Road Trip Tips & Tricks: How to Make the Most of Your Trip

Do you ever feel like jumping in your car and driving far far away? Get away from work, stress, and appointments and just explore. Well, I have been feeling this a lot lately, which has prompted me to plan an imaginary road trip in my head that I have no plans of doing. It’s not that I wouldn’t love to drive through the landscapes that this country has to offer, stopping at adorable diners and random coffee shops on the way. But, when you get car sick as easily as I do, you might try to avoid sitting in a car for entire days at a time.

However, I have been on a couple of road trips in my life, and I have picked up a lot of tips and tricks that I thought might be helpful to others. I’ll include some fun things to do on the road, some things you should bring, and some tips for security.

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What Should You Bring?

This is a list of some basic things I bring when I am on a road trip, plus a couple of things I forgot but wish I had brought with me.

Clothes
Phone, headpphones, books, other car activities
Woolite (if you want to rewear things, wash things, etc.)
Cooler (This one from Amazon is pretty cheap and a good size for the back of the car)
Ziplock bags (Grab ice from a hotel/motel, carry extra food you get along the way, cover the remote at hotels, etc.)
Small trash or grocery bags
Roll of Paper Towels (You spill a lot while eating on the road)
Hand sanitizer (useful pre and post-Covid, those rest stop bathrooms aren’t the cleanest)
Case of water bottles (I know, save the planet, but there are a lot of places where you can’t find water, and you need to stay hydrated, especially in the summer heat)
Snacks and drinks (Especially fresh fruit, you will crave it after so much fast food)
Clorox wipes (Maybe I am a germaphobe, but I always have some of these with me)
Dramamine (If you get carsick like me)
Caffiene (for obvious reasons)
Camera (This one is obvious but worth mentioning, get some disposable ones for a fun twist to your pictures, like these ones)
Hotel acitivities (Games, cards, crossword puzzles, etc. It can get a bit boring)
Slippers and/or flip flops (I don’t like walking around at night without shoes)
For anyone with a uterus, Pads/tampons (you never know)
Deoderant (you know)
Quarters and pennies (If you like pressed pennies)
Vitamins (I promise, you won’t get these from the food you’re eating)
First-Aid kit (blisters, scrapes, and cuts happen, make sure you have everything you might need)
Any medication you need
Maps (Yes, physical ones, you never know when technology will fail you)

How to Make Driving Fun

There is A LOT of driving during road trips. Obviously. But you don’t really understand until you are actually doing it just how long it is, and there isn’t always a lot to look at. So you have to figure out how to make the hours go by. Plus, you have to stay awake, so the driver always has someone to talk to. Here are a couple of games and activities that you can do.

License Plate Game: I promise, you aren’t the only one driving down the interstate on a roadtrip. Try finding a license plate from all 50 states. I always get excited seeing plates from my home state.
Alphabet Game: There are about one million and one signs on the interstates. Try to find city and street names starting with A and then moving on to B, etc. I love this game, but I never seem to make it to Z. This one is especially fun with kids, because it gets them looking out the window at the beautiful landscape passing by.
Crossword puzzels: These aren’t solitary games, I promise! It can be a lot of fun to work with everyone in the car to figure out the answers. Make it competetive and see who comes up with the most answers in the fastest time.
Sing! It is so fun to sing loadly and out of tune to a playlist full of bops and favorites. Make sure to create your playlist ahead of time and download it onto your phone for when the internet gets spotty.
Books and Magazine: Pass the time diving into a story. Of course, only if you don’t get car sick.
Get a book of Riddles: Similar to cross word puzzles, it can be fun to work together to figure them out.
Just talk! Some of the best conversations happen on the road. I love getting deep, or asking fun questions, getting to know the other people in the car.

Person looking at a map while sitting on a car

How to Stay Safe

Unfortunately, this is something we all have to think about when we leave home. Although it is rare for something to happen, a lack of preparation can be dangerous. There are scary people out there, so being prepared is necessary. Here are some tips I use to stay safe.

Pepper Spray: I always feel a little better when I have my small pepper spray with me. You can purchase a small, inexpensive pepper spray here, from Amazon. However, check the laws in each state you are in, because self-defense weapon laws are all different, and the size and grade of your pepper spray may be illegal in certain areas.
Portable lock or door jam: If you are staying in hotels or motels, these are a neccessity. Portable locks will give you extra security on a lock only you can open, like this one. And this door jam on Amazon creates a REALLY loud sound if the door is opened.
Never leave valuables in the car: Carry a back pack with you with anything expensive or valuable to you in it. Never let that backpack out of your site. Don’t even leave it in your locked car. You just never know, and people can be so fast at breaking in. It would definitely put a damper in your trip to lose something you love. I don’t even leave my backpack in the hotel.
Be aware of your surroundings: I know this one sounds obvious, but there will be a lot of strangers around you during your road trip. You never know who has bad intentions, or who might be dangerous.
Get some self-defense tips: You don’t have to pay for an expensive class, there are a lot of resources online and on YouTube. Before my trips, I always refresh on my self-defense knowledge, so I know what to do if I get into a sticky situation.

Road Trips are a classic vacation, and the best way to have the best time is to be prepared. There will always be curve balls thrown at you, but if you are prepared, those curveballs can be fun detours.

My biggest tip is to do a lot of research. But with all that research, don’t be afraid to go rogue. Make a random stop at an interesting city. Stop and look at that site. Something exciting might happen, and you might find something cool! Good luck, and have fun seeing all the unique and interesting places you stop along the way.