I do love a good road trip. Nothing beats being out on the open road and experiencing the ultimate freedom. The ability to choose where you go and for how long. But every now and then, road trip mistakes threaten to turn an adventure topsy-turvy.
Fortunately, most road trip mistakes are easily avoidable if you take the time to prepare.
Check out our ULTIMATE Road Trips Guide!
Even if your road trip is spontaneous, you’ll still have time.
I’ve been in those moments where one minute I’m eating dinner, and then 12 hours later I’m embarking on a cross-country road trip.
It happens.
But even with minimal preparation, you can avoid those annoying “I forgot” moments that threaten your good time.
With thousands of miles logged in road trips, I know a thing or two about preparation. And what can happen when you don’t take the time to work things out.
Road Trip Mistakes to Avoid
#1: Not Packing Food, Drinks, Snacks
Have you ever found yourself in the middle of nowhere and realized that you were super hungry? Like, to the point that you were becoming hangry and couldn’t focus on the road any more?
I have.
It’s not pleasant.
And it’s one of the easiest road trip mistakes to avoid.
Do yourself a favor and pack a few small snack items: granola bars, fruit, water bottles, chips, veggie sticks, etc. The best part is, most of these items can come already portioned out and pre-packed.
Do you remember the last time you stopped at a random gas station for a quick sugar fix? Remember the poor selection of calorie-filled snacks? Chocolate bars so old that they all have a white film on the outside. Over-priced bags of chips that are more air than product. No-name brand water bottles that taste funky.
SOLUTION: Even if you don’t have time the night before, hit up a grocery store on your way out of town. You’ll thank yourself later.
#2: Forgetting to Download Music Before You Leave
Whenever people talk about their ideal road trips, somewhere along the line they envision cruising down open roads, windows down, music blaring as they drive off into the sunset.
Sounds idyllic, right?
Well, just imagine being in the middle of nowhere and having to listen to the SAME SONG for hours on end because you failed to download that EPIC playlist you spent hours building.
Next time you’re at home, even if you don’t have a road trip planned as of yet, get a head of the game and download that playlist.
Seriously. You can do it while you’re watching TV. On the toilet. Cooking dinner. Shoot, even start it before you fall asleep for the evening. This is one of those road trip mistakes that you’ll kick yourself for making.
SOLUTION: download your playlists and organize your entertainment before you jump into the car.
And just another side tip: download a variety of music/podcasts/books. It’s better to have more options than feeling stressed about the limit you put on yourself.
#3: Not Taking Bathroom Breaks
During my road trip through Transylvania, my friend and I drove through the Carpathian mountains to drive along the Transfagarasan Highway.
There were so many beautiful bends in the road that opened up to the wide valley below with sweeping views.
Every time we got out of the car to admire the view (because I couldn’t look while I was navigating the tight hairpin curves without a safety railing), we had to hold our noses.
Each turn-off area smelled like urine.
We couldn’t go far without coming across a sealed bottle filled with yellow liquid.
It. Was. Disgusting.
All because people couldn’t take the time to stop for a bathroom break in an appropriate location.
Bathroom emergencies aren’t fun for anyone, especially if you’re traveling with small children.
SOLUTION: When you stop for gas, food, directions, whatever, take a few extra minutes to make sure everyone visits the restroom. Nothing is fun about having to pull off on the side of the road to relieve yourself.
#4: Bring a Physical Map or Download an Offline Map
Remember the good ol’ days of Mapquest and Thomas Guide maps? When you had to plan ahead of time which route you were going to take, try to locate the particular street based on an alpha-numeric grid, and pray that you got the correct block of houses?
Since we’ve become so accustomed to having endless Wi-Fi at our fingertips, we forget that there are actually places around the world where cellular reception is non-existent.
One of the biggest road trip mistakes my friend Michelle and I made when traveling between Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia, was to rely on our cellular data to guide us along the way.
What we failed to realize was that our data was going to cease to work once we crossed into Canada.
SOLUTION: print off directions, have a physical map with you, or download an offline map prior to leaving on your road trip.
#5: Drowsy Driving
One of the most dangerous road trip mistakes you can make is to drive while you’re drowsy.
When you’re on the road for long stretches of time, you might start to experience something called highway hypnosis.
Highway hypnosis, also known as white line fever, is an altered mental state in which a person can drive a car, truck, or other automobile great distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe, and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so.
Wikipedia
SOLUTION: road trip with a buddy and always pull over safely whenever you find yourself starting to get tired. There have been plenty of times I’ve had to stop at a gas station or truck stop to take a power nap. While it’s not the safest situation, I figured it was better than falling asleep at the wheel.
#6: Driving a Poorly-Maintained Vehicle
And last but certainly not least, one of the most avoidable road trip mistakes you can avoid is to drive a properly-maintained vehicle.
I don’t mean that your vehicle needs to be brand new or in perfect condition, but you don’t want to be worrying about whether or not you’re going to stall out in an inconvenient location. Because that’s when it will happen, I promise.
No, what I mean is have common sense.
SOLUTION: Keep up-to-date with regular maintenance. Ensure your lights, locks, and seat belts are all working.
Have you made any of these road trip mistakes before? What was your experience like?
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