Some say the best part of travelling with young children is the moment right after you strap them in, close the door and walk by yourself to the driver’s seat – it’s two seconds of absolute silent bliss.

Shutting yourself in the confined space of a car and travelling long distance with little ones can be an unforgettable – and restless – adventure.

It certainly pays to be prepared, so here are simple tips to help the entire family enjoy the journey from A to B.

Plan your route

Plan ahead by researching rest areas, playgrounds, bathrooms and ice cream stops, which can be either added to your itinerary or saved in the back of your mind for emergency pitstops.

For younger children you might want to consider planning your departure around nap times when travelling. If your child can snooze for the first hour of the journey then consider that a big win.

If travelling long distance, and your budget allows, break up the route with overnight stays until you reach your destination.

Bring plenty of snacks

I cannot stress this enough. Snacks are the key to pleasant road travel.

Mix favourites with new options to keep things interesting. Avoid sticky, messy options and instead bring snacks in prepackaged pouches or boxes to make your life easier.

Variation is key for younger children. Bento lunch boxes are a great way to make food look attractive and separate items in one handy container. Aim for something healthy, something delicious and something substantial.

Create a treasure hunt around the back seat hiding various snacks within arm’s reach. It’s also worth having a haul of treats in the front of the car that can be passed around when the time is right.

Throw your rule book out the window

Parents who have ever scraped raisins out of a car seat will know that you can’t stress about every loose crumb. The aforementioned lunch box will likely end up on the floor so don’t worry about keeping everything in order.

Does it matter if your toddler insists on bringing 30 essential soft toys along for the ride? Ditch them when they aren’t looking.

It’s OK to relax some of your rules in the small confined space; the most important thing is getting to your destination safely.

It is crucial for the driver to ensure that, despite whatever chaos is happening in the back seat, you keep your eyes and focus locked on the road ahead.

Drive as far as possible in one go

Like ripping off a plaster, you’ll want to get the journey over with as soon as possible. Only you will know when it is the right time to pull over and give the family a much-needed change of scenery.

If the children are happy, keep going; if they are restless, they can deal with it. To avoid unnecessary stops, make sure everyone uses the bathroom before you leave.

Include some fun moments for all. In the summer months why not treat the family to an ice cream stop?

Prepare entertainment

When you don’t have the mental capacity to sit through hours of nursery rhymes, make a playlist of bearable family-friendly audiobooks and road trip songs that the whole family can appreciate.

The beauty of streaming services is that you can download your favourite series for later. Load up your phone or tablet with plenty of kid-friendly options that you can play once the novelty of road travel has worn off – perhaps once you leave the driveway. And if you’re concerned about too much screen time, how about a learning app on your tablet?

Child-friendly headphones are made to fit around little heads and usually come with built-in limiters to reduce the volume. Traditional car games like I-spy, 20 questions, ‘spot the red car’ and ‘I’m thinking of an animal’ are failsafe options when you are on your last legs.

Who says you can’t be comfortable while looking stylish? Here are a few style tips to follow for the ultimate travel wardrobe.

Be it vacations, work-trips or a weekend getaway, we all require a capsule collection dedicated to travel. A travel wardrobe requires a lot of deliberation and should consist of versatile pieces that work well with your travelling needs. Having travel basics help you save the effort of curating last-minute look when packing for a trip.

“Back in the day the only thing people used to look for when packing, was a comfort but thanks to Instagram and the growing rage of celebrity inspired airport looks, a stylish travel wardrobe is a must-have”, says Vikash Pacheriwal, Co-founder of Raisin.

Who’s says you can’t be comfortable while still looking stylish? Here are a few style tips you can follow for the ultimate travel wardrobe.

Right fabric

The biggest perk of having a travel wardrobe is that it can cover your daily needs as well. When making a capsule travel wardrobe make sure to add pieces with the right fabric that are wrinkle-free and don’t take up much space in your bags.

Minimalist quality pieces

While a lot of people prefer going minimalist when travelling, you don’t have to give up on the style quotient. It can be slightly difficult to look stylish considering people want to travel light and not carry too much. In this case, the key to travelling in style is to invest in quality pieces that not only look smart but are also practical.

Denim on denim

Invest in a pair of denim overalls as they are fuss-free and easy to carry but also look totally chic. The neutral nature of denim allows you to pair it up with any and every colour of accessory.

Add some bling

Carry minimalist and inexpensive jewellery to add some bling to your outfit, they require no space and work well with almost every outfit.

Neutral colour

A neutral colour jumpsuit is a great idea when travelling as it saves you the time of coordinating outfits and is super-comfy. A solid coloured jumpsuit or a printed one no matter the style, jumpsuits will always make you look trendy.

Statement scarf

A statement scarf will go a long way in taking your basic outfits up a notch. Pair a nice printed scarf with a basic neutral colour dress or a plain kurta, and these scarves will also protect you from unpredictable weather changes which a great perk.

For many people, travel is a necessary part of celebrating the holidays with loved ones. This means enduring all the stressful hiccups that can come with traveling and spending time away from the comforts of your own home.

Every year, my family kicks off the season by watching the classic comedy “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” starring Steve Martin and the late John Candy. In it, the two men are strangers who end up stuck together, dealing with a comically inordinate number of travel-related issues while trying to get home for Thanksgiving.

There’s a good chance your holiday travel won’t get as complicated as Martin’s and Candy’s, but you may face delays, diversions and many hours of sitting that can take a toll on you mentally and physically. So, whether you’re driving to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving or flying to see family in another country, try the five tips below to reduce stress and tension so you can enjoy the holidays.

Take control of your posture and breathing

When you sit for long periods while traveling, your posture often suffers. Given the intimate relationship of your breathing pattern and your posture, slumping while seated leads to shallow, rapid breathing, which incites your body’s stress response. It’s a vicious cycle that increases physical and mental tension.

That’s why it’s important to take control of your breathing at least once an hour while traveling to help restore your posture and cultivate a sense of calm. Taking just five or six long, deep breaths while focusing on getting your low ribs to move as demonstrated in this video can make a big difference!

Just 90 seconds of deep breathing elicits a relaxation response that decreases your heart rate, blood pressure and stress hormone production, according to research.

Drink enough nonalcoholic fluids

Those muscle cramps and achy joints you experience on the road may have a lot to do with your fluid intake. Considering that our bodies are mostly water, hydration is important for proper joint lubrication and circulation. But your hydration level doesn’t just affect you physically. When you’re dehydrated, it increases your body’s cortisol (primary stress hormone) levels, which can lead to feelings of anxiety, exhaustion and overall irritability.

Your access to drinking water may be limited while traveling, so it’s important to plan ahead. You can’t bring bottled water through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, and no one likes to pay the exorbitant prices for bottles of water at the airport. Thankfully, most airports have filtered water stations to refill bottles for free. So pack a reusable water bottle and, if you’re driving, don’t forget to bring a cooler with water.

Even when you aren’t traveling, the holidays make it easy to become dehydrated. With all the festivities, we often forget to drink as much water as normal, especially when cocktails are flowing. But alcoholic beverages are no substitute for water because they’re dehydrating.

Alcohol suppresses natural production of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin, which keeps us from urinating too much. Without it, we find ourselves in the bathroom more often. Counter the dehydrating impact of alcohol by drinking one glass of water for every cocktail.

Stand and walk every opportunity you can

Studies abound regarding the health dangers of prolonged sitting, yet few people seem to make an effort to avoid it while traveling. Looking around the airport, you’ll find most everyone sitting at the gate waiting to get on their plane, where they will inevitably remain seated for at least a couple of hours or more.

Break up bouts of sitting by taking advantage of opportunities to stand and walk around whenever possible. At the airport, take a walk around your terminal. Some airports even have yoga rooms with public access. When traveling by car, find a park or even a mall on your route where you can get out and take a 10-minute walk.

Stretch out the tension

Lots of sitting during travel also means compressed side waist muscles, overused hip flexors and tight low-back muscles. If you want to be more comfortable and avoid pain when traveling, you need to stretch out those muscles whenever possible.

My go-to travel stretch is the warrior hip flexor release.

Here’s how to do it:

Stand to the right of a wall, chair or other stable surface. Place your left hand on it for support.

Step your right foot back into a short lunge position, dropping your back heel and pointing your toes out slightly, as shown.

Bend your front knee to align above your ankle, while your back leg remains straight.

Inhale as you lift your right arm up and over your head.

Exhale as you side bend to the left, feeling your left lower ribs rotate inward.

Avoid arching your lower back.

Hold for three long, deep breaths. Repeat on the other side.

Check out the video at the top of this story for more exercises to combat the negative impact of sitting.

Take recovery seriously

You might be so relieved to get to your destination that you think plopping down in a comfy chair is all you need. But it’s even more beneficial to get your legs up above your heart, which promotes venous blood flow and helps reduce lower-body swelling.

A great way to accomplish this is with the popular restorative yoga pose known as “legs up the wall.” You can do this on the floor with your straight legs up the wall or with your knees bent and calves resting on a chair seat. If you don’t want to lie on the floor, you can lay backward on your bed and put your legs up the headboard. Feel free to place a pillow or folded blanket under your head.

Once in the position, stay there a few minutes, taking some long, deep relaxing breaths.

In addition to changing your relationship with gravity to relieve tension, it’s important to get enough sleep. This is especially true if you have traveled to a different time zone. Work in naps, if necessary, to make up for any sleep deficits that could negatively affect your health and wellness.

Despite all the joys the holidays bring, it’s important not to overlook the ways seasonal trips can inadvertently drag you down. Using the five tips above will help keep travel tension at bay and your holiday spirits high.

Travelling is one of the things that can be learned with experience. When planning a trip, there are many things to consider, so it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That’s completely okay! You’ll slowly understand how everything works and what you need to include in your travelling guide. You’re most likely to make various kinds of mistakes at first whether you plan to visit some cheapest European countries, get a taste of Asia, or anything else.

As a first-time traveller, you might have a common question in mind: “How to travel the world?” The truth is that you cannot be a true traveller unless you make mistakes and learn the basics. We’ll discuss some travelling tips that can help you get started on your journey.

Finding photogenic spots and places, thanks to Instagram

Taking photos and videos is a must-do thing when you travel to a new place and Instagram is one of the most famous social media platforms that you can use to stay updated with the best photogenic places to visit. So, before you plan a trip, check Instagram for the best scenic places you need to visit.

Waking up early to avoid crowds

Try to wake up before sunrise so that you can have the best attractions all to yourself by avoiding massive crowds. The soft light is also a great time for photos. It can make things easier for you to interact with locals getting ready for the day.

Getting lost on purpose

If you desire to see the parts of the town where real people work and live, you will have to visit them. One of the perfect ways to do so is on foot. There is no need to be aware of where you are heading to. Simply keep note of your hotel name so that you can get a taxi on your way back as required. You might come across amazing things when you get lost on purpose.

Planning a trip

Let’s have a look at some tips that can help you plan your trip in a better way.

Deciding trip duration

There exists a fine line between getting bored and being able to enjoy every moment in a new place. No destination comes with a predefined “right” duration. It will depend on your tour plans and also the purpose of the visit. But try to decide a duration that you think will be the right thing for you. Try to keep one extra day while you plan.

Being aware of local customs

One of the mistakes that you would like to avoid as much as possible in a new place is to be culturally offensive or insensitive to the locals. It’s the reason it makes sense to read up a bit on the customs and traditions of a place before you go there. Doing so will ensure that you can understand them better and avoid the risk of acting insensitively.

Reading a history book about the place you are going to visit

Some extra knowledge won’t hurt, right? A history book will give you a more in-depth perspective of the place, and you’ll be able to see it in an entirely different light. Every place in this world has a rich story and some are more interesting than others, so it won’t be a shame to read about such things to be more prepared for your trip.

What you need to take on a trip

While you travel, it’s necessary to carry certain stuff that can make your trip easier. Here are some tips that can help on a trip.

Extra cards

Having your debit or credit cards stolen seems like a nightmare, especially when you travel to a new place. So, it would be better for you if you could carry backup cards. Always pack a second debit and credit card, which you will need to keep completely separate from the wallet.

Extra food

You can never be certain what the next destination will have for you. When you travel to a new place, finding a proper place to eat might not be possible all the time. So, try to carry some extra food to make your journey hassle-free.

Chargers

Never forget to carry the chargers of all your gadgets at the time of travel. It might not be possible to get a new charger at a new place to charge any of your devices. Pack your chargers right at the beginning of packing your bags.

How to create cool travel content

Let’s check out some tips that can help you create great content as you travel the world.

Being ready with the camera

You’ll have to ensure that anywhere you go, you carry your camera. Check if your camera is fully charged. You might not understand the importance of a camera now. However, years from now, when you get the desire to look back at the trip memories, you’ll understand the importance of carrying your camera.

Edit your travel videos

You will need a video editor to make your memories more attractive. You’ll come across various free video editing software that you can use to add a spark to your videos. Using your phone editor should be enough if you want to do some basic retouching.

Getting close-up shots

Nothing else in this world can invoke human emotion besides having someone staring at the camera. As you travel, try to get close-up shots of locals. You can also ask if you can get a video of them. It can make your videos more authentic and lively.

Travel as much as you can. You have got only one life to see the world. Try to follow the above-mentioned tips to get the best out of your travelling plans and travel seamlessly.