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8 Tops Tips for Organising a Family Road Trip

 
Here at Northside, we like to plan ahead to ensure that the vehicle you hire from us is in perfect condition for your required trip.
However, we are also realists and know that family road trips, particularly if you have a big family, can be tiring, stressful and take a lot of time to organise. Of course, whether you are familiar with Western Australia or are driving out onto brand new territory or driving somewhere completely different! We’ve come up with some top travel tips to ensure that your BIG family road trip runs as smoothly as possible, no matter where you plan to go.

#1. Check your vehicle

First things first – your vehicle of choice. At Northside Rentals, we ensure that you’re vehicle is ready to hit the road and offer bespoke offers to ensure that it will fit you your family’s needs. However, it’s always worth double-checking the tires, coolant and engine oil of any vehicle you that you plan to take on a long road trip.

#2. Make your itinerary

Plan your route in a pre-planned family meeting with a map and lots of highlighter pens. This is a great way to get the family engaged in your road trip before you set off. Allow everyone to have their say when it comes to activities, stop of points, restaurants etc to ensure that each day of your trip will have something for every family member.

#3. Assign a leader

If you really have a lot of heads to count, you will need to put someone ‘in charge’ to make sure that everyone is not only counted for, but that everyone is fed, watered etc. If you have a really large group of children, consider pairing them off with an ‘accountabilabuddy’.

#4. Go low-tech

Computer games, tablets, iPods – they’re all very handy on big road trips, but consider some family games, stories and songs that can make the trip really memorable. For kids of all ages, this is what will make a road trip really memorable – so dredge up some family lore for this time together. If there’s a lot of children, consider assigning a ‘Games Master’ every 30 minutes to ensure everyone gets involved. Of course, if you require other tech such as GPS devices etc, be sure to take these along with you.

#5. Brush up on your knowledge

Going on long scenic drives is a great opportunity to instil some priceless knowledge. Getting to grips with the history and geology of the places you’re visiting or driving through is another chance to interact with your group as you travel – even if there’s a few uninterested faces, they’ll learn more through seeing and hearing first hand then they will from a book.

#6. Pack up

Make sure you pack correctly for the trip you’re going on – for example, a road trip here in Western Aus will require a lot of heat and sun protection as well as a lot of water per person. With a lot of young children, you may also want to consider a travel bag for each individual on your trip to include personal sleeping items, toys, pillows or towels. Make sure to take into account the people who might suffer badly with travel sickness etc so that you can pack the relevant medication.

#7. Think food

Exciting food and drink is a great treat when on any long road trip so make sure you pack up well. On long road trips in the Austalian outback for example, you may not have a chance to stop off for a while so the family/group will need something to keep them going. Take along a cool-box too to protect your food and water from the sun as much as possible.

#8. Keep it fun!

Perhaps most importantly, make sure your road trip is fun! The best way to ensure this is to take it easy and remember that fun is what this trip is all about. So try not to cram in too much and don’t be overly ambitious with what you want to see and do. This way, you’ll reduce the chance of getting over-faced and having to miss out on attractions.

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