Whether it's to spend a day elsewhere or to visit distance family for a few days, leading car hire comparator Carrentals.co.uk offers top tips to make car journeys enjoyable for both children and parents.

Gareth Robinson, Managing Director of Carrentals.co.uk, says: “We all love going on family holidays but sometimes travelling with children can be stressful if we don’t prepare. If parents plan ahead and follow the tips we have put together, this will ensure car journeys are as stress free as possible and will allow you to get the most out of your trip with the family.”

 

Top Tips fior family travel:

• Plan Ahead – Make lists of all the things you have to do and take with you – this way you will have everything you need for your trip e.g. car seats, entertainment and first aid essentials to ensure the journey is as enjoyable as possible. Whatever you do – don’t leave anything until last minute it will only make the trip more stressful.

• Timing is Everything – Work out the schedule – It’s often best to leave at night or early in the morning and drive for a couple of hours while the children sleep. At the breakfast stop, children can change into a new set of clothes and pile back into the car for a few more hours of driving.
• Pit-stops - Before setting off on your journey it makes sense to incorporate stop-overs into the journey at places of interest for the children and the parents to break up the journey.
  
• Entertainment – Entertainment is essential to making the journey stress-free. Portable DVD players, games consoles, mp3 players and e-book readers are great ways to occupy the kids on the trip. Bit of a technophobe? Traditional car games like I Spy, and the Licence Plate Game work just as well.
• Snacks - Bringing food and drink on the journey is the best way to ensure good nutrition and healthy eating for children while traveling and will keep all the family hydrated.
• Think Outside of the Box - Provide children with a disposable camera so they can log the journey and make a scrapbook at the end of the holiday. This will keep them busy while travelling and keep them entertained once home.
• Follow the Route - To avoid the frequent question of "Are we there yet?” you may want to give older children a map and highlighter so they can follow the route as you travel.