What To Take On A Road Trip – Essential Items

Embarking on a road trip is very exciting, but by the nature of a road trip, anything can happen, so you need to be organised and well prepared for the adventure ahead. For most road trips, you won’t be too far away from a fuel station, or rest stop with access to basic items so, unless you are heading somewhere very remote, you may not need all of the following with you on your road trip, but here’s a comprehensive list of what to take with you on a road trip, just in case.

Key driving documents

Driving licence – you will definitely need your driving licence with you to collect your hire car, so remember to pack this in the hand luggage for your trip. Don’t leave home without it!

You also need to have your driving licence on your person during the trip, in case you are stopped by the police for any reason, as they will most likely ask to see your driving documentation and you can be fined in some countries for not having it with you.

Although you can typically hire a car abroad using just a full UK driver’s licence, before travelling check whether a special licence is required, such as, International driving licence, just in case.

Insurance details – have your insurance details to hand in case of a road traffic accident or some other such circumstance. You need to know the numbers to call, and where to find the numbers quickly. In case you are injured in a road traffic accident, then it is a good idea to have shared your insurance details with those who might help in the case of an emergency.

Navigation tools and Apps

Built in car sat nav – some cars have a built in sat nav system which you can use, or some allow you to plug in your own portable sat nav system. We have found these to be a bit hit and miss in terms of quality, so you just need to work with what you get.

Navigation apps such as Waze or Google Maps – newer car models will allow you to use navigation apps such as Waze or Google Maps. We have found Waze to be particularly helpful as it is updated by members of public, so gives live information about items in the road or accidents ahead.

Printed road map – I always take a printed road map on a road trip, just in case the sat nav system doesn’t work, isn’t there, or fails in some way. It also helps in areas where there are connectivity issues. There have been some trips when we’ve not even opened the map, but several trips when we have needed to use it.

Don’t leave home without them

Full tank of fuel – make sure that you start your road trip with a full tank of fuel and keep it topped up, particularly if you are going to be driving in any remote areas.

Electrical chargers – make sure that you have any charging cables in the front seats of the car with you and not in the suitcases, so that you can charge your phone and devices whilst driving.

Entertainment for the car

When considering what to take on a road trip, you might need some good ideas to help keep your fellow passengers amused, if you have any longer driving distances.  The following can be useful:

Music playlist – use Spotify to create a holiday playlist of songs relating to your destination, or by artists from your destination. Share the playlist with your family beforehand and ask them to contribute. We usually have lively debates about what goes on our playlist, particularly for any songs with tenuous links to the place we are visiting.

Pass the remote – take it in turns to queue music on Spotify (so not an actual remote control in this case!) so that you all get a chance to have your music playing, and also a chance to discover new music from tracks played by your family or friends in the car.

Travel Games – whilst some passengers can’t look down in the car, others don’t seem to be affected by motion sickness. Assuming that you can look down in the car then Uno or pencil/paper are handy. Older kids usually plug themselves in to their music and make their own entertainment. Whatever works!

Things to spot along the way – make a list of things to spot along the way. This can keep passengers entertained for a while, even if attention wanders off at various points, it can be good to have as a back-burner game.

What’s in the glovebox? – pack some local snacks for the journey (things that you can’t buy at home), particularly if it’s a long drive. Then play the What’s in the Glovebox? game, where you periodically produce snacks from the glovebox to surprise your passengers. This idea came from watching chef John Torode’s Australian travel programme.

Supplies for everyday emergencies

Water – it’s always a good idea to have a good supply of water in the car in case of breakdowns or delays, particularly if the weather is hot.

Food – depending how long the leg of your journey is, you might want some food supplies in the car. Grapes and apples are good healthy options, along with cereal oat bars – things that don’t make a mess if they spill, or smell too strongly!

First aid Kit – a basic first aid kit is always useful to have in your hand luggage in case of minor injuries. Mine would normally include: plasters, a bandage, antiseptic cream, bite and sting cream, painkillers (nurafen and paracetamol), antihistamines, rehydration powders, and a suitable bag in case of car sickness.

Toiletries – just in case of poor toilets at rest stops then it can be very welcome to have toilet paper, wet wipes, and hand sanitiser accessible in the car.

For all eventualities….

Spare tyre – in case of a flat tyre you should carry a spare tyre and winch, so double check these are in your hire car when you pick it up. Know how to change a tyre, or who to call if you can’t manage it yourself, as this is probably the most likely eventuality to occur on a road trip.

Warm clothes – just in case you were ever stuck in your car overnight, then it is advisable to have some warm clothes (or blankets) with you. However, if you are on a road trip then the chances are your luggage is with you in the boot so you would have access to all your clothes.

Snow and icy weather – if you are planning to drive in winter, or when the weather conditions might be snowy or icy, then you may need to use snow chains on your wheels and have de-icer to hand to clear the windscreen.

Satellite phone – if you are travelling to very remote areas on your road trip then you might consider investing in a satellite phone which you could use to call for help if you became stranded in an area with limited reception.

Generally, on a road trip you should have everything with you anyway in the boot of your car, so you just need to be mindful of what goes in the boot and what goes in the main body of the car – as a road tripper, you are like a snail with your house on your back, but hopefully moving quicker!

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