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As much as I enjoyed our holidays abroad in 2019, there was something in the back of my mind asking me if we were slightly crazy to brave going abroad with two under two so soon. We had a really lovely time and I’m grateful for the fantastic memories we made, but this year we’ve decided to give ourselves a break and book something a little more sensible. We will be staying in the UK and visiting Centre Parcs for the first time! Hopefully, this will be slightly more relaxing and not leave us feeling we need another holiday to get over the first one!
We are off to the Sherwood Forest Centre Parcs, which is quite a drive from Brighton (4 hours 30 minutes) so it’ll be quite a road trip with a baby AND a toddler onboard – but it’ll be a huge amount easier than going abroad!
Here are a few ways we plan to make our journey run smoothly:
Plan stops
The first and most important thing when doing a road trip with a baby is to plan in lots of stops. We will plan out a few nice places to stop, maybe pack a picnic if it’s nice weather and break the journey up. Finding services with play parks or soft plays is always a bonus too, so have a look out for them!
Drive when the baby sleeps
On the flip side to this, when the babies are napping we will drive, drive, drive! They love a car snooze, so after lunch we will snuggle them up with blankets, put some soothing music on and clock up the miles.
Drive a bigger car
Luckily, our car is quite big and will fit us all in but if you normally drive a smaller car I can recommend borrowing a car for the day from a friend or relative, as honestly, you’ll be so grateful for the extra space once you’ve loaded the babies and all their luggage, toys, food, milk, nappies and bedding into the car. Kids come with a LOT of stuff. I’ve always thought it would be tricky to drive someone else’s car but you can actually arrange car insurance just for the day which is a really cost-effective way to do it.
Entertainment
Plan out your children’s entertainment before you leave, fill the iPad and your phone up with downloaded movies, music and games to keep them busy whilst you are on the go. Make sure all devices are fully charged too! We’ve tried taking other toys and colouring but find it can be more frustrating as every two minutes they will drop something then get upset when we can’t reach it! Of course, snacks and drinks are always a winner too!
Kit the car out
A quick and easy way to organise everything into one place is to use a handy car seat organiser with ipad holder, these are super cheap, easy to fit and keep everything within easy reach for your toddler. It’s also worth fitting car seat protectors and packing a spare car seat covers for if your little one gets travel sick too. It’s not exactly the same as when you rent a party bus to Clearwater but it’ll certainly make your journey a lot smoother!
Don’t overdo it
Most importantly with a road trip, don’t overdo it. If everyone’s getting a bit stressed, tired and grumpy – find somewhere to stop, stretch your legs, have a drink and something to eat and start again. Don’t fix yourself to arrive at a certain time so if things don’t go to plan, you won’t be too stressed out. Most importantly just enjoy it! Make the road trip fun, sing songs, look out the window, play games and make it part of the holiday.
If you are going on a road trip this year I really hope these tips helped and you have a fabulous time!
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