Tips for Seasonal Travel with Kids/Family

 

 

Photo Source: Pixabay

The warmest days may be behind us, but that just means it’s time to fall in love with the new season!

Grab the kids for one last camping trip, weekend getaway or road trip this autumn and enjoy the cooler weather, fall foliage and family fun. While you’re at it, hit the road with these travel tips — because you can never have too many:

Leaf Peepr App

Fall foliage fans may want to check out the Leaf Peepr app. It’s a fun way to create your own foliage report by posting photos, writing comments and rating the foliage in your area. You can also see a foliage map, other people’s photos, and find current foliage rated by hundreds of other leaf peepers. Before hopping in the car and heading out for your apple-picking adventure with the fam, download the free app and have it ready to use on your trip.

Roadside Attractions

You probably know how long it takes to get from point A to B, but did you remember to schedule some pit stops into your route? Fall is a beautiful and naturally slower time of year, so take your time to soak it up. Find some state parks to picnic in, take a hike to a lake or waterfall, or stop for breaks in quaint towns or at historic sites along the road. Even if your destination is just a few hours away, it’s still nice to get outside and actively enjoy the journey.

Snap Happy

For many, taking photos enhances their travel experience. It’s a way to capture what you’re seeing so that you can feel it later when you want to be brought back to that moment in time. Road trips lend themselves to picture taking.

“The color of the landscape is different when you’re in a car — I love seeing the rivers and canyons from a plane but there’s something about driving through the desert and looking at the colors out the window that brings me back to the road trips my family took when I was little,” says photographer Stella Maria Baer for Artifact Uprising.

Just imagine all the gold, orange, and red hues dotting the passing landscape. Why not grab a disposable camera for just this occasion?

Arts & Crafts

Entertainment from travel apps, movies and video games are easy ways to pass the time on a road trip, but consider adding in some good old-fashioned road trip games (like the state license plate game) and craft projects into the mix. The Family Vacation Critic says she swears by origami paper folding kits, friendship bracelet-making supplies, colored pencils and sketch pads. The point is that everything doesn’t need to be electronic at all times. Road trips are a good opportunity to give kids time and space to be creative and unplug.

Before You Go

Maybe everyone in the family has a different idea of what would make a fun fall weekend getaway or day trip, but there are ways to bring down the stress level. You could compile the top three choices and come to a mutual decision on the best one. Some ideas include a day drive to leaf peep and pick apples, a camping and fishing trip; a shopping and museum getaway in the city; and a harvest festival and corn maze. Let us know what your family likes to do together to celebrate the changing of seasons!