A family road trip can feel like a terrible chore at times, but it doesn’t have to be like that always. It can be fun and memorable with the right planning.
So before you hit the road, ensure that you and your family are road trip ready. To make the experience more enjoyable and less stressful, we put up ahead the ultimate planning tips.
Contents
Pack the essentials
Be smart when doing your family road trip packing. Getting the right essentials can make your journey easier and more enjoyable. It is crucial that you bring the basic things you and your family need. This can include:
- A hefty amount of food and water
- Flashlight
- Toilet Roll
- UV Window Shade
- Sunglasses
- Warm clothing, pillows, and blankets
- License and registration
- A copy of your car insurance policy
TIP: Pack spares of everything. It’s better to be prepared than sorry.
A road trip can be also tedious at times, especially if you have kids riding with you. However, distracting them can be the key to keep them entertained. It can include:
- Tablet or any smart devices (loaded with tons of movies)
- Toys like small dolls or cars
- Travel Games
- Coloring and Activity Books
Also, consider investing in a good comfortable child car seat to ensure they are cozy and snug for the rest of the road trip.
Prepare your car
Before you hit the road, make sure that your car is in tip-top shape. Do a thorough check of your car to ensure that there will not be any hassles ahead. To avoid causing your car to break down hundreds of miles from home and ruining your vacations, consider doing some of these:
- Check your tires for signs of strain, bulges or other damages.
- Bring a spare tire on board.
- Change oil and filter.
- Clean your car.
- Inspect air filter.
- Pack a fire extinguisher.
- Make sure your owner’s manual is handy.
- Check your Wipers and wiper fluid.
- Make sure that all car parts are functioning.
There is nothing worse than feeling scared of a car breakdown throughout the journey. To be comfortable from the start to end, ensure that your car can make the trip without a hitch, so if you think your car is not road trip ready, you can easily get one from a wide variety of car lenders. Check MyAutoLoan review to help you start your car shopping.
Plan your breaks
Map carefully your rest stops for a smoother ride with your family. You can do this by consulting a map of your trip and plotting your pit stops ahead. This will also help you plan breaks around some attractions you might drive through.
Take a look online to scope out the best rest stops or look for fast food restaurants that have play areas along your route. This will also allow your kids some outdoor play. Also, make sure that you fill up your tank appropriately for your trip. Take into consideration the gas you might use for side trips and random detours.
Bring a playlist for your trip.
A road trip is not complete when you and your family are not rocking out to a catchy, special playlist. Beforehand, you can get the whole family involved in choosing favorites and make a mix you can play during the road trip.
Prepare snacks
Especially if you have your kids on board, snacks are undoubtedly a must-have essential for any trip, and it doesn’t always have to be Cheerios and candies. You can also bring some fruits stored in a mini-cooler to help you and your family stay healthy throughout the trip.
TIP: Bring hand sanitizer, wipes, and garbage bags to keep both your kids and car clean.
Be prepared for emergencies
Make sure that you’re ready for any emergencies you might come across on the road. Invest in a good family emergency road kit, too. It can include basic servicing kit, a couple of torches and torch batteries, whistle, bandages, jumper cables, and other essentials.
To avoid unnecessary weather fiasco, research beforehand the weather report. Good weather indicates better adventures. Ensure that there is no incoming hurricanes or extreme weather in your road route.
