The attentive reader knows that I love a good road trip! I’ve written about my love for the road several times, e.g. here and here. So I was obviously happy to embark on a journey from Berlin to Copenhagen with Auto Europe in the beginning of March. Here’s my version of the essential road trip guide! Bon voyage! 

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Ah, the open road. There’s hardly anything better for a free spirit like me. Some of the best adventures of my life began with a road trip, and if I could have my way, I’d jump in the car today for another one. But some things take a little planning - a good journey, for example. So without further ado, here’s your checklist for the ultimate car holiday.

1. Be digital, but keep it old school

In a digital era like this, no one hardly use physical maps anymore. But they should - especially if driving in a remote area with no signal - or in case the cell dies. That does happen, you know. Keep a small stash of maps, directions and/or brochures in the glove compartment for emergency (and just because it’s old school and fun to look at maps!)

2. Get car and tires checked before hitting the road

Unless you’re planning to risk it all (which has its charm as well), getting your car checked and fixed prior to departure is crucial. You don’t wanna end up on the side of the road with no signal, a broken tire and no help in sight. Which brings me to another advice: always keep a spare tire in the trunk. And maybe someone who knows how to fix it. Not in the trunk, though.

3. Make a list of hotels or B&B’s before departure

One might argue that a true adventure doesn’t care for planning, however, I know from experience that a list of hotels can come in handy when you’re driving and it’s late, you’re tired and the last three hotels you called are fully booked. Make a list of hotels, hostels and B&B’s along your route (if you have any). You can of course also google them from the road, but a bit of preparation never killed anyone.

4. Set up an awesome playlist

You simply cannot say road trip without saying music in the same sentence (or perhaps that’s just me…) An epic playlist full of happy tracks will make the ride sooo much smoother and fun! There are a million ways to create playlists today, e.g. through Spotify or Google Play. I personally like a mix of old and new tracks from different genres.

5. Take all the time you need

We usually rush through our travels to get to the destination, but what if the journey is the actual destination? It certainly is when it comes to road trips! Take all the time you need to get from A to B. Remember to stop many times along the way to eat, walk, swim in the ocean, do a bit of sightseeing and take pictures and make videos. Grant yourself the freedom to take mornings off if you like to sleep in and prefer driving at night - or the other way around if you’re a fan of free evenings. A road trip grants you the ultimate flexibility to plan the journey exactly how you want it. Take advantage of that.

Now, over to you: do you have any good road trip memories? And do you like taking road trips at all? Leave me a comment below 🙂

NB! We all know that driving isn’t the most eco-friendly mean of transportation (which flying certainly isn’t either, by the way.) Help the environment a bit by opting for an eco-friendly vehicle, if you can. Check with your car rental company before booking.