A guide to the perfect family road trip

Up for a family road trip this summer? Whether it’s taking the scenic route up to the Sunshine Coast or trekking across mountaineous Tasmania, there's many things you and your family can do over the summer holidays. But first, prepare for your family road trip with a couple of these helpful tips.

Travelling with young kids? We all know to expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to the little ones. On a road trip when things aren’t familiar, many things may inevitably go wrong and so it’s important to plan everything to the T, at least as much as you possibly can.

One of the most important things to plan during a family road trip is your route. Not only do you need to confirm your start and end location, you’ll also need to pinpoint your rest stops, toilet breaks, and of course, accommodations.

From the exact locations of your pit stops to the time you spend resting up, it’ll be helpful to have these things planned out so you have less to worry about when you’re on the road. Simply stick to your schedule and you can focus more easily on entertaining your kids or distributing snacks during the drive.

If you don’t want to be answering the dreaded question: “are we there yet?” a hundred times in a row, you’ll need to sort out some on-the-road entertainment for your kids. In addition to the classic road trip games of iSpy and scattergories, your kids may also appreciate watching their favourite movie or TV show while hanging out in the back of your car.

You can attach a tablet to the back of your front seat using a car mount so your kids can enjoy a couple of hours’ worth of films and TV shows in the back of your car. With Optus SubHub, your kids can easily watch, listen, learn and enjoy entertainment from subscriptions like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, BINGE, and many more.

Whenever your family’s out of the car and ready to go exploring, pause on the screen activity and enjoy the moment for what it is. Maximise your road trip holiday and take the opportunity to spend time away from the digital world and explore all that Australia has to offer with your family.

Optus Pause is a great tool that may help your family disconnect from the digital world and instead experience your road trip to the fullest. Optus Pause is available to eligible Optus customers, where you can press pause on mobile data connections on listed devices from My Optus app. 

Make sure to take breaks from the road to ensure your kids aren’t tired out from all the travel. Instead of speeding to your final destination and staying in the car for hours on end, your family may instead enjoy breaks from the road at local landmarks or even petrol stations. 

While you’re making pit stops, you might as well make the most of your time and explore the area with your family. Chances are, you’ll find some hidden gems and fantastic views, whether you’re road-tripping along the coastline or inland towards the outback. You might even make some friends at a local caravan park or camping ground.

Whether it’s on-the-road snacking or late-night munchies, bring some healthy foods for your kids (and yourself while you’re at it) while on your family road trip. Bonus points for packaged snacks as these are easy to carry around and share with others. Some easy healthy snacks that your kids are sure to love munching on while on the road include sliced carrot sticks, trail mixes, yoghurt and fruit cups. Luckily, these snacks are also quick to prepare.

The holidays are a great time to do a pulse check on your family’s digital safety and wellbeing. Check out the Digital Balance Quiz to get a better idea of your family’s online activity.  Optus Digital Thumbprint supports digital safety and wellbeing with educational workshops, guides and resources for young people and families.

Check out more tips for families including helpful tips from Optus for your family during the school holidays.

Keep your family happy and entertained this school holidays with Optus. Learn more about our services for families with our family connectivity tips.

Road tripping overseas?

With Optus Daily Roaming on our Choice Plus plans, so you can stay connected when travelling overseas in over 100 destinations from $5 a day. Available on eligible Choice Plus mobile and MBB plans in Zone 1 destinations. Fair Go Policy applies. Roaming add-on is automatically activated in eligible destinations. T&Cs apply.

Easily manage your eligible subscriptions on Optus SubHub by bringing them together in one place with one simple payment each month. Save up to 10% on subscriptions including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, BINGE, BritBox, YouTube Premium and more when you link them to Optus SubHub. T&Cs apply.