Are you going on a road trip with 2 year old, or a road trip with a toddler soon? I’ve got you covered! We have been on more than a handful of road trips with Avery and let me fill you in on something: it doesn’t matter how old they are. A road trip with a baby, a road trip with a toddler, and a road trip with multiples are all hard in different ways. I want to talk about a road trip with 2 year olds specifically today since we just came back from two different road trips: a 6-hour road trip to see my parents + a 4-hour road trip to Asheville. We have learned the best tips and tricks and I want to share them with you today!
If you are planning a road trip with 2 year old, I highly recommend reading through this list to see if you can implement any of these tricks into your next road trip. I hope that it makes your travel time a lot easier!
Road trip with 2 year old – survival tips and tricks
Travel around nap time
My best tip, no matter how old your child is, would be to travel around nap time. If you are going on a road trip, 100% try to plan it around the time when your baby or toddler has quiet time, or nap time. It will make the time go SO much faster. For example, Avery usually naps around 12-1ish each day. Leaving Asheville, we left around 1:30pm and she slept until around 4. That is 2.5 hours of the 4 total hours of our trip – and I was able to take that time to read while Ian drove. It was amazing! When she woke up, she was happier than ever and got busy with her songs and toys until we were almost home. Once we reached Blue Ridge, we ended up stuck in traffic due to a wreck and she was a little antsy then. Still not too bad, though. I just hopped in the back seat with her, put on the movie Trolls, and we made it home. I truly think that if we wouldn’t have been stuck in traffic for 30+ minutes, she would have made it all the way home without fussing or crying at all. A win for nap time travel!!!
Bring a special surprise
Ian and I are really picky when it comes to the food that we give Avery. However, traveling with a special surprise is a must for us and when we are traveling, we can only do the best that we can do. So, leaving Asheville, we stopped to grab breakfast and noticed that they sold cookies. We chose a chocolate chip cookie because it was (almost) guaranteed to have no artificial food coloring in it. When Avery started getting fussy in Blue Ridge, we gave her pieces of the cookie until it was gone. This bought us a decent amount of time and I definitely highly recommend doing this. It doesn’t have to be anything sugary: just something that is different to them + a treat!
Also, this saved us while we were walking around Asheville and visiting breweries one day. Avery was on the fussier side, so we stopped to grab coffee, got her two muffins, and she LOVED sitting in her stroller chomping on them. It turned out to be a really great day with a super happy girl. Although we don’t typically get her treats like this often, when it comes to travel, it can make the experience much more pleasant.
Last thing I’ll say about this is that in addition to the special surprise/treats, I would also travel with a lot of snacks. We took apples, meat sticks, bars, fruit packets, oranges, seaweed snacks, etc. etc. and it was extremely useful when it came to traveling to and from Asheville and in the city, as well.
Don’t be afraid to turn on kid music
Having a peaceful and quiet road trip probably isn’t in the cards for you when you are going on a road trip with 2 year old. Because of this, my recommendation is to suck it up and play some kid music. Have fun with it while you’re at it! I know this isn’t what you are wanting to listen to (more than likely), but it can really make the trip much more enjoyable (read: no crying or screaming) for you. Avery is obsessed with the movie, Trolls, right now, so we listened to A LOT of Princess Poppy on our way home.
Toys and more toys
We didn’t take many toys on this past trip, but when we took our road trip to Amelia Island to see my parents, we took a ton and they were a life saver. I hit up the dollar store before we left and bought Avery a few nick nacks and that is the way to go. Water pens, new books, coloring pads + crayons, clapping hands, etc. It was a great idea and really helped pass the time. I also love bringing her favorite (not so new) books, her Timio, and more. The Timio is especially great for road trips because it sings, read stories to her, and allows her to find different things on the toy. I also love that it’s not a screen!
Talk about your trip
Sometimes, if you are dealing with a crying 2 year old on a road trip, they might just be lonely in the back. Try talking to them about your trip. What do you see outside? Where are you going? What are you going to do? Are you seeing anyone they love? Discuss it all to try to pass the time + get them excited. Avery kept saying, “North Carolina with Gigi and Papi” on our road trip and I think that made it that much more exciting for her while sitting in the car. Also, don’t be scared to get in the back seat with them, if they need it (as long as you are not driving, of course). This helps Avery a lot, too, when we are going on a super long road trip.
Safety first
This might not be a super helpful tip when it comes to having a cranky toddler on a road trip, but if you are going on a road trip with 2 year old, you need to make sure that your car is safe for driving long distances. My parents actually just got back on a road trip from visiting us and took the 6-hour trek knowing they needed car work done. Not only did this make things WAY more stressful on them, but they were not 100% sure that they’d make it home since the issue was with their engine. Prevent this from happening to you (you don’t need the stress with a toddler!) and just go ahead and get a “check-up” done on your car before you leave town. Get new engine oil put in, make sure the breaks look great, check the tire pressure, etc. If you have a cracked windshield, figure out a knowledgeable place to get it repaired, like MBT OF ATLANTA Mercedes Master Techs for a Mercedes windshield repair in Atlanta Georgia.
They say, “At MBT of ATLANTA Mercedes Master Techs, we offer the highest quality of Mercedes Benz auto repair in Norcross, GA and servicing Buckhead, Brookhaven, Doraville, Sandy Springs, Duluth and rest of Gwinnett county.
At Mercedes Benz Techs, you can speak directly with your technician about your Benz!” They offer STAR diagnostic technology for high-quality service + quick turnaround and they have so many service options to provide their clients with. Before you head on a road trip with a toddler, you definitely need to make sure the bells and whistles are working right on your car, so don’t skip over this step before leaving.
Another safety tip: make sure that you have a proper car seat that is installed correctly for your toddlers height and weight. Remember: the longer you face them rear-facing (until maxed out in height/weight), the safer they are.
Traveling with a toddler is stressful, but with a few tips and tricks, it can be more stress-free and even enjoyable. Our road trip to Asheville was actually amazing and I would highly recommend pushing past your fear(s) of traveling with a toddler and just going for it. Travel is an amazing learning experience for all ages and you will never regret going somewhere new. I can promise you that! Enjoy your trip!
Last but not least, I’m going to post a full updated Asheville travel guide, so get ready for that, but in the meantime, I’ll link my old one below. I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving!
Keep reading:
OLD Asheville travel guide (will update this later on next week)
Grove Park Inn — Where to stay in Asheville