Getting your car staycation ready

With domestic holidays on the rise, it’s no wonder that many are gearing up to take in the very best that the UK has to offer.

As it tends to be cheaper and gives you the luxury of travelling in the comfort of your own vehicle, your car is likely to be a vital part of the family for this holiday. Just like you ensure that everyone in the family is ready and packed with everything they need - your car should be no different!

After all, you’ll be spending more than a couple of hours in your car to get to your destination and back, and that’s without even considering the additional car journeys you might make during the holiday itself. When you’ll likely spend so much time in it, why wouldn’t you want to prep your car to have everything that you or it might need to ensure a stress-free holiday?

Here are our top tips on how to make sure that your car is staycation ready.

Keep it Clean!

If the car journeys you’ve been making recently have been very short or have been without passengers, it can be easy to forget just how messy or cluttered your car actually is.

There’s nothing worse than buckling in for a long road trip to your destination only to realise that your seat is absolutely covered in crumbs and be thinking about those crumbs the whole journey or trying to dust them out from under you.

Equally, if you haven’t cleared out the clutter or rubbish that can all too quickly gather if you don’t regularly clean your car, you’ll find yourself and your passengers limited on space. Between having your legroom taken up by unneeded objects and having no place to put your takeaway cup of coffee, it’s safe to say that you’d be better off cleaning your car before you set off.

Don’t Forget the Essentials

If you’re going to be in the car for several hours, chances are you’ll need things like drinks, hand wipes and hand sanitiser for when you inevitably need to use the petrol station bathroom, plenty of snacks and of course a bag to collect all rubbish from said snacks.

Save yourself the trouble of having to buy these things at much higher prices while you’re already out on the road or having to go without by packing these essentials before you set off. You can even make a list of the things that you need a few days before and pre-pack them into the car so that it’s one less thing to worry about.

Stock it with entertainment

Whether your passengers are the whole family, excitable little ones, your grown-up children who would never miss out on a family holiday, your friends or even just your other half, everyone needs entertainment. While singing along to karaoke favourites may be fun for the first hour or so, boredom will inevitably strike.

Get ahead of it by making sure that you pack books, portable games, colouring books or sketchbooks, a tablet full of downloaded movies from Netflix or games, spare headphones - anything to keep everyone entertained in the car.

If you’re travelling with younger children, make sure that you put these items in easy to reach locations so you aren’t distracted trying to explain where they are or trying to reach behind you to find them. And just like that, everyone’s amused and there’s peace. For now.

Check the condition of your car

Most importantly, you need to ensure that your car is in working order by running basic car safety checks. The last thing that you want while on holiday is for your means of transportation to break down, leaving you stranded.

While it’s great to have an emergency tool kit in the boot of your car, inspecting your car before you get going can be the difference between everything running the way that it should and needing to use those emergency tools.

For a simple rundown of vehicle safety checks, from checking tyre pressure to general car servicing, here’s our blog on 10 essential checks that you should make before you set off.

Getting ready for your holiday with Kwik Fit

Want to make sure that your car is in the best shape before you start your staycation? At Kwik Fit, we’re here to help.

We offer a free vehicle health check with our experienced technicians ready to advise on any required maintenance so that when you set off for your holiday, you can do so with confidence that your car is prepared for anything.

Ideal for avoiding those dreaded breakdowns and keeping your car running smoothly, why not book in for a free car check online or visit your local Kwik Fit centre today?