Y’all know how I absolutely thrive on road trips! They’re my ultimate happy place and it’s my favorite way to travel. Road tripping allows you to dig deeper into a location, seeing things along the way that wasn’t even in the plan. To have the best optimal time, there are some tips for road tripping that everyone should be aware of before hopping on a drive.
Here are my tips for road tripping like a pro:
Prep Your Car
The most important tip for road tripping is to prep your car so you know it’s in good order. We always make a note of our mileage in terms of needing an oil change and usually take it in the week before for a diagnostics test. During that time, we have him check our brakes and top off our fluids, which we learned the hard way a few years back. Cruising through Germany in the winter, we ran out of wiper fluid on a busy highway. With the slush of snow in the streets, the wipes at gas stations weren’t cutting it. We ended up spending an arm and a leg on a container of wiper fluid and, had we prepared better before leaving, we could’ve saved some money.
Another prep for your car you shouldn’t forget about are your tires. Top those off with air if need be, bring along a pressure gauge on your trip and feel out the treads so you know they’re in good condition. Don’t forget about that spare in your trunk!
Join AAA or a Roadside Service
We’re lucky enough to have roadside assistance included in our car insurance. If you don’t have that, one of the biggest tips for road tripping is to join AAA or some sort of roadside assistance service. There’s always that off chance your car could start acting up or your tire blows out in the middle of nowhere. Having a service like this could be a life saver.
Rent a Car
Let’s just go ahead and skip all of that prepping above and rent a car instead. This is something we do on every trip and have yet to have a bad experience.
Renting a car you get that peace of mind that they’re responsible for that vehicle if it happens to break down. Another good perk is that a replacement vehicle will be provided. Be sure to have more than one person named as a driver so those long hours can be split.
Have a Planned Itinerary
You guys know by now that I’m a crazy itinerary planner. On a road trip, I have our activities and locations down to the hour but that also doesn’t mean we adhere to it 100%. Even if you have a super tight itinerary, you still need to be flexible with it. There’s always a chance of getting stuck in traffic or having to take an unexpected detour.
The main reason I plan out our road trips in depth is so I know where we’ll be sleeping for the night. Andy and I are lucky enough to have an SUV big enough to sleep in, something that saves us loads of money out on the road. If you’re not keen to camping out in rest stops, having a plan is pretty important on a road trip so you can book accommodations.
Take Real Maps
Most of you youngin’s reading this are probably like, ‘A real map, what does that even mean?!’ Ahh yes, before Google Maps and Garmins were these enormous, in-depth maps called a Road Atlas, your best friend on every adventure.
I’ll admit, Google Maps is the ultimate co-pilot on our road trips but we can all agree that today’s digital world had made it extremely easy to navigate in unfamiliar territory. But what about those moments you’re out in some desolate land without any phone service?
Cue in the Road Atlas! Recently, we embarked on a road trip down to Death Valley where we had no cell reception. I was lucky enough to have printed out detailed directions from each location we’d be visiting. With my screenshots of driving time, detailed mileage and a highlighted route, we were set for navigation.
Snacks are Essential
Want to save loads of money on a road trip? Trust me, that fun size candy bar and bag of Combos you buy at the gas station will add up!
The day before we leave on a road trip, we stop by the local Walmart and stock up with an Ikea bag filled to the brim with snacks. Not only does this save us money, but it’s great to have inbetween meals. Snacks are game-changers too when you’re stuck in a traffic jam and getting hangrier by the second.
And don’t forget those drinks! We have a super-nice cooler that keeps ice cold for up to 2 days. After those two days, we usually will just grab another bag of ice from the gas station and refill it until it melts again. This will save you loads too so the only thing we have to buy on the road for drinks is coffee!
Bring Along Some Jams
Music to a road trip is like audio to a movie, you just can’t have one without the other. Feeling antsy stuck in that traffic jam? Turn up the tunes and get lost in the sound for a while to soothe your mind.
There aren’t many more things I love than blaring music on a hot summer day with the windows down, zooming down the Pacific Coast Highway. Those little moments just wouldn’t be the same without some good jams playing in the background!
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