Choosing to travel by road instead of air can be a load of fun, but it's important to remember a few things before starting on your journey. This week, we've turned to Erin Bender of Travel With Bender for some essential road trip advice. Find out how she keeps her family happy and productive on long trips!
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5 Things You Must Know Before Starting A Roadtrip
You are cruising down the highway, the wind in your hair, the music up loud, feeling free on the wide, open road. And even though this may just be one moment in time, it feels like this dream will never end.
But here’s reality. The kids are fighting in the back. The fuel gauge is below empty. The window is down because you’re trying to save fuel and avoiding the urge to turn on the air-conditioner in the sweltering heat. And now your smartphone just went flat, which means you have no GPS, no map and no idea where you’re going. Perhaps there were a few things forgotten at home in the excitement to race out the door.
Here are 5 things to keep in mind before you start your dream roadtrip, which will make it a holiday to remember... in a good way.
Understand Your Limits
You have a destination in mind. Check the route on Google Maps to determine how long it will take to reach your starting point, then set your limits. With two small kids, 3 to 4 hours of driving per day is passable, anything above that and you’ll be losing hair.
So if the whole journey is going to take 20 hours, divide that by 3 and realise this trip might take you 6 or 7 days at a pleasant pace.
If you have older children your capacity may be larger and you could do 5 or 6 hours per day.
Whatever your capacity is, plan it out. Once you understand your limits the journey will become much more enjoyable for everyone.
The GPS
There is nothing worse than being lost and adding time to an already tight roadtrip schedule. These days Google Maps on a phone is the perfect solution, except when the phone goes flat.
Make sure to bring the car chargers for your devices to ensure this doesn’t happen. A backup USB cable has saved our day more than once.
Also contemplate whether you will have a Wi-Fi or 4G connection to utilise the GPS. Maps can work without an Internet connection if the route is preloaded, so don’t forget to load it up the night before to avoid a blank screen once you are out of range.
- Tip #1: Google Maps supports saving a copy of a particular map for offline use.
- Tip #2: Take a screenshot of the map on your phone so if the kids ever close your map (which has happened to me), then you still have a rough idea of where to go.
And if all that falls, it never hurts to have an old-fashioned paper map somewhere in the car for that easy-to-reach backup.
Snacks
To keep you awake, to keep the kids happy, and to prevent the unnecessary McDonalds drive-thru visits, bring snacks. Lots of them.
Carrot sticks, cookies, chips, fruit, nuts, raisins. There are such a large variety of perfect car-friendly foods to choose from, the list is endless.
And don’t forget the water. It’s so easy to get dehydrated when driving, especially in summer.
Be Flexible
There are some countries where flexibility is easy. The USA is one of those. With a plethora of hotels and motels to choose from it’s easy to start your Pacific Northwest roadtrip and simply pull over whenever you decide to stop. Alternatively you may also choose to book online during the drive. We used the Expedia app for last-minute hotel bookings during our East Coast roadtrip for a little extra peace of mind.
There are other countries, like Australia, where hotels are usually few and far between so you may need to be a little more strategic.
Bring Cool Tunes (and maybe less cool ones for the kids)
No road trip is complete without the perfect mix tape. Well, you know what I mean. Get all your favourite tunes into a playlist and have them ready on hand – whether it be an iPhone, iPod, CDs or built-in car media player (if you’re lucky enough to have a car with one).
This includes the customary Frozen soundtrack for the kids to keep them happy (even though you secretly know you will be warbling “Let It Go” louder then they will).
A road trip is not a road trip without a stack of cool tunes. Try classics like “Get Your Motor Running”, “I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)”, and “My Sharona” to get you started. Complete the picture with dark sunglasses, and you’re all set.
BONUS: Electronics Time
When driving with younger children it’s important to consider your sanity as well. Play “I Spy,” sing Frozen songs, give them books to read and then if all else fails and the endless desert is not captivating enough for one more “I Spy sand” moment, then revert to electronics. There are so many options other than movies these days to cogitate. Amazon’s Kindle and the ubiquitous iPad can encourage reading, writing, mathematics and more with their educational apps.
Don’t be afraid to take back that moment when the kids are quietly reading a book on their Kindle, your husband is studying the map on his phone, and “Let It Go” has finished. Turn up the Bon Jovi track, stick your head out the window and, with the wind flowing in your hair, feel the freedom of the wide, open road.
What are your road trip essentials?
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Erin Bender has been travelling with her husband and two children since May 2012. It’s an open-ended, unplanned, round-the-world trip discovering amazing places for families. They have stayed in hostels and 5 star luxury resorts, travelled on scooters and cruise liners, danced with leprechauns and cuddled tigers. Nothing is out of bounds or out of reach for this remarkable Australian family. You can find unique family travel insights at her award-winning travel blog, follow her on Facebook, or catch her tweeting on Twitter.
All Images Courtesy of TravelWithBender.com
