Road Trip Planning: The Definitive Guide for A Great Road Trip

Whether you want to hit the country-side with your gal pals or have a boys weekend, taking a road trip is the rite of passage. The lure of traveling slowly on a straight road with no care of time is ideal for many of us. Road trips are a feasible option for many considering the pathetic airline service in the region.

Why Take A Road Trip?

Road trips are a great way to refresh yourself. You can take a road trip to see family, sacred places or popular tourist destinations like Los Angeles.

Sometimes road trips become an essential way to break from the city’s toxic routine. Road trips can become an outlet for you to relax. Road trips are a way to walk out of your comfort zone and explore the world around you. They help you explore and appreciate the aesthetics of places that were previously unknown to you. Road trips can be an excellent exploring experience.

Why road trip? Road trips tell you a lot about yourself, how you react in places with no stress and limited space and privacy. A road trip with a group of friends can help you learn a lot about yourself. You also get a chance to surround yourself with what's important, your family, and your friends.

What car should you use for a road trip?

It may sound obvious, but whatever car you take on your road trip, it should be in its prime condition. A maintained vehicle is vital for you and your passengers' safety, and it also won’t break down in the middle of a deserted highway. Automobiles that are well maintained also use a lot less energy.

It is best if you

·      Get an oil change (unless you’ve gotten one done pretty recently)

·      Top off all the fluids, from power steering to the window washing fluid.

·      Inspect your tires and make sure they’re in great shape.

·      Keep a fully inflated spare tire.

If you don’t know what all of this means, you can go to a service station where they’ll take care of all of this for you.

How often should you stop on a road trip? Road trips can be tiring, and to take care of you and your car, you should make stops every five hours.

A note to the wise: A car with a limited amount of weight in the form of baggage glides for longer.

Best Weather for a Road trip?

The weather all around plays a significant part in road trips; weather can turn a perfect trip into a total nightmare. Before planning anything around a road trip, it is best to check out the weather beforehand use the weather checking apps available.

There are a lot of weather apps available that you can check, and these apps are advanced enough to give you estimates on your predicted travel time, chances of rain, hail, tornadoes, and some even have the option to book your hotels.

Best Apps To Help You With Your Road Trip

There are a lot of apps readily available that you can check out. One such app is Weather on wheels, which was developed by students at Texas A&M University. The app has features to figure out the weather for road trip display estimated travel time, chances of rain, air temperature and forecasted winds. It even has a calendar that you can use to schedule your road trip.

Another useful app that you can use is Gas Buddy, which updates you on the gas prices and give you real-time data on fuel prices from over 140 different gas stations. Gas buddy will help you find the most cost-effective gas stations and help you save some dollars and use them on important things like roadside cafes and cocktails by the pool. You can also use this app regularly to save some money.

If you want an exclusive road trip app, then road tripper is an excellent app through which you can plan epic adventures on the go. Road tripper notifies you when you’re five minutes away from something amazing or cool. This app helps you find a lot of weird places and scenic spots that can help you capture beautiful pictures for your Instagram.

For hotels, you can download a road trip planner app like the app hotel tonight, which will help you sort out the accommodation for you. Hotel tonight enables hotel owners to give discounts on their empty rooms, which means that you can get a last-minute place pretty easy and cheap. The app also has a pre-booking option, which you can use to book your rooms beforehand. Or you could camp in your car.

Road Tripping Rules

Be flexible

The point of taking a road trip is to be able to break free of your regular monotonous schedule. Road tripping means, no timetables, no plans and no deadlines. You can do whatever and whenever you want.

Be spontaneous

You can make plans on the go, play road trip games, be open to road trip ideas, and visit and go to sites that you didn’t plan for. You can play all your favourite songs on the road and have everyone sing along to it and have fun.

You get to catch up

Remember that in our everyday hustle, we often lose track of our friends and become engrossed in that. Use your road trip to its full potential and make it an opportunity for you to catch up with your friends.

What Do You Pack?

There is a wide variety of road trip packing lists available, just one search away. Use those lists to help figure out the things you need, remember that it is essential not to overpack because then you’ll only be lugging luggage around you throughout your road trip. I’ve put together a list of road trip essentials that you should not skip.

·      Water bottles

·      Road trip healthy Snacks!

·      Road trip food

·      First aid kit

·      Travel pillow

·      Travel Mug

·      Sunscreen!

Be sure to pack for the weather for wherever you’re going and keep no more than two spare pairs of clothes, don’t carry on unnecessary weight. So here’s all that i have to say about road trip planning! Happy tripping!

11 Hacks To Travel Light

Travelling light gives you extra freedom and flexibility that you just don’t have with heavy luggage. You can move quickly through airports and train stations and it’s so much easier to take public transport with a small bag. You’ll save money by not having to check your bags in on a plane and you can keep your luggage close when you’re on trains and buses. You’re also less likely to lose things when you travel light because it’s easier to keep track of your belongings. Below are 11 Hacks To help you to Travel Light. Hope you enjoy them :-)

1. Carry a lightweight case

Use a small suitcase or backpack so you can’t possibly fit too much in it. Don’t be tempted to get a case that’s slightly too big because you will fill that space with unnecessary stuff.

2. Minimise toiletries

If you’re staying in a hotel you can guarantee you’ll be provided with shampoo and shower gel so leave these at home.

3. Pack just 2 pairs of shoes

Shoes can often be the bulkiest items in our bags so never travel with more than 2 pairs. Wear your bulkiest pair on the plane and an easy to carry pair in your bag.

4. Use packing cubes

Not only do they keep your bag organised but they help make the most of your space and stop you overpacking. I tend to travel with four packing cubes. One for tops, one for bottoms, one for underwear and one for evening clothes. Once each packing cube is full you can’t possibly squish anything else in so you’re forced into packing light whether you like it or not.

5. Wash your clothes while you are travelling

No matter where in the world you’re travelling, it doesn’t need to be expensive to get your clothes washed. Laundrettes and apartments with washing machines will become your best friend if you’re travelling for a few weeks or more.

6. Audio books

Instead of packing heavy books which you will end up finishing and carrying around with you even though they no longer have any use; download a few audio books on your phone or iPad in order to save space and weight.

7. Style properly

Pack clothes that are interchangeable. Ensure you are able to mix and match all pieces of clothing you bring. This is in order to be able to wear ALL clothing as often as you need. This will save you from bringing unnecessary clothing.

8. Dry laundry bar

If you have no access to a washing machine, by bringing a dry laundry bar, you are able to hand wash any pieces of clothing such as socks and underwear and maintain clean and fresh throughout your trip.

9. Roll Roll roll

Roll all your clothes up into burritos in order to save space. By doing this you will able to fit much more in your case that you would if you folded them normally. You will also be able to see everything you packed at a glance by stacking them next to each other, saving you time and frustration.

10. Limit those “just in case” items

We all like to bring items we MIGHT need on our trips, but most of the time will not end up using them. Try to limit those items in order to save space; if you really need an item such as an umbrella, you can always purchase it when you need it.

11. Bottoms at the bottom

Pack your trousers, shorts, etc at the bottom of your case as they are more bulky and can be squashed down by the rest of your items.

By Nicole Fernandez Medina

12 Backpacking Tips Everyone Should Know

As packing for any trip can be stressful, below are 12 tips to make preparing for your next backpacking trip a little easier.

(1)     Pack Only The Essentials

Carrying everything on your back can quickly get very tiring. The answer to this is to use minimal space in the most efficient way possible. One of the ways is to avoid packing anything you may not find necessary or think you can find at your next destination. It may seem hard at first to decide what to pack for your backpacking trip, but with more experience you will know what is worth packing and what isn’t. Make sure to create a list of must have items to give you some direction on what to pack and what not to pack. Overall, packing light will help in you having a much more enjoyable trip.

(2) Use Other Forms of Transport

It may seem more comfortable, but don’t let the fancy airlines fool you. Travelling by train will get you to your destination much faster as you will avoid long flight time and waiting hours. Travelling by train also means you get to stop at other destinations on your way if it’s a long distance journey. I personally enjoy train rides much due to the more relaxed pace. In addition, travelling by train gives you the opportunity to have a unique perspective and to explore your destination through the eyes of the locals.

(3) Check The Weather

Although weather in many destinations is unpredictable. Remember to check the average temperature at the destinations you are travelling to. This will enable you to prepare the necessary clothing for the weather. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

(4) Always Carry Water

Staying hydrated is one of the most important things to remember when travelling long distances. Don’t worry about buying water in advance. Purchasing a water bottle or reusing your plastic bottle will enable you to avoid the extra weight while staying hydrated. Remember that not all tap water is drinkable, do your research on the water restrictions before refilling from any tap.

(5) Plan Ahead

Although you don’t have to plan every destination, accommodation and form of transport. It is advised to plan your next destination in order to avoid stress and any disappointment upon arrival. Planning may seem boring and time consuming at first, but when it comes to travelling to the next destination, it will definitely be worth it. It will allow your trip to run more smoothly.

(6) Basic Navigation Skills

Yes, everyone has some form of maps on their phone, but what if your phone battery dies and you have no way of getting around? Carrying around a physical map and knowing how to use it will come in very handy at ties like that. This is especially helpful if you happen to lose phone signal while on your trail. Carrying a compass with you is also a practical way of finding your bearings when figuring out which way to head.

(7) Lock Your Belongings

Many people will be in the same boat as you when backpacking and it’s easy to trust those around you. But just in case anyone decides to be sneaky, lock your belongings in order to avoid anything being stolen. You are already low on necessities, you don’t need to have even less or have to spend money on replacing them!

(8) Communicate

When travelling with company, it is easy to get into arguments about things such as what to eat, where to go etc. The best thing to do in these situations is to continually communicate each others ideas and needs, you can avoid any arguments which could potentially ruin the trip.

(9) Portable Chargers

As we now use our phone for everything from photos to maps, it is essential to pack a portable charger just in case you cannot find a place to charge your phone. I can guarantee, it is a major life saver.

(10) Pick Your Destination Wisely

Research. Research. Research. Make sure you are 100% confident with the destinations you are going to choose in order to avoid disappointment upon arrival. It is a mistake many have made in the past. You may have seen one pretty picture of a place within that one destination but the rest is the total opposite, so make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

(11) Take a Book with You

Backpacking is the perfect chance to catch up on some reading especially during long distance travels. In order to avoid weight add ons, travelling with a Kindle will allow for a variety of books within one simple piece of equipment (and no this is not sponsored but Kindle if you’re reading this, you know what to do). Also if you’re wondering what to read when travelling, be sure to check out the Top 5 Must Have Reads when on Holiday!

12. Take Cash Out Before

Last but not least, remember that wherever you are travelling, make a note of their currencies. In order to avoid any extra bank charges, take out all the money you think you may need in advance and change it before setting off. This way you can plan your daily money usage as well as save on any extra unwanted charges.

Safe travels everyone!

Written by Nicole Fernandez Medina