Press Room: Media Releases

BRISBANE: The school holidays have begun and families around the country are no doubt enduring endless cries of “Are we there yet?” – so, how to keep a drive holiday enjoyable?

According to a survey conducted by online accommodation website, Wotif.com, the first challenge to overcome may be before you’ve even left home.

Of the 529 survey respondents, 40% said the worst part of a drive holiday is packing and repacking the car for the trip.

Keeping the kids entertained, misreading maps and getting lost were also among the top pet peeves.

In fact, those who can’t read maps were deemed to be the worst to take on a drive holiday with 32% of respondents claiming map-illiterate travel companions are the worst. Another 20% said kids are the hardest to travel with.

Despite the frustrations of car companions, other passengers were actually listed as the best distraction on a car trip, followed by in-car DVD players and sleep.

Megan Magill, Wotif.com General Manager Brand said in the current economic climate more people are opting to take a drive holiday so conquering the car ride is a must.

“More of our customers are holidaying closer to home and opting to drive to their destination. People are still getting away, but now aren’t venturing as far from home and prefer to save money on their mode of transport,” Magill said.

“Almost a quarter of responding customers said the average car ride to their destination is three to five hours and the majority of people said the car ride is purely practical, as it’s cheaper to drive than take other transport to a destination further away.

“Our survey also showed 22% of people taking a drive holiday did the entire trip by car over a week or more, stopping along the way as they please.

“With that in mind, keeping the trip enjoyable is an important consideration. 38% of respondents said the car trip is all about the journey and taking in the scenery but, that’s not going to be enough for everyone.

“There are new gadgets and games released all the time to keep passengers, whether the young and the young at heart, entertained.”