Don’t let winter keep you at home, these expert travel tips will have you hitting the road all year long
Adventure mum, Tracy Morris from The Blonde Nomads shares with us her top tips for a successful winter road tripping adventure.
By Tracy Morris, Blonde Nomads
With winter in full swing it’s easy to hibernate away in the warm comfort of your home, but with every new season comes amazing opportunities to travel and explore with your family. We’ve always loved a winter getaway, there’s something special about it. It must bet the warm food and snuggling together around a cozy campfire, it’s definitely worth packing up the family and hitting the road to explore.
Here’s a few top tips we’ve learnt for you to get the most out of your Wintery getaways.
Tracy Morris and her family Rob, Marli and Ziggy are known as The Blonde Nomads – an adventurous travelling family.
Tip 1: think outside the box
When planning your winter family getaway, it’s easy to lean towards the usual resorts, caravan parks and coastal retreats, but as it’s often too cold to swim, you may want to consider a trip in-land to a farm stay or an outback property for something different. There’s loads of unique towns, full of interesting characters and experiences. Activities, accommodation, and restaurants are often a little cheaper here too, as well as less crowds.
Tip 2: winter = campfire fun
There’s nothing better than sitting around a campfire and enjoying some family time. Toasting marshmallows or making s’mores is a huge hit with the kids so we definitely recommend seeking out an opportunity for some campfire fun. The kids will love to help collect firewood as well as help build the fire, don’t be afraid to put them to work (under adult supervision of course). This takes us to our next tip…
Tip 3: get the kids involved
When travelling as a family we always like to get kids involved as much as possible. We let them have a say in our activities and often give them a map or brochure of where we’ll be heading. This gets them excited for the trip and sets their expectations of what our day/week will look like.
Another fun way to engage the kids is getting them to help us pack their bag. We encourage our mini-Blondies to pick out some clothes and toys and of course grab their toothbrushes.
Tip 4: make every stop a fun adventure
We realised long ago that travelling with kids is not just about the destination. You need to take the time to stop and smell the roses, maybe pick one and then, oh look – chase that butterfly, if you catch our drift! When road tripping we try to plan our toilet breaks at parks where we can all stretch our legs and have a play. A quick google of ‘play park near me’ will usually offer up a great selection when arriving at a new town.
There’s nothing better than sitting around a campfire and enjoying some family time.
Tip 5: snack-a-licious
For all our trips, we usually pack a lunch box of healthy food (avoiding anything too sugary). We like to include lots of ‘time wasting’ foods as we like to call them like trail mix, dry cereal, popcorn, and fruit. Items that take longer for tiny fingers to pick up. Food that the kids have to peel are also great like mandarins, bananas or even a boiled egg (which we let the kids peel themselves).
We always have plenty of water on hand – we all love our Thermos® Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Drink Bottle, as they keep water cool for up to 24 hours and are a great alternative to single-use bottles. In winter we may even stop and make a roadside cuppa from our adventure rig, while the kids play. Our THERMOcafé™ Vacuum Insulated Coffee Cups are great for this.
Tip 6: travel activities – keep ’em busy
A quick trip to the local two-dollar shop is a great place to stock up on car friendly activities. We love mess-free craft items like ‘magic ink’ books or water pens and sticker activities. A few old-fashioned games are also fun to play like Eye-spy, Memory games (repeat after me) and the ‘Would you rather’ game. We are also starting to listen to podcasts and audiobooks, which is a nice change for us too. And last of all…
The Blonde Nomads love sharing their adventures and travel tips to help inspire others to get out and explore more.
Tip 7: stay comfy
Whether you’re on a trip to grandmas or a road tripping holiday take some time to consider what you dress the kids in. It’s no fun sitting in the car for hours wearing an itchy tutu or a sweaty Batman outfit. Dress everyone for comfort and warmth in winter, if needed change when you reach your destination.
Follow The Blonde Nomads for more travel inspiration via @theblondenomads or www.theblondenomads.com.au
