Table of Contents
This is a collaborative post.
Planning a driving holiday
We have a driving holiday to be booked for next summer. Our plan is to drive from London to Brittany – and maybe pop down to Disneyland too. Planning a long car journey requires a lot of planning if you’re having 2 small children aboard. The stops, the entertainment, the food, the snacks, the nap times, just to mention a few. And plan B too, what if there is a traffic jam on the way, if they urgently need the toilet, or simply they just don’t want to sit in the car seat – as our little girl often feels like. Of course you can’t plan for EVERYTHING, but you still do your best to make sure everything goes smoothly.
Preparing the car for the journey
Of course, it’s also very important, that the family car is ready for the long drive. The last thing you want is, that the car fails you, so better make sure, that it’s in its best form. I have put together a checklist, containing all the important points.
MOT Test
Find a reliable and approved centre and just get it done. A few weeks before the holiday preferably, so if there’s anything which needs to fixed, you still have time to do that. And since you’re doing an MOT check, you might want to check the tyres, the coolant and the air conditioning too.
Children Car Seats
Make sure the seats are still the right size and comfortable enough if you are going on a long journey.
Spare wheel, car jack and locking wheel nut key
Make sure you have these with you in case you need to change a wheel – in case you pick up a puncture. Save space for these items in the booth. Also, it’s a good opportunity to remind yourself how to change the wheel as we don’t do that everyday.
Car Insurance
Having a car insurance doesn’t mean that it covers taking the car abroad. So you might want to find it out and give your insurer a call, this is crucial to have and Protect Your Family. Same applies for your breakdown cover.
Familiarise yourself with the foreign country’s laws
France for instance just introduced new speed limits cuts. Likewise other European countries might have different road safety laws – make sure you know them because ignorance of the law is not no excuse!
Check your documents
Just in case, but always better to do it than sorry. Your driving licence, international driving permit (in some countries) and car insurance documents.