Jihn Mill
Road trips have the potential to be the vacation that you remember fondly for the rest of your life. You hop in the car, feel the wind in your hair, stick on some great tunes and get to drive through ever changing landscapes. Whether you’re trundling over state lines on a trip of just a couple hundred miles from home, or jetting off to some faraway destination and renting your road trip vehicle, these tips are ones to take note of. Your road trip is guaranteed to be great fun as long as you put a little effort into preparing beforehand. We’ve created a checklist of things that you need to organise for your car, for yourself and for your passengers. So, without further ado, this is how you need to prepare for what might just be the best road trip of your life.
Plan Your Route
The first thing and maybe the most exciting on your list is deciding where you’re going to go. Here at Feri we all have a list of dream destinations, but if you don’t, then it’s time to start dreaming. Begin with your budget and work backwards from there. It’s all very well wanting to career through Thailand’s cities on a tuktuk, but if you live in Arizona and you’ve only got a few hundred dollars to your name then it’s probably a little unrealistic. With your budget in mind, pick a country that you’d like to travel to and book yourself that time off work. Think about how much driving you’d like to do in a day, as well as any sites that you’d like to see. Mark the most important attractions on your map and see how many of them you can check off within your allotted driving time. It’s a good idea to mark a few hotels along the route, unless you happen to be travelling in a particularly comfortable camper. Treating yourself to luxuries like a nice hot bath, a night of television and a king size bed can feel even more luxurious when you’ve been slumming it in the car a couple of days.
Get Your Car Serviced
If you’re going to be driving your own vehicle then it’s super important to make sure you get it serviced before you set off. If you’ve got the knowledge to do it yourself then go right ahead, but otherwise book it in to a reputable garage in plenty of time before you’re due to leave. Fresh brake pads, pumped up tyres, all headlights checked and windscreen wipers working are the bare essentials, but there might be other things to take into account. For example, will you need snow chains if you’re travelling in winter and if you’re going abroad, does your insurance cover you to drive in that country? Take a whole afternoon to really think through the challenges you might face with your car and do your very best to solve them.
Stock Up On Snacks
Now that you’ve decided on your destination and your car is ready to roll, it’s time for the fun part, packing refreshments. Sitting in the car and watching the scenery pass by is lovely, but it’s even nicer if you’ve got a stash of snacks to munch your way through. A coolbox will come in really handy for keeping fresh fruit, dairy products and cans of drink nice and cold, helping them to last a little longer into your trip. Other than this, dried snacks and items with a long shelf life are the best items to pack. Crisps, nuts, chocolate bars and all of those delicious but slightly naughty things make the very best road trip snacks and you’re on holiday after all, so treat yourself. Don’t forget to bring plenty of water, we often underestimate how much water we need to stay properly hydrated, especially when we’re eating salty snacks. Grab a couple of the multipacks from your local Walmart and keep them stashed away in the back, particularly if you know a lot of your route is going to be very rural.
Bring the Entertainment
Making sure that you’ve got plenty of entertainment on hand is essential, not just for passengers, but also if you have a little unexpected downtime. Even the most prepared drivers can suffer a breakdown, but if you’ve got something to take your mind off things then the time will fly past much more quickly. An arsenal of video games is always a good thing to have on hand, whether you’re bringing along a Nintendo Switch with a series of great games, or you just want to know where you can find a few titles online should that breakdown happen. Those looking for online games could check out VegasSlotsOnline where not only do they offer a huge selection of games on their own site, but they also review other iGaming sites for factors such as game variety, bonuses on offer and plenty more too. It’s not just video games that will keep you busy, the kind of games that you used to play in your youth on long drives will come in handy here too. Perhaps yellow car shouldn’t be encouraged, but a game of twenty questions or I Spy can stave off boredom surprisingly well. If you and your road trip partners don’t feel the need to be in constant communication then you could pack a few books too. Reading a book that’s set in the terrain that you’re travelling through is a wonderful experience that can help you feel totally absorbed by the landscape, as well as sometimes teaching you about the land that you’re travelling in.