Planning a successful road trip that leaves the whole family deeply satisfied is its own kind of art form. You’ve got to consider each family member, their preferences, and ultimately how you’re going to balance the whole journey out so that everyone feels like they’ve been sufficiently catered to. You’re in for an especially challenging puzzle if you have one of those wonderful, though perpetually restless, 5-year-old or 6-year-olds. With that being said, let’s take a look at some helpful tips for planning the kind of family road trip that leaves the whole family with a basket full of cherished memories.

Here are some road tips

Get the kids involved from the beginning.

Kids love to feel included. Sometimes, the 5-year-old or 8-year-old can feel isolated if dad never lets them have any say in the plan for the next journey. Just because they’re small doesn’t mean they can’t provide helpful insights. At the least, you can agree with the rest of the “adults” on a list of pre-approved destinations, and then let the kids weigh in on their favorite destination.

Build a nest egg.

Road trips are expensive. You can have all kinds of unanticipated expenses pop up out of nowhere. Maybe you end up with one of those ever-loathed fines for parking in the wrong place, or you let the teen drivers in the family take turns at the wheel to accumulate experience, only to have them get in a minor car accident. You’re going to need to have some money set aside to handle any kind of curveball like that. Consider a nest egg before the next family road trip and the best kind of insurance policy. Good car insurance will help dissolve any stress you might have about the young drivers in the family getting behind the wheel.

Grab a paper map.

Paper maps can be fun for the whole family. Your kids will have a chance to highlight and mark up all the stops on your journey and even learn some geography along the way. After the trip has concluded, the paper map basically ends up being the perfect gift to remember the whole adventure by.

Stock up on all the snacks.

Everyone gets hungry on the road. What it boils down to, though, is whether or not you sufficiently stocked up on all the snacks that each family member likes. Maybe you’ve got a couple of 4-year-olds that can never seem to get enough of the Scooby-Doo fruit snacks. Or, maybe you’ve got the tween that seems to be the less sassy when they’re fed a steady supply of Cheddar Pringles. The point is, you set yourself up for a much more peaceful road trip if you get snacks for everyone.

Surprise the kids with gifts.

Get creative and get the kids gifts. Road trips can be a draining process. Whether it’s long days on the road with less than the ideal amount of pit stops, or one of your kids fighting an ongoing battle with motion sickness, the perfect gift can change everything. In a way, it’s your chance to express to your kid that you appreciate them being a good sport. This gesture of kindness can work wonders for improving your kid’s attitude when it comes to road trips in the future.

Make sure you have your insurance coverage sorted.

You absolutely don’t want to be one of those uninsured drivers when you tackle your next family road trip. This rings especially true if you’ve got young drivers in the family clocking some time on the road to get more experience under their belt. Plus, it’s a nightmare to not have ctp insurance. Without ctp insurance, you’ll run the risk of having to bear full financial responsibility for any bodily injury, fatalities, or property damage caused to any parties by the driver in your car. Those fines can add up real quick!

Plan for the weather accordingly.

The last thing on earth that you want to find the family confronting on the next road trip is gnarly winter weather that you didn’t plan for. We’re talking about packing the essentials like some chains for those wheels. Icy roads and snowstorms can make for quite the formidable obstacle course during a road trip. Cut back on the stress in that process by making sure you have your car outfitted with the proper gear.