Are you planning a summer road trip this year? Personally, I love nothing more than piling a group of friends into a car and cruising off into the distance and exploring a new destination. Whether it’s in a new country or merely a new part of your own country, it’s such a fun way to see more of a place. You get to travel at your own pace, stop when you want and you can have as many bathroom breaks as necessary, which is perfect if you’re traveling with young kids. Here are my top 4 road trip essentials if you’re planning a road trip:
1. A Good Car
If you’re going to rent a car make sure you hunt around to get a good price. Looking around online to snag a good deal can result in considerable savings. If you’re going to use your own car, make sure you’re up to date with car services like oil changes and ensure that you have enough thread on your tires. Check your tire pressure before you head out on a big trip and ensure that all your car insurance is up to date!
2. A Lively Soundtrack
There’s nothing worse than depending on Spotify to get you going and then running out of data midway through a road trip. Either download music, bring some CDs or pay for Spotify premium so that you can rest assured you will have great tunes to last you through the entire road trip. I like to ask all passengers to bring some music so that way I know everyone will get to listen to at least some songs they love along the way. Don’t forget that 80s music always goes down a treat!
3. Healthy Snacks
While crisps are delicious and Coke can be a little addictive, after a while you can start to feel sick and it can even affect your mood. I really suggest bringing along some healthy snacks such as some nuts, cheeses, jerky, popcorn, dried fruits, bananas, and even some sandwiches. Try to keep as hydrated as possible and bring water to drink when your thirsty as sugary drinks won’t really sustain you. Focus on snacks that are higher on protein and lower on sugar, that way you’ll feel more satisfied and won’t suffer from regular sugar crashes.
4. Insurance
Whether you’re heading overseas or traveling locally you’d be silly not to consider insurance. If you’re heading overseas, then you’re going to want to look for insurance that will cover any medical costs that could arise while you’re traveling. Depending on where you’re headed, you might not be eligible for medical care in that country and if not and you find yourself needing medical care, your bills could easily become unaffordable. With cheap travel insurance, you’ll be covered. The truth is often we can’t afford NOT to have travel insurance! If you’re traveling locally then you’ll want to make sure your rental car or your own car has car insurance so that if you have an accident your covered in case of damages. Insurance is one of those things we usuall don’t think about until it’s too late.
These are my top tips for ensuring you have a wonderful and extremely memorable road trip. Do you have any more tips? Let me know in the comments below:
