Road trips are a lot of fun! Travelling by car has a lot of benefits. It gives you freedom to go wherever you want and spend there as much time as you wish. To make sure that everything goes as planned, Alex had prepared some tips on how to get ready for a perfect road trip.
1️⃣ Get a good car. If you rent a car, choose wisely and pick a car for its practicality and reliability, not for its coolness. You’ll spend a lot of time in that vehicle and I can assure you that convertible is not suitable for road trips!
2️⃣ Check your car. If you use your own car, you’d better do a service check before you go. You might also want to check a spare wheel and tools to fix the car in case something happens. Or get a roadside assistance.⠀
3️⃣ Plan your trip ahead and find out what kind of roads you’re going to take. It’s good to understand if there are any gravel roads, off-road, toll roads or ferries. There also can be road closures.⠀
4️⃣ Download navigation app to your smartphone. I recommend using Waze as it works almost everywhere in the world. If you can, get offline maps. If your car has built-in satellite navigation, it’s definitely a huge benefit.
5️⃣ Make sure you let your family and friends know where you go and your approximate schedule. There is no cellular reception in some areas – don’t make them worry.⠀
6️⃣ Take loyalty cards. It will help to save money on fuel (I’m registered with all gas stations in NZ!) and groceries while travelling.⠀
7️⃣ Create a couple of playlists on your favourite music streaming service (I prefer Spotify) and download them so you can listen offline, if needed.⠀
8️⃣ Always have snacks in your car. It helps to save money and time because you don’t have to stop every hour to grab food.
9️⃣ Constantly check your fuel level. At some rural areas, there are no gas stations (like at the Forgotten World Highway) and you obviously don’t want to run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere. Never have less than a quarter of a tank left!
? Have fun! Make unexpected stops, make music louder, open windows and enjoy the scenery. This is going to be one of the best trips ever!
