This family road trip planning guide gives you everything we did to plan a two month family road trip around Europe with kids. It will help you:

• Decide where to go
• Which route to take
• Plan your budget
• Take practical steps to be prepared for being abroad for 2 months
• Everything you need to book to make your dream road trip a reality.

Deciding where to go– research and discussion

First things first, where are you off to? It’s a great idea to do some research before you start planning so sit down as a family and talk about where each person wants to go and what they want to do. Our kids won’t always have an idea about where they want to go but will be clear about whether they want to spend time at the beach, in the mountains or any activities they want to do. 

If you want some inspiration I usually check out travel blogs, Pinterest and YouTube for trips that other families have taken which fit with what we enjoy doing. YouTube is especially good with kids because it’s engaging and shows them a destination or activity without them having to read.

Don’t forget to consider the time of year that you are going and the weather you are likely to have there as this may impact the activities available and what you need to take.

Once you’ve got a general idea of where you want to go and what you want to do, it’s time to start planning your route.

Planning your route

If you’re in the UK the best place to start planning your route is the ferry port/ eurotunnel end destination as the place you disembark will be the start of the first leg of your journey. 

Don’t forget to consider the ages of your kids when planning your route. We had a 4 year old and an 18 month old when we first started taking road trips. We quickly learnt that we needed to keep each leg to a maximum of 4 hours to accommodate them needing more breaks and less time overall in the car. It can be a lot to ask from them to spend hours in the car so plan conservatively and you won’t regret it.

Our kids are now 7 and 5 years old and can manage longer travel days so we make each leg up to 6 hours. Remember that it takes time for a whole family to break camp, travel and then make camp again so make sure you give yourself enough time. There are also travel days when you will hit unforeseen delays so build in a time buffer and this will make life a little easier on the road.

We usually make sure that each place has something fun to do for each family member (yes, that sometimes looks like me bribing the kids with an ice cream so I can do something they think is boring). If that’s not possible try and alternate your stops so that everyone has something to look forward to.

Each stop will need a different amount of time according to what there is to do and see there so don’t forget to look at activities in the area to determine how long you need there.

Our biggest mistake was trying to fit too many things into the itinerary. The first time we planned a route we were making lots of short hops. This meant moving every 2–3 days and we realised that it gave us too many travel days and less time to explore. Nobody needs that. Now we try to pick a spot that is central to lots of activities or places we can visit as a day trip, and we use the campsite as a base to reduce travel days.

Budget

Ooh, this is a big one. How much will you need? Only you can really answer this as there are so many variables. These are the things that we take into consideration when budgeting for a road trip:

Cost of the Ferry (round trip)

Cost of fuel. You can estimate this by looking at the distances you are covering and rough fuel prices. It’s not an exact science but will give you something to work towards. Don’t forget to add toll costs in you are using faster roads as these can add up over a longer period (but are totally worth paying in my opinion)

Booking transport and accommodation (especially for a summer road trip)- wherever you decide to stay, if you’re spending the summer in Europe you will need to book your accommodation in advance.

Food- I usually budget our usual weekly food bill plus a bit extra because we don’t have a big store cupboard to draw from so I usually have to buy more. If you plan to eat out more you will need to budget for this too as it typically costs more than cooking for yourself.

Activities- if there are any activities that you can pay for in advance or which you know you want to do and the rough cost for this. 

Insurances- travel insurance is a must. Don’t skip this one.

Book your ferry and accommodation

This is usually the first thing we book so that we know we can get the route that we want as ferries have fewer options than accommodation. Often our ferry route is one of the longer ones so we will always book a cabin to give us somewhere for a nap or a break from other people. Even if it’s not an overnight ferry. 

Usually we try to get an overnight ferry because it means we are still travelling while sleeping and we wake up at our destination and ready to drive. If you want more tips on getting the overnight ferry with kids you can read my blog post here.

Once the ferry is confirmed, move onto booking accommodation. The sooner you book, the more likely you are to get the place that you want.

The practical stuff

Please, please make sure that you buy your travel insurance BEFORE you start booking. Travel insurance doesn’t just cover you while you are away. It will also protect you in the event that you can’t go away. Buy it early and make sure it covers the extended period if you are not getting annual cover.

Think about how you are going to stay connected while you are away. Start by checking your phone contract to see what the roaming allowances/ charges are. If you think you’ll need extra, consider getting an eSim.

Money- how will you access your money while you are away? We use Monzo because it allows us to pay anywhere and in any currency, without any fees. Plus unlimited fee-free withdrawals in the European Economic Area (EEA). Spending less on transaction and currency exchange fees means more money to enjoy our holiday!

Apply for GHIC’s for everyone. This entitles you to healthcare in any EEA country on the same basis that a citizen of that country would receive healthcare. In some cases this will mean the healthcare is free or you may have to pay at the same rate that a local would pay. This is super handy to have but please do not get this in place of travel insurance!

Passports- check they are on date and have enough time on them for your return. Some countries require the passports to be valid for up to 6 months after your return date.

European Travel Information and Authorisation Scheme (ETIA’s). This new system is launching in 2026 and is required if you want to travel to any of the Schengen zone states plus Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania. You can read more about it and how to apply here.

Check your driving license is valid for the countries you are going to.

Make sure you know the driving requirements for the countries you are going to. For example you may need to fit anti-glare stickers to your headlights and have additional safety equipment in your car in case of breakdown. Some countries make this mandatory and it’s much easier to get everything before you go than to get caught out.

Get your vehicle serviced. This isn’t essential but we always get our car/van serviced before we go on a long road trip. This gives us the chance to pick up any problems before we leave and gives us peace of mind on the road.

Have off road maps available in case of patchy signal. More than once we have been caught out looking for our campsite, a place to stop or an alternative route, and the mobile signal has been so bad that we cannot use the satnav or maps. Although we use the satnav the majority of the time, we now also have paper maps in the car too. Just in case.

Book activities in advance

So you’ve booked your ferry, accommodation and dealt with the boring practical tasks. Now it’s time to book the fun stuff! If there are any activities that you know you want to do or any that are really popular and might sell out then try to book them in advance. You can be happy in the knowledge that it’s all paid for too, so one less thing to budget for while you are away.

And that’s it! You’ve got everything booked and ready so it’s time to start packing! Would you add anything else to this family road trip planning guide?

I wrote a blog post about the lessons we learnt from our 2 month family road trip, you can read more here.