Posts Tagged ‘Road Trips’

Tips for Traveling with Kids in Car

May 10th, 2012 Tushar Mathur

Traveling with kids can be tiresome, irritating and overwhelming all at the same time. Though road trips should be exciting, most young children don’t see it that way, and it only takes 200 “Are we there yet”‘s before parents start pulling their hair out.

If you’re not prepared for the road trip, it could be even more stressful. The best way to ensure that you remain sane during the trip is to prepare yourself for the trip before you leave. The following tips will help.

 

Before You Leave

Have a conversation with your kids about the road trip. Show them on a map where you will be going, what route you’re going to take and what states or cities you’re going to drive through to get there. It’s also important to let them know how long the trip is going to take.

Have your kids pack a bag of activities that will keep them busy. Coloring books, stickers, iPods, computers, Nintendo DS—all of these things can keep your child busy while in the car. Make sure they have their favorite stuffed animals too.

You also need to make sure that you pack plenty of snacks. Try to get them ahead of time so that you’re not making an extra stop along the way. Try to stick to non messy items, such as dry cereal, pretzels and chips. You can also pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. These will keep your children full until you stop for real meals. Make sure you pack plenty of drinks too, and try to use sippy cups or water bottles to reduce spilling. You also need to pack a garbage bag for wrappers and every other piece of trash, and having wipes and paper towels on hand is also a good idea.

On the Road

Make sure your child’s toys are easily accessible. It’s also a good idea to make sure that snacks and drinks are easily accessible too. This alleviates the whining and the frequent stopping.

Make sure you also have a portable DVD player so that your child can watch movies or listen to music. This can keep their attention for a longer period of time. Just make sure to bring the headphones.

It’s also a good idea to bring pillows and blankets. This will help make your child more comfortable, and may even help them fall asleep. Make sure that your child wears comfortable clothes in the car too, and make sure that a change of clothes is easily accessible in case of accidents or changes in weather.

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Packing for a Family Road Trip

September 13th, 2011 Tushar Mathur

The family road trip has been a staple in the USA for decades. Many of us have great memories of traveling with our parents and siblings in the family vehicle. As children, road trips can feel like they’re lasting forever, and as parents it can be torture if you’re ill-prepared. Preparation is the best course of action to ensure that you’ll be ready for anything that comes up while on a road trip. Here are a few things that every family might find useful while they’re on a road trip.

  •  Travel Games and Toys

If you don’t have dual DVD players in every seat back, you’re going to need some entertainment for restless children. It may be okay for some kids to look out the window for a little while, but sooner or later even the best child will become unruly sitting for hours on end. Travel companion games are always great for more than one child. Puzzles and colouring books are old standards, but with older kids you can even bring along crafts like bracelet making sets or model cars. Giving kids something that they enjoy doing will cut down on needless whining and squabbling.

  • Hygiene

When on the road, hygiene can be the last thing on our mind. When you’re travelling with kids, it’s imperative that you pack certain hygienic equipment to avoid sticky situations and messes. Antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizers are today’s hygienic must-haves, but don’t neglect to pack some tissue and toilet paper just in case. You can also pack a box of zipper bags to place smelly garbage while on the road.

  • Nutritious Foods

Packing candy and chocolate treats for a car ride may seem like a good idea at the grocery store, but when you have a group of children covered in melting chocolate and getting more hyper by the minute you may be rethinking that purchase. Small, bite-sized items like baby carrots, cherry tomatoes or boxed raisins go a long way to keeping kids busy, and likely won’t make a huge mess of your vehicle while being consumed. You can also consider making some baked goods ahead of time to save money on those little gas station pit stops.

  • Proper Insurance

Never leave home without being confident in your insurance coverage.

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5 Tips For A Great Road Trip

August 19th, 2011 Tushar Mathur

There’s nothing quite like a road trip, whether you’re heading off by yourself and you’re looking forward to several hours of you time or you’re heading off with friends or family they say half the adventure is in getting there and road trips can be great fun and build great memories, so long as they’re properly planned.

Plan Your Route x2

You might have a sat nav, latest copy of a road map and the latest smart phone but you still need to know where you’re actually going maps can get lost or forgotten and sat navs and phones can run out of battery or just stop working. Physically look at your journey on a map and if nothing else memorise the main cities you’re heading through. It’s also a good idea to plan a secondary route, you never know when a traffic accident can leave a road closed and if it’s just happened there’s no guarantee they’ll be any diversion signs up yet and even if there are, there’s always the chance that some idiot has decided it would be funny to rearrange them. Make sure you know where you’re going and make sure you know the route well enough to navigate any obstacles.

Plan For Your Guests

If you’re travelling with friends or family you need to make sure they’re catered for especially if you’re got kids in the car or people that don’t travel very well. It might be your car and you might be the driver but this doesn’t mean you have automatic rights over the music, at least not if you want a harmonious journey. Make a couple of CD’s or playlists up that cater for everyone and if you have to, implement a no singing along rule. If you’ve got children make sure they’ve got something (quiet) to play with. A new colouring book or game for a handheld games console can keep them quiet for hours and if you’re letting them have some sweets make sure they’re carefully rationed.

Check Your Car

Legally speaking we’re meant to check our car for things like tyre pressure and oil levels every time we drive somewhere but this is very rarely the case. Before a long journey it’s vital your car is up to the job. Make sure the tyre pressure is correct (for a loaded car if needed), check all the fluids like water levels, screen wash, oil etc and keep top ups in the boot just in case.

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Road trips

September 20th, 2009 Tushar Mathur

Road trips give you a lot of excitement and pleasure. They also give you a number of benefits over air travel. In road trips you can make your own timetable and change plans whenever you need. More than that, you get the enjoyment of seeing steady changes in the scenery as you drive. If you really want your road trip the utmost happening then it is always vital to keep safety in mind. Simply by applying some easy safety tips, you will have many joyful, secure road trips in front of you. Whether you should buy a train ticket or go on the wheel of your car to your destination, the answer depends on a lot of reasons. Some of the pros and cons of road trips are as follows. Road Trip Pros:
• You can control your arrival time, departure time, journey and bring to a halt in the way wherever you feel. • You don’t have to stick to the particular hotel, train food or airplane food instead you can pack from home or can eat in a drive-through.
• You can change your destination if you don’t like that fussy place, you can simply drive away.
• You can see the landscapes in the pathway and not only a train track. That will give you a great relaxation and pleasure.
• You can put any number of bags that fits into the capacity of your car, and you don’t have to pay additional money. You can save money, particularly if you are traveling in a group because total traveling expense will be shared among the group.
• If there is a road, you can travel to the smallest town also as all small towns does not have airports.
• You can effortlessly abandon a road trip or come back whenever you want. Road Trip Cons:
• Driving through road takes much time as it is the slowest means to travel between two points, particularly between large cities where there is good facility of rail and airline service.
• Traveling by car is a big risk as it is more accident prone.
• You have to do all the work. From route planning to direction-finding to accommodation finding all is up to you.
• Traveling by car can be costly, including all the factors like petrol, tolls, parking, and meals and accommodation along the way.
• Bad weather conditions can affect your trip.
• If you are traveling through an older car, you might have to hire a car for your road trip, which is a more pricey option. Sometimes in the way, wear and tear on your car also turns to a costly expenditure.

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How to Plan a Road Trip

January 9th, 2009 Tushar Mathur

Road trips are full of excitement, pleasure and full freedom and lovable experience to get lost into the beautiful scenery and natural surroundings. It is also considered to be cheaper than any other modes of transport just because of the fact that you can go according to your convenience and budget planning. It imparts the full freedom as you can visit the different places and maximize your fun and joy. It is so peaceful to steer the wheel and go by listening songs all along the way.

It is a completely different charm in going by road trips and taking the road maps, filling the car with valuables and essential items. But going by road trips are not as easy as nobody wants to come back home exhausted. It needs a whole sole preparation and planning in order to avoid any danger or mishaps.

Let us know how to plan for the road trip to make it more exhilarating and convenient.

  1. First plan your route ahead of maps using online map services such as Google maps to let you know about the time and distance and all the possible stops. Even paper map will not let you down. Better you write down about the activities, schedules and directions. Try to check out for the stays and accommodations in the inns on the roads. Be fully aware of the weather and road conditions of the particular place.
  2. After planning about your road trip, the next thing is to check your car. Make sure that everything in your car is in the perfect condition. If you want you can get it to the service station beforehand. It should have the good gas mileage and even having the enough space for luggage and passengers if you are going in groups.
  3. Then check out for the essential things that you need to take with you in the road trip. The food and other travel accessories are very important to take. Buy your food and drinks and keep them in the cooler. This will really help you to save money.
  4. If you are traveling with your kids then take plenty of snacks and food items so that they keep munching. Let them be free but they should not create inconveniences. Give them their toys, games, books or puzzles or coloring books to make them occupied in the trip.
  5. Travel safely by being extra cautious and be alert of the thefts. Be careful while traveling at night and try to be awake by allowing someone else to drive when you are tired. Also take the medical kits with you and manage the things orderly.

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