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I enjoy traveling and visiting new places. I don’t travel as much as I would like too. 🙂 Road trips are by far my favorite way to travel. Don’t get me wrong, I like traveling by planes too, but there is just something fun and adventurous to road trips. They are great bonding experiences and will make memories to last a lifetime. Plus, they are very economical for families or groups.
Whenever you are planning on going on a road trip you need to plan and organize yourself ahead of time. But what if you decide to go on a trip on the fly? How do you plan for a road trip? Here are my 9 tips for a successful road trip. These tips are perfect for planning a successful, spontaneous road trip or for elaborating and expanding for a completely planned road trip.
9 Tips for a Successful Road Trip
- Pick a destination – You have to know where you are going! However, this could be very general like so many minutes or miles in a certain direction.
- Check the weather – If you are traveling more than two hours from your current location you need to know if it might rain or snow where you are going. Also if it will be hotter or colder than where you are now.
- Do a quick Google search for “Things to do in (wherever you are going)” – This is especially important if you are planning on spending a few days and nights there. By knowing the weather and having a general idea of what you might do while you are there you will be able to figure out what to pack.
- Always pack the necessities first – For my family we deem underwear, socks, diapers and wipes, basic toiletries like soap, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, and any medications we are currently on as necessities.
- Pack clothes and shoes next – Now that you know what the weather will be like and have a good idea about what you might do while there, you can pack clothes and shoes specifically for your needs. Trust me, the last thing you want to do while on your road trip is have to stop at Target before you get to go hiking because you forgot tennis shoes. Or worse yet, you have to buy everyone warmer clothes because you packed for a Florida spring (80s and 90s) and it’s in the 50s.
- Bring extra water bottles – Dehydration is not fun! Drinking only soda on your road trip will not only leave you feeling sluggish, it will not rehydrate you the way water does. Another benefit to having extra water with you means you can stop at any scenic trail for a good leg stretch and hike.
- Pack a cooler – I always pack a cooler and a bag with healthy favorite foods for us. Some of our favorite snacks include: cheese sticks, apples, grapes, chunks of ham or natural ham lunchmeat, yogurt, water, a few juice boxes, granola bars, crackers or popped chips, dried fruit, and cereal.
- Bring along some music/audio books – The longer your road trip, the more others will sleep. If you are driving you are going to need entertainment for yourself. A good audio book or music and some comfortable earbuds will allow you to forget about the snoring going on in the back seat!
- Pack activities to keep the little ones busy – With kids in the car you will need something to occupy their time. Books, crayons and paper, tablets/ipods, and games are all things that can be used to keep the dreaded “Are we there yet?” at bay.
Those are my 9 tips for a successful road trip. Some of those tips were learned the hard way from lessons on road trips. Yes, I did take the kids on a spontaneous road trip a few years ago and didn’t think about a couple of these things. And yes, we did have to buy socks and shoes at Target so we could go walking/hiking. While the weather was a tad cooler than we packed for it wasn’t too chilly. Learn from my mistakes, people! 🙂
What are some of your tips for a successful road trip?
Have a great day!
Brandi
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Looking for more fun travel ideas and tips? Check out my Travel: Oh the Places We’ll Go board on Pinterest.
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