Survival tips for long car journey with 2yo and 8mo?

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e.g. best time of day to travel (we were thinking night time maybe?), things to keep them going/entertained (if it's daytime) etc?

We'll be driving to Northumberland in May, and Cornwall in June, from London.

Daytime travel is best for us. Just in case of emergencies - not nice in the dark!
We used to leave at the crack of dawn and baby would sleep most of the way. 2 yo is kept entertained with little tiny snack eg cheese savoury crisps (tiny and fiddly) grapes, rasins etc. seemed to keep him occupied for ages. Stop off for a leg strtching once he becomes fiddly. 2 yo would prob nod off to sleep around 11.30am for a couple of hours too.

thanks tracy! Still havent made our minds up about timing

I am driving from Colchester to deepest darkest Dorset tonight with a 21month old and a 6month old. We have decided leaving at 6pm is best, they may be awake for up to an hour, but then they will sleep..... plus roads should be quieter, got to do A12, M25, M3 and A303 so not much fun!

DVDs

We bought wire thingys that plug into the cigarette lighter. Means we can play DVDs on our laptop. Have only done it twice, but it made 2 long journeys blissfully easy.

We travel 3.5 hours up north to see my parents once every couple of months or so with ds now almost 2, but being doing it since he was a baby. Found easier going at night as he does sleep most of the way and is naturally tired. Tried it once in the day and he screamed the whole way and awful traffic - very stressful.
Went to Cornwall from London too last year.We started off really early in the morning and just stopped a good few times for breaks and had loads of different toys for him to play with. We were however VERY glad when we finally arrived.

Take lots of breaks, Moto service stations tend to have good baby and toddler facilities, but if you can then check your maps well before you set off and try to find some breaks that will allow your 2yo (and yourselves) to run around like crazy and let off steam. When we go to the SW we generally take a break somewhere in the New Forest.

It's good to schedule the drive either to begin near a nap-time, or for the running-around break to be just before or just after the nap. Fortunately our ds was fairly consistent in his napping - but it doesn't always work.

Alternatively, drive overnight. Our two always love being 'put to bed' in the car, and they eventually fall asleep. Drawback is that it doesn't always work driving west with a forward-facing seat. Overnight drives can go terribly wrong when the child wants to turn over and can't because they're strapped in. When this happens to ds he just cuddles his bear tighter and sucks his fingers, but dd doesn't get the same comfort from her bear and gets distressed. You never know until you try, though.

I tend to pluck mine from bed/cot at 3am, still in PJs and put them straight in the car with their favourite bear and cover. Usually, my 6 year old will be awake for a bit, but the 2 yo will go straight back off - done this since babyhood with both of them, worked every time. Agree moto have good facilities.

Have done it both ways - ie night and day.
we often do night if we can get in where we are going very late as its easier to drive when they are asleep. Having said that we drove to the Dordogne with 2.9 DS and 6m DD. We stopped lots. Had endless "song" tapes. Had some new toys to amuse a bit. Lots of drinks, sweets as bribary and went with the flow.

Thanks everyone. Good idea about song tapes Alison - will start a 'wanted' thread :)

Can borrow song tapes from library (but they will drive you crazy!!)

Not as crazy as DD1 screaming her head off MamaG Good idea, will try library too

the silent game - whoever stays quiet longest gets a sweeeet works every time