100+ Tested Road Trip Pack List Essentials You Will Not Want to Forget

Do you love exploring a country on a road trip in a vehicle of your choice, but sometimes have a hard time knowing exactly what to pack? This post will help you create the perfect road trip pack list for your needs.

Dana and I have spent at least 22,000 miles road-tripping all over the United States on two cross-country road trips with our self-converted camper van. We added several more miles on our journeys along the US east coast with different vehicles.

Since we travel whenever we can, we get sick of thinking about what to pack again and again. To help fasten the packing process, we created our own road trip pack list which makes us get on the road faster.

No matter if you travel for just a few days, a couple of weeks, or several months, take the worry away from making sure you have everything packed by simply reading what to pack on a road trip and downloading our PDF road trip pack list.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps us create free content for you to enjoy. Learn more about our disclaimer here. Thanks for your support!

Our Other Resources for Road Trips

• 45 Useful Gifts for Road Trips You Didn’t Know You Needed
• 90+ Road Trip Quotes to Excite You to Hit the Road
• 31 Best Games for Road Trips for Adults to Beat the Boredom

Helpful Travel Planning Tools

Everything You Need on Your Road Trip Pack List

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To make it easier to see what to pack for road trips, we categorized all the items for your packing list. Beginning with road trip essentials for your vehicle, we go over the most important personal documents and items, electronics, clothing, toiletries, cooking utensils, and end up with outdoor gear.

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Road Trip Essentials for Your Car

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These most important essentials for your car should be with you on every road trip to stay safe and be prepared for everything.

Car Registration and Insurance Information
You don’t want to be caught driving without these documents in your vehicle. Make sure you have the latest documents with you.

Car Owner Manual
When asking yourself what to bring road trip, you might overlook the car owner’s manual. Usually, this is just something that sits in everyone’s glove compartment. No one wants to read this big boring book on what to know about the vehicle you are driving. But, it does come in handy when you come into some trouble. We used this book more than once while on the road.

AAA Membership and/or Phone Number(s) for Roadside Assistance
Make sure to check your insurance policy, whether it is a rental vehicle or a personal vehicle, to see if roadside assistance is already included. Most of the time your insurance will just pay for a short towing distance and the rest will come out of your pocket. So it makes sense to pay for an annual AAA membership to be on the safe side. The membership also comes with some other perks like great discounts on attraction tickets and shopping.

Navigation
It is important to have some type of navigation with you. Nowadays, most of us use a GPS system, whether it is a navigation system in the car or on our phones. You can even download maps on your phone when you are offline. Nevertheless, a printed road atlas can get super important in case your navigation system fails you. Technology is great but sometimes it does not work and you need to be prepared for that.

Electronic Toll Pass
While on a road trip in the USA, U.S. residents might want to bring their electronic toll pass. We used our E-ZPass while traveling in the Midwest and east coast and were, therefore, able to save a decent amount of money.

UV Window Shades
One of the most used items on our road trip is sunshades. We never left the van without putting in our sunshades, for our front and side windows. It was great at keeping the sun out and it prevented curious people from looking into our vehicle.

Protective Floor Mats
We love traveling so much that we don’t care about the weather. In rain or shine, we want to enjoy the outdoors. Our WheaterTech floor mats help us not to leave a muddy mess in our vehicle.

(Trunk) Organizers
When you just have a small space to keep all your belongings, you need a well-organized system to find whatever you need. We are huge fans of car organizers in different variations, especially backseat organizers which come with a lot of small pockets for all your miscellaneous items.

Spare Tire
Make sure you know where the spare tire and tools in your vehicle are and educate yourself on changing a tire in case of an emergency. YouTube will be your best friend for that. This can be very important when you travel in remote areas or National Parks where roadside assistance is difficult to get and expensive. It is good to have insurance that takes care of you but it is even better when you can help yourself.

Fluids
There are 6 essential fluids you should technically put on your road trip pack list. Included are engine oil, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid, transmission fluid, and windscreen washer fluid. To be honest, we never brought any of those fluids with us. Since our car knowledge just covers the basics, we let the professionals do their job.

Roadside Emergency Kit
We purchased an emergency roadside kit that included everything we needed. Before packing this away in your vehicle, make sure to become familiar with each item. Plus it might be a good idea to take the seat belt cutter out of the kit and store it somewhere in the vehicle, like the glove compartment, in case you need it. You don’t want to be in a situation where you can’t get out because your emergency roadside kit is out of reach.

Basic Tool Kit
This is especially good to pack for a road trip when you travel in a campervan. We converted our campervan ourselves and had to fix small things on the road from time to time with our basic tool kit.

Bungee Cords & Carabiners
You can’t even imagine what we used bungee cords and carabiners for. No matter if they helped us to hold things in place while driving in our campervan or mount gear to our backpacks during some of our backpacking adventures, we absolutely love them.

Duct Tape & Waterproof Glue
Duct tape and waterproof glue do their jobs when it comes to fixing things inside and outside of your vehicle quickly. These are not our preferred fixing materials but they definitely do their job for a little.

Water Resistant Flashlight
Flashlights are great when you have car trouble at night. They are even better when they are waterproof so that you can use them during the heaviest rain.

What to Pack for a Road Trip in Remote Areas

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Our road trips have brought us to some very remote National Parks and other off-the-beaten paths areas in the United States. Especially when spending a couple of days in those areas, you may want to consider adding the following items to your packing list road trip.

Jug of Coolant or Water
To prevent engine damage from overheating, it is a great idea to carry a jug of coolant with you, especially when you travel to areas that are not just remote but also hot.

Portable Gas Container with Gas
We never ran into issues with running out of gas or finding gas stations. But we do keep a close eye on our gas levels and plan ahead by knowing where we are going. If you don’t want to risk anything, bring a filled portable gas container.

Quart of Oil
Most engines will burn a quart of oil in 500-2,000 miles. If you primarily drive in remote areas and you didn’t get an oil change in a while, bring a quart of oil to help your engine’s running parts perform better.

Wiper Fluid
Wiper fluid will help you see clearly in every weather condition, no matter if your windshield is dusty or muddy from your backcountry adventures, or from some snow and ice.

Things to Pack for a Road Trip in Winter

A road trip in the winter is very different from driving around during the other seasons. You have to think about what to pack more thoroughly. These must-haves should be a definite on your road trip pack list.

Ice Scraper & Snow Brush
One of the main and most important things to pack on a road trip is an ice scraper with an integrated snow brush. Whereas the ice scraper helps you get a clear view, the brush can clear your car from the snow without scraping off the paint.

Shovel
A shovel can be a true lifesaver in the winter (and also when you drive on the beach). If it snows overnight, it helps you clear the area around your car. In case you get stuck on a snowbank or ditch of snow, you also might be able to flatten the area in front of your car to continue your ride.

Jug of Coolant or Water
Coolant is not just helping you with hot temperatures, it is also great for preventing your engine from freezing, which makes it one of the best things to bring on a road trip.

Things to Keep You Warm
You never know if you will get stuck in the snow if you’re waiting for the tow truck, or if there is a huge traffic jam on the highway. Pack some things, like a blanket, winter clothes, and gloves to keep you warm while your engine is not running.

Tire Chains
Certain areas in the USA won’t allow you access when you don’t bring tire chains. Do your research beforehand to avoid disappointment when you arrive at your destination.

Personal Must Haves For Road Trips

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These documents and items you definitely want to have with you, but not just on road trips. They are travel essentials that help keep your journey safe and smooth.

Identification
Make sure to always carry a valid identification document with you. For US residents who travel within their home country, a driver’s license will be enough. When you plan a road trip to a foreign country, don’t forget your passport.

Driver’s License
Most countries accept driver’s licenses issued in English. When your regular license is in another language, apply for an international driver’s license in your hometown.

Bank & Credit Cards
We suggest bringing at least 2 credit cards. You don’t want to be stuck if one doesn’t work or if you lose one. It is best to use a travel credit card that lets you earn travel rewards points and offers other great benefits. We rely on our Discover Miles and Capital One Venture Card to earn travel points. However, there are a ton of great travel credit card options. It is best to pick a travel credit card that suits your needs best.

Cash (Bills and Coins)
Having some cash with you can be a true lifesaver. In some places, you can simply not pay with your card. Small bills or coins can get extremely handy for park meters or laundromats.

Health Insurance Cards
No one expects an emergency to happen but in case something does occur you want to be prepared and have all the necessary information with you. That includes your home health insurance card and if you travel abroad your travel insurance document.

Vaccination Documents
During times of Covid-19, you want to carry your vaccination card with you to make sure you get granted access to the places you want to visit. It is also a great idea to bring your card or copy of all the other vaccinations you received, in case you need to get sick. We recently purchased a vaccine cardholder to protect our cards from being damaged.

Online (and Hard) Copies of Documents
Before you start your trip, make a digital copy (on your mobile device or a cloud) of all your documents. We like to create a folder on the computer and send them to ourselves in an email.

Confirmation Receipts (rental car, accommodations, attractions,…)
You may also want to create a digital folder to easily access all the confirmation receipts you will need on your trip.

Emergency Contact Information
Having an emergency contact information number with you is always a smart idea. We like to keep it in our wallets since we always carry it with us.

Car & House Keys
Keep an extra key handy, but do not keep it on the same key ring. It will do you no good if you lose your keys when they are together. Personally, we don’t like to bring our house or apartment keys with us. Preferably, we give it to a person we trust. When that is not possible, keep them in a safe place, like in a travel safe.

Electronics and Gadgets For Your Road Trip Pack List

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Even though we always want to unwind on our travels, our electronics checklist for a road trip is long. Our photography equipment takes up a huge part, but we also don’t want to miss some items to be entertained on the road.

Phone and Phone Mount
In case you use the navigation system on your phone, get a phone mount. Trust us, it makes your life so much easier, when you can look at your phone hands-free. We bring our little travel phone mount everywhere. Just make sure that the phone mount can be installed in your car.

Camera, Accessories, and Batteries
We don’t go anywhere without our camera, because pictures are our favorite souvenirs. Other accessories for our camera which are on our road trip pack list include the Peak Design capture clip, a camera strap, spare batteries, a small cleaning kit, and a remote control to take pictures of the two of us.

SD Cards in a Waterproof Case
We can’t help it. Sometimes we get a little crazy and take more pictures than expected. For that situation, it is good to pack an extra SD card. We highly recommend putting them in a waterproof case. It gives you peace of mind to know that your most valuable souvenirs are protected from water, heavy rain, and also humidity.

Travel Tripod
For our personal joy and for our blog, we enjoy taking pictures of the two of us. The easiest (and by far cheapest) way to do that is by using a tripod. We absolutely love our Rollei travel tripod which is light and small enough to fit in all of our backpacks. Another great tripod that is less sturdy but gives you more flexibility is the Gorilla Pod. Peak Design also offers another great travel tripod that works effortlessly with all peak design accessories.

GoPro
When you are an adventure seeker, you will want to put a GoPro (and some accessories) on your packing list for a road trip. We use it frequently for our outdoor experiences, like going rafting, caving, biking, and climbing.

Portable Bluetooth Speakers
For sunny days at the beach or cozy campfire nights, we like to bring a portable quality Bluetooth speaker. Always make sure that it is just your party who enjoys the music coming out of your speakers. There is nothing more annoying than people who entertain everyone else around them.

Notebook / Tablet & Holder
Our Samsung tablet is one of the true must-haves for road trips. We mainly use our loyal companion to do small things for our blog and to watch shows on streaming services. For this, we also bring our tablet holder, one of the greatest inventions ever. No matter which vehicle we use for our road trip, we always find a way to set up our own personal theatre.

Laptop
The Apple MacBook Pro is our laptop of choice for traveling. The easy-to-use features, lightweight compact design, and functionality allow us to keep working on our blog or stay up to date with other everyday tasks, like writing emails, while on the road.

USB C Hub Adapter for MacBook Pro
This little piece of equipment is essential when traveling with a new Apple MacBook Pro. The USB C Hub Adapter allows us to connect our USB cable devices, SD Cards, and more directly to the laptop.

Laptop Carrying Case
Protect your expensive laptop from bumps, scratches, and dents with a Thule Gauntlet carrying sleeve.

USB Car Charger
During a road trip, you will spend plenty of time in your car. Why not use that time to charge your electronic devices? Put a USB car charger on your road trip pack list to charge multiple devices at the same time.

Rechargeable (Solar) Power Banks
A dying phone is one of the most annoying things while traveling. That is why a power bank should be one of the essentials for road trips. Our rechargeable solar power bank was a true lifesaver on our recent backpacking trips in the middle of nowhere. Charged by the sun, we didn’t have to worry about a useless phone at all.

Outlet Converter / Travel Adapter
Don’t forget to put an adapter or converter on your road trip packing list when you travel to a country that has other outlets than your home country. We usually bring this international power adapter travel plug which can be used in more than 200 countries.

Headphones & Headphone Splitter
Especially, if you have to travel by plane or public transportation to get to the starting point of your road trip, you might want to bring headphones. We like to go old school and always have our headphone splitter with us, in case we want to watch a movie or listen to music on the same device while in public.

Mobile Hotspot
Do you need to be connected all the time? Then a mobile hotspot, like Solis WiFI, should be on your road trip packing list. On our cross-country road trips in the USA, we never used a mobile hotspot before, just because we didn’t spend a long time in isolated areas, but we definitely want to purchase one for our future international travels in remote locations.

Tech Pouch
Keep your cords from being tangled, or lost, or from falling to the bottom of your bag with an organized Tech Pouch which can accommodate all your gear. Peak Design’s Tech Pouch is one of the best things to pack on a road trip.

Portable Fan
You never know when a portable fan can come in handy. Especially when traveling to some extremely hot destinations, you should put it on your packing list for road trips. When packing for road trip, we love bringing a battery-operated fan, so we can use it whenever we need it without being afraid of using a generator or letting the car run.

Fun Things to Pack for a Road Trip

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Enjoy your road trip even more with these fun items which will keep you busy for weeks. Try some good old travel games, jam out to your favorite music, dream away with a good book, and document your thrilling adventures on your own journey.

Road Trip Games
There are plenty of entertaining games you can play while on the road. We wrote a detailed post on the best road trip games.

If you love good board or card games, also stock up on some travel-sized games. Some of our favorites are Qwinto, Qwirkle, Qwixx, Farkle, and the Deckscape Escape games.

Music Playlists
Scrolling through radio stations is fun but what happens when the signal can’t be found or when you just get bored by listening to the same songs all over again? Use Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, or your preferred music app to create a playlist you can listen to wherever you go.

Audiobooks
Especially on long drives, Dana loves to listen to Audiobooks. It keeps her entertained and focused, on top of that she never finds another time to read. Become a member of one of the big audiobook clubs, like Audible, download your favorite audiobook and enjoy your ride.

Ebook Reader or Old Fashion Book
We prefer holding good old books in our hands but when traveling for a longer period of time, an ebook reader is simply easier to bring. You don’t have to just choose one book, you can download as many as you want for your reading joy. We like to carry our Kindle Paperwhite to enjoy books on the go.

Travel Journal and Pen
Keeping a travel journal is a great way to keep track of your experiences. We have created a travel journal for every road trip we have been on. If you don’t like wasting a lot of paper, we recommend using the Rocketbook which allows you to reuse the pages after uploading your notes to your computer.

Comforting Things to Bring on a Road Trip

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For us, it is very important to make ourselves feel at home while traveling. That is why we included these items for our safety and comfort in our road trip packing list.

Travel Locks
Travel locks are an important road trip pack list gadget to keep all your precious items safe and secure. We never go on a journey without our travel locks. We mainly use them for our luggage and backpacks, but also for our tent when we go camping.

Pacsafe Travelsafe
When you travel with a lot of valuables, a Pacsafe Travelsafe is one of the must-haves for road trips. Whenever you have to leave your accommodation or vehicle for an adventure, you can store your laptop, passport, and other important things in there. We even bring our Pacsafe to the beach with us. You just anchor the steel locking cable somewhere and don’t have to worry about someone stealing your personal items.

Eye Mask
We never used an eye mask before our road trip in Alaska and it ended up being one of our favorite items we brought from the road trip pack list. Why? Well, when it stays bright for almost 24 hours, it can be quite hard to sleep in your car. But even when there are just lights shining into your vehicle when you try to fall asleep, an eye mask can be a lifesaver to getting some shut-eye.

• Cozy Blanket
• Comfortable Pillow
• Earplugs
• Pepper Spray

Clothing and Accessories for Your Road Trip Packing List

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We are all about being outdoors, that is why our road trip pack list mainly includes breathable, comfortable clothes. They also come in handy on long drives. When trying to figure out which clothes to pack for your road trip, try to stick to the same color patterns so that most of your clothes match.

Also keep in mind that less can be more, especially when you just have a certain space available which you want to keep organized. Instead of overpacking, we utilized laundromats all over the country to wash our clothes on the road.

Make sure to bring these clothing items and accessories on your next road trip:

Breathable, Comfortable Clothes
Expect to sweat a lot on your outdoor adventures, so sweat-absorbing shirts, long sleeves, and pants are essentials for a road trip.

We would recommend clothes out of polyester or nylon. All of these materials move your sweat away from your skin and dry quickly. Also, make sure that you can move freely in your clothes since you will have to be flexible on your hikes.

Warm Mid Layers
Wherever we go, we bring a warm layer. Even in the hottest destinations, it can get chilly in the evening and you can always use a thick hoodie/sweater to feel more comfortable on the road or on the plane.

Fancy Outfit
When we hit some cities along the road, we make sure to bring one or two nice outfits for a fun date night. That includes a nice top with a pair of jeans, and a pretty dress, or skirt.

Hiking Clothes
If you plan on doing a lot of hiking or outdoor adventures, you are going to need a good pair of hiking shorts, hiking pants, a T-shirt, a long sleeve, and hiking socks.

Swimwear
More essential things to take on a road trip are swimwear and a quick-dry towel. No matter if you want to enjoy a cool dip in some glistening waters in the summer or a cozy hot spring in the winter, swimwear will come in handy.

Rain Coat
One thing we have learned on all of our travels is to always bring a raincoat with you. Weather can be unpredictable. For us, the perfect raincoat needs to be lightweight and easily foldable, so that it takes up only a small space in our packs.

Hats/Caps
Another essential for a road trip is a lightweight hat for your outdoor adventures, especially when traveling to hotter areas. We would suggest picking a hat that is light, foldable, and dries quickly.

Sunglasses
When it comes to sunglasses, we mostly bring two pairs. One fancy pair of sunglasses for our city adventures and one outdoorsy pair of sunglasses. You may even think about purchasing a cheap pair of sunglasses to use when you don’t want to lose or damage your more expensive pairs. Make sure to purchase polarized glasses to best protect your eyes and have the ultimate view without any reflection. Our favorite outdoor sunglasses are Goodr and SunGod.

Buffs
Buffs are a great travel item to pack for a road trip because they are so versatile in their use. You can utilize it as a headgear, face mask, or scarf. Check out the 12 ways to style your buff.

Packing Cubes / Plastic Bins with Drawers for clothes
Depending on how you are traveling, the best bet for packing your clothes for a road trip is with packing cubes or plastic bins with drawers. When traveling in our campervan we prefer plastic bins for our clothes to stay organized and neat.

Daypack / Backpacks
Having the right backpack for every occasion is essential to a successful trip. On our road trip checklists, we have a variety of bags that we use for different adventures. Here are some of our suggestions to add to your road trip pack list:

• Hiking: We really love the Deuter backpacks because of their functionality and slim fit. The absolute best feature is the ‘Deuter Promise’ which means you have lifetime repairs on your bags.
• City Trips: Our preferred bag for hitting the city streets is the Fjallraven Raven 28 backpack. It is trendy but also provides enough space for all of our essentials.
• Photography Gear: We have a few different bags that are great for carrying your camera gear. If you just need to bring your camera, batteries, and a second lens, the Peak Design Sling is perfect. If you need to carry more photography gear the Wandrd Prvke Backpack is our go-to.
• Packable Bag: When we are looking for a quick, easy, and foldable bag we grab our Matador packable backpack.

Don’t forget to pack these very basic essentials:

• Underwear
• Bras & Sports Bras
• Socks
• Sleepwear
• Belt
• Umbrella

Footwear You Have to Bring on Your Road Trip

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To have the right shoe in the right situation is key to fully appreciating your trip. Even though the list is kind of long, we cannot go without the following footwear:

Sneakers
One of the most important things to bring on a road trip is sneakers. We can highly recommend the waterproof Tropicfeel shoes. They come in handy in various situations, when you spend hours driving on the open road, during your outdoor adventures, or whenever you want to feel comfy.

Hiking Boots
Hiking is a major part of our journeys, so quality hiking boots are on top of our road trip essentials list. If you are not that much into hiking, but you don’t want to miss out on some incredible trails, a pair of sneakers with good traction might be good enough for you. Do your research about the trails before you pack for road trip.

Sandals/Flip flops
Our flip-flops have seen a lot of different countries. Even when you travel to colder areas, it is well worth it to add them to your road trip pack list. They are easy to slip on and great to wear while taking a shower in public places.

Optional: Special Shoes
Depending on your planned activities, it might be a great idea to add special shoes to your packing list for the road trip. Those can include but are not limited to, hiking sandals or water shoes. When we visited Havasu Falls we brought our water shoes to be able to cross all the streams on our hikes to the beautiful waterfalls.

Toiletries, Beauty, and Hygiene Products for Your Road Trip Checklist

To be honest, keeping up with your hygiene can be a little tricky on the road depending on where you are staying overnight and in which vehicle you are traveling in.

We have camped in our car in free campsites which didn’t have any facilities several times and very rarely felt dirty (Okay, there was this one time when all the shower facilities around us were closed and we really needed to get some dust off our bodies).

We used the following products to stay neat and clean on the road:

• Shower Essentials: Shampoo & conditioner, body wash, dry shampoo powder
• Solar Shower
• Shaving supplies
• Dental Care: Toothbrush, paste, dental floss, mouth wash
• Deodorant
• Camping Mirror
• Make Up and Make Up Remover
• Skin Care: Body lotion with SPF, sunscreen, chapstick
• Feminine hygiene products
• Haircare: Hairbrush, hair products, hair accessories
• Tissues & Q-tips
• Nail file & Clipper
• Tweezers
• Quick dry towel

Travel Tip: To keep all your toiletries, beauty, and hygiene products organized and handy, we highly recommend bringing a toiletry bag.

We already mentioned before, that doing laundry prevents you from overpacking. No matter where you go, you will always find laundromats where you can quickly refresh your clothes.

Therefore add these things to bring on a road trip:

• Laundry Bag
• Laundry Detergent and Tide To-Go Pen
• Clothesline/Rope

An item we never want to forget on our packing for a road trip list is our travel clothesline. When you plan on washing your clothes, you need something to hang them on and this is by far the easiest solution.

Health Items to Pack

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Looking good and staying clean is one thing but you also want to make sure to have everything you need to stay healthy.

Here is what to pack on your road trip to be safe and stay in good shape even in a pandemic:

• First Aid Kit
• Covid-19 Stay Safe Pack: Hand sanitizer, Sanitizing Wipes, Face Masks
• Basic Medication and Personal Prescribed Medication
• Insect Repellent

Cooking Utensils for Your Road Trip Pack List

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Save yourself some money by cooking on your own when road tripping in the USA. Don’t get us wrong, we fully enjoy tasty restaurant food but unfortunately going out for dinner every day sums up. On top of that, you will appreciate restaurant meals, even more, when you don’t get them every day.

Even when you have to take a plane to get to your starting point for your road trip, you can make it work to cook on your own. We brought all of the following products on the plane to Alaska with us or grabbed them at a store when we arrived:

Reusable Water Bottle
Reusable water bottles are great for the environment and you spend less money when you don’t have to buy plastic water bottles all the time. That makes them one of the best essentials for road trip. You can get different insulated bottles as well as collapsible bottles which are light and don’t take a lot of space and are therefore great for outdoor activities.

Filtered Water Bottle/System
When you want to do some backpacking trips or long day hikes, put a water filtration system on your packing list for road trips. As long as you know there are safe water sources around, give your back a rest by utilizing a water filter instead of gallons of water.

(Foldable) Water Jug
One of the greatest essentials for a road trip is a foldable water jug. It guarantees that you always have water in your car and you can easily refill it for cheap at a Walmart.

Insulated Cooler
When asking yourself what to bring, an insulated cooler should be one of the top things to pack on a road trip. If you are serious about road tripping, we can highly recommend spending a little more money to get a high-end cooler from Yeti.

In the end, you will actually save some money because you don’t have to replace the ice that often. If you get the chance, purchase block ice instead of ice cubes. It stays cold for a longer time.

Camping Stove and Propane
Different occasions need different camping stoves. On our cross-country road trip packing list, we have a standard camping stove for cozy meals around our campervan and a small and lightweight backpacking stove for our outdoor adventures.

Outdoors Kitchen Sets
We utilize two different outdoor kitchen sets when we go on a road trip.

• Pots and Pans: This outdoor backpacker cookset for 2 comes with 11 items. Besides a pot and a pan you also get plates, bowls, and mugs. It is stored in a stuff sack which you can use to do your dishes. Such a smart idea!

• Camp Kitchen Set: You will find whatever else you need to cook, in this handy outdoor kitchen set. It even comes with little spice containers, small bottles for liquid for you to individually fill it up, and products to wash your dishes.

Food Storage Containers
Pack a variety of different-sized, stackable storage containers and reusable bags to store leftovers or to pack some snacks for a hiking trip or a romantic picnic. We always try to avoid single-use paper or plastic products to produce less waste.

Garbage Can with Lid & Bags
Don’t overlook a garbage can. When you eat on a long drive or when you cook at your campsite, you always know where to put your trash. If you don’t want to bring a garbage can with a lid, another great idea to store your trash in is a big container for cereal.

And then, there are these essential items:

• Biodegradable Dish Soap
• Kitchen Towels (and Paper Towels)
• Long Lighter
• Swiss Army Knife
• Aluminum Foil
• Reusable Shopping Bags

Outdoor Gear Not to Forget

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If you are an outdoor enthusiast like us, you have to add some outdoor gear to your packing list for a road trip. We are obsessed with exploring beautiful landscapes by going hiking and are in love with a great backpacking trip in the wild. You will know best which gear you normally bring for your favorite outdoor activities.

Here are our must-bring products to hit the hiking trails:

• Backpack/Daypack
• Rain Cover for Backpack
• Drybag
• Hiking poles
• Insulated bottles
• Hiking Boots
• Hiking Socks
• Breathable Clothes

If your road trip includes camping or some backpacking adventures, these are additional things to pack:

• Tent
• Sleeping Bags
• Silk Sleeping Bag Liner (for hot nights)
• Pillows
• Sleeping Pads or Travel Air Mattress
• Solar Camping Light
• Headlamp
• Collapsible Table
• Camping Chairs

Last but not least, we make sure to have these miscellaneous items with us on our road trip adventures:

Travel Pocket Blanket
One item we love to pack is our pocket blanket. It is very light and small and you can use it for many different occasions. You can use it at the beach instead of bringing another towel, during your hikes, or when you want to have a picnic in the grass.

Utility Knife/Swiss Card Classic
A Swiss Card Classic is a super handy multi-tool for every trip. With the size of a credit card, it is the smallest multi-tool I’ve ever seen. It comes with a nail file, screwdriver, toothpick, tweezers, ballpoint pen, emergency blade, scissors, and even more.

Travel Binoculars
Binoculars are one of the things to bring for a road trip that gets overlooked. You never know what you can spot on the side of the road while driving or what you will find on an adventurous hike. Make sure you purchase travel binoculars since they are lightweight and smaller.

General Information to Consider When Planning a Road Trip

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When creating your road trip pack list, you always have to consider the following questions to figure out what you need for your specific occasion:

• In which climates will you travel?
• How long are you going for?
• Are you taking your own vehicle or do you have to rent one?
• Where will you sleep?
• What will you be doing (outdoor activities, city trips…)?
• Do you want to cook for yourself?
• What space do you have to pack in?

Knowing your destination, the itinerary, and planned activities will help you a lot to pack the essential items for your trip. Don’t get out of hand too much when packing tons of gear. The more specific and organized you are with your packing, the easier it will be on the road when you are looking for something.

After taking many road trips and testing out different packing techniques, we have found out that no matter how much you bring or how little you bring, you will always forget something. As long as you have your most important personal documents and road trip essentials for your car with you, you should be fine. The other products can be purchased during your trip if you really need them.

Top Tip: If you plan on road tripping around the United States and visiting the beautiful National Parks, we would highly recommend purchasing an America the Beautiful pass.

Which Vehicle to Take on a Road Trip?

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Deciding on what vehicle is best for your road trip can be difficult. But it is one of the most important decisions to make. Having the right vehicle for your needs can easily make or break your trip. In general, you have the option between a car, a campervan, or an RV.

There are a few things you will want to consider when trying to make a decision on the best vehicle for your road trip:

• Do you want to sleep in your vehicle?
• How many people are in your party?
• Where do you want to go?
• Do you have to pay for a rental? How much money do you want to spend?
• Do you feel comfortable driving a bigger vehicle?

1. Personal Car or Rental Car

A car is all you need to start an amazing road trip journey. It provides the transportation necessary to hit all your bucket list road trip destinations without the amenities of accommodations. There are a couple of different options for your overnight stay when you travel in a car:

• Hotels or Motels
• Tent camping on campgrounds
• Camping in your car

To save money on accommodation when traveling by car, you could think about giving car camping a try. On Campendium or Dyrt you can find free campsites to make your journey even more affordable.

Top Tip: In need of a bigger car for your road trip? Check out car rental deals to find the best car for your next road trip.

2. Campervan

Using a Campervan is our absolute favorite choice for a road trip. Since Campervans come in many different styles, sizes, and layouts, it makes it a very versatile vehicle for a road trip. Campervans have easily enough room for a solo road tripper, two friends, a couple, and even a family with young children.

Traveling in a Campervan you never have to worry about where the road will take you because you have everything you need with you. It is your transportation and your accommodation in one which gives you the freedom to just enjoy the open road.

Top Tip: If you don’t have your own campervan, we would recommend renting one from the award-winning Escape Campervans rental company.

3. RV

An RV is the biggest vehicle you can choose for your road trip. It is much larger than a campervan and gives you the luxury of having more space to travel and stay in. In our opinion, RVs are best for growing families, elderly couples, or individuals who need to have more space.

Unfortunately, they come with some big disadvantages. Some of the larger RVs are hard to maneuver in cities and windy backroads, and you won’t be able to access certain sections in National Parks. Also expect to spend more money on gas and for the rental, in case you don’t have your own vehicle.

Top Tip: If you want to rent an RV from private parties for your next road trip, check out RVShare.

The Best Road Trip Tips

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1. Utilize Reusable Kitchenware
Protect the environment by not using throw-away utensils, dishes, and plates. Instead buy travel outdoor kitchen sets which come with everything you need to prepare and enjoy a delicious meal.

2. Bring a Water Jug
Have lots of water with you at all times. You would be surprised how quickly you will use up water to drink, cook, wash dishes, brush your teeth, and do a variety of other things.

Depending on the length of our road trip, we either bring one or two 2.5 gallon plastic water jugs or collapsible water jugs.

3. Invest in a Good Cooler
Having the right cooler with you on a road trip can make all the difference. Stopping for ice can get pretty annoying and add up quickly. Don’t waste your time and money searching for ice bags. Spend more time enjoying the road by putting the money upfront and investing in a quality insulated cooler.

4. Ask Locals for Tips
Who knows the area better than a local, right? If you can, it is always a great idea to get a local perspective. This is especially true when you are looking to find some hidden gems. Almost on every road trip, we have talked with locals to find the best places to eat, camping destinations, unusual attractions nearby, and more.

Locals can be some of the best and most helpful resources you can find on the road. So don’t be afraid to ask for advice.

5. Download Whatever You Need Before Your Departure
Depending on where you are road tripping, service can be spotty, especially in the U.S. National Parks. Don’t forget to download music, TV shows, or even tickets for your activities in advance. Before we start any journey, we like to download a bunch of shows from Netflix or Hulu on our tablet. We don’t like to miss out on watching our favorite show because of poor service.

6. Get Your Car Ready
Your vehicle is the most important thing to prepare for a road trip. Do not forget to get the vehicle checked out before you leave on your journey. Take it to a garage for a quick inspection to make sure everything is in good working condition to prevent any mishaps on the road.

Here is a quick list of things to check on your vehicle before heading out on the road:

• Oil
• Windshield wiper fluid
• Tire pressure
• Tire wear and tear
• Breaks

7. Find the Best Apps
These apps can be extremely useful while road tripping:

Map Apps: Of course, there are a bunch of different apps out there you could use for navigation. The apps we tend to stick to and which work well for us are Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Maps.Me.

Traffic Apps: If you hate sitting in traffic, use apps like Waze or Google Maps to help you avoid any unnecessary traffic jams.

Camping Apps: Doing a little camping on your road trip? We use a variety of apps to find free and cheap camping areas throughout the United States.

• Campendium
• The Dyrt
• iOverlander
• Hipcamp

Gas Apps: Gas can really add up on a road trip. Keep your road trip going longer by finding the cheapest gas around using apps like GasBuddy.

Hiking Apps: Never get lost on the trails by using Alltrails Pro’s downloadable offline hiking trail maps.

7. Travel Partner
Having the right travel partner is probably one of the most useful road trip tips that no one thinks about. Why would it be important? Well, you don’t want to be stuck in a small space for long periods of time with someone who gets on your nerves. Road trips can test even the best of relationships.

On the flip side, road trips can also help build a relationship because it allows you to reconnect and work with one another. We have found on our road trips across the United States, traveling together has made us a stronger couple because you never know what challenges might come your way on the road.

FAQ: Packing for a Road Trip

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When should you start packing?

A rough idea on when to start creating your packing list for road trips would be 3-4 weeks before you start your trip. You want to make sure to give yourself ample time to see and order what you still need to get for your trip. The longer the road trip, the earlier you should begin.

Start the actual packing process a couple of days prior to your departure. We suggest laying out items into different categories to stay organized.

Top Tip: As you pack, make sure to use our downloadable PDF road trip packing list to check off items as you go.

What should you not forget?

Of course, you would love not to forget anything, but unfortunately, we all know this will probably never happen no matter how well you prepare your road trip pack list.

Items you definitely will not want to forget are the items you can’t just pick up anywhere like:

• Driver’s license and ID
• Car/travel/medical insurance
• Car registration
• Credit cards
• Other documentation

What is the best time to take a road trip?

Anytime. Right? I mean road trips are great any time of the year. If you can find the time, then hit the road. However, if you happen to be road tripping around the United States, then here are some suggestions when to go where:

• Winter – Pacific Coast Highway, The Florida Keys, Million Dollar Highway (Colorado), The Seward Highway, Utah’s National Parks
• Spring – The American Southwest, Columbia River Scenic Highway, Oregon Coast
• Summer – Route 66, The Olympic Peninsula
• Fall – Blue Ridge Parkway, Kancamagus Highway, New England, New York Finger Lakes, Vermont Route 100

What are some good road trip snacks?

Who doesn’t get hungry on a long drive? Everyone loves to munch on some snacks while hitting the road. Here is a quick list of easy snack items to pack for a road trip:

Healthy Snacks:

• Granola and Energy Bars
• Dried Fruit
• Nuts
• Fresh Fruit & Veggies

Fun Snacks:

• Chocolate
• Pretzels/Popcorn/Chips
• Mints
• Gum

Quick Lunch:

• Sliced Bread
• Sliced Meat
• Cheese Sticks
• Hummus
• Canned Tuna (…with an easy-open can)
• Hard-Boiled Eggs
• Crackers
• Peanut/Almond/Sunflower Butter
• Jam

How do you pass time on the road?

This usually ends up being people’s top worry before heading out on the road. But you tend to find out quickly how beautiful, calming, and relaxing it is to be out on the road. Time actually goes faster than you think.

Now don’t get us wrong, as soon as you hit those treacherous and unavoidable traffic jams time begins to move ever so slowly. So when you are feeling like time is standing still, keep yourself entertained with some unique road trip games.

How should I pack my car for a road trip?

All the big items you don’t need at a moment’s notice can be packed in the far part of your truck. Utilize the other space for those smaller, more pliable items to fill the gaps.

The most important car packing tip is to keep the bag of essentials in the back seat within an arm’s reach for easy access.

We also like to utilize a back seat organizer to store all those small items we use frequently.

Where can I sleep?

We like to save our money on sleeping accommodations when road tripping. Our camping essentials are things to pack for a road trip since they let us be more flexible with our accommodations.

To find cheap and free camping across the United States, we use apps like Campendium, iOverlander, The Dyrt, Hipcamp, and Freecampsite.net. You can usually find the best free camping destinations on BLM lands which are more frequently found in the western part of the U.S.

We have also found ourselves sleeping at Walmart, Cracker Barrel, truck stops, travel centers, rest areas, and other outdoor/camping stores. Although these places are not ideal, they do provide a free place to sleep on the road.

How do you shower?

On our first road trip, showering was a major concern for us because we knew we would be staying overnight in a lot of spots without any amenities. However, we found out that finding shower options were much easier than we anticipated.

Some great places to shower while on the road are actually at truck stops, such as Pilot Flying J and Love’s. Shockingly the shower amenities are very nice but do come at a price.

We also brought along a solar shower for the days we spent out in the middle of nowhere and could shower right out the back of our campervan.

If you stay in hotels/motels or regular campsites, you won’t have any issues finding shower facilities.

How do I get on the Internet?

Getting the internet on the road can sometimes be spotty. There are different ways to make sure to go online:

1. Having a decent data plan with unlimited wifi so you can always use your phone when there is not free wifi
2. Using a Wifi Hotspot device to have internet access which (it is a little pricy)
3. Stopping in a coffee shop, Panera, or other shops to access their wifi

How much does a road trip cost?

Ahhh, the question everyone wants to know! The cost of a road trip is dependent on so many things. Here are some things to consider when determining your road trip budget:

1. Do I have to rent a vehicle, campervan, or RV?
2. How long is the road trip?
3. How many miles will I be traveling?
4. What is the price of gas?
5. How many times will I eat out or go to the grocery store?
6. What kind of activities will I be doing?
7. Where will I sleep?
8. What do I need to buy for my road trip?

Now, there may be a few more things that can contribute to road trip costs but these are pretty much the heavy hitters. We have found numerous ways to cut costs on our road trips which enables us to stay on the road for longer.

All in all, Road trips do not have to cost a lot of money. We find it to be one of the cheapest ways to travel.

What is Your Favourite Road Trip Packing List Item? Did We Forget Anything?

Let us know in the comments below!

Our Other Resources for Road Trips

• 31 Best Games for Road Trips for Adults to Beat the Boredom
• 90+ Road Trip Quotes to Excite You to Hit the Road
• Road Trip Across the United States: 9 Week Itinerary
• Explore Utahs National Parks in One Unforgettable Road Trip
• Plan a Trip from Zion to Bryce Canyon: 2 Utah National Parks
• 45 Useful Gifts for Road Trips You Didn’t Know You Needed
• 40 Perfect Road Trips from New York City to Take

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