When you’re about to embark on a road trip, there are many things to consider before you leave home. If you’re anything like I used to be, you’re running around throwing things into a duffel bag hours before hitting the open road. The only problem with that is that you are not as prepared as you should be, and almost always, you have forgotten something.
Creating an essential road trip packing list will ensure you never forget the things you can’t live without. It will also keep you and your family safe on the long-haul trips.
From water bottles to snacks, charging cables, and jumper cables, you can rest assured this road trip checklist will prepare you for almost any eventuality when taking that long road trip cross country, or just a weekend at a national park.
Road trip Essentials
When customizing this list of road trip essentials to your needs, make sure you include things to keep you fed, entertained, healthy, and safe.
Car Registration and Insurance Cards
While 99% of us are storing our car registration and insurance cards in the glove box, this is for the 1%: PUT YOUR CAR REGISTRATION AND INSURANCE CARDS IN THE GLOVE BOX. In fact, when going on a road trip, I like to make copies and keep them in my purse or backpack. I don’t know what the chances are of my car getting stolen while on a road trip, but having a copy of the car registration to give to the police will keep me on top of it.
Don’t forget that you’ll still need your insurance card if you’re taking a rental car, but using your personal car insurance.
Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer
After the pandemic, I started carrying around a travel bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse at all times. According to the CDC, using hand sanitizer correctly can effectively eliminate several types of germs. So, why take the risk? Use hand sanitizer.
They come in especially handy during a road trip if you’re eating a meal on the go in your car or have made a stop at a questionable gas station restroom. They’re even safe to use on kids over a year old – just make sure it dries well to avoid accidental ingestion.
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Face Mask
Face masks were the norm for quite some time, and while they’re not anymore, they’re was a reason they were required during the pandemic. While not as effective as surgical masks, which have proven to reduce the risk of infection by 50%, cloth or disposable masks will provide some level of protection.
Masks are most useful for keeping your germs to yourself while you’re sick, so you’re not infecting others around you, but hopefully, you don’t get sick while on a road trip.
Instead, I mostly use masks on my kids to keep them from putting their hands into their mouths or noses and getting themselves sick. While on a road trip, we make several questionable stops, whether it be a visitor center bathroom or the counter of a convenience store in the middle of nowhere. Hey, these stops are part of the fun, but that doesn’t mean I want them touching everything and then touching their face. Masks help me give them a little extra protection until we can sanitize or wash our hands.
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Nozin® Nasal Sanitizer® antiseptic
While we all know to keep our hands clean, what about our noses? Doctors have told us again and again that viruses and bacteria enter through the nose, so why wouldn’t we clean our nose each day, like we clean our hands?
Nozin® Nasal Sanitizer® antiseptic is the only patented nasal cleaner that is used in hospitals by doctors and nurses, and is also available for consumer use. It kills 99.99% of germs and works for up to 12 hours.
One little swab up the nose once a day can protect your entire family. It’s safe for kids (with adult supervision when applying) and can be used every day.
It’s so easy, why wouldn’t you do it when driving the open roads? I use it when I get on a plane, too!
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Antibacterial wipes
Grab a pack of wet wipes, or even baby wipes for the car, to keep your hands clean throughout your trip. Antibacterial wipes are great for before and after messy meals, too.
My kids use their shirts way too often to wipe ketchup and BBQ sauce off their faces. I toss them each a wipe in the middle of meals so they use the proper cleaning cloth, instead of their clothing.
A mom can dream about her kids wearing a clean shirt for more than 20 minutes, right?
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Tissues and Paper Towels
We always have tissues and paper towels in the car to clean up spills.
We also have random levels of seasonal allergies in our household. You never know what pollens you will find on the road, so tissues are great for those sneezing fits that come on at random times.
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Car emergency kit
Your car emergency kit should have the following at least:
- Jumper cables
- Fix-a-flat (tire patch)
- Flares
- Flashlight (check those batteries every 6 months!)
- Caution triangles
- First aid kit
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Paper Map or Road Atlas
Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze – the number of GPS apps available at our fingertips is endless. And while these apps are updated and have additional features such as traffic updates and police alerts, it’s all useless if you’re in an area without service or a dead phone battery.
Before starting your road trip, invest in an up-to-date paper map or road atlas as a backup plan. Plus, it’s a great time to teach kiddos how to read a map or check out the fun attractions they list along the way.
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Glass Breaker
Accidents happen all of the time, but some are preventable with the right tools. A few years back, I grabbed a glass breaker/seatbelt cutter tool for both my husband’s and my cars.
I’d read one too many articles about seatbelts getting stuck and choking children. I’ve also watched too many movies where a car falls into water and the people are trapped because they can’t break the glass.
One tool, and all my fears (both real and irrational) are gone.
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Charging Cables for Devices
Keep your devices charged with extra-long cables. We have iPhone cables for phones and an iPad, plus micro-USB cables for Kindle fire tablets.
I try to work when we know we have a very long stretch of road to drive, so I also have my laptop charging cable. USB to USB-C cables work on the newer Apple laptops, which is handy, because this is the same cable to charge the Nintendo Switch.
If you don’t have enough USB outlets built into your car, you can grab this charging box that plugs into the lighter spot in your car (most cars still have the 12v charger built in, even older cars).
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External battery packs
We always have an external battery (here’s our favorites for every type of travel) to charge up devices on the fly. Sometimes we don’t have enough outlets open, or one of the kids is in the way back, where there is no USB outlet for him to plug into on a road trip.
Having an external battery is handy for charging your phone when you are making multiple stops, too. You can keep charging, even while touring a museum, national park, or roadside attractions.
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Car Entertainment
Music, audiobooks, movies, games, coloring books, sudoku—you need it all to keep yourself entertained on the road.
For the kids, we have a craft box they can rummage through with a “52 Things to do in the Car” deck of cards. We also play the license plate game, road trip bingo, and other activities when they aren’t on electronic devices.
We have a simple road trip with kids rule- every other hour, you can have device time. On alternate hours, they have to do something non-screen related.
This gives my husband and me a break, and keeps the kids from going crazy with too much screen time (it can easily happen with unlimited screen time when you unplug them. We learned that the hard way!)
Read our full guide on what to do on a long car ride
Reusable Water bottle
You never want to run out of water on a road trip, especially in the summer months. I got stuck on the NJ Turnpike in my 20s and almost passed out from dehydration and heat exhaustion.
My car’s a/c was out, and the car was overheating, which meant I had to drive with the windows down and the heat on. It was not pretty.
Now, we always have two full water bottles per person in the car. At least one has to be a Hydroflask, Swell, or Contigo that can hold the cold for 12+ hours.
When we stop at hotels for the night, I fill each bottle with ice from the hotel ice machine and water for the next day. We save money on bottled water, plus it’s more environmentally friendly because we aren’t buying all of those plastic bottles.
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Coffee mug
My husband and I run on coffee during road trips. We both bring our coffee mugs to fill up in the morning at the hotel.
I can also save on disposable cups at a coffee shop by handing over my clean travel mug. Some coffee shops even give you a discount on your order if you use your mug.
My travel coffee mug has to keep coffee warm for at least six hours. Sometimes I like to sip and savor and it can’t drip or leak.
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Reusable utensils
I hate using plastic take-out utensils. There is no need, especially when you are eating in the car, at a hotel, or campsite.
Reusable utensils come in all shapes and sizes. I have a tiny kit I keep in my toiletries bag that has a spork and chopsticks.
For road trips and when traveling with the kids, I have this little pouch of utensils we can use. I stash it in the glove compartment or snack bag for easy access.
Buy it on REI.com
Steel Straws Travel Case
No one should ever have to use plastic straws when they can easily travel with a reusable straw kit.
The one we have comes with two straws, but I add in two more so the whole family is covered. It comes with a cleaning straw and can easily fit into my purse for use in restaurants and beverages in the car.
Buy it on Rei.com
United by Blue Meal Kit
I recently bought this adorable United By Blue meal kit that I’m sure was meant for camping, but is perfect for road trip meals too.
It comes with two bowls, two cups, and two spoons/forks (not quite a spork- it’s two-sided). There is enough room in the pouch to expand the kit to add more bowls, utensils, and cups too.
I’ve used it to make oatmeal in the morning for the kids at hotels, mix cans of tuna at rest stops, and even make mac n’ cheese for a late-night dinner on the road.
Yes, I’m that good at creating random road trip meals. My culinary skills are wowing you already, I know it.
Buy it on REI.com
Backseat organizer
I finally broke down and grabbed backseat organizers for the boys. Each has a drop-down tray, which is great for watching movies, eating cereal in the morning, and holding sandwiches as we drive.
I also stash barf bags, water bottles, crayons, paper, and tissues in the pockets and compartments so the kids can easily access whatever they need during our road trips.
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Neck Pillow
Now that the boys are out of car seats, I’ve gotten them kid travel pillows to support their necks.
They nap in the car some days or pass out when we are driving late into the night. Nothing hurts me more than seeing their little necks crumpled over to the side with no support.
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Barf bags
My oldest son and I get carsick, especially in traffic on hot summer days. My neighbor found these vomit bags that make it easy to tie off and contain the smell.
Now, we have a few in the glove compartment and the pocket in front of my son’s seat.
I’ve had to clean up a lot of barf on seats, baby car seats, and clothing. Trust me, you want to be prepared for vomit, even if you don’t think you or your kids will get sick.
In a pinch, a few plastic shop bags or even dog bags are good to have on hand.
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Kids’ and adult Dramamine
No matter what country you are in, there will be some sort of motion sickness pills available.
Dramamine, Bonine, Graval – they are all essential for a road trip.
I like the less-drowsy versions and also ginger pills for days we think will be less winding and hot. You will still want the heavy-duty car sickness meds for family members who always get car sick and for hot days in the car.
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Car cleaning wipes
There are always unexpected spills in cars, plus dirt (and other unmentionables) getting dragged into your vehicle. Throw a pack of car cleaning wipes into your vehicle to pick up messes quickly.
Don’t forget to wipe down your dashboard, steering wheel, car handles, etc., to keep germs away and the whole family safe too.
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Skyroam
If you work from the road like me, or your kids HAVE to have internet access for their tablets, you can grab a Skyroam. This is like a personal wi-fi device that will give everyone in the car Wi-Fi access on up to 10 devices. You can pay by the month or by the gigabyte.
Best of all, Skyroam works across the USA and around the world.
I’ve literally watched a friend call his daughter in Paris while we were touring Petra via his Skyroam. No one else was getting cell service on their phones, but he was able to get a connection on Skyrom in one of the most remote, cavernous hidden spots on the planet.
Buy on SkyRoam.com (10% discount code: Walkingontravels)
Umbrella
Rain happens, so you’d better be prepared. We hit rain on I-95 on the way to Philadelphia a few weeks ago, and again in Minnesota while driving to North Dakota.
If you have to jump out to pump gas or use the toilet, you don’t want to get soaked. You may still have hours of driving ahead of you.
The last thing you want is to be wet in the car. It’s not comfortable, and you will start to stink.
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Wet/Dry Bag
Speaking of getting stinky and wet, I always have a wet/dry bag in the car. It harkens back to my days of traveling with babies. There were always wet and dirty clothes to pack up and stash in the car.
Now, if we find a swimming spot, get caught in the rain, or our laundry doesn’t quite dry overnight, I can pop the wet clothes in the wet/dry bag until we hit our next stop.
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Snacks!
You will definitely want a nice supply of snacks for your road trip. Grab trail mix, granola bars, and fruit leather to make everyone happy throughout the day. My oldest son insists on beef jerky, too.
