Road Trip in a Rental Car with Kids
Food for the Road
When setting out on relatively long drives with children, it is extremely important to hit the road with a reasonable supply of food and drinks so that you do not have to stop every moment due to sudden hunger or thirst from your kids. My kids start crying out: "I'm hungry / thirsty" two seconds after leaving a restaurant where we ate until bursting. Eating is also a way for children to pass the time and keep busy. Try to bring food suitable for eating while driving, so that you won't be forced to stop constantly and the car remains in reasonable shape. It is recommended to bring snacks, crackers, biscuits, fruits, vegetables, sweets, small cereal boxes, and the like. Bring drinks in small, unbreakable bottles or personal juice cartons. Do not bring large bottles that require pouring, otherwise the car will look like a swimming pool. It is important to bring plastic trash bags, wet wipes, napkins, and toilet paper.
Car Rental
When traveling with children, rent a spacious car with ample room between the kids. Do not crowd them together, otherwise they will bother each other due to the cramped quarters. It is preferable to get a car with room for two children maximum side-by-side. I rented a minivan when traveling with three children. That way there is also more room for luggage.
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Gear for Trips with Kids
If you are traveling with toddlers or young children, pack an umbrella stroller in the trunk. It will be of great use on long walking tours or in amusement parks.
Take along road games for the car: electronic games, smartphones, tablets, music players, paper, crayons/colored pencils, scissors, books, audio players, and more. Do not get upset if at the end of the drive your car looks like a rolling garbage can; the main thing is that you get through the ride peacefully.
For children who already know how to write, it is recommended to bring a notebook where they can describe their experiences.
It is also worthwhile to bring music from home on phone/memory drives that you or your children like, and for younger kids, also bring movies along with a suitable device to watch them on (tablet, laptop, etc.).
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A recommended website for booking transfers, tours, day trips, and activities worldwide. You don't always have to rent a car. Here you can also book transfers from the airport to the hotel and vice versa.
Viator is a TripAdvisor company.
Road Trip Games
After your children finish playing with all the entertainment gear you brought along in the car, move on to multi-participant activities. Sing songs together (after exhausting your supply of favorite songs, look for themed songs: animal songs, by the alphabet, etc.). Try changing the lyrics of famous songs you sing into funny or current events-themed words. Tell jokes, and play games such as:
21 Questions: One family member chooses something (an object, animal, body part), and the others have to guess what was chosen using 21 questions that can only be answered with "yes" or "no."
Additional games suitable for the road include: Categories (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral), and word games like antonyms, rhymes, and synonyms. Invent continuing stories where each participant adds a sentence or two to the tale. The funnier and stranger the story gets, the greater the game's success is guaranteed. Older kids will enjoy playing "word unscramble" or "word breakdown"—take a relatively long word and try to create as many words as possible from its letters.
A game that encourages children to look outside the car is the road trip version of "Scavenger Hunt": prepare a list of around 10 items that the kids must spot along the way. For example: a double-decker bus, a motorcycle with two riders, a tractor, a lake, a river, a snow-capped mountain peak, a bridge, a horse and carriage, cows grazing in a meadow, an oil pump, a limousine, and more ideas depending on the area you are driving through and your imagination. Whoever is first to spot 7 items from the list wins.
You can also play the color game: each person picks a car color. The first to count 20 cars in their chosen color wins. Similarly, older children can play the car models or license plates game: the first to spot the most cars of a specific make or brand (Ford, Toyota, Dodge, etc.) or the first to spot the most license plates from a specific state/country they chose, wins.
Rest Breaks and Stops Along the Way
Even if you are in a rush, you will have to stop during a long drive to use the restroom, refuel, eat, and so forth. Try to plan the drive so that you do not stop every five minutes for a different reason, but rather make a relatively long layover stop where you can stretch your legs, eat, use the restroom, and refuel.
When planning your route, check which towns and communities you will pass through, what makes them unique, and whether they have special attractions. If you are not in a particular hurry (and if you planned the trip properly, there is no need to be), stop at one or more interesting places along the way, visit them, and then continue on. In this way, a day dedicated to driving is lengthened only slightly, but you utilize it to see and discover additional fascinating places.
Also try to be spontaneous and stop at places you haven't read or heard anything about, which look interesting or appealing to you. A playground, bowling alley, lakefront, and even a shopping center are excellent places for a break during a long drive.