Hellobee Boards

When we travel long car drives - 10+ hours we leave at 3am.

Kids usually are awake the 1st 45 mins then crash.

We leave after rush hour traffic (so we don't get caught up coming out of the city) - so around 9:30 or 10 AM....but we generally don't go anywhere more than 5-6 hrs by car.

One kiddo is a GREAT car sleeper no matter the time of day, the other one keeps busy with the iPad. I wouldn't want to take our chances on night travel, though.

I've only taken my oldest on one road trip. She was a week away from turning 1 and I was about 6 weeks pregnant. We drove there during the day. It wasn't bad but not my favorite and I was filled with guilt and anxiety about her not using her energy and stuff. (I personally hate long car rides so I may have been projecting some of my personal feelings on to her). We drove home at bedtime and I preferred that. Much more enjoyable for me

We've done both, where we leave around 7 pm and when we leave around 4:30-5:00 am. The morning is exhausting at first, but it's nice to get to where you're going early in the day. At night is good for letting the kids sleep, but we've also seen our share of trouble. One time we did that, we were stopped at a Sheetz along the way, and we watched someone get pulled over, administered a sobriety test (which she failed), breathalyzed (which she also failed), and arrested. It's pretty scary to think about driving at times when there's a greater chance of drunk drivers on the road.

But have such a good time with your family! How long are you staying?

We leave 1st thing in the morning. I never thought of leaving at night.... I might have to consider that for our next road trip, but it's a little scary to drive overnight.