Heading on a road trip soon and wondering what you should bring? Here is your ultimate road trip packing list with over 50 essential items you can’t forget about!
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Growing up we went on so many road trips as a family! I personally think road trips are so fun and actually prefer them to air travel. I love getting extra quality time with my family, playing road trip games, asking silly questions, driving through different cities, stopping at restaurants along the way.. it’s all so fun!
Plus, with a larger family, it’s usually a lot cheaper to drive than it is to fly. So, I’ve gotten used to traveling by car!
For those of you who are going on your first road trip, or your fifth, tenth or twentieth, this post will outline all the important road trip essentials and must-know road trip tips to make your drive the absolute best it can be.
Pre Road Trip Checklist
A week or two before you leave on your trip, you’ll want to make sure that your car is all ready to go – making sure you check your tires, breaks, fluids, lights, etc. I’m going to leave a full checklist below of all the maintenance tasks you’ll want to double check before you leave your house. These are so important, especially for a long road trip!
Here is our car maintenance checklist:
- Check tire pressure and fluids
- Ensure breaks are working properly
- Check to make sure windshield wipers work
- Make sure breaks are working
- Ensure all lights are working
- Test the Air Conditioning
- Fill up with gas
- Get a car wash
- Vacuum car (we always like to start the road trip with a clean car inside and out!)
Now, obviously you can’t prevent all car maintenance issues that may occur on the road, but at least you know that your car is in good condition to travel before you leave!
Before any road trip, we always stop at our local Kwik Trip to fill up with gas, get a car wash, check our tire pressure and vacuum out our car. If you live in the Midwest in either Wisconsin, Minnesota or Iowa, then I’m guessing you probably do the same! Kwik Trip is our go-to gas station and convenience store for everything: gas, car washes, Glazer donuts, slushies, fresh produce, take home meals.. everything you need for a long car ride!
Road Trip Essentials List
I’m going to break down the full list of essential road trips items into categories for you. You’ll see that there are A LOT of items on the list! Which, one of the great things about road tripping somewhere is that you can bring ALL the necessities (depending on how much space you have in your car obviously).
That’s one of the reasons I love road trips so much! You can really bring everything you need with you. No need to worry about packing your things into a small carry on or worrying about not being able to bring something on the trip. Everything you need can come with!
Later in this post, I’ll share some of my favorite space saving hacks and tips for packing your suitcase so that you can stay organized and maximize space.
Car Essentials
- Drivers License
- Car Insurance Information
- Roadside Emergency Kit
- First Aid Kit
- Spare tire
- Car manual
- Jumper cables
- Ice scraper (if you’re going on a winter road trip!)
- Cell phone car mount
- Portable car vacuum – this one from Amazon works great!
- Travel Pillow
- Blanket
- Change for tolls
- Credit cards
- Medicine – Advil, ibuprofen, motion sickness pills
- Plastic bags for garbage
Navigation
- Google Maps – we typically either use Google Maps or the Maps app on iPhone for navigation
- Paper map – Always a good idea to bring a paper map just in case you lose cell service
Food + Drinks
For any long car ride, we always make sure we stock up on TONS of snacks for the car! One to two days before we leave, I stop by Kwik Trip for all our food essentials. Multiple bags of chips, granola bars, protein bars, bananas, apples, Glazer donuts, a couple packs of gum – items that aren’t too messy for the car.
As I mentioned before, along with shopping for snacks and groceries for the trip, we’ll also check off all our car maintenance items while we’re there – gas, car wash, checking our tire pressure and vacuuming the car. It’s just convenient to have everything in one place!
Here are a few snack ideas that are great for the car:
Snacks:
- Chips
- Granola bars
- Fruit snacks
- Trail mix/nuts
- String cheese
- Popcorn
- Crackers
- Sandwiches
- Dried fruit
- Cereal
- Bananas
- Apples
- Veggies
- Applesauce cups
- Gum/mints
If you download Kwik Trip’s Kwik Rewards app on your phone, you can find tons of coupons for snacks, food, drinks and more. I always do a quick scan of the coupons for the day to see if I can save any money. There’s always something I can use!
The app also offers mobile ordering now too. So, if you’re in the mood for some hot food while you’re on the road, you can get Kwik Trip carryout! They’ve got sandwiches, hot dogs, grilled cheese, pizza, macaroni, breakfast burritos and the list goes on. All food ranging from about $1 to $4.
We’ve eaten their food so many times and it’s delicious! We actually pick up their Take Home Meals a few days a week for dinner as well.
Drinks:
- Plastic water bottles – I’m not a huge fan of plastic water bottles, but when we go on road trips, they’re essential. It’s always good to have clean water on hand!
- Reusable water bottle – these stainless steel MiiR water bottles are leakproof and vacuum insulated so your drink will stay cold for hours
- True Lemon Water Enhancers – if you like a little flavor to your water these are great (and healthy)! I love these because they don’t have any artificial flavors or sweeteners in them and they taste so good!
Packing + Storage Essentials:
When you pack your car for a long trip, you want to be as strategic as possible. Obviously, the less you pack, the easier it is to organize, but if you have the right storage solutions, you can pack a lot more, without taking up as much space.
One of the most important things to do when preparing for your road trip, is to stay as organized as possible – trust me. It will be so beneficial!
Here are my favorite packing solutions:
- Packing Cubes – these will help keep your suitcase organized the entire trip
- Jewelry Organizer
- Makeup and Toiletry Travel Organizer
- Cooler Backpack – really great for snacks or drinks you want to keep cold in the car. But also great when you arrive at your destination and want to keep food /drinks cold when you’re out and about.
- Car Organizer
- Tech Organizer – so nice to keep all your chargers, headphones, and electronic cords in one place!
- Duffle Bag – holds so much and the quality is incredible!
- Luggage set – one of the most affordable luggage sets I’ve found. Extremely lightweight and comes with locks.
Clothing Essentials for the car:
When it comes to long car rides, comfort is key. I always recommend wearing whatever you feel most comfortable in when traveling. And make sure you wear pieces that you can easily take on and off! I typically wear a comfy tee and then bring a sweatshirt along if I get cold. Personally, I prefer to have the air conditioning on high in the car, but not everyone I travel with does. So, just make sure if you’re traveling with other people, be prepared for different temperatures in the car.
Here are the clothes I recommend packing:
- Flip flops (or other shoes that slip on and off easily)
- Sunglasses – these are my go-to!
- Hat
- Comfortable tee
- Sweatshirt (or something to throw on if you get cold)
- Leggings, athletic shorts or sweatpants
Activities/Electronics:
Bringing games, activity books and electronics is essential for any long trip. Time goes by so much faster when you’re entertained!
- Ipad
- Headphones
- Phone charger
- Portable charger
- Books and magazines – need recommendations? Here’s 30 of my favorite inspirational, personal development books!
- Games to play in the car
- Deck of cards
- Movies
- 100+ road trip questions for the family
Toiletries/personal care:
I like to keep a small toiletry bag with me in the car (not packed in my suitcase), with any essential personal care items that I might need while we’re driving. Things like lip balm if my lips get dry, a contact case and solution in case something gets in my eye, a hair brush, etc. Items that I’ll most likely use throughout the car ride.
- Lip Balm – my lips always get so dry when traveling!
- Eye mask
- Spf
- Hair brush
- Travel Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Contact case and contact solution
- Glasses and glasses case
- Ponytail holders, bobby pins
Miscellaneous Items:
Here are a few miscellaneous road trip packing list essentials that I would consider adding to your list!
- Flashlight
- Umbrella
- Paper towel or toilet paper
- Baby wipes
- Small cooler
- Hand Sanitizer
There you have it! Your ultimate road trip packing list. I hope this gives helps you a good idea of all the essential road trip items you need to bring with you. If there’s anything you think I should add to this packing guide, leave a comment below and let me know! I hope you have fun on your next road trip adventure!
Related posts you may like:
- Affordable Dinner Ideas for the Week With Kwik Trip Take Home Meals
- 100 Fun, Silly and Thoughtful Road Trip Questions for the Whole Family!
- 20 Budget Friendly Fall Date Ideas You’ll Both Love
This road trip packing list was made in partnership with Kwik Trip.
