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A family road trip can be one of two ways. It can be the most fun you've ever had, or it can be the worst experience of your life. And chances are, it probably sounded better in your head when you planned it.

Whether you're hitting the road in a car or an RV, a few simple planning trips can help you to avoid your road trip being one fraught with tears and stress, and be a trip you remember with fondness.

Plan Stops Before You Leave

If you know roughly where you're planning to stop and when, it can remove a lot of pressure from the drive itself. You don't need to be rigid about where you plan to stop; in fact, that will likely take all the spontaneity from the road trip. But having anchor points along the route means you're not making decisions on the fly when things get a little bit too much. 

Look along your route before you leave for places to stop, pay attention to distances, and factor in how well your kids do in the car over long stretches to make sure you realistically know where and when you need to stop.

Sort Accommodation Early

Accommodation is one of those things that you might feel you can leave until you're on the road and ready to stop for a while or overnight. Chances are, you'll likely find all the good places fully booked, especially during peak seasons. If you don't want to be scrambling to find somewhere decent to stop, then you need to book some of your accommodation at least before you head out, so you can remove the stress of finding somewhere to stay.

Whether you're looking for hotels along your route or you need to book an RV Park, the earlier you book, the more choice and availability there is.

Build-in Buffer Time

One of the biggest mistakes people make when planning road trips is underestimating how long everything takes. Packing the car, rest stops, a meal that runs longer than expected, traffic, etc., it all adds up. If you build in buffer time each day, you can easily accommodate these types of delays without worrying you're going to be late or miss your arrival times.

Plus, the more free time you have, the more fun you're likely to have as you're not rushing to meet an unrealistic deadline.

Make The Journey Part of the Adventure

The destination matters, of course. But so too does everything else on a road trip. It's genuinely one of the few kinds of travel experiences where getting to your destination is part of the experience. And if you're treating it like this, it will make the entire trip easier and much more fun for everyone.

Plan things you can do in the car, bring your favourite music, play games, take detours, and do things that are fun. This way, you get to experience the road trip for what it is, not just as a way to get to different destinations.