Travel advocate Wendy Perrin recommends the following for successful family driving trips:

Let each child play navigator.  Let each child pick an attraction or two during your trip.  Give your children a map of your route before you leave and let each one pick a stop or an activity each day. You’ll give them a sense of ownership over that day’s events that will keep them energized and interested all day.

Make the trip a treasure hunt. Create a fun trip challenge or goal to make stops more interesting. Pick something to find or photo at each stop such a tacky tourist souvenir, map, etc.

Give each child his/her own space. If you are able to set up each child in a separate row of the vehicle, great. If not, try crafting a divider between them (even if it’s just out of colorful tape).

Agree on how long you’ll drive between stops. To prevent children (and adults) from going stir crazy, put a time limit on how long you’ll drive between rest stops. It’s nearly impossible to make sure everyone is on the same schedule during a road trip. Someone is going to get tired before everyone else; someone else will get hungry; someone else will get restless. And if the driver is feeling good, he or she may want to push through…stretching everyone else’s patience. To avoid arguments and meltdowns from stir-crazy children, set a limit for how long each leg can be.

Whenever there’s a world’s biggest, longest, or quirkiest something on your route, stop and check it out. Rest stops are more than just a chance to stretch legs and burn off energy. They can be the source of fun memories and even funnier pictures.  Seek out quirky roadside attractions, like the world’s biggest ball of twine in Cawker City, Kansas, or the world’s biggest yo-yo, in Chico, California—or the world’s biggest anything, really. School playgrounds and children’s museums not far from the Interstate are other kid-friendly pit stops. That said, even “boring” rest stops can be amped up: bring a tennis ball, inflatable beach ball, or a Frisbee for games. Keep a few picnic basics in the car too; so that you can make a rest stop double as a food stop.

Prioritize pools. When choosing where to bed down each night, find a hotel with a great pool.  The end-of-day swim will help children work out any pent-up energy and can even serve as a reward after a long day of driving. A reinvigorating dip can be just as rewarding for tired parents.