Last week we shared our road trip to Glacier National Park and talked about our Road Trip Essentials. Today we are sharing our list of items that we pack for our road trips.
Road trips are one of our favorite ways to travel. There is just something fun about hopping in your car/van/truck and hitting the open road. Whether it is a quick weekend trip or a longer vacation you can explore the countryside.
We try and take road trips as often as possible. They give us the chance to explore the Pacific Northwest and parts of our state we may have missed. Taking off to Glacier National Park was the perfect way to get out of the house for the weekend and explore one of our favorite parks.
Road Trip Essentials!
Snacks and Water
I don't know what it is about road trips but I find myself wanting to snack on things as we drive down the road. We try and have a variety of snacks packed with us so we each have something we love. The CVS Gold Emblem Peanut Butter filled Pretzel Nuggets are delicious! The Greek Yogurt Pretzels also did not last long on our last road trip. We also keep water bottles in the car to hydrate along the way.
Emergency Kit
Emergency kits should include a first-aid kit, jumper cables, a flashlight with extra batteries, road flares or a reflective triangle, a blanket, water, and a few protein bars. Extras that are good to have just in case include wet wipes, hand sanitizer, and sunscreen.
Car Chargers
Make sure you have a charger for each of the cell phones you are bringing on your trip.
Map/GPS
We love having our GPS with us for road trips. For longer road trips we highly suggest having a paper map that shows your route on it. Just in case your GPS decides to stop working as ours did one night at midnight in Miami. We had to rely on gas station directions and our dying cell phones to find our hotel.
Prepaid Phone Card
Stash a prepaid phone card with $5-$10 worth of calls in your glove compartment. That way if you are in an area that does not have cell service you can use a phone to dial for assistance.
Change
Depending on where you are traveling you may need change for toll roads or parking meters. Having a baggie of coins ready will save you digging through everything trying to find some quarters.
Insect Repellent/Itch relief cream
This is one of my most used road trip essentials! If you are like me and mosquitoes think you are the best thing since sliced bread having a can of CVS Insect Repellent in the car can save you a lot of scratching. I also pick up Bug Bite Cream since the dang mosquitoes seem to find the one spot on my body that I forgot to spray with insect repellent.
Wet Wipes
Wet Wipes can be used for just about anything from spilled soda to cleaning a few bugs off the window.
What are your go-to road trip essentials?
Additional Road Trip Travel Articles
California Big Trees Road Trip
I’m proud to partner with CVS/pharmacy for the #FindYourHealthy campaign. I am being sponsored by CVS/pharmacy for my posts and activities, but all opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.com or with the appropriate manufacturers.
Amy
Snacks and car chargers are a must for us! An emergency kit is a great idea!
Ann BAcciaglia
I love carrying Wet Naps in my purse when I go on a rod trip, They are such a convenient and easy way to keep your hands clean.
Jennifer
Fantastic tips. We shop at CVS often because it's so convenient and there's one practically across the street from our housing community.
Amy Desrosiers
I love CVS because they have everything I always need. Their products work better than most brand names too and taste better!
Kristin
Some great tips here...especially the bug spray. Ugh. I hate bugs! And peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets? That's reason enough to take a road trip! LOL.
Peachy
Our family loves road trips too! And those snacks -- I hope I can find them here specially the greek yogurt covered pretzels.
Miranda (Myrabev)
It's been a while since I was last on a road trip but I pretty much carry the same items as you except insect repellants which I think I should include in the bag next time.
Rebecca Swenor
These are all great tips for essentials for a road trip. The number one things for me are cell phone, biodegradable wipes, and a lot of fluids along with snacks. Thanks so much for sharing.
Chantal
This is a great list! We are going on many road trips this summer so this is very helpful! I wouldn't have thought to take wet wipes along but that is a great idea, I'll be packing some for sure! Great post!
Bree
I would agree with everything on this list, although I would add a small first aid kit, as well as a change of clothes, including shoes good for walking in. You never know when you will need those things, but they have been life savers for me before on roadtrips.
Stephanie
I love road trips. I'd much rather see the country via car than from a plane's window.
Jeanine
All sounds great to me! We haven't done a road trip in ages so I'm not even sure what my essentials would be. Definitely food and gadgets to keep everyone busy!
CourtneyLynne
Omg a car charger is a must for any trip. Being a online junkie who has to be connected 24/7, I go nuts when I forget to pack one lol
Penny Struebig
I am definitely one that is not great in the car! I can't go anywhere without my motion sickness medicine. lol
Joanne T Ferguson
I just ate, but those pretzel nuggets have my name on the bag! It is always important to make check lists and bring essentials when take a long road trip, especially with family!
Susan Quackenbush
This is a fantastic list of road trip essentials! We pack around extra batteries, a map, and a few other items at all times. It's the snacks that really come in handy on those long trips! 🙂
Liz Leiro
You're speaking to my soul - road trips are my thing! I can't agree with you more about the snacks 😉 I never thought about getting a prepaid calling cards, though! (Such is the age of cell phones, lol) Thanks for sharing 😀
Jaime Nicole
Excellent road trip advice and tips! We are leaving in 6 days for our cross-country trek. I will have to jot down some notes from your post so we can cover all of our bases. Now I just need to find someone to babysit the ferret.
Tammilee
Have fun on your cross country road trip!
Megan Elford
Most of these things are on our essentials list too, but I hadn't thought of having a phone card for when you're somewhere that doesn't have cell service. Thank you for the idea! It could be the difference between sleeping in a nice comfy hotel and being stranded somewhere in a broken down van 😉
Ourfamilyworld
We love those snacks and I always buy them whether we are going on a road trip or not. A bug spray is a must!
Jeannette
Those peanut butter filled pretzels are one of my favorite things ever! I always pick some up when we take a road trip! Thanks for giving me some additional ideas for snack options for when we're on the go!
Amanda Tempel
Love the wipes idea! I am such a messy person, and being in a car with my for more then a couple hours, always just seems to get messy.. Lol. And we love road trips! I'll have to remember to bring them next time, for sure.
Jacob Fu
Great list! We definitely love road trips and have our essentials list too. On the top of it.. snacks and music 🙂