TripAdvisor, allowing you to help out others (and read real parent reviews while on the go).

Pillows and Pitstops (UK): For my UK readers, Pillows and Pitstops is like the Pit Stops for Kids of Britain! I love that parents can plug in their beginning and ending locations, and get ideas for their route.

Fuelcaster: Gas prices tend to go up during peak car travel periods, such as winter holidays. With Fuelcaster, we can check on fuel prices as we go, predicting what we’ll pay. This way, we can know whether it’s best to ‘top off’ or wait. Just don’t run out of gas trying to find the best deal!

Department of Transportation: There are plenty of traffic apps out there, but dot.gov should be your starting point for road conditions in every state. We like to check the desktop site before we leave, then have the mobile site loaded on at least one phone during any winter trip.

Do you need more winter driving tips? We have our best all-season road trip advice at the ready!

Photo by: Flickr/miguelb

One Tank Wonders: where to travel after school starts

September 12, 2011 By Amy Hagstrom

Our family vacations extensively during the summer months, but by autumn, school and sport schedules once again reign. Do we stop traveling? Never! But our adventures do take place closer to home. In fact, some of our favorite trips have taken place less than one tank of gas away from our hometown. Shorter trips are less stressful, usually less expensive, and easier to plan. You can be in the car by breakfast and home by nightfall if needed, or you can opt to pack for only an overnight.

Here in Oregon, the following are some of our favorite one tank wonders. If you live here too, I hope you’ll check them out!

Crater Lake National Park: Crater Lake is not just one of the true wonders of the world; it’s also full of kid-friendly activities in (almost) all seasons. Roads can close in the middle of winter, but spring and late fall afford snowshoeing, while summer and early fall offer perfectly clear days and miles of hiking trails. We always stop by Union Creek on Highway 62 on the way, where Beckie’s features the best milkshakes and burgers money can buy, and Natural Bridge campground gives kids a glimpse of the icy river rushing through lava tubes.

Bend: This Central Oregon high desert town offers whitewater rafting, biking, hiking, and more volcanic activity at Lavalands Recreational Area. Families will also love the High Desert Museum and in the winter, the skiing at nearby Mt. Bachelor. Stay in Sunriver, or to splurge, Camp Pronghorn.

Oregon Dunes Recreational Area: This past summer, we discovered the fun of camping on the Oregon dunes. Spread out by the Pacific near Reedsport, this section of land is protected from recreational vehicles, and is ideal for hiking and playing on. Families can camp directly adjacent to the dunes, and spend the day on the coastline, or driving to the nearby Sea Lion Caves.

Oregon Caves and Out and About Treesort: Cave Junction, Oregon is less than one hour from our home, and offers the fun of sleeping in your own treehouse! While at the resort, horseback ride or zip line, and be sure to bring food to cook in the communal kitchen or over the bonfire. A short drive up a scenic highway away is Oregon Caves, where kids can spelunk during 90 minute guided tours through the caverns.

I’d love to hear about your one tank wonders! This week, I’m discussing the topic over at the Around the Campfire online community. Come share your own one tank wonder!

Road-trip troubleshooting: when things go wrong on the road

July 25, 2011 By Amy Hagstrom

I’ll admit it: I’ve run out of gas on the road during a family vacation. (I’ve also had a U-Haul trailer break down on me in the middle of the night in the middle of Washington State, but that’s another story.) It wasn’t much fun, and I’ll tell you what I wish I’d had at the time (both times): Allstate’s Good Hands Roadside Assistance.

Now I do (which as the laws of the universe dictate, means I’ll probably never be stranded again, right?). But the best part is, this Murphy’s Law guarantee of stress-free travel comes completely free: you don’t pay a dime for signing up for Allstate’s Roadside Assistance, and you never pay unless you use it. Regular readers of Pit Stops for Kids know that when we find a product that we find beneficial (and use ourselves) for traveling families, we promote it. Traveling with kids can be challenging enough at times, and we’re all about making it easier, more fun, and hassle-free, which is why you can sign up right here in this post. It takes about two minutes, and doesn’t require digging into your wallet or looking up any complicated personal information, I promise.

Of course, even once you have roadside assistance, it’s good to take practical measures to be prepared while on the road with kids. To that end, we always toss a few blankets and a small case of water bottles in the back of our vehicle (they come in handy during picnics and roadside stops), carry a spare tire and jump kit at all times, and bring car chargers for our cell phones. And ever since that day we ran out of gas, we take signs like this one (near California’s Death Valley) seriously:

Enjoy your summer, and safe travels! See you on the road!