A guide to prepare yourself for a long-distance road trip

Gone are the days when people prefer to take a plane or the train to their favourite destination. With offbeat travel and heritage destinations emerging as primary travel destinations, one is also consumed with the consciousness that often public transportation doesn’t reach all parts of the world.  And hence begins the idea of taking road trips. With this mode of travelling gaining prominence, highways, roads, streets, villages, highway accommodations and food joints are also bettering themselves to provide all sorts of necessary aid when required. But road trips need planning and preparations and here are some basics that must not be avoided.

Practical tips for your long distance road trips

The fun of doing a road trip doesn’t begin when you hit the road or reach your destination. It begins way ahead of time- during the planning stage, the preparation stage, the deviation from the route and completing the journey with heart full of memories. If you are planning on a road trip, then here are some necessary preparations that you have to undertake to ensure a smooth ride.

Plan your trip: Remember road trip takes time since the distance that can be covered quickly via train or plane, takes longer when travelled by a car. Ideally, try to align your road trips with longer weekend holidays and throw in a few leaves to make it a healthy 7-10 days of ride. Sit with a map and chalk out the destinations you want to see, check their practical travel time, how frequently you will have to make a stop and where, what are the food, accommodation and refueling options along the road etc.

Set a budget: Set aside a healthy budget for the trip. Remember most of it will be drained in accommodation and refueling. If you are travelling in a large group then the budget also gets divided between the travelling members.

Get your car serviced:  You cannot just decide to go on a road trip and leave with your car the next day. The car has to be serviced before the trip so that it is road trip ready. Checking the car tyre, filling up the fuel tanks, examining the engine are basic vehicle check-ups that are mandatory.

Keep your necessary documents ready: This includes not only your car documents and license but also your identity papers. Depending on where you are going – cross State or International boundaries, having all papers in place is definitely required.

Medical Kit: Always make room for an emergency medical kit with basic medicines and important phone numbers to reach out to, in dire necessities.

Pre-book accommodations: Always verify your accommodations booking from the website, genuine reviews or word of mouth. Have them pre-booked so that you face no untoward cancellations or challenges on the road.

Plan a playlist: One of the most exciting parts of a road trip is to have a variety of songs on your playlist. Apart from talking, there are moments when silence takes over and the tunes of the songs fill in the gaps. For those special moments when you admire the scenic beauty and let the music add the BG score, having a great travel playlist, is a must.

Good night’s sleep: The night before the road trip, ensure that you have a really good and sound sleep. It will not help to drive or sit through a road trip, tired and sleepy.

Navigation to the point: Before starting out, set your navigation to the point, so that you face no hiccups during the journey.

Keep yourself hydrated: Hydration plays a major role in keeping up with your mood and energy. Even a cup of coffee works wonders.

Take frequent breaks: Driving continuously at a stretch can become tiresome and may start inducing sleepiness. To avoid this, take frequent breaks. Park the car on the side of the highway, stretch your legs and hands a bit. If you spot a decent stopover, then enjoy a cup of coffee and even use the restroom if you can.

Come up with games: Apart from catching up on life and listening to music, you can also come up with some car games. Yes, while games are very popular on trains, car games aren’t a bad idea either. Often Never have I ever or other card games help the travel mates bond with each other.

Take a detour:  If, on your way, you hear of an interesting place, you may give it a shot and take a detour from your original route. But in such cases always remember to get back to your original route before nightfall to avoid any untoward incidences.

Documenting is key: Road trips are great fun when you make memories out of it. So, try and document it all. Take enough photographs, video record the sights, make a vlog if you have a channel, jot down points or store site entry tickets for your physical travel journal; basically make it unforgettable.  

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