The Ultimate List of Road Trip Tips - Your Tips for Long Drives During Your Travels
Breaking down my favourite road trip tips based on things that have made a difference on the previous long drives that I’ve done around the world. I’ve road tripped on almost every continent at this point, so I’d like to think I’ve learned a thing or two, and I’d love to share those things with you.
In the world of travel, it really doesn’t get much better than the road trip for me. There’s just something about the road trip that signifies something that I’ve always believed about travel - that the journey is, in many ways, the destination.
That is to say, it’s often the memories that we create on the way there that we cherish the most after the fact.
I’ve also always appreciated the freedom associated with road trips. When you’re the driver, you get to decide if you’re going to pull over and take a picture. You get to decide if the restaurant that you’ve just come across is worth a pit stop, and you get to decide if you want to change your end destination entirely on a whim.
I can still vividly remember when Bri and I were in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and we spent a day exploring some nearby sights. We got on the highway, and were headed towards Lake Bled when we saw Salzburg on a highway sign and thought, “you know what? we’ve always wanted to visit, why not head to Salzburg?” So, that’s what we did, and Salzburg ended up being the perfect spontaneous decision.
There’s a real power in spontaneous travel, and I feel as if it’s the road trip that affords me the greatest chance…for chance.
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Here Are My Favourite Road Trip Tips After Road Tripping Across Dozens of Countries
I’ve done extensive road tripping across Europe primarily, but I’ve also done some road tripping in Australia, and on the African continent in places like Morocco, Tanzania, and South Africa (including our self-led safari in Kruger National Park).
I’d like to think that I’ve learned a few things along the way, and I’d love to share them with you.
Have Podcasts Downloaded Before You Head Off
I adore podcasts for a multitude of reasons (especially uplifting podcasts), and one of them is certainly how they can make time fly when you’re on a road trip. I remember that, particularly in South Africa, we had some long days of driving. When you’re getting into double digit hours behind the wheel, an engaging podcast can be a saviour.
I use the app Overcast for organizing my podcasts, and I’m a big fan. You can create a folder like I do called “Road Trips,” and ensure that you download all the podcasts in that list on wifi before you take off. That ensures you’ll have podcasts, even if you may not have service on your phone.
In the past, Bri and I had fun listening to shows on the road like:
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
My Dad Wrote a Porno
Hidden Brain
Bear Brook
Serial
The Dropout
How I Built This
Amateur Traveler Travel Podcast
Conan O’ Brien Needs a Friend
Criminal
Heavyweight
That should get you rolling! I’ve tried to include an eclectic mix here of crime, comedy, human interest, and some opportunity for learning as well.
Ensure You Have the Road Trip Essentials With You
You can fit your road trip essentials in any car, no matter how small. Speaking of essentials, we even bought some dice for the mirror on this Croatian road trip!
You can have all the podcasts in the world, but if you don’t have water, you might be in trouble.
Before setting out, I always make a point of stopping at a grocery store and getting as big a jug of water as I can get. I try to ensure that I’ve got at least 5 litres of water in the car at all times. If you can get your hands on more, you should, since water usually isn’t terribly expensive.
If you’re able, bring along a water filter bottle/water bottle that purifies water. These can come in handy if you end up needing to fill up a water bottle at a restaurant, hotel or gas station where you’re not sure if the water is safe to drink. Also, if push comes to shove, you’re able to literally dip your water bottle in a lake, and drink away.
I’d also recommend bringing some Cliff Bars and Lara Bars since they don’t take up much space, but they pack a serious punch when it comes to energy and can be great to have in a pinch. If you didn’t bring any Cliff Bars or Lara Bars with you (I have plenty of friends who literally bring a pack in their luggage wherever they go), then try to stop at a convenience store or grocery store to pick up some foods that pack a calorie/energy punch. My mind always goes first to things like nuts.
In your car, you should have a physical map as well as a downloaded offline map on your phone (I find Ulmon to be pretty solid for this). Beyond this, I’d recommend having a phrase book for the local language, and download Google Translate. With Google Translate, you can download languages before you take off so you can translate live on the ground, even if you don’t have interenet. This has come in handy for Bri and I in small villages during some of our road trips.
Finally, if you’re able, pack a little tent. Yes, you can sleep in the car if need be (and I have, believe me), but it doesn’t hurt to have a tent with you in case there’s a beautiful spot you come across in a national park or something like that which speaks to you.
I remember a road trip that I took from Oslo towards the fjords. We came across one particular fjord that just took our breath away and, as such, we decided to park ourselves right there for the night, and we were able to do that because we had a little tent.
Download Playlists on Spotify Related to Your Destination
I remember when Bri and I were doing an ambitious Iceland road trip, and the music we had rolling in the car was perfect. Many people feel like the music created in Iceland very much reflects the landscape, or at least uses the landscape as inspiration.
We certainly found that to be true when we were listening to the Icelandic Indie Music playlist on Spotify while exploring Iceland. We got to know some new Icelandic artists while on the road, and it very much added to our experience.
Now, when we travel, we always ensure that we have a playlist downloaded that’s related to the local culture. Music is ubiquitous, that’s part of its magic, so there will always be a playlist worth listening to wherever you are headed.
I also find it’s a nice way to pay respect to the local culture. It somehow feels like the right thing to do, perhaps for the same reason that I like listening to The Tragically Hip when I’m road tripping across Canada. It just fits.
Let Friends or Loved Ones Know Your Daily Plans
Hey, I like spontaneity as much as the next person, but safety does come first (yes, I know I’m getting old).
Before you head out for the day, it’s a good idea to message a friend or family member with your proposed route. If it’s an especially harrowing trip that I’m taking, I may even let them know that I’ll message them when I get there. Sometimes, you might not have service or internet, and that can complicate things a touch, but it still never hurts to have people know where you should be and when.
I still make a point of sharing itineraries for trips with loved ones before every trip that I take. It never hurts to have a few extra people watching your back, road trip or not.
Whether we like it or not, driving does have some risk, so better safe than sorry. Worst case scenario, you’ve got someone that can alert the respective authorities if they don’t hear from you.
Before moving on to the next section, I’d also recommend that, as it relates to safety, you do want to know a tow truck number or a number for someone who can help if anything goes wrong. In Canada, that’s CAA, but if I’m international, I do like to know who I can call. Often times, that number will be one that you'll get from the rental car company, and it’ll be a general help number (or you may get an emergency number as well).
Leave Room for Chance and Detours
Sometimes the road is just going to beckon you to pull over. That happened a lot on Australia’s Great Ocean Road.
The beauty of a road trip is that there’s often flexibility built into it. You should make a point of embracing that flexibility.
In practice, that just means that if you’re on an extended trip, you may not want to have all your accommodation booked in advance. This is especially true if you’re going to be visiting places that have ample lodging options. For example, if I was doing a cross Canada road trip, and I knew that on day 10 I wanted to be in Calgary, I probably wouldn’t stress about booking my hotel in advance, since I know that based on the size of Calgary, they’ll be somewhere I can crash.
In Italy, Bri and I would often book day of through Expedia, Airbnb or another platform, or simply show up in a town or city and then do some research on the fly in a local cafe. Again, in practice, this means that, if you want to, you can spend that extra night in Banff or Jasper instead of needing to be in Calgary. Conversely, you can book your accommodation but add cancellation insurance, but that’s not typically the route I like to go.
Choose the Right People (or Even Go Alone)
If there’s one piece of advice for road trips that I want to scream from the rooftops, it’s that you need to choose your road trip companions carefully. Road trips bring out the best and the worst in people, generally speaking, and you want to make sure that someone “at their worst,” isn’t going to drive you insane. For the most part, I haven’t had to face this, but on a few road trips I’ve taken there’s been one person there for the ride that’s constantly complaining or very negative and it can be downright draining.
Typically, I’ll travel with Bri, and that works very well, but I’ve also done a ton of road trips on my own. I listen to podcasts, make time for silence to reflect, call friends on the car phone to reconnect with them, and a whole lot more. I love it actually, but I will say that on longer road trips, it does pay to be able to pass the driving responsibilities over to a partner.
Driving, as you well know, can be tiring.
Do the Appropriate Planning and Visualizing Before You Set Out
There are some road trip destinations that are going to require more effort on your part to plan. The road trip that Bri and I took across the country of Georgia, for example, relied heavily on the research we did prior. We were driving in winter, and needed to know which roads were winter safe. It was still a bit of a nightmare if I’m being honest.
However, the road tripping that Bri and I did in Spain was well-suited to winging it. One day we were off to Cordoba, the next we were off to Ronda, and after that it was Malaga. We were well aware of the fact that the highways were well maintained, the routed were well travelled, and we had working SIM cards (which you should have for any road trip, by the way).
And then, when I say “visualizing,” what I mean is that you should take a moment (even if that’s on the plane ride over if it’s an international road trip) to consider what you want out of the road trip. What is it that would make your trip special? Keep in mind that the answer will always be different. In Iceland we cared about landscapes, in Spain we cared about lunch.
If You’re Able, Get a Larger Vehicle During Your Road Trip
Our trusty Toyota that we had for Kruger National Park in South Africa.
I learned this the hard way when I set out on a particular road trip in Scandinavia with 4 others in a Toyota Prius.
Where you can, see if you can get upgraded to a larger vehicle. Having an SUV on some terrain pays big dividends (South Africa comes to mind for me). At the very least, consider whether you may want to go one size up from the bottom wrung of car rentals.
If you’re looking to do something a little different and really have some space, you may also want to consider something like Goboony. Essentially, you can rent a motorhome from a local owner and embark on your own little motorhome holiday. As of yet, they primarily operate in the UK if I’m not mistaken. It’s a neat little idea, that’s for sure.
Consider Insurance (and What Your Credit Card Covers)
When I was renting a car to do a road trip, I used to buy insurance, but then I just did myself a favour and got the TD First Class Travel Visa, which means that any car I rent with that card is automatically covered by insurance. That’s one of the features of the card, and many travel visas offer things like that. At least I know that’s the case in Canada, and in the United States.
If I’m driving around Ontario, I’m driving typically in my Honda, and that’s insured as well, naturally.
My point really is that you want to ensure that you’re covered in case of an accident and won’t be out a pretty penny!
That’s a Wrap on My Long Road Trip Tips
As always, I hope that you’ve found this helpful. I’ve done countless road trips in my life, and learned many lessons along the way. At the very least, I hope I’ve prompted you to consider a few extra facets of a successful long road trip, and I’d love to take this opportunity to wish you safe travels, my friend.
Enjoy it, and remember that when it comes to road trips, the little things are often the big things, so cherish the minutiae!
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