There’s common saying that goes something along the lines of “it’s not about the destination – it’s the journey that counts the most”. Indeed, some could argue that it’s not about the destination or the journey – it’s the car that you take the journey in that matters the most, and for many of us, we would agree that even a long and arduous journey in a fun and innovative car can feel like a joy!
However, these long road trips, particularly when shared with family can be fraught with tension as you’ve got several people in a confined space with very little to do… but this doesn’t have to be a recipe for disaster; this article offers five simple tips to avert road trip despair.
However, before we look at these tips let’s consider five of the world’s best road trips that should be added to your bucket list, albeit, you might need to look into low interest personal loans in order to afford them – particularly if you’re renting a fancy car such as a Porsche or Bentley. In no particular order, here’s the list of top road trips followed by our tips on how to avoid road trip despair:
- Big Sur, California
- North Coast 500, Scotland
- Yukon Golden Circle, Canada/Alaska
- Snaefell Mountain Road, Isle of Man
- Trolls Path, Norway
Table of Contents
STOP OFF ALONG THE WAY
Thanks to Satellite Navigation, the days of arguing over a huge map are mostly over – now, at least, there is a common enemy when the SatNav gets it wrong. However, it is good to plan out a route that allows for some interesting stop-offs along the way. Agreed, driving up the motorway for five hours is the most fuel and time efficient way to travel in a car, but think of all the things you are missing out on along the way.
KEEP YOUR CHILDREN ENTERTAINED
If you’re taking a long journey with children you’ll be wanting to avoid those four words every parent fears on a long car journey… “are we there yet”. The trick here is to ensure your kids have plenty of engaging activities that don’t require adult participation – whether that’s watching a film on a mobile device or something more ‘old school’ like a colouring book and some crayons.
KEEP THE ADULTS ENTERTAINED TOO
The thing we sometimes forget, is that even for the adults, a long car journey is a somewhat frustrating and tedious experience. It’s therefore important for the adults to have something to keep them entertained too; often this can be as simple as a great soundtrack for the journey, a good book, or some deep conversation – which is particularly effective at keeping the driver engaged without being too distracting.
HAVE A GREAT SOUNDTRACK
A great game to play with your family, particularly if you have a Spotify account or similar, is to create a playlist before you go on your trip that includes the favourite songs of each person in the car; presuming you have access to the internet, an even better way to go about this is to pass the device around the car in turn so that each person selects a song. If you’re really brave you could even turn your car into a karaoke booth though whether this averts the feeling of road trip despair is another question.
EAT OFTEN
Eating breakfast is a great way to start your day before hitting the road, as not only does it help with driver alertness it also helps passengers prone to travel sickness feel less nauseous because it lines their stomach.
