From Michigan all the way to Florida and back – today I’m sharing my comprehensive recap of our 2 1/2 week southern road trip – with toddler and newborn!

We recently embarked on an epic 2 1/2 week southern road trip, a journey that took us from our home state of Michigan all the way down to Florida and back! We did it with a 6 week old newborn and a 2 1/2 year old toddler – and we survived! Today I’m sharing all the specifics of what our route was, where we stayed throughout the trip, what we ate (most importantly 😀 ), what we did in each location, and what my top tips are for traveling road trip style with a newborn and toddler! I hope y’all enjoy – let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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our route

With a newborn and a toddler, we knew that driving straight through to our final destination in Florida would not be an option, and so we decided to take extra time to visit some spots across the country we’ve wanted to check out for a while! On the way down, we stopped in Lexington, Kentucky and then Atlanta, Georgia. We decided to stay an extra night in Atlanta to check out the aquarium there, which was ultimately a great decision to give Sophia more time to adjust during the drive. We then headed all the way down to Walt Disney World where we stayed for 10 days.

On our way back up, we headed first to Charleston, South Carolina, which I have wanted to see for a while now – and definitely lived up to how cute everyone said it was! We then spent our last two nights in Asheville, North Carolina (staying at my new favorite hotel – see below!), before heading home. Our last day was definitely a long drive back to the mitten, but we all wanted to be home by that point!

where we stayed

We chose in VRBO rentals in every city we stayed in with the exception of Asheville – we wanted to end the trip in a nice hotel, which was a great choice! In order of our trip, here are the rentals we stayed in:

• Lexington, KY. Having at least a 1-bedroom rental was important to us so that both Sophia would have her own space and we would have our own space with Benji, where we would not be disrupting her sleep while he was awake at night for feedings. This 1-bedroom in Lexington was a cute little place, albeit with some super creaky floors 😀 It was a good location near the downtown area, however, and very affordably priced.
• Atlanta, GA. This was not our first choice of rental. We initially had rented a different unit in the same building. We were contacted the night before to let us know that the shower in the unit we rented was not working, therefore, they were going to place us in a different unit “essentially the same” in the same building. Being so close to our check-in time and being busy with other activities we obviously did not have much choice. The building itself is a great location for downtown Atlanta – we walked everywhere while we were in town. However, the unit we were assigned after our first rental fell through was not up to the standards of the first one – it is not a unit we would have rented ourselves. The biggest issue was the bathroom which was not at all updated and had no counter space. In addition, the balcony space was not as nice as the initial rental we had chosen. These issue led us to reach out to the rental company and they did provide us a partial refund for our stay.
• Walt Disney World. This property had pros and cons – but overall, we would not rent this property again or recommend it. The pros were that we loved having so much space – we are normally used to staying on property at Disney which means a lot less space. We had 4 bedrooms, which meant my parents were able to easily come visit us for part of the trip, and Sophia had her own space on the other side of the house where Benji would not be able to wake her up at night. We loved having our own large kitchen, and we loved having a private pool. The cons were numerous though: This location seems to be close to the parks, but if you are planning on visiting Disney regularly during your stay, we found this to be simply too much of a drive there and back with the traffic on I-4 every day. The weekends did tend to be less busy without rush hour traffic, however. In addition, the house looked very updated and elegant on the listing photos, but the condition was sub par. Furniture dings, a hole in the wall, shower drain was broken, the pool had algae – all little things that add up to a not super great experience. But the biggest issue for us was the location.
• Charleston, SC. Highly recommended! This 3-bedroom townhome was the perfect location to visit Charleston, and it was so cute and quaint. Plus it has a driveway parking spot, which is so helpful when visiting a big city such as this.

• Asheville, NC. As I stated above, we chose to finish out the trip with a bit of a splurge at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville. This is not a cheap hotel, but boy is it worth every penny. The food is outstanding, the service is impeccable, the rooms are fantastic and there are so many amenities and activities available! We loved every minute of our stay here and plan to return soon (sans children, most likely 😀 ).

where we ate

• DV8 Kitchen (Lexington, KY). Perhaps the breakfast highlight of the trip (with the exception of the Omni Grove’s breakfast buffet), DV8 is a restaurant operating as a “second chance employment” for individuals with a history of substance abuse. Working in the mental health field, I can appreciate what a great concept this is. I see time and again that a barrier on the road of recovery is an inability to find stable work due to potentially having a criminal record, and so I love that this is a core tenet of their restaurant. What’s more – the food was phenomenal! Don’t miss the biscuits and gravy, and be sure to grab a pastry for the road!
• Tupelo Honey (Knoxville, TN). We stopped for lunch and some sightseeing in Knoxville on the way down and had our first run at Tupelo Honey, a chain restaurant known for it’s amazing southern food. It did not disappoint! Don’t miss the fried green tomatoes and chicken and waffles!
• White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails (Atlanta, GA). Conveniently situated right across the street from our VRBO, this restaurant is one I would highly recommend! The food and service were both outstanding, and the decor is gorgeous. They make a phenomenal Parker House roll and tuna tartare, and the cornish game hen was perfection!

• Walt Disney World. When it comes to Disney, there are too many restaurants that we love to count! If you’re working on planning your own trip, be sure to check out some of these top favorites of ours:
  • The Polite Pig – one of the best quick service restaurants in Disney Springs
  • Skipper Canteen – don’t miss the “Tastes like Chicken!”
  • Jaleo – hands down my favorite restaurant on property!
  • Sanaa – the famous bread service!
  • Wine Bar George – we love their small plates concept, and the wine list is perfection
  • il Mulino – do not miss this if you like Italian food
  • Morimoto Asia – one of our favorites! Be sure to grab the sticky ribs and dumplings
  • Art Smith’s Homecomin’ – such a hard reservation to find but snag one if you do! They have some of the best southern food we’ve tasted
  • The Boathouse – my husbands favorite, classic steak and seafood done exceptionally well! Ask for cinnamon butter with your house rolls

• Poogan’s Porch (Charleston, SC). What an iconic breakfast spot! Peruse the famous visitors on the wall in the entryway before grabbing a mimosa with your brioche French toast!
• The Obstinate Daughter (Charleston, SC). Located on Sullivan’s Island, about a 20 minute drive from downtown Charleston, this is a must-visit restaurant. The food is exceptional (grab some oysters – trust me!) and the service impeccable – this was such a perfect meal! The pizzas are nice and crispy, and the pasta was house made – you can’t beat that 🙂
• Sunset Terrace and Edison at the Omni Grove Park Inn (Asheville, NC). If you eat at one place in Asheville, eat at Sunset Terrace. You cannot beat having an exceptional meal with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains as far as the eye can see. The tuna tartare was excellent, and don’t skip dessert! Edison is another (more affordable) option, with fantastic views and great gastropub food. The pretzel bread was served with honey butter (a nice surprise!), and my husband loved their burger!

what we did

• Our first day we spent getting to Lexington, and we checked out a few bourbon distilleries on the way down. Our favorite had to be Buffalo Trace, with their playground right on the grounds 🙂 Pro tip: book your tours in advance, we unfortunately weren’t able to do any because the timing was not right for what they had available when we arrived!
• On the way down to Atlanta we stopped for a few hours in Knoxville and visited the Market Square District for lunch before heading across the freeway to see the Sunsphere! You can buy tickets to tour the Sunsphere observation deck, but we opted to walk around on the open grounds and check out the free splashpad!
• The Georgia Aquarium was a primary reason for making the stop in Atlanta, because we had really enjoyed our trip their pre-children. Unfortunately we had an unruly toddler that day, but we still highly recommend visiting the aquarium, as it’s the fourth largest in the world!

• In Walt Disney World we headed to the parks most of the days we were there, and you can read all about my recommendations in previous posts. One cool new thing we did though was a safari through Wild Florida Airboats. What a cool experience! You drive your own car at your own pace through a safari and get to see all the animals right from the comfort of your own vehicle! This was such a cool experience for Sophia. Be sure to add on the giraffe feeding at the end of the safari!

• We only had one day in Charleston, and we had considered doing a walking tour with a guide. We saw a lot of people doing these tours while we were walking around, but we opted to do our own self-guided tour using this site. We checked out Rainbow Row (so cute, great for photo ops!) and walked along the Battery while our kids napped before making a last minute weather-based decision to head to Folly Beach, which is about 20 minutes outside the city. I loved this impromptu beach day: Sophia had so much fun in the water, we were able to easily rent chairs and an umbrella right on the beach from the Folly Beach Chair Company, and had lunch at one of the numerous restaurants on the water.

• Our last stop of the trip was Asheville, and a primary reason was that I have wanted to visit Biltmore Estate ever since I can remember! This was a must-do experience, and is really an all day event. We did not get a chance to check out the grounds around the Estate, but we did have lunch at the Stable Cafe before heading over to their winery for some wine tasting and a trip to the playground (of course!).

tips for car trip with newborn

Before this trip, I thought traveling with Benji at 6 weeks old would be the hard part. We were wrong – our toddler was much more difficult 🙂 But we made it work pretty well, and here are some of the newborn-specific recommendations I have:

• Have a plan for feedings. You will have to add extra time for feeding whether or not you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. Benji is bottle fed right now, so we purchased this stackable baby formula container to fill up each morning and it made making bottles so easy! Just pour the right amount of water in your bottle, add one of the containers worth of formula, and mix!
• Have some essentials for making napping easier. We brought along a vibration pad, a rechargeable white noise machine, and some toys we could hang from his car seat handle to distract him throughout the trip.
• If you can bring your own bassinet, bring it. If you’ve got space in the car, I think it’s a great idea to bring whatever baby normally sleeps in. You’ve brought this new little person into the world, so keeping as many things normal in the bedtime routine as possible can be helpful! We brought our Snoo and it was probably the best decision we made!
• Bring a baby carrier. This may seem like a no-brainer, but we used the carrier a lot, so don’t forget to pack one!

tips for car trip with toddler

• Create an activity center. I picked up this car seat organizer and it was perfect for corralling all Sophie’s books and toys during the trip. I also took a trip to the local dollar store and Salvation Army before we left to pick up a bunch of inexpensive toys and new books that she hasn’t read yet. I spent about $25 and got a tonnnn of new things for her to play with – the novelty of getting a new toy or book throughout the trip was a great way to keep her distracted!
• Play the “listening game.” This one is tough, and will entirely depend on your child’s developmental age. Sophie was just on the verge of being old enough to learn this it seemed, so it worked sometimes (but not all the time). Usually, as you can imagine, the game was more successful the more well-rested she was 😀 We had a set of star stickers and we would tell her what had to happen to earn a sticker. For example, “we’re getting in the car after breakfast, and if you do well and listen to mom and dad well between now and lunch, you’ll earn a sticker!” When she got to 10 stickers, she got a surprise or got to pick out a special treat (like a cookie or brownie, or a new book or toy wherever we were). This helped somewhat in the car when we were on the verge of meltdowns, but I will say it was not 100% foolproof. Tired toddlers are still tired toddlers 😀
• Be prepared to bring out the iPad. As a psychiatrist, I know 100% that it’s not great to have my kids watching TV for long. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the iPad does help when the whole car needs some time to decompress. So be prepared to offer some sort of electronic device to your toddler eventually – it’s not the end of the world if they watch a few movies in the car if it helps you keep your sanity.
• Have special surprises lined up. We got Sophie this adorable children’s camera, complete with memory card! She could snap photos to her hearts desire and we didn’t have to worry about her wasting film, plus she loved taking photos of the animals on the safari!

• If you’re potty training, bring a portable potty. We picked up this folding potty seat from Amazon that converts any regular toilet into a kid’s toilet. This is super convenient for just keeping in your normal every day diaper bag too so you can have it whenever your child need it!

Overall, the trip was a stressful one but a fun one, and we loved bringing Benji on his first vacation! Let me know if you guys have any questions in the comments below!