Driving Vacations

Getting There is Half the Fun

Looking for a fun and less stressful vacation idea? If you enjoy driving, consider taking a "Driving Vacation." A driving vacation gives you some flexibility. All you need to determine a head of time is where you want to end up, Colonial Williamsburg, for example. Or you can choose a general location like the Southwest or New England. You can even just determine the general direction you want to travel, east, for example. Driving vacations do take a little planning, but if leave a day late or a day early, it won't make much difference. In addition, since you make numerous stops, the children aren't cooped up in the car for more than two or three hours at a time. Here are some tips for taking a "driving vacation."

Decide Where You Want to Go
If your children are young, you might want to do most of the planning, but their interests should be considered, although most interests can be accommodated along the way. If your children are older, let them participate in the planning as much as possible. Remember, though, you aren't planning an entire itinerary before you leave. One great place for younger children to visit is Sesame Place in Pennsylvania, which is a theme park based on show Sesame Street, complete with all the favorite characters from the show.

Get Some Travel Guide Books
Once you've decided on a destination or even a general direction to travel, you need some guidebooks. If you belong to AAA Auto Club, you can request the books you need. They are free with your membership. (It might even be worth joining since having some travel protection can't hurt if you're going on a long trip.) The information is also available online, but having the books in hand is so much better. Other auto clubs might have these books as well, so if you belong to a different auto club, ask about them. You will want books for the states you will be traveling through. For example, if you live in Illinois and are traveling to Pennsylvania, you want the books that cover those states and the ones in between.

Here's what you'll find in these travel guide books:

• State and city maps
• Descriptions of cities, with any historical information
• Restaurants
• Lodging
• Attractions of every type. Here are some of what you can find:
  • Amusement and theme parks
  • Water parks
  • Museums
  • Historical landmarks, including graves, famous houses, etc.
  • Caves

This kind of guidebook is essential, so make sure you get good ones.

Make a Tentative Plan
Once you get the guidebooks, sit down with the family and take a look at what's available along the route you will be driving. You can actually start out without any plan at all. Sometimes the fun comes from planning the next day's activities each night along the way. Planning as you go also allows you to make adjustments depending on how everyone feels. For example, one day you feel like doing more driving and another day you feel like doing less. You may feel like seeing an IMAX movie or you may feel like visiting a science museum. Or you might want to do both in one day. It's important that everyone understand the plan is tentative. Other things may look more interesting or less interesting than they originally seemed. You might want to give up one visit to spend an extra day somewhere else. Flexibility is the key to enjoying the trip.

Enjoy the Trip!

Here are some keys to a pleasant trip:

• Don't worry about how long it will take to arrive at your destination.
• Don't try to visit everything on the trip out; some things can be visited on the way back home.
• Consider the possibility of following a different route home. That opens up new places to visit.
• Each night with the family re-evaluate the plan. Look through the guidebooks and see what is available. Most motels have brochures available on nearby attractions as well.
• Stop early in the evening for the night, around 6:00. If possible, get a room at a motel with a pool. Stopping early this way gives the family time to spend together and have some fun. You'll have time for dinner, even if it's fast food, time to play, and time to think about the next day's activities.

Extra Tips

• When you enter a new state, stop at the first welcome center you come to. You will find numerous brochures on attractions in the state and coupon books for motel discounts.
• Many motel chains have directories of their motels available in their lobbies. If you like that particular motel chain, you'll always know where to find one along the way and will know what each one has to offer.
• Be prepared with things for the kids to do in the car, although you don't usually spend too much time in the car in one sitting. Teresa Plowright has some great Fun Stuff for Car Trips.

Remember flexibility is the key. You can drive for a couple hours in the morning, stop at an attraction for the afternoon, then drive a couple hours to a motel, but you can also drive more or less at either point. It depends on where you are and what everyone feels like doing!