Hellooooo! It’s me! I am back in the land of Everything’s Famtastic after being AWOL these past 2 weeks. I do have a perfectly valid excuse: we were on our family summer holiday!

As alluded to a few weeks back in my list of super summer activities and “Bring on Summer Holidays!” I said that we were planning our summer holidays trip. We had such a famtastic time in Croatia! I can HIGHLY recommend a visit. All of the people we encountered were lovely, friendly, helpful… we had a new language to try out (“hvala!”)… the weather was sunny and hot… views are stunning… gorgeous beaches… icecream every day… What more could you want for a summer holiday?!?

Hubby and I knew that we had to prepare well for the trip. Nobody wants to have 3 kids whining “Are we there yet?” 30 minutes into the drive, right? Am I the only one who has ever fantasised about having one of those glass partitions installed in the family car? You know what I mean? Between the driver and the backseat passengers. Like, in fancy-pants limousines and such. After a few rounds of “Are we there yet?”, just press the magic button and the upwards gliding of a pane of soundproof glass is the last thing you’ll hear for the next hours 😉.

Oh OK, of course we would never actually DO that. But don’t pop my daydream bubble, alright?!?

So, big trips with children call for military-precision planning. And plan is what we did. Today I’m here to help you out by sharing with you the items we packed for the kids (and us grown-ups) to make the journey as bearable, er, entertaining as possible.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.

Unlike most of our other summer holidays of years past where, from our location in Germany, we have tended to drive a couple of hours onwards to the North or Baltic Seas, this year we had a mega-trek ahead of us. I mean, we can handle travelling big distances (see: Holidays in Australia! Like here). By plane, sure. But Germany to Croatia? Here we are the ones in charge of the steering wheel. And the toilet stops.

This trip to Croatia involved the 5 of us and all our gear for 2 weeks crammed into the car and driving southwards for MANY hours up and over the Alps. In the end, we clocked up about 4000 km. And I can attest, post-holiday, that we all did admirably. Everyone arrived at destination and back home again, all in one piece, and with nothing lost. Not even our sanity 😉.

Obviously all kids and families are different. Our trusty trio are 10, 8 and 5 years old. If your kids are able to drink and eat by themselves, read or flick through books, are capable of writing or colouring-in and can talk, then here is the list for you!

What to Pack for the Road Trip

Food and Drinks

We had each of the kids make up an individual snack bag that they could keep within arm’s reach. They also had to decide how they would ration out these snacks, as the bags were not going to be refilled at the next fuel stop 😉. Suggestions include: lollies, muesli bars, nuts, cookies, popcorn, pureed fruit pouches, dried fruit, water.

Naturally, we also had sandwiches and fruit packed in a “general supply” bag that any of us could dive into should the mood for munching strike 😊.

Bonus Tip: Chocolate melts. Chocolate is messy. Chocolate stains. Do not pack chocolate 😉.

Entertainment

To keep them busy and to prevent them emptying their snack bag within the first 12km, right?!? Suggestions include: pencils, colouring-in books, activities/puzzles books, reading books, picture books, sticker books, music CDs, audio book CDs, MP3 player, tablet, camera.

We chose to not have our children watching portable TVs. We don’t actually own any. Some people say these are a lifesaver. To each his own.

I will also add, that many of the audio books our children chose to listen to were actually quite entertaining, even for adults, However, after replay number 4, we adults had to get a little *assertive* about choosing to listen to the radio instead. Even if it was in Italian.

And, we did see more than a couple of CDs lying on the roadside along the way. Which made me wonder whether some poor parents had heard “The Octonauts” just one too many times and decided to toss the CD altogether… May this not happen to you and yours 😉.

Comfort

Long car rides call for ensuring everyone is as comfortable as possible, whilst cramped between 2 siblings and a wobbly stack of bags. Suggestions include: stuffed animals or dolls (for cuddling), a small cushion or a neck pillow (for snoozing), a light blanket or towel (for snuggling into or to prevent complaining about the *too cold* air-conditioning).

Family Games

If your kids can talk, they can join in spoken word family games. You know, like in the “good old days before all these techno gadget things”. LOL. Suggestions include: Eye-spy, Who am I? (can be with people, objects, animals, whatever!), Animal, vegetable or mineral, games with license plates (we saw license plates from pretty much every single European country along our route!).

Surprise

Our children had been begging us for some new audio books in the weeks leading up to our trip. We played dumb and responded with vague, non-committal answers. What we did though, was indeed buy them a couple of audio books that they had never heard before and also each child an age-appropriate activities book. They were mega happy with their gifts and occupied even longer than with their old stuff. And none of those gifts were pricey or broke the bank 😉. Suggestions include: CD, pencils, activities book, reading book, sticker book, small toy. Let your imagination run wild!

What You Really Need

Now to the boring, practical stuff. Like having your driver’s license with you. Addresses for family or friends if you are the postcard-writing type. A pack of tissues for snotty noses and messy eaters. Travelling across borders? You’ll want your passport and any necessary entry visas.

Despite being quite seasoned travellers, we very nearly messed that last one up. Hubby and our 3 kiddos all have German passports. I, the only non-German in the family, have an Australian one. We all breezily assumed “Hey! We’re driving from one European country, through some others, to our final European destination. All good!”. Er, no. For a start, Croatia is not part of the pan-European, open-travel Schengen agreement. That means passport controls at the border. Which means an hour-long line on the roads leading up to the little immigration booths. Thank goodness none of us needed visas for entering, otherwise we may well have found ourselves coughing up fistfuls of cold, hard kuna at the border.

One day we decided to drive to Slovenia. You know, because we could, LOL. Anyway, I had left my German residence permit back at our accommodation as, er collateral. When we crossed over the Croatian border to the Slovenian side, we hit a snag. I, the only non-German, remember?, did not have any ID to say that I was permitted to freely travel back into the European Schengen region. Totally hadn’t thought about it. D’oh! I had my passport, sure. But being Australian doesn’t let you be as free and easy as one imagines. After a stern glare, the immigration officer stamped my passport with the reminder I would have 90 days to get out again should I not truly possess a residence permit, and the threat of a 500€ fine should I not be able to show it next time I travel. Yikes and whoops!

Suggestion: DO NOT let this happen to you!!

So, that’s about it really. Oh, and toothbrushes. And socks. And shirts. And…

But seriously, no matter what season, no matter what weather, no matter what distance, this list will certainly get you started when it comes to planning and packing for your next big road trip with the fam.

Remember: Take care, drive safe, and have a famtastic holiday!

What did I leave off my list? What item are you unwilling to leave at home when travelling with the kids? Share your holiday fun (or horror?) travel stories with us below!