Road Trip Travel Tips. Are you making plans and gearing up for a summer road trip? Or, for that matter, any other time of the year? Truth be told, road trips are by far my most favorite way to travel, followed by train travel which runs a close second. There’s just something really special about a road trip and the flexibility traveling by car offers.

“Roads were made for journeys, not destinations.” Confucious

I wrote the first version of this post a little more than two years ago. Isn’t it incredible how much the world can change in two years? Anyway, I’m thinking it’s time for an update. Maybe it’s because it’s 105 degrees outside and we are housebound. Or, maybe it’s because I’m thinking about the upcoming autumn road trips we’re in the process of planning. Either way, let’s see what’s new in the world of road trips.

2020 to 2025

Here it is June 2025, but it wasn’t all that long ago when the world was shut down due to Covid. I had long forgotten that in 2020, US citizens were banned from traveling to EU countries because of the slow response to Covid. Lockdowns around the world were the theme of the day and Covid pretty much brought the travel industry to a screeching halt, especially international travel. But now, travel has grown exponentially, especially in popular European countries/cities where tourists are overwhelming locals to the point of locals protesting in the streets.

RV Rentals

During the pandemic years, the rise of RV rentals/purchases skyrocketed. So much so that a whole new era of RV rentals from private parties took leaps and bounds. If you’re wondering about the current trends of RV travel and living, just search Google and/or Youtube channels that feature RV travel and tiny home living. RV travel has never really appealed to us, (I like a nice hotel room) but I’m confident when I say, RVs continue to be the chosen way to travel and/or live for a whole lot of people. Here are a few examples.

• RV Travel Trends 2025
• Wander Women
• The Next Big Adventure
• Geogypsytraveler

Everything But The Kitchen Sink

We’ve taken on a number of long distance (and short distance) road trips, so we’ve gotten pretty good at knowing what to take and what to leave home. There’s something about packing a car that messes with your brain and you start to think you can pack everything but the kitchen sink in the trunk of your car, simply because you can. It’s not a good idea. Trust me. We’ve learned the hard way.

Does your trunk look like this when you take a road trip? This is out of the norm for us but in full disclosure we were on our way to a week-long vacation house stay and had to bring food, bedding, linens, etc. Way more than we would usually take on a road trip.

By the way, what’s your favorite road trip snack? We’re big on Jelly Belly jelly beans and homemade trail mix. And, chips. We’re big fans of chips.

Route 66

We’ve driven across the United States on four separate occasions, each time taking a different route. It’s a long haul, but we’d do it again in a heartbeat. To date we’ve made it to 48 out of the 50 states. We’ve yet to reach North Dakota or Alaska. We drove Route 66 from Chicago, Illinois, to Barstow, California. We made the trip in 9 days which was not nearly long enough, so we’d love to drive it again.

North to PEI and Nova Scotia

You may remember in the summer of 2022 we drove 3,500 miles from our home base in Maryland to Prince Edward Island, to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and home again. It was an extraordinary road trip.

The Eastern Seaboard

We’ve driven up and down the eastern seaboard several times. Trips included New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Delaware, New York, and there’s still so much more to explore.

We also continue to explore the backroads of Maryland and Virginia. It’s amazing what one can find when getting off the highway!

Road Trip Travel Tips

So what have we learned putting in all of those miles? A lot. Whenever we fly, we travel exceptionally light. We each take one bag and a backpack. I really don’t care if I wear the same two or three outfits when traveling anywhere. Everything gets carried on, and no wheels on our bags. The cobblestones of Portugal cured us of wheels.

The same philosophy applies to long/short distance road trips. Travel light. The big difference is your car needs a few things as well. Some, I’m sure are obvious, but it’s always good to be reminded as you think about getting behind the wheel. And, as always it’s better to be safe than sorry because you never know what you’ll find out there on the road.

Road Trip Travel Tips the Car

If you have a service such as AAA, it’s a good idea to take your car for a courtesy service check, before hitting the road. Or, make an appointment with your favorite mechanic. Better safe than sorry, especially if you’re gearing up for a long distance trip.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin

Here’s a list of what’s in our car when we take on a long road trip, a few of which live in the trunk.

• A small tool bag with a screw driver, pliers, tire pressure gauge, scissors, gloves, flares, duct tape and rags.
• Jumper cables
• Registration, insurance and emergency road service contact
• Flashlight
• Blanket
• Snacks
• Water
• Device chargers
• A personal hygiene pack
• Small first aide kit
• Coins and small bills for toll roads
• If you live on the east coast of the US we highly recommend an EZ pass for tolls

A few added random tips.

• We rarely let our fuel gauge drop below the 1/4 mark.
• Keep a picture, in your phone, of your car’s license plate.
• If you’re driving and you’re being followed by an unmarked car flagging you to pull over, don’t do it. Call 911, give them your location and tell them what you see.
• Refill your prescriptions and know how to get refills on the road. i.e. CVS, Costco.
• Send your planned route/itinerary to a loved one.
• Invest in a National Park lifetime pass. And/or a state pass. We have both and they’ve saved us a lot of money over the years.

Road Trip Travel Tips – Fun!

What we enjoy best about a road trip is the flexibility. It’s a different world when traveling by car. When you’re in an airplane, yes, the views can be spectacular, but you can’t see the close up. You miss so much and you can’t pull over and get an order of fries and a soda, or a milkshake, or a box of doughnuts just because you really want some. Or, drive thru Starbucks more often than maybe you should. Hmm… see a theme here about our road trips?

Embrace the Open Road

When you travel by car, you can stop any time you want to read an historic road marker, or take a little side trip to a point of interest, or, and best of all, if you find yourself in a place that just really captures your heart, you can stay an extra day or two.

More Random Tips

When we take an extended road trip, such as driving Route 66, we often don’t book accommodations ahead of time (unless it’s high season) so we have the flexibility of stopping when/where we want. And, sometimes we find the best hotel rates with same day reservations. Speaking of reservations, any credit card in your wallet should be associated with a hotel chain. We’ve enjoyed many a comped stay with our hotel points.

Final Thoughts

The travel industry is booming, maybe too much so. But, that’s a conundrum for another day. More and more people are flying internationally (or domestic), they’re booking cruises, and they’re heading out on the open road. They’re even walking from point A to point B. Seemingly, the whole world is on the move. So, what do you think? Ready to take on a road trip?

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” Anita Desai

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