Tips for Europe by car trip

[LawdAMercy]

We have a short ferry ride to Calais and then driving to Germany & Switzerland with 4 kids (ages 1-8).

Hubby is getting the car serviced and has first aid kit, hazard sign and other stuff for driving in Europe. I’m thinking about snacks, and in-car entertainment.

We are staying with family and friends so don’t need to think about camping equipment or anything like that.

Any tips to make the journey more bearable? It’s been 20+ years since I’ve been on a ferry and we’ve never done a car trip this long before.

I'm about to do a similar trip with 2 toddlers. Aldi had travel trays that can be used for drawing, playdough, etc during the drive so I got them one of those each. I've made them both up an activity bag with various different things to keep them both entertained. Usually I get 1 of something and they just have to share but for this I got them 1 each of everything to minimise fights in the car (I still have the scar from a boot to the face from my brother during a car ride to Italy on holiday). In their bags I've got colouring stuff, playdough, stickers, mini-books, a Timio player, a doll and a couple of random fidget type toys. The bags are small enough just to sit at their feet and they can take them to cafes and things to keep themselves entertained too.

Pre mobile technology I used to take a ‘sac magique’ with various toys and treats in to break up the tedium, things like stocking and party bag fillers. Mini etch a sketch went down well!

Double check you have European breakdown cover and read the fine print. Pack using suitcases just in case you have to fly back. We have driven to Europe many times and had wonderful holidays, until we broke down last year and realised how hard it is to get your car repaired quickly in the summer holidays in Europe

When my kids were younger I swore by story CDs. We drove a lot and they always kept the children quiet and content.

There is no way I would have let them use play-doh in our van 😁

You will need a motorway vignette for Switzerland. Make sure aircon is working nicely. Audiobooks might be better than videos if car sickness is possible.

Work out a couple of nice stops- a pretty town with a nice park they can have a run around in for a bit, or a beauty spot with toilets and a cafe, that kind of thing.

If it was me I would break the journey halfway and book a cheap hotel somewhere.

Drive overnight - roads are quiet and the kids sleep through most of the boring drive and wake up in a new country! We used to do this down to the alps. Give them dinner at home, in car in comfortable clothes - pjs, tracksuits, onesies. Chuck a blanket or duvet over them. They would be awake in uk and over the Chunnel trip around 10 pm. Invariably fell asleep once we got onto motorway in France then slept through the night. DH and I would take turns and nap when we could. Stopped for breakfast and woke kids up for a good feed before we started to head up into the mountains.

investigate if the countries have toll roads and if there is a gadget for auto pay. France uses a system Liber-T from Sanef. You can order a tag for the car and it will bill you by direct debit.

Paeage tag is brilliant France). Check if your route will take you through crit air space.

we have a mobile home 9 hours south of Calais. Twins and a dog. We’ve done the drive several times a year for years. Do not stop at services for food / toilets, only for fuel. In France stop at the Aire’s if you don’t need fuel.

what sort of car have you got, are you going to one in the middle of the car seats for the younger ones?

sticker books kept mine occupied for hours when they were small, they also liked to decorate the car but I let that go as they were quiet.

we used to leave here around 4am and drive through taking it in turns, driving through the night just ruined the next day.

there are new rules about bringing meat / dairy into Europe, my sausage sandwiches would be out. I actually don’t know anyone who has had their picnic checked though!