Making the Most of a Family Trip – Guest Post

Making the most of a family road trip

If you’ve got a few days off with the kids and are unsure how to entertain them, a family road trip could be the answer. It doesn’t have to involve military planning and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, as long as you do a bit of research beforehand and know what you’re after, you can have the perfect thrifty road trip! Izzy – a blogger for PassSmart – is here to share a few hints and tips to help you make the most of your family road trip, and offer up some ideas on where to go.

Day trip?

A family road trip doesn’t mean taking a week out. In fact, it could be a weekend or even a day trip, and you can travel as far as suits you. Decide how long your trip is going to be and decide where your destination is going to be.

If you’re opting for a day trip, you obviously don’t want to go too far afield so look up some places to go in your area. Museums or amusement parks are great options, or – if the weather’s up to it – you could take them to the beach. The beach or a local park are great options if you’re on a tight budget, because they’re free!

Longer trips

You can still be thrifty when going on a longer road trip. Look for family-friendly but budget accommodation, and try to find small, local restaurants to dine in, rather than expensive chains. Where possible, opt for self catering and take supplies with you!

In-car entertainment

Long car journeys don’t have to mean restless kids and a monster headache, although you may think they do! Instead of plonking the kids in front of a portable DVD player, play some in car games which are sure to keep them occupied. I-Spy is an old classic which gets them taking notice of their surroundings and interacting with each other.

Try making up a game of your own to get the kids’ creative juices flowing. You can make the games educational, too, so they’re learning even whilst on the move! The alphabet game, for example, tests their memory, their word skills and their imagination. Simply ask one of them to think of something they ‘bought from the shops’ or ‘saw at the zoo’ beginning with A. This goes on until Z, and you have to remember and repeat what every one was for every letter as you climb up the alphabet!

Technology ban!

If your kids are old enough to own every technological device under the sun, then there’s a radical solution you can take. If the whole family agree to give up technology for the duration of your trip, you each get to do an activity of your choice if you succeed.

Of course, one phone is allowed in case of emergencies, but, other than that, you should try to go completely technology free. You’ll be surprised at how much more time you actually spend communicating, and might even find it quite liberating!

Exception to the rule: cameras are allowed, of course!

This guest content was provided by the UK-based, learner driver facing site, PassSmart.com.

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