1. Departure – Although getting kids up early can be difficult, we strongly suggest you get an early start. In fact, you will find it easier if you start out before breakfast. Many times, the kids are still sleepy. Because of this, they will go back to sleep, allowing you to get some distance into the trip before stopping for breakfast.

2. Cooler – Packing a cooler of fruits, sandwiches, and beverages will not only help with the budget, but it will also allow your kids to eat when hungry. In addition, if you are trying to reach a certain point within the trip and do not want to stop driving, taking your own food will give you more freedom. The key is to keep the food cold for health reasons but also choose things the kids enjoy.

3. Activities – Make sure your children have games or toys that will keep them busy on the road trip, choosing whatever is age-appropriate. For instance, we recommend you include coloring books, music (with earphones), books, or games specially designed for road trips. If possible, allow each child to choose one new thing for the trip, helping to keep him or her occupied.

4. Movies – If you have a DVD player in your vehicle, great but if not, you can take a laptop computer that plays DVD’s. This way, while you drive, the children can enjoy a movie or two.

5. Rest Stops – The roads within the United States provide nice rest stops that have restroom facilities and picnic tables, in a safe, well-lit location. While traveling, your kids are going to become restless, needing to move around. Take advantage of the rest stops along your route, giving your kids a much-needed break. You will discover that allowing them to run free for 30 minutes helps keep the noise level in the car down to a dull roar. A good rule of thumb is to stop about every three hours. Even stopping for 15 minutes will make the trip far more enjoyable.

6. Games – In addition to the games the children play, incorporate car games into the trip. For instance, the “license plate game” is fun. With this, you would take turns spotting license plates and then making a word out of the first letter. For instance, if you were your turn and you saw a plate that started with T, you might choose the word tornado. To make the game more challenging for older children, choose a specific subject such as food, in which T could become tomato.

7. Comfort – You will need to ensure the car space is comfortable. In most cases, road trips involve overcrowded cars with little space. Therefore, use fluffy pillows and blankets to make the space more comfortable, while providing a means for your child to take a nap.

8. Continental Breakfast or Discounts – Many hotels now offer a substantial continental breakfast, meaning everyone eats breakfast free. You will also find that hotels often offer discounts for children under a certain age. With this, you might find that any children under the age of 10 stays free. Therefore, it would be to your benefit to do some research ahead of time.

9. Overnight Stays – If your road trip involves one or two overnight stays in a hotel, instead of lugging all of the suitcases inside, you might consider packing a small overnight bag for each person in the car, consisting of a clothing change, toothbrush, and only the bare necessities.

It’s easier for younger drivers to rent a car than it used to be, but it’s still not cheap. Hertz, Avis and Budget all have lowered their minimum rental age recently from 25 to 21, but they are imposing daily surcharges on younger drivers because they tend to be involved in more accidents.

Hertz, for example, is charging drivers ages 21-25 an extra $25 per day for most vehicles and $35 per day in New York. In New York and Michigan, where state laws require companies to rent to 18- to 20-year-olds, Hertz tacks on an even higher surcharge: $51 per day in New York and $41 per day in Michigan.

Richard Broome, a spokesman for Hertz, said the higher surcharge in New York for drivers in that age group reflects a higher incidence of accidents among them in the New York City area and to a lesser degree the rest of the state.

Budget has policies that are similar to Hertz’s, but its New York surcharge is a whopping $115 per day. Alamo, which has been renting to those drivers for years, charges an extra $25 per day nationally and $70.82 a day in New York.

The surcharge fees can add up quickly. A one-day rental of a Hertz compact car at Boston’s Logan International Airport costs $84.50 with taxes and fees, but the cost rises to $109.50, a 30 percent increase, for a driver age 21-25.

The chief reason Hertz, Avis and Budget lowered their minimum driving age was reduced liability. In August, President Bush signed into law a federal highway bill that contained a provision effectively abolishing state laws establishing vicarious liability for rental and leasing companies.

Vicarious liability is a legal concept that in this case means the owner of a leased or rented vehicle could be held liable for injuries to others caused by the renter, even if the owner of the vehicle did nothing to contribute to the accident.

Don’t prepay for gasoline when you rent a car at an airport.

Rental-car employees often urge travelers to prepay for a tank of gas when renting a car. Reality: Most off-airport gas stations charge less than rental car firms do.

And people who prepay get no refund for gas left in the cars when they return them.

Better: Fill up the gas tank on your own before returning the car.

Now, one year later, Avis hasn’t even acknowledged her e-mails and phone calls appealing the higher bill. Should the car rental company give her a refund? And how could Castillo have avoided this dispute in the first place?

Q: We rented an Avis car in Paris more than a year ago. After two days, we decided to extend our contract by a week, and were offered a rate of 220 euros.

When we returned the car, we were presented with a bill for more than 800 euros. We were sure it was a mistake.

I tried to speak with an Avis employee before we left, but we were in a hurry to catch our plane and I couldn’t get anyone to fix the rate. I called the Avis location at the airport after we returned to the United States and was told that the reason our bill was so high is that they had not entered our frequent-renter number. I gave the number to the agent, thinking that would be the end of the story.

It wasn’t. More than a year has gone by. I’ve called both the Avis location and Avis corporate, and I’ve e-mailed the company. I have not once received a courteous letter or phone call in response.

This has turned into an ordeal. We would never have agreed to pay 800 euros for a one-week rental. Can you help us get a refund?

— Karina Castillo, New York

A: You’re right, 800 euros sounds a little pricey for a one-week rental. Even in Paris.

It sure looks like Avis was trying to pull a bait-and-switch, offering you a low rate and then charging you a higher one. I don’t base that opinion on the fact that you were charged about 600 euros more than you expected — overcharges happen all the time in the travel industry. I base it on the fact that the company apparently did nothing to address your complaint for a year.

Let’s just say that doesn’t look very good for Avis.

Fortunately, this kind of situation is completely avoidable. If you want to extend a car rental, get the new terms in writing. A car rental company can e-mail you with a new agreement, or send it to you by postal service or messenger.

But tell you by phone? Non, merci.

When you see an incorrect charge on a rental bill, remember to climb the corporate food chain one link at a time. First, see if an agent can fix the situation. If not, appeal to a manager. Finally, take your grievance to corporate. If that doesn’t work, see me.

Your mistake was waiting too long to appeal to a manager. When the agent started hemming and hawing, you should have politely cut him off and asked to see the boss.

Signing the credit card receipt was also a mistake. If a travel company requires you to sign (and that’s not unusual), make a notation on the slip that you do not agree with the charge, and that you intend to appeal it. Make your intentions clear to the agent and manager as well. Sometimes this is enough to resolve the dispute on the spot.

Whatever you do, don’t give a travel company a whole year to address a dispute like this. After all, you have a limited time to challenge a credit card charge. Instead, notify your credit card company of the problem immediately, and then give the company a few weeks — a month at most — before filing a formal complaint. You normally have only 60 days to file a challenge.

If you had gotten the weekly rate in writing and had followed a few simple appeal procedures, this dispute wouldn’t have — couldn’t have — dragged on for a year.

As far as I can tell, Avis just put the wrong rate in its computer. Then it stubbornly stood by that rate, even though you were a frequent renter. Well, so much for giving its customers the benefit of the doubt.

I asked Avis to check its records, and after it did, it offered you a refund of $300. That’s a pretty nice gesture, considering it apparently had no official record of offering you a lower price. And half your money back is better than nothing at all.

source:www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8705047/