I’ve been on a fair amount of road trips in my day. From a camper van in Chile’s Atacama desert to Northern Thailand, the American Southwest and even Tahiti, there’s nothing as freeing as taking your own vehicle and sticking to your own timeline.
Given it’s one of my favorite ways to travel, I’m sharing everything I’ve learned from the last few years of taking road trips around the world. This is my ultimate checklist, the only one you’ll ever need:
For your vehicle:
Maybe you’re taking your own vehicle, or maybe it’s a rental. Either way, there are a few absolute essentials, as well as things that’ll just make the journey easier and a little bit sweeter.
For yourself:
- Water bottle (and fill it up every chance you get)
- Snacks (I love dried fruits, nuts, granola bars, popcorn, and sandwiches, as they don’t make a mess and the last thing you want is to be in a car that smells like eggs)
- Travel mug + cutlery (for coffee and lunch takeouts)
*If you plan on camping, check out my car camping checklist here.
*Check out my favorite natural travel toiletries here
Entertainment and goodies that will make a big difference
- An offline music playlist and headphones (not everyone wants to listen to the same song 5 times)
- Kindle and audiobooks (click here for some of my favorite road trip audio books to listen to)
- iPad (for some late night Netflix if needed)
- Writing materials
- Maps.me app for offline maps (great for trails too!)
- Portable charger
- Cash for State Park entrance fees
- Camera for amazing photo ops
I hope this helped you to find more ease for your next road trip. Knowing what to bring and cutting out the guesswork makes it so much easier, and that much more fun.
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