What to Pack for a Road Trip

Road trips are a rite of passage for many groups of friends, and endless fun with the right people. With road trips more likely than flights for holiday trips, it seems everyone has had the same idea – but how should you pack for a given road trip? What might you need in the event of something going wrong? Here’s a short list of road trip essentials, to help you avoid that niggling feeling that you’ve forgotten something…

Essential Documents

Don’t even think about setting off without crucial documents relating to your vehicle and license status – anything can happen on the road, whether you get pulled over by police, suffer an accident or even break down in the middle of nowhere. Use your glovebox to hold your car registration details, vehicle driver’s manual, driver’s license and insurance details, to cover yourself in the event of anything unexpected on your journey.

Spare Tyre and Tools

In order to keep to the itinerary, you set out for your road trip, you will want to be prepared for if you suffer a tyre puncture or failure on the road. Ensure your car has a spare tyre that matches your car tyres, and that you have a tool kit packed that will enable you to replace the tyre yourself: a car jack, socket wrench kit with breaker bar, and a torch will do you nicely. When packing your tools, you should also think about anything else that could go wrong on your drive, and otherwise be preventable: are your car’s fluids topped up, whether oil, brake fluid or even wiper fluid? Are your lights and lamps working correctly?

First Aid Kit and Boot Organiser

Accidents can happen – and if they happen during a pit stop in the middle of nowhere, help may be a while off. As such, it would be wise to pack a first aid kit for any boo-boos suffered on your journey. Include bandages, plasters, burn cream, eye washes and ethanol for sterilising wounds, and you’ll be covered for the vast majority of injuries you could suffer short of a major road incident. Between your tool kit, first aid kit and personal effects, you’ll be bringing a wide range of things with you on your trip – making a car boot organiser an excellent investment so you can easily access everything.

Phone, Cradle and Charger

Navigation is going to be very important to you, especially if you’ve never travelled the route you’ve set out before. Having a phone cradle near your steering wheel means you can install your phone to your dash, and use a GPS app to track your journey – and a charger that fits in your car’s cigarette burner port means you won’t have to worry about running out of battery. The cradle is essential not just for ease of following routes, but because the government have made it illegal to handle your phone while driving for any reason other than emergency services and contactless payment purposes.

Creature Comforts

Last but certainly not least, don’t forget to bring along some treats to make your drive as enjoyable as possible. Travel sweets are a must, as well as other sweet and savoury snacks to keep your blood sugar and dopamine levels up. A good music playlist goes a long way on a long drive, and comfy blankets for if it gets cold are also a luxurious addition to a long drive.