For some parents, travelling with children can be a nightmare – for others, it’s a doddle!  However with Christmas just nine days away, it is inevitable that you’ll drive somewhere, should it be to visit the grandparents, aunties and uncles, cousins or friends – and if there are children in the family, they’ll be coming too!

I spy is a firm favourite with youngsters but make sure your little ones know that they have to be able to see the object as C for crocodiles will be a hard one to get!

My children, right up until they had almost hit their teens, liked to look at car registration plates and use the last three letters to make up a nonsical sentence. Nobody was able to use the same words again.  CWA Children With Arms – OGG Old Girls Garters etc etc…

Why not make use of left over Christmas wrapping paper and wrap up tiny little gifts for the children (or little toys they thought they couldn’t take)? This is a tool I used when one of my children was nearly two and he flew for the first time.  I wrapped up some little bendy toys and let him open them at various stages in the flight.  His anticipation at such a young age was fun to enjoy too!

Driving by car with kids can be interesting, to say the least, especially when you are travelling over Christmas and get stuck in a traffic jam!  For real emergency toilet situations, take a small empty water bottle (or one you can empty on the way) for little boys and an empty ice cream carton for little girls!  You may laugh, but I had to use the bottle trick whilst driving through the lions and getting stuck in slow moving traffic at Longleat!

As kids get older, a selection of magazines always goes down a treat – a favourite book, or an audio book for those who don’t travel well.  Keep some of the reading materials aside for long trips as a surprise mid journey.
If you are lucky enough to have a portable dvd player, there are often long term rental agreements at Video Rental Shops, so hire a selection of favourite and new dvds for the kids to watch along the way.  The same goes for hand help computers. Don’t forget the chargers or replacement batteries!

I have found that the main thing to do when driving with children is to stay calm, make numerous stops, and try and pre empt toilet stops.  Have some jelly type sweets stacked away (definitely not chocolate) and distribute these throughout your car journey. Take a selection of drink cartons too!

Lastly, just enjoy the journey – be prepared, and the whole family will enjoy a stress free Christmas drive with the kids!

Hundreds of thousands of us will be travelling through the UK this Christmas and New Year season with many of us using motorway services. Visiting family, staying with friends or just escaping the seasonal  hub bub – we’re bound to find ourselves topping up with petrol, grabbing a quick sandwich or having a rest break at one of the hundreds of motorway service stations found along the length and breadth of the UK.

We may not all like the services but they’re convenient, have a petrol station and are generally well located.  Quite often not only do the service stations have just a little shop and a cafe, but a choice of restaurants, a couple of shops, an outdoors play area for the children, walking area for dogs, cash machines  and often a motel.

I often drive between the London area and Lancashire, and the motorway service station I most frequent is on the M6 Toll road – Norton Canes Services; however, it is always incredibly busy and queuing for just a cup of coffee can take time!

Motorwayservices.info rates the Trowell Services on the M1 between Junctions 25 and 26 to be the best in the UK and yes they have all the trimmings. Runners up include Tebay Services Northbound on the M6 between Junctions 38 and 39 who have a link to a farm shop, Norton Canes, and Stafford Services Southbound, also on the M6, between Junctions 14 and 15.

On the popular M1 motorway you’ll find twelve services to break your journey, with just three on the busy M25 encircling London, although 17 are spread between Junctions 3 and 45 of the M6.  The M5 starts in north west Birmingham in the West Bromwich area and winds its way through the West Country, all the way to Exminster in Devon via ten sets of service stations.

If you’ve picked up your hire car or driving your own car on the UK motorways, be careful on the roads this winter and take plenty of breaks using the motorway services – don’t drive tired!

Exploring New Zealand by road is very popular, either by hire car or motor home, allowing you the luxury of exploring this beautiful country at a leisurely pace.
 
Make sure you leave plenty of time to drive around New Zealand as the country is larger than the UK, the roads often winding and most of the highways outside of the cities consisting of just one lane in each direction. There are many small islands sprinkled around New Zealand, which compromise of two main islands; “North Island” and “South Island”. 

Driving in New Zealand couldn’t be easier – they drive on the left!  Like in the UK, when the traffic lights are red, you must stop, and give way to the right.  The speed limits however, are kilometers per hour. The minimum age to rent a car is 21 years and seat belts must be worn in the front and back of vehicles.

To combine stunning white beaches and dense forests, take a tour of the north of the North Island. Start in Auckland, and visit the Bay of Islands region, a beautiful area made up of 144 islands and quiet bays where you may go marlin fishing or seek whales, penguins or dolphins. The beauty of the Coromandel is just 90 minutes from Auckland, rich in history, rainforests and long pristine beaches. To enjoy a little Maori culture and European history, head to Roturua.

The South Island is best known for its glorious Alps and Fjords. Start in the capital of Christchurch, and take the TranzAlpine train to Greymouth, one of the world’s most scenic routes. From here you could then drive along the west coast to the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers.  Inland is the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand’s highest mountain. Enjoy the exhilaration of a Shotover Jet ride speeding down the Shotover River or the normality of historic Arrowtown.

Florida is the number one location for Brits travelling within the USA and hiring a rental car. It’s simple to do (hiring the car with easyCar), the roads are well sign posted and directions easy to navigate. There is also so much to do and see in Florida that with a hire car, you could be surfing at West Palm Beach on the Atlantic Ocean one day and bathing on the Gulf of Mexico in Clearwater the next – followed by a trip to the coral reefs of Key Largo and dolphin swimming in Orlando!

There are just a few points that will help you understand driving in Florida.
Drive on the right. If you are turning right and the traffic lights are red, provided there is no sign telling you to the contrary and of course, no traffic coming, you can turn right. Passengers in the front of cars in Florida must wear seat belts, and all passengers under 18 years old must wear a seat belt or child restraint device (front and back).

Do not drink and drive. The Florida drinking laws and limits are stricter than nearly every other USA state.

Like the UK, speed limits are in miles per hour (MPH). Around schools, the speed limit in Florida is 20 mph, residential and business areas 30 mph, with rural interstate and limited access highways a maximum of 70 mph; however, watch and adhere to all speed limits posted as they do vary often. In 2002, Florida passed a “Mover over Act” which means that when approaching emergency vehicles e.g. ambulance, police, fire service etc, that drivers move into the next lane or slow down to 20 mph below the posted speed limit.

If you approach a Stop sign, make sure you totally stop and don’t just slow down. You can be fined for not completing the stop manoeuvre. No one has the right of way, and the law states you must yield the right of way, so do everything possible to prevent a crash.

When driving on the Florida Turnpike and other toll roads, make sure you carry cash. You are able to purchase rolls of quatres which is the preferred tender although other coins are accepted, and these can be bought at the toll plaza with the green “Change Given” lane. If you have a SunPass, do not stop as you travel through the relevant automated lane at the toll plaza as other drivers behind you will not (white/yellow sign)! Between some of the rural locations, rather than a coin system, you will be given a ticket showing point of entry onto the toll and time of exit.

A USA Fly Drive holiday is the perfect way to explore the States, either by staying in one location and discovering the surrounding area, or by booking hotels and motels in multiple towns and venturing through the American countryside and exploring the many sights and attractions.

If driving in the USA for the first time, it is important to understand that the country’s states are vast in size and may take many hours or even days just to drive from one side to the other. To drive from New York on the east coast (Atlantic) to Los Angeles on the west coast (Pacific) will take a minimum of five days with stops.  Drive on the right and be aware that in many US states, you can turn right at a red traffic light, unless otherwise stated.  Also be aware that road laws can differ from state to state.

Fly into your chosen US airport and make your way to the car hire desks where you will be asked for your car rental booking details, full valid driving licence and a credit card for a deposit.

The most popular USA fly drive location for Brits travelling abroad is Florida which is one of the smaller states. Fly drive into Orlando and you are only 85 miles from Tampa but fly drive Miami, and Tampa is about 250 miles away.

A very scenic journey is fly drive California between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Travel for speed along the I-5 (green route) or for a slightly more interesting route travel for 430 mile on the US101 or black route.  However, by far the most beautiful of routes is driving your hire car down the blue Coastal Route along the Pacific which can take about 10 hours and can only really be enjoyed by stopping off over night on the way.

When on a USA Fly Drive holiday do consider how far you are travelling when choosing which model of hire car to book. If you are travelling for hours at a time along straight empty roads, look at hiring a car with cruise control so that you can set the speed and take your foot off the accelerator (do check you know how to turn it off!). Otherwise, choose a car with enough baggage space.  For shorter journeys, for example if collecting a hire car at Orlando airport and driving to your accommodation and then onto the theme parks, then you just have to consider space for the passengers and baggage between to and from the airport.