Budget Travel Blog

We are coming up on that time of year when road trips are looming. I love road trips with the family. I also hate them. You know how it goes; they’re fun for the most part but they have a bunch of hassles and headaches that come along with them. The ubiquitous “are we there yet?” is just the start of things on some trips.

However, I’ve learned a few tips over the years to make family road trips more fun than annoying. Here are five of them:

1. Plan in advance but leave room to be flexible. It’s best if you can plan the road trip in advance. Figure out what you want to see, where you want to stay and approximately how long the trip is going to take. Then cushion every part of the trip with some extra time. This allows you to be flexible to account for those fun side trips and unexpected delays that are inevitable parts of a road trip.
2. Get the kids involved in the planning. Road trips go a lot more smoothly if the kids know what it is that they are looking forward to during each step of the trip. They’re even smoother when the kids get to help with the planning. Let them pick some weird things to see on the way.
3. Take entertainment along with you. Every family has different rules about this. Some let kids take their video games and cell phones and others don’t. Whatever the rules are, though, you need to have a source of entertainment for everyone in the car. A book, a tape for sing-a-longs, whatever it may be … you all need something!
4. Practice your patience. In the weeks leading up to a road trip, it’s a good idea to practice meditation. Practice letting go of the letting things. Practice laughing instead of stressing out. This will be put to good use on any road trip.
5. Set the rules in advance. Make clear rules for the road trip. How often will you be stopping? What are the rules about ordering at fast food restaurants? Who gets to sit where in the car? What is the punishment for fighting on the trip? Set the rules and discuss them in advance to prevent a lot of problems on the road.

If you like this please share it: