We sit down as a family and then decide what attractions we absolutely HAVE to see, what would be nice to see, and what we could probably live without seeing. This is where the Google Sheets spreadsheet comes in handy! I use to search our route and find attractions, then make a list of everything that is interesting to see.

Ask for road trip money / gift cards during holidays & birthdaysĭeciding on Your Attractions – What do you HAVE to see?.

Saved $20 / month based on this travel plan.

But for now we use a separate savings account and use travel funds as our holiday and birthday wish list items! Travel Savings Ideas:

Over the years we have tried a little bit of everything. That included gas, lodging, attractions, souvenirs, food – the whole package! But it definitely is not a Hilton luxury vacation! (We’ve since slightly altered it to include 2 days of theme parks – which was a hard decision because that alone will cost almost half the original budget!) Factors to Keep in Mind When Budgeting a Cross Country Road Trip:ĭifferent people have different methods of saving for a road trip. Our initial budget for our 41 day road trip with 5 people was only $4500. Also, your budget doesn’t actually help you decide where to go! Just how much you can afford once you get there!

NO – I did not list this first and for a reason! You can stretch even the smallest budget quite a long ways if you’re willing to have a matching travel style. The third most important factor is your budget. You can see above that I veer off of Route 66 for a little while to hit some awesome locations! Below is our basic route overview: Our 7000 Miles Road Trip Route Itinerary:ĭay 1-3: Leaving Chicago on Route 66 to get to Roswell, NMĭay 4: Carlsbad Caverns & Bat Flight Programĭay 14: Santa Monica Pier & La Brea Tar Pitsĭay 18: Winchester Mystery House & Alcatrazĭay 34-35: Arches National Park, Canyonlands & Dead Horse State Parkĭay 36-38: Exploring Colorado ghost towns & dinosaur trailsĭay 39-41: Headed home! Deciding How Long to Be Gone – What time do you have? This is not a one day process – just so you know! It takes a LONG time to nail down a trip like this! We’ve been talking about it for 6 years but really sat down the past 6 months to establish the details. Once your generic route is established, then look to see if you will be near any MUST SEE stops and alter the route a bit. When I looked at how little we would be spending on attractions along the way, and how close we were to California (coming from Chicago), I added on to the route. Eventually it lengthened into a monstrosity of amazing adventures! My husband and I got engaged and married on Route 66, so traveling Route 66 was a big part of our initial desire for this road trip. This family travel planner will facilitate discussion with your partner and organize your research and trip details, giving you the next step to planning the perfect trip.The first thing you need to do is decide where you want to go. You won’t be able to relax until you’re on the plane or in the car.Īs a travel journalist turned family travel blogger who has planned over 25 trips in the past 2 years, I wanted to take away some of that planning stress for parents - especially moms! I know what it feels like to be so frantic and stressed and grumpy that you have to force yourself to enjoy the vacation you worked so hard to plan.

The problem is, you feel like you’re always forgetting something! If you’re that person in your family, you probably feel like you can’t get excited about your trip until you’ve got all the details worked out. When families travel or take vacations, usually one person ends up taking care of the lion’s share of the logistics: research, planning, emailing, making of reservations, phone calls, packing, etc. What if all the information your family needed was laid out neatly in a fresh binder with checklists, reservations numbers, itineraries, and budgets?ĪNTICIPATING A TRIP IS HALF THE FUN - UNLESS YOU’RE THE ONE STUCK DOING ALL THE INVISIBLE WORK. What if instead of feeling overwhelmed and stressed while you planned your next family vacation you felt organized, confident, and excited? WHETHER YOU’RE A SEASONED TRAVELER WHO IS NEW TO TRAVEL WITH KIDS, OR TAKING YOUR FIRST FAMILY VACATION, THE DETAILS OF TRAVEL WITH LITTLE ONES CAN BE OVERWHELMING.

Family road trip planner