Road-tripping essentials

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It is summer, the lure of the open road creeps on to us, and soon we find ourselves planning a road trip.  Whether it’s with the group of our best friends or a weekend getaway with family and kids for the summer vacation, road trips appeals to everyone alike and is always a good idea. Whether it a trip you have been planning for weeks or a spontaneous decision where you are letting the road be your guide, it is smart to take a few essentials along to make the trip safer and more enjoyable.

Maps/navigation system
All your road-tripping enthusiasm is going to dampen when you are driving around lost for hours in the middle of nowhere. Maps or GPS is almost the most important thing one can bring along on a road trip. It will save you from a lot of unnecessary confusion and anxiety and makes sure you are not lost while trying to take a detour.

First-aid kit
Another important thing to pack for your road trip is a first-aid kit. One should be prepared for any health problems one could be facing during the trip. Be it scrapes, sprains, blisters or other common travel ailments like stomach ache, dehydration or motion sickness, carrying a well stocked first-aid kit can be very helpful.

Phone Chargers/Power banks
Phone chargers and power banks can be really useful when your cellphone runs out of battery. The smartphones nowadays are not just phone. They serve as music players, GPS, browsers and much more and are hence overworked. So when they run out of battery, it can land one in problem zone. Bringing a phone charger and power banks helps one avoid such situations.

Music playlist /audio books
No road trip is complete without a good playlist of your favorite songs. It keeps boredom at bay and also helps one stay awake when it’s late at night in a lonesome highway. Audio books are a yet another option.  Listening to books can be preferable to the often-nauseating act of reading hard-copy literature in the car. Light reads are a good option as you don’t want the book to distract you from the road ahead.

Snacks and beverages
Light snacks like protein bars, trail mixes, nuts and popcorns are great options for a road trip.  Bite-sized fruits like berries and grapes are ideal for a summer road trip. One should also pack water and other beverages like lemonade to be hydrated and cool. A cooler to keep the snacks and beverages fresh for longer might also be a good option.

Emergency kit for the vehicle
Important documents such as driving license, insurance and other vehicle related documents and photocopies and originals of ID cards are necessary for any road trip.  One should also pack an emergency kit for the car with some mechanical tools which can be of use if there is a breakdown.

Toiletries and other essentials
Toiletries such as hand sanitizer and a roll of toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning wipes etc are important things to pack. Summer road trips mean sunscreen and sunglasses too. If camping is on the plan, one should also pack a bug spray and a flashlight.   Other things which can make your trip comfortable are cushions and blankets.

Packing cubes and travel tubes
Packing cubes are a great way to compress down lots of clothing and other goods to make more space for suitcases/backpack. One can be super organized and use different cubes for different things, meaning one can find exactly what they are looking for fast without having to unpack and pack again. This optimizes the space in ones luggage bag.

Camera
If you are on a road trip, you want to capture all the wonderful memories of your road trip in a lot of pictures and videos. So a camera is one of the most important things to carry for a road trip. Extra memory cards and camera charger should be carried as well.

Journal/scrapbook
A journal or a scrapbook is fun way to document the trip and look back to when you are back home. Jotting our thoughts down in a travel journal will help us remember the little details we may end up forgetting otherwise.  Also, maintaining a scrapbook of the pictures from the trip, coupons, tickets to a fair etc, will create a montage of your trip for the coming years.