We’ve grown up with road trips, from annual trips to our favourite camp sites, to visiting grandparents on the NSW north coast. After all the family road trip an Aussie tradition, so it’s hardly unusual, although not without challenges. When the kids were younger we had to worry about toilet stops and motion sickness, boredom and endless Wiggles DVDs.

Now the kids are teens, boredom still exists, but teens are usually capable of entertaining themselves with various mobile devices. So, the main issue is power. And 3G. And space. Here are my top tips for surviving a road trip with teens.

1. Space. First of all (and I know this is OBVIOUS), the main difference between travelling with teens as opposed to say, toddlers, is that they are bigger. So, you’re going to need a bigger car.
On a recent road trip to Forster and Yamba, we found the Nissan Pathfinder a pretty good fit. The seven-seater has plenty of room for leggy teens to spread out without arguing about personal space, enough charging points for multiple mobile devices, cup holders by every seat and even seat back entertainment.

2. Sound System. One of the perks of a road trip with teens is that you don’t need to listen to the Wiggles (which is worth celebrating). In fact, as the teens will probably each have their own state-of-the-art headphones, you don’t have to listen to anything.
However, it’s nice to share the experience, and music-loving teens will quite often want to share their latest ‘finds’ with each other so it’s great to have a sound-system that will sync to a number of devices. The Pathfinder’s sound system can sync to numerous mobile devices, with access to apps including iTunes and Spotify – in fact I think this car was actually designed with teenagers in mind.

3. Entertainment. It seems when kids turn 13, there’s less of a need to watch movies or play games en-route, so laptops and iPads become less of a necessity, but it’s still not a bad idea to keep them handy, especially when driving for over five hours.
The Pathfinder has video displays behind the two front seats which can be played individually, so no need for everyone to watch the same thing, with movies accessed via USB, HDMI or a DVD player on the dashboard.

4. Power. Mobile devices chew up battery power, especially when you’re using the same device to listen to music, watch YouTube clips, take photos and videos and share them with your mates on Snapchat, simultaneously. First of all, make sure everyone has fully charged devices before you set off, and take along a couple of mobile chargers.
One of the great things about the Pathfinder is that it has multiple USB charging ports – front and back. Enough for all of our devices to maintain enough charge for our first long haul from Sydney to Forster

5. Selfie stops. Don’t beat them, join them and have some fun. Be sure to find some time for the kitsch (maybe the Big Prawn in Ballina) and the sublime (Bennett’s Headland in Forster) along the way so that you make the most of your time on the road together.

6. Directions. Make sure you set your destination on the GPS (or one of the available devices) before the console gets taken over by playlists. It’s not a bad idea to assign the task of navigation to one of your passengers, just make sure you choose someone who’s likely to pay attention and not get side-tracked by YouTube. The GPS in the Pathfinder operates in the background while the music’s playing, chiming in every now and then if there’s a change of direction ahead.

7. Coffee stops. There really isn’t a great choice of food stops on the highway – any highway. If you can, make time to get off the highway and find a café – or better still, a market – in one of the sleepy little country towns along the way.

8. Where to Stay. Whether it’s along the way or at your destination, the best options for accommodation with a family of teens is either a YHA youth hostel or a holiday park. We stayed in at BIG4 Great Lakes Holiday Park in Forster Tuncurry, and BIG4 Saltwater near Yamba.

In Forster, the Great Lakes holiday park has a lap pool, water park and obligatory giant bouncing pillow as well as a café that serves pretty good coffee, with live entertainment in peak periods. While we’ve chosen a cabin, the park has recently introduced luxurious glamping-style tents, which would be a better choice for long-legged teens.

BIG4 Saltwater has a completely different feel to it. Located a few kilometres from town, this peaceful holiday park is like a little riverside retreat. The shady park has an adventure playground, large water park and an outdoor cinema. During peak periods the park invites local food trucks to set up shop, including Flour & Water wood fired pizza, Pocket Curries and Ed’s Little Boy Brisket, and there’s quite often live entertainment.