Hit the road! 5 tips for travelling around Australia with kids
From planning toilet breaks to why it’s best to not pack many toys.
Aussie adventurer, Luke Falzon is an avid fisherman and outback expert. He is also currently driving around Australia in a campervan with his wife and two young daughters, aged four and seven months.
With a huge social media audience, including six million followers on TikTok, Luke loves sharing his on-road adventures and has some stellar tips for any families planning a trip with their family.
While on the road, Bounty Parents caught up with Luke to talk travelling with kids.
Tips for travelling with children
Was it a big decision to leave your job and hit the road with your family?
My partner Alex and I have always spoken about travelling around Australia, although financially we weren’t in the position to do so. We couldn’t just stop working and travel and we were still in the early stages of our life and relationship of trying to set up a foundation for our family.
Five years ago we worked together in my tiling business. It was preforming great but we genuinely felt unhappy because it just wasn’t what we wanted to do. We had a dream of creating content, which has led us to the path we are now taking – on the road.
After five years of hard work, sacrifice and dedication – even to the point of almost going broke, we are both now full-time content creators sharing our daily lives with our followers. And we absolutely love it! It has given us an opportunity of a lifetime to be able to travel Australia together without an end date with our two girls and our dog.
What are your favourite travel tales from your being on the road this time around?
Firstly, when my partner Alex and I crossed the South Australian border for the first time we both felt a rush of freedom! None of us had ever been before, so it really made us feel the excitement as we knew our adventure across Australia was about to begin. Seeing our girls in front of the welcome sign made us feel so happy as we embarked on our next journey together.
Then, I’d say the first time we stayed in an off-grid location we felt this feeling of absolute happiness, although the night before we left the off-road beach location, it rained, so when we were trying to leave the campsite we actually got stuck on the sand dune track. With the girls in the car, it took an hour to get out which was an interesting experience. Although the feeling of accomplishment was incredible when getting out, with a huge rush of adrenaline!
We spent over 12 months planning and organising to travel Australia in a caravan with the girls together, so when we had set up our camp for the night, we just took in the moment and felt super grateful we get to do this together as a family.
What are your top 5 tips for travelling with kids?
1. Go with the flow. The routine within a caravan isn’t going to be the same as it is in a house so just go with the flow and enjoy every moment as you can’t get them back, especially when you have young kids travelling with you.
2. Don’t take a lot of toys on the road with you. Whilst toys are great to keep the kids entertained, the simplest everyday items are turned into hours of play, so you simply don’t need them. They take up room and the only room you need on the road is for essential supplies.
3. Toilet breaks! Ensure your little ones have gone to the toilet before leaving to travel to the next location. So many times when we have just left we need to pull over again and it slows down the trip and your enthusiasm for getting to the next stop.
4. Insect sprays and repellents. We always ensure we come prepared with Mortein wherever we go and it is absolutely essential! When in off-grid locations especially inland small towns, there are a huge number of bugs, from mosquitos to flies, you need a repellent for everything if you’re planning on being outdoors.
With over three in four (77%) Aussies willing to forgo something this festive season* in order to enjoy a fly-free festive season, we would definitely choose to forgo enjoying our Christmas lunch outside together as a family and eat indoors if it meant we could enjoy the rest of the day fly-free.
5. Embrace the little things. Don’t let the little moments get to you on the road. Especially at the start, everyone is adjusting to a whole new life and routine. Always remember it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to travel Australia with your children and they will never be this little again. Enjoy every second and make the best memories.
Mortein Buzz Report Methodology: *The study was conducted online between 23 – 27 November 2023. The sample comprised a nationally representative sample of 1,023 Australians aged 18 years and older. The data was weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the latest ABS population estimates.
