30+ Road Trip Hacks and Activities for Kids

Lexus recently allowed my family to review the Lexus NX 300h Hybrid in exchange for our honest opinion. #LexusNX

We road tripped to Albuquerque, NM, my hometown, for the holidays with the kids in tow. Our friends at Lexus let us test out the Lexus NX 300h Hybrid and thank goodness for the seat warmers because New Mexico was freezing for this Arizona desert family! In fact, we were snowed in for a couple of days and had to postpone our trip home. More time for the kids to be spoiled rotten by the grandparents and play in the snow for the first time…ever!  

That trip is around 7 hours, more like 8 hours with a toddler and preschooler and all their potty (and mom’s sanity) breaks. You better believe that I scoured the internet for road trip hacks for kids! Thankfully our vehicle was a smooth ride with lots of great amenities (did I mention the seat warmers?), so I just had to worry about keeping the kids entertained and happy (well, minimal whining is what I was shooting for). I rounded up some of my favorite road trip hacks and activities below.

If you are in the market for a new vehicle, here’s my husband’s (since he was our main driver and super excited about driving a hybrid) review of the Lexus NX 300h Hybrid: 

We just got back from our holiday trip to Albuquerque, NM in the luxurious, stylish, and energy efficient Lexus NX 300h. This was my first ever experience driving both a Lexus and a hybrid vehicle. Here are my top 5 favorite features of the NX 300h, in no particular order:

 

1. The leather!  From the completely leather covered dashboard to the heated leather seats, this SUV is a beauty.  The leather is both nice to look at AND very comfortable, especially in the cold winter months.

 

2. The media/entertainment/navigation system.  I loaded up a USB stick chock full of our favorite tunes for the road trip, and interacting with the system to find our favorite songs was a breeze.  There’s a handy trackpad within finger’s reach for either the driver or passenger to search songs, switch to regular or satellite radio stations, or GPS.  After a few minutes of practice, it really became second nature.

 

3. The Miles Per Gallon (mpg).  For our trip from Phoenix to Albuquerque, we averaged around 29 mpg with mostly freeway driving.  That’s with a car filled with people and enough luggage/holiday gifts to block out the rear window!  Also, we were running the heated seats and heater the whole way.  Once in Albuquerque with a mix of freeway and city driving, that number climbed to around 32 mpg.  For an SUV this size, I was definitely impressed.  

 

4. Speaking of heated seats!  The heated seats were such a nice luxury feature that we never turned them off.  You can choose between 3 intensity settings…we chose max everytime because the weather in New Mexico was too cold for our Arizona selves.

 

5. The room!  Everything in the NX 300h was roomier than we were initially expecting.  Lots of legroom in the front for my 6’3″ frame, and plenty of room in the back for the kids’ legs plus room to place gifts/toys/road trip busy bags on the floor.  The trunk was deceptively large, easily fitting 4 large suitcases plus smaller bags and gifts.

If you are road tripping with kids anytime soon, you’ll want to check out these road trip hacks and car activities. 

Family Road Trip Soundtrack – Liz On Call

Road Trip Car Organizer – See Vanessa Craft

LEGO Suitcase Hack – Stir The Wonder

Road Trip Bingo – Housing A Forest

I Spy Activity Bag – Rae Gun Ramblings

DVD Coloring Case – Stacy Vaughn

Road Trip Behavior Clips – Random Thoughts of a Supermom

Portable LEGO Kit – Mama Papa Bubba

Road Trip Binder – Artsy Fartsy Mama

Road Trip Kit & Clean Up Tips – Laura’s Crafty Life

Road Trip Food Prep – Strawberry Mommycakes

Dinosaur Activity Tray – See Vanessa Craft

Travel Kit & Printable – See Vanessa Craft

Dot Travel Sheets – Moms & Crafters

Road Trip Drawing Prompts – Picklebums

28 Travel Games and Activities – Family Food and Travel

Mom’s Roadside Emergency Kit – Raising Little Superheroes

Road Trip Snack Container – See Vanessa Craft

Pencil Box Portable Train Set – Play Trains

Travel Game Printables – In The Playroom 

Travel Timeline – Housing A Forest

Travel Play Set – Red Ted Art

Road Trip Activity Bag Ideas – The Nerd’s Wife

Road Trip Scavenger Hunt – Laura’s Crafty Life

Kid Sized Neck Pillow – Rae Gun Ramblings

Metal Can Surprise “Eggs” – Plan Party Pin

Travel Felt Board – Simply Darrling 

How to Pack the Car – Real Coake 

Road Trip Snack Hacks – Not Just A Mommy

Cereal Container Trash Can – Stockpiling Moms

Travel Map for Kids – Creekside Learning

Makeup Bag Car Kit – Pink Polka Dot Creations

 Do you have any ROAD TRIP HACKS of your own to add to the list?