by Gary / 0 comments - Orginally published:6th April 2018

How I take the stress out of a road trip

This post is aimed at those who may be embarking on their first road trip in their own car, but some of the advice is equally important if you're picking up a hire car.

We have had a few road trips in our time, and there have been some epic moments and a few epic failures. Hopefully, through these experiences, we have picked learnt something of value.

I hope there can be one handy or helpful hint that makes somebodies life a little easier.

I would love to know what I may have missed; what do you consider essential for your road trip? Leave us a comment at the end to let us know.

The pin image for our post - 'My 30 point checklist for a road trip.'
Why not Pin it for later?

Order of Events

A few weeks out
If it's due, get it done before you go. ( I usually check at least two months before I go - give yourself plenty of time to deal with any gremlins)
The Service Interval display on our audi
Service Interval

Planning on hiring a car?

Many of our little tips still hold true, so check them out, there may be a little nugget there to assist you.

If you are considering hiring a car, why not check out Rentalcars.com; they cover all budgets by checking multiple providers and allow you to pick up and drop off at different destinations. We have used them for our Icelandic & Cypriot adventures.

If you have had your car serviced, you can probably forget this; if not, it's worth the few minutes it takes.

If you know of any little niggles with your car, it's probably worth getting it sorted at this point too.

Oil
Water
Tyres - (including the spare!) - tread depth and any damage (pressures come later)
Travel Sweets
Close-up of the rear tyre pf our audio focusing on the tread depth
Tread depth

Stay informed

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I rely on the AA or RAC. It's amazing what you need and how often the requirements can change too.
Our Audi convertible parked up overlooking the blue waters of the Adriatic on our way to Pag on our Croatian Road Trip
Stopped by the roadside in Croatia

Check country requirements in regard to vignettes, tolls and green cards; you may need to purchase the vignette prior to entering on a motorway. You can typically buy them at petrol stations.

Some countries also have different durations for the vignettes. For more information, check out the Tolls.eu site.

Many European cities have emission restrictions; for more information, check out the 'Urban Access Regulations in Europe' site.

Make sure you're covered for your entire journey. If you're heading to the Nurburgring to tackle 'The Green Monster', or any other racecourse, make sure you have the correct cover.
Our Audi RS5 convertible, with the roof down, in front of the pits at the disused historic race track of Circuit Reims-Gueux in the Champagne Region of France
Outside pit 15 Circuit Reims-Gueux in France

Also, if you're planning on crossing country borders, ensure you know the requirements of each country.

On our trip to Croatia, we also wanted to visit Mostar in Bosnia & Herzegovina, which is not within the EU. Hence, a green card was necessary from our insurers.

If you are hiring a car, check your cross-border agreements.

Nobody wants to think the worst may happen - but it can. Take the stress out of your road trip.

Booking your accommodation

So are you "fly by the seat of your pants" folks, or do you like to book ahead? We are the latter. Actually, on a road trip, we aim to be at a destination by around 4:00 pm so we can hang up the car keys and head into town to enjoy a local tipple.

To help us select the ideal accommodation, we use Booking.com. It's easy to choose the perfect place for our needs, ideally with on-site parking. Perhaps you could check out the destinations for your next road trip.

Booking.com

Make sure it's not due to expire. (There lies a story about our 2010 Canadian Road trip!)

This can be easily overlooked but can be a trip breaker, especially if you plan to hire a car.

On a small open deck car ferry travelling through Canada on a road trip
Travelling through Canada

Do you need to charge a lot of USB devices on the go? Why not look at getting a multi-socket USB cigarette lighter charger?

Also, consider a cigarette power splitter if you want to use the cigarette lighter or if you have a device that requires a dedicated cigarette socket.

This was an essential piece of kit for our Icelandic road trip. We needed to keep our iPhones (one with a failing battery), an iPad, our DJI Osmo and the DJI Phantom drone all charged for when an opportunity presented itself.

Etta, our little SsangYong Korando 4x4 hire car for our icelandic ring road tour, parked up in a layby off iceland's route one.
Travelling through Eastern Iceland
A legal requirement in many European countries, but still worth having a travelling kit on board.

Plan an alternate driver if you can

I usually drive 95% of the time and rely on Janis to navigate. However, Janis always gets behind the wheel at some point to become familiar with the environment. This was essential on a West Coast USA trip back in 2002 when I contracted food poisoning at our accommodation at the Grand Canyon. Our next destination was Las Vegas, some 275 miles/442 km away. Janis stepped in and drove that entire leg.

Make sure your insurance covers this.

Be it a Swiss Army Knife, a Leatherman or something similar - just real handy to have.
Please remember the obvious. If you are on a fly drive, do not pack this in your hand luggage.

A good LED one, and if you can charge it via USB, all the better!

You may think this is overkill, and it may well be these tips are meant to cover all eventualities, like our African road trips through Namibia & Zimbabwe, where a rechargeable torch can be a real bonus.

The Milky Way and night sky from our safari lodge at Bagatelle Kalahari Game Ranch, Namibia
Almost complete darkness in Namibia
Ring bound, not fold out. I guess some folks are saying, 'really? What's wrong with your Sat-Nav/GPS?' Nothing, it's brilliant as an aid in getting from A to B via C, D, E… Etc. However, this is a road trip, and you'll probably want to explore a little. A map's much better for that.

Have you heard of Waze?

If so, this tip is not for you; you are one of the wise.

We 'discovered' Waze on our road trip through Flanders, in northern Belgium, where we visited the historic cities. One of our hotels put us onto Waze, the up-to-date route planning app that can guide you through the very latest diversions and traffic hiccups. Check it out for yourself; there's a free version.

Useful in many ways - especially if language is a barrier or you just need to note something and hand it to somebody.

One for any international travel really, but probably more critical because you can't rely on public Wi-Fi. You may be chewing through more data than usual if you're streaming your tunes, checking the route with Waze, or trying to find accommodation for your next destination on the fly.

Check your mobile plan before you head out, and adjust if necessary; rather than be caught out while you should be enjoying your road trip.

Do you know where you are heading exactly? Where will you be parking the car? We all know address codes, postcodes, and zip codes, but some locations don't have an exact address, or where you want to arrive may not be the hotel's front entrance but at the car park on a side street.

Well, that's where Wat3Words comes in; it gives you a location of 3 by 3 square metres anywhere on the planet. You can send this address to routing apps such as Apple Maps, Google Maps and our old friend Waze.

Our red Audi S3 parked in a reserved space at the underground car park of our Hamburg hotel
Hotel parking in Hamburg

Another suggestion from our experience, always carry a little spare change in the car, especially coins.  Why? car parking.

We got caught out twice on our Croatian Road trip; the first was a stop at Rastoke, the first place we stopped to admire the waterfalls. As expected, there were parking meters, and they needed coins. Sure, we had our Croatian Kuna, but only notes. A stop at a petrol station to pick up some local goodies would have solved that. The other instance was at Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, again we had no Convertible Marka handy for parking there.

We purchased a 3-piece Coin Purse Holder, one for Sterling, our local currency, one for Euros, and a spare for anything else we may need.

Just remember to keep the purse out of display because you know it's only got small change in there, but ...

Water flowing over rocks against the lush green background of Rastoke in Croatia
The waterfalls of Rastoke, Croatia
Have you got your sunglasses? I have prescription sunnies, so I can't just pick up a set along the roadside. It's also worth checking point three thoroughly because in certain countries, if you need glasses to drive, you must carry a spare pair (for example, Spain)
Our audi RS5 convertible, parked by the vera cruz church in segovia in central spain, visited as part of our spanish road trip
A road trip through Spain

Brittany Ferries

We use Brittany Ferries as our springboard into Spain and Portugal.

We love their service, transporting us from Portsmouth to either Santander or Bilbao in one or two nights and wiping out the ≈ 525 miles/ 845 km (as the crow flies). Unsurprisingly, the journey has a beautiful French feel, adding a wonderful bookend to our adventures.

A week before

Take note of any touring pressures advised.
Tyre Pressure Chart
The car's tyre pressures
Your car handles differently with the weight of the luggage, and incorrect tyre pressures impact stopping distances & fuel consumption.
If you're like me, you'll be forever cleaning dead flies off the windscreen.
Or get somebody to do it for you. That means inside and out. You'll spend a lot of time in your chariot, so make sure it's in tip-top condition.
The back of our black Audi, in front of the washing bucket, as we prepare for another road trip.
Washed and ready for the road

Have you the right tunes for the trip? Build your ultimate playlist for your trip. Stack up on your CDs, fill your memory cards, and just make sure you have something - local radio can sometimes suck...

Why not check out our post ' Soundtrack of a road trip'

Keep yourself hydrated and it'll help with your concentration.
Many handy uses to keep you fresh in your car. Especially if you like to pick up a snack en-route.

This is probably more handy if you have a convertible. It doesn't take long for my fair skin to flip to raspberry if I forget these. It's also handy if you take a tour of a town or a sight. Also, packing this is a good reason for item 19!
Our Audi convertible parked up on the roadside as it curves up towards to the hillside village of Les Baux-de-Provence. The remains of the ruins of Château des Baux sit high on the rock face.
Our road trip through Provence, France
Handy in the glove box to have travel painkillers that can be swallowed without water - and you're going to need them after the umpteenth argument over directions 😉
To remove what the occasional bird decides to deposit on your pride & joy. (I should also mention caution when parking under trees when on a road trip - again, from experience!)
I take this planning seriously - A road trip without Werther's Originals does not bare thinking about.
Wether's Originals in the glovebox
Werther's Original

The day before

Best to start the day with a maximum range. If you have an EV parked on your drive you are ahead on this one.
Get together everything you'll need in the cockpit, as you may need to charge your devices on the move.
Let's not put a downer on the trip - but we are British 🙂
I need a sweet treat every 50 miles or so - it helps count down those miles until I hit our destination.

The day

Settle into your seat and relax - you're on holiday.

I hope this list has been of some use and there's something here that can help.

Let me know if there's something you always check or a ritual you follow before your road trip.

Our Audi convertible parked on the verge on the N267, the back roads of Portugal, on our Portuguese road trip of 2018.
Our Portuguese Road Trip

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