There really isn’t anything more fun than planning a road trip with family or friends. Getting a journey mapped out properly and packing for a trip in new places? That’s exciting! You should be ready to go and if you’re heading from city to city, sea to shining sea, you want this to be a trip without fault. Of course, you can’t control everything once you get on the road, but you can make sure that your trip is as successful as possible.

For that to be the case, it’s important to plan. When you think you are done planning, it’s important to plan again, and again! Your road trip should be successful and that means looking at every possible angle so that you can be safe and sound as you go. Are you planning to stop in busy cities? Well, you’ll need to look up the costs and options for parking and for luggage storage, especially if you don’t plan to leave your belongings in the car in an unfamiliar place. You should be ready for the cold, the warmth and for any adventures along the way. So, while your head is in the clouds with destinations and bucket list ticks, let’s bring you down to earth with practical tips that’ll see your trip going exactly how you’d want it to go.

1. 1. Stock up your food supplies. Some road trip routes may take you off the beaten track and if that’s the case for you, then the best thing that you can do is buy some food and drink in advance. Should the car break down at any point, you want to be sure that you are in as comfortable a position as you can be. Saving money and time with snacks and a cooler will stop you from buying in a new place every time you stop. All of those gas station snacks are really going to add up – and your budget may not have that open!
   2. Get the car inspected properly. You should have the car serviced before you go anywhere – the last thing that you want to do is to end up broken down on the side of the road and without a phone signal. Your car fluids and oil levels should be checked, tyres should be inspected and you need your brake pads checked, too. You should always keep up with your car and its needed services, but it’s even more important when you are on a long trip.
   3. Set a goal for mileage. Your car is going to be on the road for a period of time, and that means you need to do a reasonable amount of mileage to get from A to B. The point of a road trip is to see things and not just roadside. Driving too slowly with too many stops isn’t going to get you to your destinations on time. Setting a goal for how far you want to go each day of your trip enables you to make the right progress, stop to see attractions and get from hotel to hotel. By the time you get to each destination, you’ll have made some real progress.

1. Try to avoid peak travel. If you’re on the road, the last thing you want to do is sit in traffic for hours on end. Congested traffic and waiting for meals will all be a lot longer when you are travelling during peak time. Try to plan your entire trip around those peak hours and make a point of avoiding rush hour where you can. You want to maximise your time, not waste it, so plan your meals and your travel around all of those peak waiting hours.
2. Research your town stops. Small towns tend to have different business hours than bigger cities which means if you’re coming into a smaller town, you might find yourself hungry because restaurants closed hours ago. Researching your distances to each place, the facilities available and the closing times of pubs and bars will ensure that you don’t end up frustrated on the side of the road! Sundays are always slow business days but they’re also the days where businesses will either be closed or they’ll close up early for the day.
3. Pack everything. For an efficient and successful road trip, bring everything! You can pack for all weathers, but you’ll also need matches and lighters, candles and torches, batteries and spare gas. You can’t fit everything into the car, but you need to pack what is reasonable!

A successful road trip is going to be one where you get where you want to be on time, every time. Where are you headed on your next trip?

This is a Take to the Road Collaborated Post