🛏️ How We Pick Where to Stay on Road Trips With Kids (and Why It Makes All the Difference)

When you’re road‑tripping with three little ones, where you sleep each night can make or break the trip. Over the years, we’ve stayed everywhere from glamping tents under the stars to brand‑name hotels—and even rented a camper.

Here’s what we’ve learned, what we look for, and a few of our favorite spots along the way.

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🚐 Camper life: Outdoorsy

If you’ve ever thought about road‑tripping in a camper but don’t own one, I highly recommend checking out Outdoorsy.

It works a lot like Airbnb—but for RVs and campers. We’ve used it before and had a great experience:
✅ You can filter by type of camper, amenities, and whether it’s pet‑friendly.
✅ Many owners will deliver the camper directly to your campground (huge with kids!).
✅ It lets you try out camper life without the commitment of owning and maintaining an RV (which can be very expensive).

Camping with kids is so much easier when you can bring along a fridge, bathroom, and real beds—and still wake up surrounded by mountains, lakes, or canyon walls.

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🏨 Hotels: Comfort, convenience, and predictability

Most of the time, though, we stick with hotels—and after 15-ish years of traveling together, Justin and I have learned what matters most for our family.

We usually book through Hotels.com. Why? Mostly because it’s what we’ve always used and we like the dollars off of a stay you earn.

When choosing hotels:
✅ We look for reputable brand names—Hilton is our go‑to, with Marriott right behind. Not to say that we don’t try others…we don’t always have a choice, but if given a choice, this is what we go with.
✅ Free breakfast is a must. It saves money and means no rushed mornings trying to find food.
✅ We always choose hotels with interior entry for safety.
✅ We check for two beds—and always pack our Nuna travel crib for the youngest. It’s traveled with all three of our kids and is still going strong.

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💡 Pro tips we’ve learned along the way

• If the hotel says they have cribs, still bring your own pack n play. More than once, we’ve arrived at our hotel only to find out they didn’t have any available cribs. And, some of them charge you per night you use their crib, which can add up quickly. You can easily purchase one at Target or Walmart. We’ve done this while flying for around $50. We just leave it behind when we fly home.
• Our 2‑year‑old likes to wander, so the travel crib keeps everyone sleeping safely.
• We’ve learned that staying closer to popular towns can save a lot on hotel prices. Sometimes that extra 20 to 30 minutes of drive time isn’t worth it – it can be $100 or more extra per night when you’re in a less crowded area.

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🌙 How bedtime actually looks

Bedtime in a hotel with three little ones? Not exactly a vacation highlight—but we’ve found what works.

The first night is always the hardest. The kids are always the most excited at this point. We put the 2‑year‑old to bed first in the travel crib. Then my husband and I each lay down with one of the older kids until they fall asleep. Once they’re out, we move them into the same bed so my husband and I can finally rest, too.

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🌲 Leaving room for adventure

Some of our favorite memories have come from unplanned places:
✨ On our last trip, we stayed in a glamping tent in Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas. Completely unplanned, but it was amazing to unplug. The hammock, firepit, and s’mores were the kids’ favorite part of the trip.
✨ We’ve also splurged on unique stays:

• Cliffrose Lodge & Gardens in Springdale, Utah—walking distance to Zion National Park. Waking up surrounded by deer was unforgettable.
• Wildpod Glamping in Tofino, BC (we stayed here on our babymoon). Not kid‑friendly, but waking up to orcas swimming past our pod? Truly once‑in‑a‑lifetime.
• Curry Village in Yosemite National Park, situated at the base of the iconic Half Dome. This is where our love for National Parks started ten years ago.

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❤️ Final thoughts

At the end of the day, it’s about balance: comfort, convenience, and a sprinkle of adventure.
Kids remember the fun—not whether it was a fancy hotel or a camper in the woods. And for us, being rested and flexible makes all the difference between a long drive feeling like an ordeal and feeling like an adventure.

Related Posts You’ll Love:

The Three National Parks I’d Visit Over and Over (and Over) Again

Summer Special: How We Survived (and Loved) a 5,000-Mile Road Trip With Three Little Kids