Las Vegas to Orlando with the Kiddos!

[brit1230]

We are an Air Force family driving back east for a family wedding. We are stopping in Albuquerque to stay with friends. I also have friends in the FL panhandle where we can stay. Where should we stop in between ABQ and FL?

[PNW Judy]

Welcome to the Roadtrip America forums!

How many days do plan to use to travel this distance? We recommend that you limit your driving days to about 550 miles, tops. When you have kids along, you might need to travel even less as kids need to get the wiggles out more than adults do. Of course, this will vary depending on the age, temperment, and energy-level of your kiddos.

Be aware that 500-550 miles generally translates to about 10-12 hours driving, depending on traffic congestion, so this won't leave any time for exploring along the way. If you want to do that, you definitely need to add days.

Since you didn't mention where on the Panhandle, I chose Tallahassee. It's about 1500 to there from Albuquerque and you will really want three days to travel that, but a day more for more stopping, exploring, and getting the wiggles out wouldn't hurt.

The quickest route can be found here. Good stops should be Wichita Falls TX, then Baton Rouge, then Tallahassee.

Obviously, if your destination in closer/farther than Tallahassee, you will need to make the proper adjustment.

Anything else we can help you with?

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA forum!

If you're just looking for places to spend the night to break up the trip, then I'd say Witchita Falls, Texas and Baton Rouge, LA would be stops that would each be about 10 hours of driving per day. That's about the limit of what we recommend, especially for a family trip. Depending upon where in the panhandle your final stop is, you might want to shorten the third day and spend the night around Alexandria LA instead.

[brit1230]

You guys are terrific! Wichita Falls has a base where we can stay! Perfect! Thank you very much for your help!!!

[Midwest Michael]

I didn't think of the bases as offering lodging possibilities for you, but in that case, perhaps you'd want to spend your 3rd night near Shreveport/Barksdale AFB. If your panhandle stop is closer to Pensacola, then that would still be a reasonable drive for day 4 (although Tallahassee might be a bit much.) Since your 3rd day of driving would be relatively short, that might also give you a chance to spend a little time exploring Dallas for a few hours to break up your trip.