From Syracuse to Florida with love.

How to take insanely long car trips and (kind of) enjoy it.

By Taylor Arras

My Best Tips for Summer Road Travel

When I tell people that my family drives to Florida once or twice a year, I am often met with a look of shock. Occasionally someone will say, “That’s awesome!” but most just ask if I love being miserable.

With expensive flights and the torture of submitting yourself and your family to the whims of an airline, I think driving is the least painful mode of transportation. Plus, now that I have more than eight road trips to Florida under my belt, I’ve discovered all the secrets to long-distance road travel. Since we’re in peak car trip season, I’m sharing my best tips for families who are hitting the road this summer.

1. Stop Worrying About Screens

As parents, we give an insane amount of brain space to worrying about screen time. I am here to say, let yourself off the hook on long drives. My brother and I spent hours watching VHS tapes on the small TV my dad would bungee cord to the center console in the car when we drove to Florida every year, and no one thought anything of it. Screen time in the car has been happening forever; the only difference now is that kids have iPads and Nintendo Switches.

Our character-building hack is having shared screen time along with individual screen time. On our last trip to Florida, my kids had a Madagascar movie marathon and had the time of their lives. It’s good for them to collaborate, take turns, and problem-solve. You just have to do some deep breathing while they negotiate (argue) in the backseat.

2. Listen to Audiobooks and Podcasts

We love listening to audiobooks and podcasts as a family, and we’ve found ways to keep everyone engaged, from the youngest to the oldest. I’ll admit, this gets trickier if you have a wide range of ages, but we’ve found The Boxcar Children books to be a good middle ground for everyone. We’ve also listened to books from other popular series like Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, Ralph S. Mouse, and Percy Jackson. Many of these titles are available on apps like Hoopla or Libby through the library for free. For podcasts, Story Pirates is a personal favorite. It’s a fun shared family experience, gives us things to talk about as we drive, and has led to good inside jokes.

3. Lots of Fidgets

Fidgets save me and my kids when we drive. They keep me off my phone and engaged with what’s happening in the car. I love Speks (small magnetic beads that are easy to manipulate), but we’ve also used Pop Its and the big ice cubes that are filled with magic gel that gives a lot of resistance. My kids have even invented games using different fidgets as we rotate through them on the drive, including 20 questions to figure out which fidget they were hiding in their hands.

4. Have a Trivia Session

This can be as simple as Googling random trivia questions and riddles, or you can grab the cards from Trivial Pursuit or other trivia games and bring them in the car with you. You can use them without competition, but my kids are happiest when I keep score and have prizes for winning different rounds. I keep it simple by stocking up on candy or dollar store goodies before the trip.

5. Keep Rest Stops Stress-Free

If someone has to use the bathroom, we stop. If someone needs to stretch their legs, we stop. We try to make the trip as stress-free as possible, and if you are making your kid wait to go to the bathroom because you’ve decided it’s not time to stop, everyone is unhappy. We have made multiple stops in a small span of time, including once when my son decided he needed the bathroom when we had only made it two exits along the highway since the last break. It’s not great, but it’s better than someone being uncomfortable.

6. Check Your Own Attitude

Listen, if you are miserable in the car, your kids are going to be miserable in the car as well. Shift your mindset. You don’t have to pretend to love it, you just have to not hate it. I really try to cut down on my phone time (not an easy feat) and just be with my family as we drive. The car is a great place for uninterrupted conversation.

Happy Driving!

So while I might seem slightly crazy, I’d like to think that it’s more that I’ve embraced the chaos of the long car ride. Are there tough moments? Absolutely, but we have fun along the way and it is more than worth it to get to that Florida sunshine. So pack the snacks, charge the tablets, and make peace with a little mess and a lot of noise.