Your road trip holiday is just a drive away

Embrace adventure with a fun road trip holiday

Going on holiday doesn't have to take you too far from home. Wherever you find yourself in the UK, you can be sure that there's something exciting to experience just a short drive away. A road trip holiday is one of the more popular ways to travel, and with so much to see and do, it's no mystery as to why.

Road trip planner tips

To get the most out of your holiday on the road, you should plan quite a bit in advance. Here, you'll find several different tips available to make your road trip planning efforts pay off. The first thing you need to do is consider how much time you can allot for your trip, where exactly you want to go and how long you plan on driving each day. The Lands End to John o'Groats trip can certainly be rewarding, but you won't enjoy it much if you plan to drive it all in a single day. Splitting up that 15-hour trip into smaller segments can be more relaxing and let you experience numerous additional destinations along the way.

If you're travelling with kids, there's an entirely new level of considerations to keep in mind when planning. Even if you can handle longer drives, your kids may not be able to. For those kinds of road trips, it's best to spend less time in the car each day and include several stops in between your home and your ultimate destination. Keep in mind when you're planning that, many of the rural roads throughout the UK have a relatively low speed limit. While the distance may not be prohibitive on its own, the low speed limits can add some extra time to your trip that you may not have considered.

Road trip games

The best way to pass the time in the car on a long trip is to play games. This is true whether you're travelling with friends or with children. Road trips can be especially difficult for the driver if everyone else in the car is asleep, but games can keep everyone engaged and awake with entertainment that will make each leg of the journey exciting. One of the most popular games is to name a tune after only playing the first few seconds of it. You'll have to prepare a playlist beforehand, but it can be a fun game with everyone guessing. Just try to keep it fair with songs that everyone in the car might know.

If you're playing games with kids in the car, there are a few other classics you can rely on to keep things exciting. First, you can play I spy, though it's generally best to only point out things that are going to be in sight for a while. This is especially useful if you're driving down a rural road with a low speed limit. The alphabet game is another popular option. All you have to do is come up with a category and rotate around the car with each person giving an answer in the category starting with the subsequent letter of the alphabet.

Road trip ideas for summer

While you'll find plenty of opportunities to travel throughout the year, there's nothing quite like a road trip in summer. You can bring the whole family along while the kids are out of school, and you can see the vibrant colours of nature as you pass through the UK countryside. Some of the natural areas are truly stunning, especially around the Cambrian Way in Wales. Along the A470 starting in Cardiff, you'll venture through Snowdonia and the Elan Valley, with some time spent by Brecon Beacons National Park as well.

For adventure a bit farther to the north, you can take the Road to the Isles in Scotland. During your trip, you'll probably notice the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which was used as a filming location for some of the Hogwarts Express scenes in the Harry Potter films. You'll still be able to take in the natural charm as you drive past picturesque areas like lochs. If you're looking to take your trip to the next level, consider taking a ferry to the Isle of Skye at the end of your road trip for an otherworldly experience.