When you go on a road trip with your family, you get a chance to experience the world around you from a much different perspective. It makes the destination seem much more appealing, and gives you a great time to spend plenty of quality time with your family. Not only that, but it's much cheaper than traveling via other methods of transportation, especially if you have a particularly large family.
Of course, if you've never taken a road trip before, and you aren't sure how to plan it properly, then you may not be sure exactly what to do. In that case, this article is for you. I'll give you a couple of good tips that can help you to ensure that your time on the road with your family is a fun excursion, a memorable experience, and something you can look forward to doing again.
The first thing you'll need to do is pick a good destination. Too close won't give you enough time to really feel what it's like to be out on the road. Too long can turn into a prison on wheels for anybody who's had enough. A good rule of thumb is to plan at least one night between your home and your destination, two if you think you and your family can handle it. More than that is asking for trouble. Plan on about four to six hours of driving a day with frequent stops, which should give you a good idea of how far you can go in that time. Then simply look at a map, and choose a worthy destination an adequate distance away.
Something that you absolutely must do if you have kids is to bring some form of entertainment. Luckily, we live in an age where portable DVD players are relatively cheap, so you can stock up on your kids' favorite movies. This is a good way to keep them occupied when they get bored looking out the window. Another thing to keep the kids from going crazy is to bring plenty of snacks. They can even eat snacks while they watch DVDs, for a double dose of pacification.
One good idea that works sometimes is to show your kids your route on the map, and let them follow along as you drive. If you have a GPS navigation system, this is even better.
Of course, these ideas are pretty basic, but you'd be surprised how many people head off on long road trips without much planning. It doesn't take much to turn you well though out family trip into a virtual disaster, with the kids screaming and no end insight to the mundane scenery that has been passing you by for days. By planning ahead of time, you can be sure that your road trip will be a memorable experience that you can look forward to repeating again.