How to Plan a Family Car Trip

Family trips by car are considered a classic type of vacation in almost every country in the world. Anyone who has been on such a trip will tell you that it is amazing. While the destination itself is important, the time spent in the car with the family is much more valuable. If you have never been on such a trip, but really want to go there with your family, just follow some simple tips.

Choose a destination

First of all, wherever you go, you need to choose a place. Although the value of travel is in the trip itself, you have to choose where to come. Otherwise, the road can turn into a nightmare. 

The choice of location also depends on how far you can go in one sitting. Usually, the distance does not exceed 500 miles (805 km). However, if you want to go somewhere farther, do not forget to choose places to stop overnight.

Create a route

In the 21st century, no one uses paper maps anymore, because the shortest route from point A to point B can be calculated by a smartphone. This is great, but the disadvantage of calculating a route through apps is that it can’t create it with cool places where you can stop and have some fun.  However, you can ask fellow travelers about designated spots and create a customized route using apps like Route4Me Route Planner.

So you have to think with your own head. Select the places you want to visit on the map and create an itinerary with them in mind. Of course, you have to sit and think for a while, but on a trip, such stops are just necessary in order to:

• stretch your legs;
• get some fresh air;
• see something unusual or beautiful (stops are usually made in such places).

All this will help you to spend time with your family much more interesting and fun.

Make your budget for the trip

Many daredevils go on a trip not thinking about money and this is fundamentally wrong. The budget is one of the first things you should think about. In short, you need to calculate the approximate cost of:

• gas;
• food on the road;
• paid admission in places of stops (if there is one);
• overnight accommodation (if there is along the route);
• souvenirs;
• emergencies.

Do not forget to calculate approximately the daily rate of expenses. Try not to deviate from this figure and control your expenses.

Journey to nature

If you decide to go for a few days by car in the countryside, in addition to the above costs, you need to calculate the costs of travel equipment (if you do not have one). The main and probably the most important is the tent. Not everyone has it and a lot of people do not even know how to choose it. In fact, it is enough to read xtm rooftop tent review. 

After you have chosen a tent, you need to purchase various small things:

• sleeping bags;
• tourist chairs and a table;
• burner;
• metal dishes;
• drinking and technical water;
• food;
• entertainments.

Pay travel insurance

It’s foolish to think that a road trip is when you jump into a convertible car and race through empty trails to adventure without a hitch. You should prepare in advance for the fact that the car might break down, the connection might fail, there might be a thunderstorm and you might get lost. So, purchasing a travel insurance policy can take away a good half of those worries and even save your money. 

On a more positive side, you should prepare not only for difficulties but also for pleasant surprises. There are plenty of chances to unexpectedly bump into sights that were not in the plan, make new friends, or come across a beautiful secret route that was unknown to you.

Have fun on the road

Songs used to be the main entertainment on road trips. However, this tendency has changed over time. A huge number of games have appeared that anyone can play while on the road, and even the driver (of course, with sufficient driving experience).

Spy

This is a simple smartphone game where each player gets the same location. The spy doesn’t know what that place is and his task is to guess it. The other players must randomly ask each other leading questions about the place to figure out the spy who doesn’t know what it is.

I take it with me on the road

One player comes up with a rule that divides the items into two groups – what he will “take with him on the road” and everything else. The leader starts the game by giving the correct example. Players try to guess the intended rule by asking if the leader will take this with him on the road. 

When someone thinks they have guessed a rule, they say so and name the rule. If the rule is named incorrectly, he is out of the game (kids can try several times). The rules can be very simple, such as “I take all spherical objects” to very tricky such as “edible things that start with a consonant”.

What to listen to on the road?

In addition to games, you can also listen to different things, for example:

• your favorite music;
• podcasts about the place you are going to;
• new audiobooks;
• local radio.

As you can see, there are many things to do on a road. So, don’t be bored and pack your bags!