How long to drive before stopping?

[bananajelly]

So we have booked a family holiday to Scotland. It's very far north (think John O'Groats way) and it is going to take us (traffic dependent) between 8-9 hours to get there.

I was thinking about doing half the journey, heading to a hotel, refreshing overnight and setting off again the next morning. But just can't make my mind up! If we didn't end up stopping at a hotel, we would obviously be having lots of toilet breaks, stretching legs, lunch etc at motorway services.

For context I have 3 DC. At the time of the journey they will be 12, 9 & 3.

WWYD?

Are there two of you to share the driving?

We drove from Glasgow to Cornwall in the summer. On the way down, we did seven hours, stopped about six pm and spent the night in a hotel before doing the other four hours. On the way back, we did twelve hours in one day. Brutal, and that was mostly motorway driving being split between us. The toddler got bored after about three hours and whined til he fell asleep.

Once you get off the M9, the A9 is a mix of dual and single carriageways and might be full of lorries doing 50mph. And after Inverness, it’s all single carriageways. I would split the journey on the way up so you don’t start the holiday ratty and knackered.

I wouldn't bother with an overnight hotel for that length of journey. I'd just set off in the morning at a time that avoids getting stuck in rush hour traffic and have plenty of breaks and expect the journey to take 10/12 hours or whatever.

If you go up the A9, make sure you stop at the House of Bruar somewhere near Pitlochry. It really is something quite spectacular.

We live in South Wales and drive to the Isle of Skye every year. We break it up, stop somewhere near Preston, then stop in Fort William and drive to Skye from there.

Personally I'd leave a day early and spend a night overnight in a city on the way up and have a mooch around there before setting off again so the children get to see even more, same on the way back unless the urge to get home is too much.

If that isn't an option I'd still stay overnight at a motorway hotel and also stop every 1.5 to 2 hours regardless.

I really wouldn’t try to do it all in one day. The first time we did Manchester to Skye all in one day and that was pretty brutal. Also on more than one occasion there were road closures because of accidents resulting in gigantic diversions.

I’d leave early, get as much done as possible then have a long lunchtime stop. I prefer less stops but longer than frequent short stops.

Is there anywhere interesting/nice for an overnight stop? If it was just a motorway hotel then I wouldn’t bothee

I'd do it in one go. Leave very early and just push through.

We go to France several times a year, our caravan is about 9 hours from Calais. We leave home around 430am and arrive around 5pm, traffic dependent.

When are you going OP? If you'll have plenty of hours of daylight, you're sharing the driving and nobody is prone to car sickness, I think it's doable in a day. Try and do the longest first leg you can manage before anyone needs a wee. Then plan for progressively shorter stints between rest breaks as the day goes on.

But have a plan B i.e. make sure you know of somewhere you could break the journey en route if the roads are a disaster.

For a holiday I’d book a hotel especially with a young child amongst you. I often drive for 8 hours for business with no stopover.

I would split the journey - and I used to live overseas where we regularly had to drive for 12 hours two days in a row to get to destinations (pre children!). Aside from anything else, you probably don't want to arrive late in the evening to somewhere new where you may need to buy food (if self catering), find the property (easier in the light), work out who's sleeping where etc. When we did a similar distance on holiday, we broke the journey there, but came straight home, arriving at 11pm (we stopped en route).

We'll be doing it in May from the south and won't do it in a day. I'm going up separately by train a couple of days earlier, but DH is driving to Carlisle and stopping overnight. On the way back we are stopping in York (we are gong to Perthshire, so not as far north as you).

Even if there are two of you to share the driving, it's tiring for passengers too. Personally I think 5-6 hours driving in a day is enough.

I would love a motorrail service. Put your car on the train and sleep on the journey and wake up somewhere scenic like Aviemore. It would be lovely.

no more than two stints per person of 3 hours per day. 'push on through' is dangerous, don't care if you hit a tree but I do care if you kill someone else.

In terms of stops, the nicest service areas are Gloucester if you are in the south-west and then Tebay and Annandale Water.

In the past we've also stopped in Carlisle for an hour or so and also Lichfield on the way back. As a pp said, it's more interesting to go into a town/city than just stop at a service area.

Me and my ex used to do these kinds of drives several times a year. I did 4 hours then he did 4 hours. The only time we stopped off overnight was after an evening ferry from Europe into the U.K. we drove across Europe with a 6 month only only stopping for toilet and to feed the baby.

If you don't feel confident then stop but if more than one person is driving it is more than doable in one day.

the A9 is a mix of dual and single carriageways and might be full of lorries doing 50mph

So true.

I'd do it in 1 day but break it up. 4 ish hours in the morning with a toilet break, then a long lunch for an hour or so and another 4-5 hours in the afternoon with a toilet break.

I wouldn't book an overnight. We would often drive NE to Cornwall which was about 7/ 8 hours. Part of the fun was being crammed in the car, singing songs, playing eye spy etc. Its some of the best memories I have to be honest. Obviously we would stop on the way for toilet breaks and leg stretches so it would make the journey more like 10 hours.

Wow certainly a mixed bag of results.

To answer some questions...it will just be DH driving, we are going in the summer and we are coming from Manchester area.

I think we will end up booking a premier inn, so will have a look for one that is in the middle ish. Thank you all for your responses, any recommendations on a good middle ground hotel?

If it were me I'd look at leaving super early in the morning (kids in PJ's) and get a load of it done before the roads get busy - makes the world of difference. Then with a couple of quick comfort breaks I'd just do it in one day. But that's just me - I used to drive from Scotland to the south coast on a regular basis only ever stopping for fuel and a quick wee/coffee top-up. I enjoy a bit of a long drive. Do what you're comfortable with.

I'd probably drive the whole way, but I am used to driving for long periods and it wouldn't worry me. It depends on the driver to be honest.

As it's just one of you doing all the driving I'd definitely stop overnight. At least with a premier inn you can cancel up to the day of booking.

Where are you driving from?

I would aim to leave at about 2 or 3am. Kids to sleep in the car. Stop somewhere for breakfast and something to do in the morning. Leave again about 11am, and arrive mid-afternoon.

For the sake of the DC I would do an overnight on the way. Between you, you could probably bear the drive but it's such a long time in the car, especially for young children.

"I would love a motorrail service. Put your car on the train and sleep on the journey and wake up somewhere scenic like Aviemore. It would be lovely."

My family did the next best thing, going from north of England to south west. My dad drove the car, with the luggage, and the rest of us went by family railcard. On his own, he could take breaks as best suited him. We could only just get all of us in the car, so we'd have been very restricted on luggage if we'd all driven, and with the family railcard the railfare wasn't too bad.