As many of us plan to head off on our staycations this summer, we’ll all be planning journeys, writing lists of essentials to pack and perhaps also feeling a little daunted about how to pass the time in the car. 

The excitement has been building in the office as a lot of the team head off for our own holidays this summer. So, we took the opportunity to ask the Bumper team to tell us their top tips for how to get through long car journeys and, needless to say, they’ve had some great suggestions! 

Preparing for your journey 

As the saying goes, fail to prepare then you must prepare to fail. A bit extreme, but as many of our team members have said, preparation ahead of the journey is key! Get yourself a satnav, maps on a smartphone or a good old-fashioned map book and plan your route.  

Planning your stops is also important. Matt from our Growth team has suggested,: “Plan interesting places to stop off on the route; lunches at service stations are functional but don't really add to the fun of the trip and it's sometimes hard to find healthy food there. A 20-minute detour might allow you to explore somewhere new instead and will really break up the journey.” 

Claudia our Spanish Operations Manager has sighted that as long as you are well rested, you could travel at night. “As obvious as it may seem, travelling during the night you will avoid most of the traffic jams! Driving on an empty road will be easy to go through! In sunny areas such as Spain, you would appreciate avoiding the heat during the day. Start your trip at night and plan a break during the peak hours of sun. Not to forget, this would be the perfect chance to quickly visit a new place before reaching your destination!” 

Entertainment 

Whether you are travelling with a car full of small children, or maybe just yourself and your partner, entertainment is required for passing the time on long car journeys. Ines from the Operations team isn't the driver but usually the passenger and often swaps seats with her 8-year-old son to mix up the view!  

She also agrees that “Travelling with children can be quite challenging, especially, when going on long car trips. As such, I like to make sure that there will be enough snacks packed up and a good and fun playlist set up where we can all sing along to try and make it fun for everyone. Something else that we do is play games, such as "I spy with my little eye", or "Who knows who better!” 

The top tip from most of the team members has to be games, games and more games! Kayleigh and Islay from Business Development both agree on this. Kayleigh plays ‘red car’ with her son where they have to see who spots a red car the quickest, while Islay plays alphabet games such as 'I packed my bag for London and in it I put...' and 'My Granny doesn't like tea but she likes...'  

Everyone agrees that audiobooks and playlists are essential. If you’re not travelling with children, a good crime or comedy podcast is a good listen for the car, or perhaps you could try Lawrence’s suggestion: “Choose a random car buddy who is doing a similar speed and race along with them. They won't know but gives you something to focus on.” But make sure you keep it legal! 

Packing essentials 

Niki from the People team is a dab hand at conquering long car journeys with children and says, “We do lots of long (5+ hour) journeys for staycations in the UK, and with 2 kids in the back we had to find a way to keep them occupied. We bought an old in-car DVD player with two screens on eBay and have collected tonnes of old DVDs from charity shops. Couldn't recommend it more for keeping them entertained - and quiet!”  

Another suggestion from the Growth team’s Lawrence is, “If you're a passenger, buy an iPad and play football manager - you'll be there in less than a season and it'll be loads of fun getting Leeds promoted to the prem again!”  

And then, it’s all about the snacks. Beef jerky was also suggested by someone but that’s an acquired taste!  

Hannah from the Growth team is in charge of the snacks during family trips and has a lunch bag in the front full of snacks to throw into the back for the children when they start grumbling! She also makes a good point that “don’t forget with all of those snacks comes rubbish. So have a carrier bag handy to put all those banana skins, crisps packets and apple cores in before they get squished into the seats! Oh, and wet wipes. Whether you’re a child or not, wet wipes are incredibly handy for clearing up when you spill your tea or when the chocolate melts!”