This question lands somewhere around the twenty-minute mark. Sometimes after five. And then again. And again. You're driving, taking in the view, on your fourth coffee of the day — which may not even get the chance to go cold. Little travellers, meanwhile, are discovering that the car is still the same size and the scenery outside is changing far too slowly.
The holiday has already begun. It just isn't “there” yet.
Why it takes so long
You know that in three hours you'll be by the sea. They can see another turning and another lorry. The seat is still the same, the belt still holds, and past the window runs a strip of trees that barely seems to change.
It isn't that they can't wait. The journey simply feels long in a completely different way for them than it does for you. You've got the destination in your head. They've got here and now.
What helps more than “nearly there”
“Nearly there” works about twice. After that, nobody takes it seriously.
Better to say something concrete: once we've been through the tunnel, we'll stop. When we get to the petrol station with the big dinosaur, we'll have a snack. Little travellers need landmarks along the way — not just a promise that the end is close.
A few small things to hold also help: a book, a couple of toy cars, stickers. And music. The songs they already know work better than a brand-new playlist, after which, by the third track, they're asking when theirs is coming on.
Stops aren't a waste of time
You want to drive straight through. But after two hours without getting out, everyone needs a change.
A short stop at a service area where they can run about often saves more nerves than another twenty minutes on the road. It doesn't have to be a big programme. Stretching legs, a loo stop and climbing back into the car in a slightly different mood is enough.
And yes — snacks in the car have their risks. A crumb under the seat will outlast the whole holiday. But a hungry little traveller lasts even less well than that crumb.
The journey belongs to the trip
A car journey isn't just a necessary obstacle before the holiday. It's part of it — even if that doesn't feel true by the third “are we there yet?”
That's why, at Cestoteka, we show that the journey belongs to the adventure just as much as the destination. Next time “are we there yet?” pipes up, you'll know the holiday has already begun.
If you'd like little travellers to look forward to the trip as well as the place you're heading to, we've prepared picture guides for them at cestoteka.com. You can read them aloud together on the way — or before you set off.