Infographic: The Great British Family Road Trip 2021

Road trips are one of the summer’s greatest pleasures. There’s something magical about packing the boot, buckling your seatbelt and setting off on an adventure. The promise of the open road and setting your own course proves to be an irresistible siren call.

We love to take road trips to beaches, national parks, historical locations, city breaks and areas of natural beauty. We may go off to explore new places or recreate a memory from our own childhoods. There’s so much to explore in the UK.

To find out more about how and why we road trip, we surveyed 1,400 families on their road trip habits, quirks and annoyances. The results paint a revealing picture of the great British road trip, and they may surprise and inspire you!

So let’s pack the car, load up your favourite playlist and hit the open road for the great British road trip adventure.

With so much exploring to do, it’s little wonder that British families embark on an average of 19 roads trips every year, according to our survey. That’s nearly two road trips every month, with the average duration of driving being over one hour. In total, we travel just shy of 1,957 miles.

The most popular road trip destination is the beach, but cities proved popular too, with a quarter of us visiting five or more cities each year.

Over two thirds of road trippers, according to our survey, bring children along for the ride, but we know that spending hours in an enclosed space with children can be difficult, even for the most patient parents. And the statistics back this up – parents reported that children ask “are we nearly there yet?” an average of three times per road trip, and declare “I’m bored” twice.

So it’s no surprise many of us have adopted strategies to avert boredom and tantrums! The survey found that three quarters of families play in-car games during the road trip, with 70% of us opting for the classic ‘I Spy’. And half of us try and keep the kids entertained with computer and mobile phone games.

The good news is that 44% of children will sleep in the car at some point during the road trip, bringing a little respite for parents!

There’s no road trip without a car. And with the average family taking 19 long trips a year, finding a car that’s comfortable should be a priority for regular road trippers.

Our survey families told us that the three most important car features for a successful road trip outing are comfortable seating, plenty of space and big boot space, to fit your luggage.

A good in-car sound system is also important, with a huge 96% of survey respondents saying they listened to the radio or music while on the road trip.

Before you set out on your family road trips during the summer holidays, we thought we’d give you a helping hand in avoiding tantrums, keeping the kids entertained and getting you to your favourite destinations. Our competition has now finished.

The research of 1,400 parents of kids aged 16 and below was commissioned by Jardine Motors Group and conducted by OnePoll.

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