Are we there yet? Tips for a happy summer road trip

With summer vacation just around the corner, you might be planning to gas up the car and head out on a road trip.

Spending hours on end in a car can be a lot of fun or not depending on your outlook and, more importantly, your preparations.

So whether you're behind the wheel or riding shotgun, here are some tips from two frequent travellers, Kathleen Brennan of Stratford, P.E.I., and Frank Liu of Charlottetown, for a successful road trip.

Plan your overnight stays

The last thing you want is to be road weary and pull into a motel in the middle of nowhere and find a no vacancy sign.

So it's a good idea to book a hotel in advance or, as Brennan prefers, crash with family or friends who live along the route.

"I come from a really big family so we tend to plan our stops based on where we would have a free place to stay," she said.

"So they're often a recipient of an email from me and usually they will open their arms and let us have a place to rest our heads. And that works out well to break up the journey for sure."

Choose music everyone likes

Sure, you can all sit there with your headphones on listening to your own music, but how will that help with family bonding? Not everyone likes hip-hop, and not everyone likes golden oldies. But you can usually find a happy medium.

Liu, who runs a travel agency, often takes road trips with his wife and 16-year-old daughter. And lucky for them, they all enjoy classical music.

Pack a variety of snacks

Brennan makes an 18-hour drive to Ontario at least once a year, she said, and the one thing she won't leave home without besides her travelling partner, Adam is her collection of snacks.

"I tend to focus on snacks because I feel like a road trip gets dangerous if you have people who might be hangry," she said.

"I put together a little kit bag of mason jars filled with various delights that I often will pick up at the grocery store or at bulk food stores that offers a nice mix of salty and sweet, crunchy and soft, healthy, less healthy something to satisfy every craving along the way."

It's usually cheaper than buying food along the way, and more environmentally friendly if you usereusable containers.

Play games to pass the time

You might not be able to play Trivial Pursuit with the full board, dice and pie slices, but you could brings the cards and take turns asking the questions.

"There's also online apps and games of trivia that you can get for your phone that's maybe a little bit less cumbersome," Brennan said.

"We frequently do crosswords because it's something everybody in the car can contribute to, weighing in on what makes the right word fit for that clue."

The alphabet game is another favourite and good for all ages. Find a word that starts with A on a road sign, truck decal, or something else and continue through the alphabet:Bonshaw, Crapaud, Desable.

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