Travelling by car with your children

Travelling by car with your children gives you great privacy and independence and allows you to run your own timetable and avoid at least some of the stresses of family travel. You are also not subject to the same packing restrictions that affect you when flying to have your family holiday.

The difference preparation will make when you are travelling in a car with your family is immense and proper timing, appropriate stocks and good in-car entertainment will make a huge difference to this experience. We have provided a long list of top tips for travelling in a car with the kids and hope that you will find them useful. We also have a long list of top car games and travel games to play with the kids car games for babies and downloadable colouring links all of which are free.

If you are renting a car with the kids we have partnered with cartrawler who search thousands of car rental special offers and special deals and you can book car hire here on the site.

We have prepared some advice on renting a car with children, a checklist of what to bring on a car journey as well as several lists on how to entertain the children while you are  travelling with the kids through the various ages and hope these are helpful.

Top tips for car journeys with your children

Make sure the car is properly equipped with all of the appropriate safety features. Before you set off, ensure that car seats are properly installed, child locks enabled (this can often be forgotten when collecting a rental car in unfamiliar destinations) and any sunshades or rear view mirrors are installed.

If you are travelling in your own car, do a full car check including tires, spare wheel, water, oil, antifreeze, fuel, brake fluid and pads and airbags.

Time your trip appropriately. Consider your child's routine and try to travel off peak if at all possible particularly if you are travelling in, to or from a city.

Travel by motorways and highways where possible. They are less likely to cause motion sickness and generally quicker. However, there can be long periods when there is no possibility of stopping for a toilet stop or fuel and you need to plan your stops appropriately.

Allow lots of time for your journey to allow stops where necessary. Keeping is flexible is key and do not put yourself under too much time pressure.

Make sure you have all of the contact details in case of breakdown or accident.

Plan your route carefully. Get a map and study it before you set off not en route. Make sure you have explicit written directions or even better buy, beg or borrow a satellite navigation system enabled for the destination. Our Tom Tom has saved us many fraught journeys over the last few months and the kids love the silly voices and the bossy lady as they call her.

When considering stops, motorway service stations can have a range of child friendly facilities including play areas and baby rooms. Healthy eating can be an issue however. Take lots of snacks and drinks for longer journeys from even if you do plan to stop for food.

If you are going to be travelling overnight put young children in their pyjamas and try not to disrupt their routine too much where possible.

When packing the car, allow as much legroom as possible by putting your main luggage in the boot. Position children's activity bags beside them and where possible in such a way that items dropped can be retrieved easily.

Before you set off make sure everyone has gone to the toilet and if motion sickness is an issue that they have taken their medication.

Where possible and safe, encourage children to run and exercise at rest stops.

Try to introduce fun into the equation by keeping surprises at the end of the trip when they may be most needed or treating the journey different from normal car journeys.

For good old fashioned fun car games and travel games are always a huge hit and we have our top thirty ideas for car games and travel games here on the site.

Children's CDs and audio books are always popular and a great way of entertaining the children.

Consider special equipment designed for travelling with kids such as neck supports toy storage systems, sunshades, child rear view mirrors and snack trays. The extra expense can make a huge difference.

Check that you are fully aware of the rules of the road in your destination country if you are travelling abroad.

Travel safety in cars

Since the introduction of an EU Directive in September 2006, it is now mandatory for all children up to 150cms in height (roughly 11/ 12 year of age) to be restrained in an appropriate child restraint. This means using a child car seat, booster seat or booster cushion.

The new regulations provide that:

• Where safety belts have been fitted they must be worn.
• Children under 3 years of age must not travel in a car or goods vehicle (other than a taxi) unless restrained in the correct child seat.
• Children aged 3 years or over who are under 150cms in height and weighing less than 36 kilograms (i.e. generally children up to 11/12 years old) must use the correct child seat, booster seat or booster cushion when travelling in cars or goods vehicles.
• Children over 3 years of age must travel in a rear seat in vehicles not fitted with safety belts.
• Rearward-facing child car seats must NEVER be used in the front passenger seat of cars with an active airbag.
• Child car seats must be in accordance with EU or United Nations- Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) standards.
• Drivers have a legal responsibility to ensure passengers aged under 17 use the correct seat, booster seat, booster cushion or seatbelt.

You will find lots of family friendly travel tips and advice in our research and advice section to help you book the right family holiday. Check out also the experiences of other parents and travellers in our parents forum and add your own experiences as we are a great believer in real parent's experiences as the best measure of whether somewhere will suit you for your family holiday. 

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