While your own backyard is a great place to get your daily dose of outdoors there is nothing better than loading up the car and getting out in the wilderness on a road trip. Although, taking the whole family along for the ride can be complicated. Luckily, I have come up with the guide below that can take you through all the steps you will need to make to ensure your family road trip is a success. Read on to find out what they are.
Family road trips can be the best!
Step 1 – Planning
Road trip planning can be something of a controversial subject. This is because many people think that real road trip and when you hop in your car and start driving, even if you don’t know the destination that you will end up in. However, when it comes to running a fun trip for the whole family, kids and all, I highly recommend investing some time and effort in organization and planning before you leave.
In fact, mapping out your journey including the time it will take in total, as well as the time needed for each individual leg of the trip is a good idea. This is because, doing so will not only allow you to see whether you are on schedule with your trip at each point, but you will be able also to plan to fit in as much as possible too. Something that means everyone in the family can get to make the stops they most want, and this can lead to a much more successful trip.
Step 2 – Your family’s comfort and safetyNext, when it comes to family road trips, safety has to be a prime concern, and you need to begin thinking about it before you have even left. In particular, doing any repair or maintenance work on the vehicle you will be driving over a long distance is vital for your family’s safety. You may even wish to take it to the local garage and get it serviced and checked before you begin your journey. Just to be on the safe side.
Also, don’t forget that you need to have the right safety equipment inside of your car, so the whole family is comfortable and will be protected if the worst does occur and an accident happens. For young children, this means installing a suitable car seat. Although you must ensure that it is the right kind and size for the child in question.
In fact, there is a range of seats on the markets include rear-facing seats for newborns and front-facing seats for toddlers. Some even convert from one to the other. Although, you’ll need to read this before you buy a convertible car seat. Otherwise, you might not be getting the safest one of your children to ride in during a long road trip.
Step 3 – Making memories
Another step that you need to go through to create the most successful family road trip possible is to consider where to stop and what sites to see during your journey. After all, spending all of the time in the car between your start and finish destination is going to be boring for everyone involved.
Look out for particular sites of interest such as historical places like the Alamo as well as botanical gardens. The latter being an excellent choice for stretching your legs and getting some sunshine on a break from traveling.
Then, of course, there are the famous roadside attractions that lie along many of the main road trip routes in America. There you can see things such as the World’s Largest Brick, Salvation Mountain, and even the hugely creepy World’s Largest Jack-in-the-Box! Also, remember that getting the kids to pick some of the stops will undoubtedly help them to stay interested in the trip and enjoy more as well. It can even help them to get more excited about the trip in the lead up to the event too.
Step 4 – Keeping everyone entertained
Lastly, when it comes to organizing successful road trips for the whole family, do not forget that kids’ boredom tolerance will be much lower than yours as adults. Sit and stand strollers can help keep the kids part of the action but keep them safe at the same time.
What this means is that you need to take lots of fun activities and entertainment to keep them busy, and amused in the back of the car such as travel-size board games, art activities, and handheld computer games. Otherwise, you could end up getting fed up with them, something that can cause your trip to be anything but success!
