Pros and Cons of Multi-Generational Road Trips

When I was younger, my family used to all pile into the car and take off on long road trips together. This is something that we now do with our own children as well. Although there are drawbacks to road trips, I generally think that they’re a a great way to travel. They’re fun, educational and slowed-down compared to flight-based trips.

My siblings and I have been tossing around the idea of re-living some of our great old memories by taking a road trip together. We’ve even been talking about the option of including Mom and Dad. If we did this, we’d be taking four generations of the family (us, our kids, our parents and one great-grandchild).

In some ways, this sounds overwhelming. Mom and Dad aren’t exactly the spry young things that they once were. They don’t have the health or stamina to take a very long road trip. We aren’t as patient with them as we’d like to be. Between the grandparents and the children, we’d have to stop frequently.

And of course, there’s always the hassle of choosing destinations and restaurants and activities when you’ve got a big group of people on a trip. What we always loved about road trips was the spontaneity of them. We’d pull off to roadside signs and see what there was to see. We do this with our kids, too. However, taking so many people out on one trip means that coming to decisions about these things might be tougher.

Despite these drawbacks, I think it could be an amazing trip. We’d be able to relive some really great memories while creating new ones. It won’t be long before Mom and Dad can’t do these types of trips at all. I’d love to let the grandkids travel with them like this while they can.

I think that the key to doing this (if we decide to do so) is going to be good planning. We’ll need to make it a relatively short trip and plan some of our stops in advance so that there isn’t a lot of bickering and frustration on the road. I also think it’s wise to take multiple vehicles so that we can alter our pace as needed for the different people in the family.

Has anyone out there tried a multi-generational family road trip like this? Any thoughts or tips?
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