We provide a detailed study of actions of the integers on compact quantum metric spaces, which includes general criteria ensuring that the associated crossed product algebra is again a compact quantum metric space in a natural way. Moreover, we provide a flexible set of assumptions ensuring that a continuous family of $\ast$-automorphisms of a compact quantum metric space yields a field of crossed product algebras which varies continuously in Rieffel’s quantum Gromov–Hausdorff distance. Finally, we show how our results apply to continuous families of Lip-isometric actions on compact quantum metric spaces and to families of diffeomorphisms of compact Riemannian manifolds which vary continuously in the Whitney $C^{1}$-topology.