7 Tips for Road Tripping With Teens and Tweens

As a family of five, we’ve always opted to save the cost of plane tickets and road trip for our family vacations instead. Michigan to Florida has been our usual route – we even made this drive for our honeymoon, pre-kids. Along with multi-state trips, I’ve taken the kids by myself on two-hour-plus trips to visit family and friends more often than I can count.

As the kids got older, our drives evolved as well. The kids moved from car seats and boosters to becoming big enough to ride shotgun or even help drive. We moved from listening to CDs of toddler tunes to KidzBop to popular radio songs. The kids needed fewer rest stops. We stopped packing crayons and markers to keep them busy and took on the challenge to keep our road trips a family experience without having the tweens and teens buried in electronics.

In all that time on the road, I’ve developed a great strategy for making road trips with teens and tweens fun bonding experiences for the entire family. And that’s the whole point, right? Here are some of my road-tested tips for making your next trip with the big kids a memorable one!

1. Research, Planning and Packing

Kids of just about any age in today’s world are computer and electronics savvy. Put this to good use and give them research assignments to help plan the route for your trip. How far can we drive on one tank of gas? Do we want to stop in a small town for the night or brave the traffic of the big city? What’s the best price for a hotel? Kids are also great at finding fun attractions to visit along the way.

Teens and tweens are certainly capable of packing for themselves, but you know your kids best. My two older kids did a great job from a young age with only a few reminders like, “Did you remember socks?” On the other hand, my 19-year-old youngest still prefers me to hang out while he’s packing, just to make sure he remembers everything. As the kids got older, we always made sure that they were able to easily handle and carry their own luggage to and from the car. Using backpacks and bags with wheels helps a lot!

2. Seating and Navigation

Many of our road trips did not include my husband, who dislikes travel. When the kids were small, the front passenger seat was off-limits since they were all in car seats or boosters. Once they got older, we’ve rotated who rides shotgun on long trips. There’s a price for sitting up front: helping navigate. They all have phones with GPS, so even with the in-dash navigation, they help check upcoming exits for restaurants and keep an eye on traffic reports.

Letting the kids take turns sitting up front also allows them to change up who sits where in back as well. We have a minivan, so nobody is ever stuck in a middle seat, but a change of scenery can help break up a long drive no matter what.

3. Electronics

Ah yes, the blessing and curse of personal electronic devices. Every family makes its own rules about screen time on the road. For us road trips have generally been a free-for-all, with some limitations. We’re all stuck in a small, enclosed space with each other for hours on end with few breaks. To me, anything that helps keep the peace – and sanity – is helpful.

Electronics can still play a big part in a family road trip, even if you don’t want each kid staring at individual screens the whole time. There are plenty of apps that provide road trip games that even tweens and teens can enjoy with the family. My oldest has always loved searching out license plates from all the different states and tracking them on an iPhone app. We all help by watching for and pointing out new ones to record.

Personal phones, iPads or tablets also let kids individualize their entertainment. For a family with kids of varying ages, one movie for all might be tricky. After all, teens and preschoolers might not want to watch the same movie over an in-vehicle DVD player (if you have one). But with their own devices, your teen can watch a downloaded movie (or YouTube if you have in-car wifi or an unlimited data plan) while younger kids watch their own age-appropriate choices. In my case, even once my kids got older, they could rarely agree on any one show or movie to watch together. Having the option to watch separately is a huge plus on long trips.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Don’t forget the electronic accessories! Everybody should have their own charging cords and headphones or earbuds. Bring extras – even teens and tweens can lose or break fragile cords or wireless headphones can die en route. It’s cheaper and easier to stock up before you leave than to have to make an unanticipated stop along the way and pay a premium at a roadside convenience store or gas station.

4. Photography and Social Media

It’s almost impossible nowadays to find an electronic device without a camera. And kids of all ages love taking pictures. By the time they are tweens and teens, they are usually skilled at taking good-quality photographs and helping preserve memories of your trip. My kids always loved taking pictures of each welcome sign as we crossed over state borders. Driving through rain or thunderstorms provides the opportunity for fun weather shots. Or you can give them scavenger hunt assignments of things to photograph along your route.

Depending on your kids’ ages and your personal family policies, your kids may be on social media. Mine would often chronicle our journeys on their social channels. It doesn’t work for every family, but I loved to see our trips through their eyes and words.

If your tweens or young teens don’t have their own social media accounts, consider letting them post to your accounts. It’s a good way to introduce them to social sharing in a controlled fashion. And it’s a good way to save precious family memories of your trip together. If you prefer not to share photos of your kids themselves online, have them take photos of landmarks or scenery you pass along the way.

5. Teen Drivers

By their mid to late teens, most kids are getting their driver’s permit or license. Depending on your state’s rules, you may choose to let them practice driving while on your road trip. There are some helpful benefits to this. Obviously, you get a break from being behind the wheel (although it’s not necessarily a stress-free environment, lol). Your teen gets plenty of freeway driving time and you can help them learn things like merging and passing traffic. They can build up a lot of driving hours at once.

Things to consider before letting your teen drive on a road trip:

• Make sure your insurance covers the teen driver.
• Check driver permit restrictions in your state AND other states you’ll be driving through to see what’s allowed.
• Know your route well to avoid congested areas, construction or potentially dangerous driving conditions.
• Decide whether you’re comfortable with your teen driving through large cities or in the dark.
• Watch the weather to see if you’ll be driving into any rain, snow or other challenges.

The first time my daughter drove while on a road trip was definitely nerve-wracking. But after watching her manage traffic on the freeway with increasing ease, I was much more comfortable when she got her license and drove long distances alone. And now when we road trip together, it’s great to have another adult to share the driving with!

6. Family and Kid Time

Family road trips are always a good opportunity to spend time together and reconnect. I’m glad we had opportunities to travel together when the kids were younger. As they got older, I realized how few chances were left for us to travel as an entire family. Now that they are all grown, we don’t do so nearly as often. You have to make most of the time while you have it.

This means planning family travel and finding ways to get your kids excited and involved. Does your teen love theater and drama? Maybe plan a trip to see a play or musical together in a city you’ve never been to and can explore together. Or take your sports-loving teen to see a professional game. Even on a trip to a destination like Disney, you can plan activities that interest and involve your whole family.

In 2018 my family took another road trip together from Michigan to Florida. We enjoyed the drive, taking turns choosing the music for us all to listen to, rather than everyone riding with earbuds in. This may have been our last full family road trip, and I’m thrilled that we have great memories of our (then) teens and tween to hold onto from it.

7. Choose the Right Hotel

Teens require food. Lots of food. To keep their bellies full without breaking the bank, we always try to book a hotel that offers free breakfast (a huge money saver when you travel with ravenous teens) and a way to cook at least a few meals in the room. And we want free wifi to keep the teens connected to their friends. 

With this criteria in mind, we suggest the following hotel brands.

Residence Inns offer studio, one- and two-bedroom suites so the kids can have their own space, which is always nice (for the parents as well as the teens). There’s also free breakfast and wifi and full kitchens and grocery service. That means we can order groceries ahead and arrive with everything we need to feed the kids. 

Element Hotels are eco-friendly hotels that offer electric vehicle charging stations and a free Bikes to Borrow program, which is great for getting kids (and parents) moving after a long day in the car. There’s a free breakfast and a full kitchen in the room. And Element Hotels feature those super comfy Westin Heavenly Beds. Sweet dreams!

TownePlace Suites have patios complete with Weber Grills, grilling tools, and seasoning so it’s easy to make dinner after a long day of driving. Then borrow a board game and see if you can interest the teens in a family game night.

All of these Marriott International Hotels can be booked with Marriott Bonvoy™ points. 

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