A family road trip is a fantastic family vacation. It allows you to visit lots of places, take the scenic route and travel at times that are convenient for your family. Of course, you also have an added bonus: no luggage weight restrictions.
Whether you’re planning a road trip across the outback or taking in as many of Australia’s beautiful beaches as possible, your kids will love exploring the country. If you want to travel further afield, you could take a road trip across California, drive through mainland Europe or explore New Zealand in a van.
#1. Realistic expectations
Life isn’t a movie montage; you need to have realistic expectations for a road trip with kids. Of course, there will be bickering and crying. There’ll be times when you get lost or struggle to find parking spaces. But all of that doesn’t need to distract from the fun. One important way to make sure your road trip runs smoothly is to plan it with your family in mind. For example, if you know your youngest can only cope with two hours in the car, make sure that’s your maximum journey length.
Top Tip: You can squeeze two journeys into a single day if you break them up with a fun activity. It could be time spent at the beach or visiting a tourist attraction. Make sure your kids have plenty of opportunity to burn off energy and let off steam before herding them back into the car.
#2. Clever packing
One of the benefits of a road trip is having more space. You don’t have to squeeze all your things into a suitcase; instead, you have a whole car at your disposal. Taking everything you need, though, isn’t much use unless you can find it. For a stress-free road trip, you need to know where everything is. Colour-coded packing codes are useful to separate your family’s belongings so you can find things quickly. Car organizers are also great for having all the things your kids need for the journey right there when you need them.
Top tip: Fill the glove box with fidget toys, boredom busters and other fun surprises you can whip out in an emergency.
#3. A spacious, reliable car
If you cover long distances on your road trip, you need a car with plenty of space. Take the stress out of a family road trip with a car you can trust. The GWM Ora is a zippy electric vehicle, so you don’t need to worry about the environmental impact of your trip. The standard GWM Ora has a range of 310 km, and the extended range GWM Ora can handle a journey of up to 420 kms on a single charge. Safety is at the heart of the GWM Ora, which boasts a safety feature for every situation. Whether you’re driving in a city, across the outback or down winding lanes, the GWM Ora has your back.
The GWM Ora has plenty of features to elevate your car trip, from Apple CarPlay to a wireless phone charging port. The 10.25-inch full-colour touchscreen infotainment system will help guide you to your destination and make choosing in-car entertainment easy. In addition, the comfortable interior will enhance your road trip, allowing everyone to relax on the journey.
Enquire about the GWM Ora today online or at your local GWM dealership.
Top Tip: If your car isn’t road trip-ready, you can hire a car for the journey instead.
#4 Let the kids have a say
Your kids will love being involved in decision-making. For a family road trip, there are lots of choices to be made. Where do we want to go on the trip? Which museum shall we visit today? What are we having for lunch? Let your kids shape the vacation by voting on what they want to do.
Top Tip: If voting is likely to end in tears, allow each child to make decisions alone. The decisions don’t have to be trip-changing; they can be little things, such as where to sit on the beach and when to have ice cream.
#5. Snacks and more snacks
Don’t even think about attempting to embark on a long-distance car journey without snacks – at least, not unless you want to be eaten alive by your own children. Have plenty of nibbles in the car for when your kids get hungry. You never know when you’ll hit traffic, so be sure to overpack when it comes to car snacks and bottled water.
Top Tip: Plan your journeys around mealtimes because car trips with hungry kids are no fun. Why not plan a picnic stop during the journey? Even just a short break from the car will leave everyone feeling much happier, especially once tummies are full.
#6. A carefree attitude 
One of the most wonderful things about a car journey is the adventure. Unlike a flight, a road trip allows you to stop off along the way and visit more places. There can be planned stops, or the ‘Hey, that looks cool. Shall we stop the car and explore?’ variety. Taking your sense of adventure on a road trip is essential because that’s how you’ll make lasting memories with your kids. Sometimes, unexpected experiences hit hardest, so make sure you don’t miss them.
Top tip: Resist the urge to Google everything on your smartphone. Go ‘old school’ and explore things for yourself, without the help of technology.
#7. Make road trip scrapbooks
Scrapbooks are a great way to remember the details of your holiday. Buy your kids a scrapbook and plenty of things to decorate it. Encourage them to stick in tickets, postcards and any other souvenirs they find. Take plenty of photos for them to stick in when you arrive home. Creating a physical memory will help your kids remember the trip much better and a scrapbook is a sweet reminder to look back on when they’re older.
Top tip: If your kids don’t have smartphones or cameras, buy some disposable film cameras so they can document the trip. Share with them the joy of not knowing how your photos have turned out until long after the trip is over.
