Spirited Mama

Living a SPIRITED life filled with wanderlust, emotions and everything in between

Category: Travel Tales

Road tripping with kids

Road tripping with kids = Family time and creating memories

As parents, we are always looking for fun and memorable experiences to share with our kids. Road tripping with kids has been our go to adventures for ever. Road tripping never goes out of style and allows you the opportunity to tailor your road trip experience to add your unique style and preferences. It’s the perfect time to spend together as a family, away from our busy lives and just be present with one another.

Road tripping need not be for hours on end. There are so many beautiful places within an hour or three’s drive from us. We’re based in Pretoria by the way. And we are definitely not scared to take on a 12 hour road trip either. Did you know that you could use Sani Car rental in South Africa for your road trips? Majority of our family is based in the Western Cape and spread so far across the provinces that visiting multiple families often turns out to be a road trip with the kids.

But for some the idea of road tripping with kids can seem daunting, so why not start with shorter road trips, closer to home.

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Of course you need to choose some destination, and by this I mean your accommodation. Keep in mind your family’s preferences and interests when choosing your accommodation. Whether is be a game reserve, a small dusty town, a game reserve or even a beach destination, just ensure that you have family-friendly activities and attractions to choose from to keep everyone entertained.

Packing for road tripping with kids

WETWIPES! And more wetwipes. This is a staple in the car. We have learnt, believe me this comes with experience and many road trips with the kids, that packing is crucial. Regardless of the space available, somehow we always have way too much stuff that we take along. I have a checklist on my phone: “Packing for a road trip”, which I have used for almost all of our road trips. The list is not exhaustive but has some essential items that I pack every single road trip with the kids. I always pack the first-aid kit, sunscreen, hats and swimming towels. My Dude also makes sure that the plug in cooler is stocked with drinks and snacks. Someone is always hungry and/or thirsty, especially when you are kilometres away from a convenience store!

Entertainment for road tripping with kids

My kids are 13 years and 6 years old. We don’t promote screen time whilst on a road trip otherwise what was the point in driving on the long open road… Music is crucial. Fortunately, we as parents like *some* of the newer generation music and the kids in turn like *some* of our generation music. This makes putting together a road trip playlist easier as everyone gets to contribute their favourite road trip songs. Many years ago, Dude bought some bird and animal books. Another staple for the road trips. This makes for great entertainment as when the kids ask, “what is that bird/animal?” we refer them to the books to look it up and share the facts and information with the family. Firm favourites are playing “I spy” and counting cars on the road. Mom’s favourite is to play the “silent game”, whereby the winner is the one who goes without saying a word for the longest time 🙂 This is hilarious as none of us actually stay quiet for more than a few minutes at a time!

Scheduled breaks is not negotiable for road tripping with kids

It’s not about the destination but rather the journey, that is the highlight of any road trip. When road tripping with kids, you will understand why scheduled breaks are not negotiable. The scheduled breaks not only allow for some leg stretches and bathroom breaks but affords you an opportunity to choose where to take a break. Perhaps choose a filling station with a play area so that the kids can release their excess energy. Remember they too are excited and hyped up, so they may need a way to burn off that energy.

Explore the local territory on your road trip

Part of the fun on a road trip is to explore the local territory. Be adventurous and try something new. We’re always on the lookout for a padstal (Farmstall) to buy some fresh homemade bread and biscuits! Food is a big deal to me. It’s a no brainer that food is FOOD is a memorable part of the journey. It’s also a great excuse to eat all the ice-cream 🙂

Road tripping with kids is a wonderful way to bond with family, explore new places and create lasting memories. Plan ahead, pack wisely and remember to keep the journey fun and interactive. The road trip is suppose to be enjoyable. FOR EVERYONE. What are you waiting for? Map out a route, pack the car and get ready for some adventures.

Spirited Mama

x

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Family travel tales from a Spirited Family

Family Travel Tales

Family travel tales from a Spirited Family is a little diary that I intend to fill with travel adventures for my travel loving Spirited family. Feel free to wander along as we go in search of some wanderlust around the world. Hopefully our travel tales will inspire you to share some of your own travel tales with us. We are always ready for an adventure even though private school fees restrict the travel BUDGET!

We are travellers… I live for a holiday and often joke that I only work to travel and go on holidays! Although, I’m not socially awkard and I love being around people, I just can’t bring myself to holiday with the masses. I don’t like overcrowded spots.

That being said, we prefer to have frequent breaks rather than wait for one long holiday at the end of the year. Also, frequent travel breaks gives us way more options to travel as a family. Travel need not be something exotic and a budget breaker.

You’ll be amazed at how budget friendly family travel can actually be once you do proper research! We often just take a road trip with the kids. The furthest we’ve travelled by car has been 7 hours down to the South Coast of Durban. 7 hours in a car with your kids, aged  9 years and 2 years…well let’s just say that we chose to fly rather than drive after THAT road trip 🙂

I do love a road trip as there are so many “undiscovered” places to see and experience. After all “Happiness is a journey… not the destination”. More often we opt to just hop on a airplane and just get to the destination as quick as possible for our own sanity.

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We are a travel family

We have never travelled without our kids, obviously besides prior to having the kids 🙂 We are a travel family. They are a part of us as much as we are a part of them. To travel as a family also opens up your mind to new/other possibilities that you might not have deemed important to check if you were travelling sans kids.

We do however try and take a Summer vacation when it’s Winter in South Africa though… just so that we can break away from the cold for a while.

Family travel tale tip

Once we start planning a family travel trip, there are a THREE things that we absolutely MUST have:

For me: Good and proper accommodation – NO floral bedding!

For Dude: Location! Easy access to various transport options.

For a family travel: Child friendly environments, child friendly activities preferably on the premises or in very close proximity or easy to travel to.

I’ll share some tips and tricks as we navigate our family travel tales BUT for now we’re planning a family travel trip in July 🙂

Keep an eye on my social media if you want to follow along on our family travel tales.

Where have you last travelled to or where do you want to travel to next?

Spirited Mama

x

P.S. The pictures I took on different family travel trips. You might see them again when I write about those travel tales.

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