If you’re considering going on a road trip with your very young children, I’ve got you! This is my honest personal experience giving you the pros and cons of road tripping with infants and toddlers. I have the benefit of hindsight as I update this post written a few years ago, but I still stand by everything I said! I lived it, I know.

My husband and I love road tripping and it all started when we lived in South Africa and used to regularly commute for fun, from the little town we lived in, in the central Free State to Johannesburg, just for lunch, with the kids! But that’s not what I’m talking about here. A round trip to Joburg for the day (+/- 250kms) is weekend stuff, a day trip! I’m talking about road trips from the Free State to Cape Town, a road trip to the Northern Cape, to Zimbabwe via Botswana. Most of those are in excess of 1500kms. And in 20019 we did an epic 10 countries in 10 days road trip of Europe! Although, by now the kids are older.

Regardless of the car you drive, whether you’re a fan of family SUVs, or battery vehicles, there are pros and cons of travelling with infants vs travelling with small children, in our experience.

the pros and cons of road tripping with infants and toddlers

Whilst this might be a contentious issue, I feel it’s important to discuss this important topic. Travelling with kids is both a luxury that costs a fortune, a joy that can make your tear your hair out, and can give you a sense of freedom whilst also making you so stressed you want to go home! And that’s just on the way there!

The Pros and Cons of Road Tripping With Infants and Toddlers

So here are some pros and cost to road tripping with infants and toddlers that you might want to consider before you pack the trunk of your car, or minivan! Spoiler alert, you’ll probably need a minivan!

the Pros and Cons for travelling with infants and toddlers

So … do it if you dare. One thing’s for certain, there are many many benefits of travelling with kids. And it really does get easier as they get older. However one thing I would always advocate for, if you’re a family who love road trips, is to start them off as young as possible. Like many other things in life, the sooner you adopt a certain practice, the more used to it the kids will be.

Whilst this image above might be a bit tongue-in-cheek, it’s also true and honest. It’s not always easy, but it gets easier.

Here are some more helpful resources to get your ready for your next road trip with infants and toddlers:

I hope this makes you feel a bit more confident that you absolutely can travel with your very young children. There are so many families that do it and make it look easy. It’s not easy, but it is worth it. The key is planning, preparation and patience! If you can nail those three things, your next road trip with infants or toddlers is going to be a breeze! Just go!

Ford Tourneo Custom perfect car for a family road trip

I’d love to hear some of your funny or not so funny experiences. Please do let me know in the comments below. What’s one of your best and one of your not so best experiences of going on a road trip with infants and toddlers.