Tips and Essentials for Stress-Free Road Trips with Kids!
One question we get asked all the time is, “How do the girls cope with all the travelling in the campervan such long distances?” We regularly manage at least five hours as they’ve got older and usually with only one stop. However, my children haven’t always been great at travelling! We have all adjusted and learnt over time, so I urge you not to expect to much too soon. Having said that, here are my top tips that will make a road trip with children as stress-free as possible.
1: Plan
Plan your road trip route and be realistic with your stops! The younger, or the less experienced road trippers, your children are, the more frequently they will need to stretch their legs. Try to make the journey part of the adventure. Find somewhere exciting to stop and explore on route! Stop and have a picnic lunch, or consider travelling overnight when you know they will sleep. Are you members of the The National Trust or English Heritage? Can you make use of your membership and stop somewhere to explore on the way?
TOP TIP if you opt for a picnic lunch, consider how you store your food. It is unlikely that you will have room to store large lunch boxes, so in a bid to reduce our single use plastic we use these Stasher Bags and I can’t recommend them enough. They are air tight, but easy to open and reseal for little fingers. They are also suitable to put in the fridge, freezer, microwave, dishwasher and easy to store making them the perfect road trip essential.
2: Entertainment
Aim to avoid screen time early on in the journey. Print off some colouring sheets, spot the difference, word searches etc. Get a map of your journey and encourage the children to mark off the towns/cities/places of interest you pass. Play in-the-car games together - Would You Rather? Eye Spy etc. Listen to audiobooks or create a playlist of all your family favourite tunes 🎶. Ultimately, save the screens until you really need them.
Having some activity books that your child/ren can look at/complete independently in the campervan can really help pass the time on a road trip. These are some of our favourites. Sometimes children are just happy with paper on a clipboard and some felt pens. When my girls were younger, they really liked the felt tip pens on a string because they were less likely to drop them.
In-car organisers work well to store children’s toys, games, sticker books, pencils etc. Those that hang on the back of the passenger seats make a good space saving option and ensure children can easily see and find what they want when on the road. Alternatively, storage nets next to their car seats work well too.
Click here to read more about Campervan Storage Solutions. Click here to see a short video of some van storage options.
My children don’t suffer from car sickness. However, if your child/ren do suffer with travel sickness, then it is worth having some travel sickness bags close by in the van. (These are also useful if and when your child is unwell whilst away in the campervan, which is something we learnt first hand!) Audio book entertainment could be useful too, so I have included some of our favourites below:
3: Snacks!
Pretty obvious really, but try to avoid anything with too much sugar that would trigger a rush of energy, or too much salt that would increase the need for more fluids and subsequent loo breaks; also obviously, avoid anything too messy. Things like fresh fruit or a cereal bar are ideal. So long as your children are old enough not to have to worry about choking, consider eating breakfast or lunch on-the-go, so when you do stop, they can run around properly instead of having to sit down and eat. As mentioned earlier in this blog, in a bid to reduce single-use plastic, we also recommend plastic free, reusable ‘Stasher’ bags which have a pinch-press seal, making them easy for children to open and close.
4: Ventilation
Keeping the campervan well ventilated and ensuring children aren't wearing too many layers is even more important on long road trips. Travel with plenty of drinking water in the campervan, but consciously track how much they are drinking, so you can plan in any necessary toilet stops!
5: Distraction
If things start to become a little wild, always have a secret weapon up your sleeve - a mini surprise bag, an extra snack, the ipad. Finally if all else fails, blast out your all time favourite tune with the windows wide open!
Occasionally we travel with the table up and the girls play games on route. Some of our favourites include: Uno Flip, Dobble and Pass the Pigs.
Click below to access a Kids Activity Booklet by Vango. It features one of our recipes.
If you are new to vanlife, you can find a Beginner’s Guide here.
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