Week Long Road Trip With an 18 Month Old

Traveling with kids can be so much fun but it is a lot more work than traveling without them. We took a week long road trip up the Northern California and Oregon coasts with Calvin over the summer.

Colter, Calvin, and I took a trip with my family last summer to the Pacific North West. We flew into Oakland, California, and over the next nine days we drove up the coast on Highway 101. We stayed at several locations along the way and flew home from Portland at the end of the trip. Though we weren’t spending hours upon hours in the car every single day, we did drive over 800 miles in just over a week with our 18 month old (and while I was 24 weeks pregnant with our second child, Della).

I do feel like I have to share a quick disclaimer before we get into things. Calvin is a really good traveler. He’s happy to be in new places, he likes to ride in his car seat in the car, the time change doesn’t throw him off, he’s happy to sleep almost anywhere, and he doesn’t get air sick or car sick. So though I have some tips that I find really helpful, a road trip still may not be the best option for your family if you have little kids who throw up in the car or scream every time they’re strapped into the car seat or absolutely will not sleep anywhere but their bed.

I did a lot of preparation and planning for this trip and it turned out to be absolutely amazing. Let me share some of my tips with you.

BRING THEIR COMFORT ITEMS

Calvin was a binky baby from the moment we gave it to him as a four-day-old newborn. We knew we wanted to wean him off of his pacifiers a few months before Della was born, but I didn’t even attempt that until after our roadtrip. It was so helpful to have the pacifier to give him in the airport, on the plane, in the car, and for naps and bedtime when he was trying to sleep in a new and unfamiliar place. We also brought his lovey that he primarily used for sleep.

ALWAYS CARRY THEIR FAVORITE SNACKS

Every morning as we were packing up for the day, I would pack a ridiculous amount of snacks for the day (as well as a packed lunch). If there’s anything predictable about toddlers, it’s that they will always keep you on your toes. One day Calvin would want nothing but fruit snacks and the next he would reject anything in a wrapper and insist on nothing but raisins. So keeping all of the snacks available in decent quantities made appeasing Calvin’s changing appetite much easier throughout the days on the road.

The snacks I brought included fruit snacks, fruit leather, fruit bars, raisins, dried blueberries, dried mango, cutie oranges, Hi-Chew candies, yogurt melts, puffs, trail mix, granola bars, and purée pouches.

BRING THEM THEIR OWN WATER BOTTLE AND KEEP IT FILLED

Calvin loves water and he loves to steal my water. However, I was 24 weeks pregnant during this trip and I needed all of my water to myself. So we got Calvin his own insulated water bottle to keep in his backpack and it was great, as long as we kept it full of cold water for him.

We got Cal a Thermos Funtainer and it’s absolutely perfect for toddlers and for travel. Calvin can open and close it entirely on his own, it insulates really well, it has a handle for Calvin to carry it by, and it carries 12 ounces of water, which is a great amount for an 18 month old. It’s also so, so easy to clean which can be a dealbreaker for me and kid’s dishes.

PLAN ON LONG BREAKS TO BURN OFF ENERGY

When on a road trip with adults, taking a 10 minute break to use the restroom and stretch everyone’s legs is enough. However, little kids need a lot more opportunity to stretch and burn off excess energy. Our trip up the coast was perfect because there were so many short hikes and opportunities for Calvin to run around, play in the dirt, be loud, eat snacks, and just be a kid.

If you’re on a road trip that doesn’t involve hiking and sightseeing along the way, I highly recommend checking for parks along your route to allow for some free play for the kids.

HAVE VARIOUS FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT READY

Calvin is a very particular little fella. He loved to watched Coco and Soul on Disney+ at the time of this trip, so I made sure to have them downloaded to my phone before we left. I also brought him a few small simple books to read in the car. At a gift shop he absolutely fell in love with this little $5 octopus so we got it for him.

But the best entertainment we had on this trip was the outdoors. Calvin had an amazing time with the sticks, rocks, dirt, sand, and logs we found throughout the week.

PACK COMFY CLOTHES THAT FIT WELL

When planning Calvin’s wardrobe for our vacation, I wanted dressing him to be easy, I wanted him to look cute, and I wanted him to have only clothes that fit him and that were comfortable for him to wear. I packed him his favorite shoes, pants that were loose and not too small, all t-shirts, and his favorite hoodie for cooler temps. He wears a capsule wardrobe so all of his clothes can be mixed and matched. It makes packing for him and dressing him so simple.

DUPLICATE THEIR HOME SLEEP ENVIRONMENT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

Something I find improves my experience on a vacation (especially a roadtrip) is getting decent sleep at night. The same goes for my kids. At home, Calvin sleeps in a dark room, in his crib, with white noise, a sleep sack, and his binky. To replicate this while traveling we use a SlumberPod for darkness, a PeaPod for a separate “crib” space, a portable noise machine, and his usual sleep sack and binky. Calvin absolutely loved climbing into his special tent for nighttime sleep and he slept so well for the entire trip.

As I said above, I love traveling and I especially love traveling with my kids. The more we get out to see the world, the more I’ll share here with you in my little corner of the internet. If you have any questions or anything you’d ever like me to go more in depth on, please reach out to me via comment, email, or DM.