What to know when preparing your car for long coastal drives

There’s something about Australian coastal drives that no holiday abroad can quite replicate. Windows down, salty air rolling through the car, kids spotting the ocean for the first time each morning, and the slow unwind of a long stretch of highway ahead. Whether we’re heading up to Byron Bay, down the South Coast, or weaving along the Central Coast for a weekend away, a long coastal drive with the family is one of our favourite ways to travel.

What we’ve learned from doing it again and again is that the drive itself makes or breaks the trip. A bit of prep the week before turns a stressful start into a smooth one, and saves everyone from the dreaded mid-journey meltdown. Here’s what we check, pack, and plan before hitting the road with our little ones in tow.

Give the car a proper once-over

Long drives put real pressure on a vehicle. Stop-start city traffic is one thing; 400km at highway speed with a loaded boot and two car seats is another. Before any coastal trip, we give the car a proper look-over a few days out, not the morning of departure.

The basics worth checking:

1. Tyre pressure and tread, including the spare
2. Engine oil, coolant, and windscreen washer levels
3. Brake performance on a test drive around the block
4. Headlights, brake lights, and indicators are all working
5. Wipers that actually clear the windscreen properly

For cars that haven’t had a service in a while, it’s worth booking one before a long haul. The cost of a routine service is nothing next to the cost of a breakdown on the Pacific Motorway.

Sort your rego and insurance before you leave

This is the bit that catches people out. Registration can lapse quietly in the background, especially when digital renewals sit unread in your inbox. A long interstate drive is the worst possible moment to realise your rego expired a fortnight ago.

A quick check before you go:

1. Registration is current and renewal is lodged if it’s close to expiring
2. CTP (or Green Slip in NSW, MAI in the ACT) is active
3. Comprehensive or third-party cover is in place and you know the policy number
4. Emergency contact numbers for your insurer are saved in your phone

For Australian drivers, making sure CTP is sorted is non-negotiable. If you’re with a provider like NRMA Insurance, you can check renewal dates and policy details directly through their online portal, which saves scrambling through paperwork the day you leave. Keeping digital copies of the key documents on your phone means you’re not hunting for them if you ever need to make a claim on the road.

Pack a proper car emergency kit

We used to be slack about this. Now, after one memorable breakdown near Nelson Bay with both kids strapped in and the sun setting, we never leave home without a basic emergency kit in the boot.

What’s in ours:

1. First aid kit with basics like Band-Aids, antiseptic, and kids’ paracetamol
2. Jumper leads and a tyre gauge
3. A torch with fresh batteries
4. Bottled water (more than you think you need)
5. A warm blanket or two, even in summer
6. High-vis vest, especially useful if you need to pull over on a highway
7. Phone charging cables and a backup battery pack

None of this takes up much room, and the peace of mind is worth the boot space. Roadside assistance is brilliant, but there’s often a wait on busy holiday weekends.

Plan your route and your stops

With young kids, stops are the single biggest factor in whether the drive is enjoyable or miserable. Rather than pushing through, we break every 90 minutes at a minimum. Planning where to stop ahead of time makes a huge difference – we use a mix of Google Maps and local knowledge to pick good coffee spots, playgrounds, and beachside rest areas.

A few of our favourite coastal stopping patterns:

1. A proper breakfast or brunch somewhere scenic to kick off the drive
2. A playground or park mid-morning for a run-around
3. Lunch at a beachside cafe with a view
4. An afternoon ice cream or gelato stop (non-negotiable)

If the drive passes through Terrigal, we’ll happily go out of our way for a good feed. Our list of favourite restaurants in Terrigal has plenty of family-friendly options that work beautifully as a road trip break, and the beachfront playground is right there for the kids.

Think about fuel, water, and charge points

Coastal drives often pass through towns where fuel prices swing wildly. Filling up before you hit the less serviced stretches usually saves money and stress. For those of us driving EVs or hybrids, planning charge points along the route is a must – coverage has improved dramatically on the East Coast but still has gaps.

We always travel with more water than feels necessary. Between hot weather, kids being kids, and the occasional need to top up a radiator in an emergency, extra water bottles have saved us more than once.

Pack for kids, not just for the destination

The drive itself is half the holiday when travelling with little ones. We pack a dedicated car bag separate from the main luggage, so everything we need in transit is within easy reach.

Our car bag usually contains:

1. Snacks in small, resealable portions (dried fruit, rice cakes, cheese sticks)
2. A cold bag with drinks and something refrigerated
3. A small selection of toys, books, and colouring pads
4. Wet wipes – lots of them
5. A change of clothes per child, plus a spare top for you
6. Nappies, plastic bags, and a change mat for the younger one
7. Motion sickness remedies, just in case

Having all of this in one grab bag means stopping to find things is rare, and when it does happen, it’s quick.

Give yourself extra time, always

The biggest lesson we’ve learned travelling with kids along Australian coastlines is that rigid schedules rarely hold. Traffic on the M1 during school holidays, unplanned nappy changes, an irresistible lookout point, or a kid who needs to stretch their legs can easily add 30 to 60 minutes to a quoted drive time.

We now build buffer time into every trip. Instead of trying to arrive by check-in at 2 pm, we aim for lunchtime and treat anything beyond that as a bonus. Arriving unhurried sets the tone for the whole holiday, and it’s so much more pleasant than pulling in stressed and snappy after a long day on the road.

If the drive is more than four hours, we’ll often split it into two days with an overnight stop. Our guide to romantic getaways from Sydney has plenty of ideas for halfway stops that work equally well as a family overnight, especially if you’re heading further south or north than usual.

A long coastal drive is one of life’s simple pleasures, but only when everything’s been thought through ahead of time. Giving the car a proper check, sorting your rego and insurance, packing an emergency kit, planning decent stops, and building in buffer time all add up to a trip that feels relaxing from the moment you back out of the driveway.

The Australian coastline is genuinely one of the most beautiful places on earth to drive, especially with the people we love beside us. A little bit of planning is all it takes to turn the journey into its own highlight. Safe travels, and enjoy every salty kilometre.