How to Plan the Family Roadtrip of a Lifetime

 **Collaborative Post**

AD: Road trips can be fun and memorable; they can also create family memories that will last a lifetime, especially if you are heading for a beautiful destination at the end of it all. However, they can also be tricky to plan not to mention stressful, so they go smoothly. If a road trip is a rare event in your family, and you want it to go as smoothly as possible, read on to find out more about road trip planning and how to avoid some common pitfalls when taking your family out on the road.

Start Planning Early 

Road trips don’t happen very often for a number of reasons; they can be difficult to organise and stressful on the road, but that only happens when you don’t start planning soon enough, or you don’t plan in the right way. A road trip like Magellan bike tours needs to be booked and planned.

Make sure your family road trip runs smoothly with early planning; there’s is a lot to think about, including the type of van you will drive, the route you plan to take, along with the food and entertainment. Planning early gives you more time to reflect and ensure you have everything.  

Have a Practice Run 

Heading out on the road with your family can be the holiday of a lifetime; it’s a chance to make memories that will stay in the family for years to come. If you want these memories to be happy and joyful instead of stressful, it’s a good idea to have a few practice runs on the weekends. 

Practice runs are not only an excellent way to adjust to long periods on the road, but it’s also a chance to visit some local sites. These mini-road trips allow you to get familiar with the patterns of life on the road. How long can you drive before you need to take a break, for instance?     

Plan the Route 

Route planning is important, but so are flexibility and spontaneity. There are lots of standard road trips to choose from, including the land of the lakes in the Lake District, the Scottish North Coast route, The Atlantic Highway, and many more. But you can also go off the beaten track. 

Route planning takes time, especially if you want to design your own route, so start early and talk to people to get the best advice. Even if you choose to drive an established route, you will still need to know where to stop and how long you expect to drive; also make hotel bookings. 

Find a Vehicle 

The road trip won't get very far without a vehicle and one that’s in good condition, for that matter. There are two ways to go about getting a vehicle, you can hire one for the trip, or you can buy one. Buying a vehicle is worthwhile if you take weekend trips and regular road trips.  

The easiest way to take your family on a road trip is to hire a vehicle for a few weeks during the holidays; not only are hired vehicles cheaper, but they have undergone safety checks. If you buy a mobile home, you will need to have it serviced and repaired routinely before you hit the road.   

Prepare Early 

Making your road trip as comfortable as possible improves your overall experience and creates the kind of memories that last a lifetime. On the other hand, failure to prepare means stressful situations, arguments, and fallouts that can be hard to resolve when you’re on a family road trip.

There is a lot to prepare if you want to make life on the road predictable and enjoyable. Start by separating your requirements into categories such as food, fuel, entertainment, kid’s stuff, pet stuff and so on. Open a journal for the process and write things down when you think of them.    

It is also worth making sure the vehicle itself is prepared so aside from all the basic checks like tyre pressures, oil levels and fuel etc it is also worth considering taking out some kind of Car Warranty to ensure your vehicle is fully covered should anything happen. Not only does it give you peace of mind when traveling but if anything was to happen its often more cost effective to have too.

Let the Kids Pack 

It’s a family holiday, so get the family involved from the start by allowing your kids to pack for themselves. For grown-ups, packing can be a bit of a chore, but kids want to imitate the grown-ups and will probably enjoy the process. But remember to give them some advice. 

The kids will pack the things they want, such as toys and games, but they might forget about more practical items, like soap and toothpaste. Help them to make a list of what they might need and double-check the suitcases when they’re done to make sure they have everything on board.     

Organise Entertainment 

Road trips are enjoyable, but they can become boring, too, especially for young children. Make sure you have plenty of entertainment for them to keep them occupied on the road. Depending on their age, they can play driving games, card games, word games, or even computer games.

Make sure you have plenty of games, audiobooks, and entertainment for those long hours on the road; the last thing you need is a van full of bored kids, they will make their own entertainment, and it might be destructive. Again, practice runs are a great way to test things.   

Embrace Flexibility 

Planning is an excellent way to make a road trip work, but you need to embrace flexibility as well and learn to expect the unexpected. Sometimes you will want to make spontaneous decisions on your journey that will take you off course; other times, the unexpected will occur. 

If your vehicle breaks down, for instance, you might be off the road for a time; this also needs to be planned into the road trip so that you have plenty of food and entertainment to keep the family occupied while it gets fixed. Remember to forewarn the kids about any possible delays.     

Make a Driving Schedule 

Avoid becoming tired on the road with a driving schedule. If there are two of you, decide how long you are each willing to drive for and work in shifts. Having a driving schedule keeps everything under control and ensures you reach your destinations at the right time every day. 

One of the dangers of driving on a road trip is tiredness which can cause accidents; that’s why there are legal limits on how many hours someone can drive continuously. Make sure you take a break every four hours and don’t drive for any more than ten hours a day for health and safety.

Whilst it will never truly be possible to plan every detail of a road trip as things aren't always predictable and you just don't know what might happen during your time on the road, hopefully these tips will help it run as smoothly as possible. Just try to remember that however stressful it might be at the time, it will all be worth it in the end.

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