6 Tips for a Perfect Road Trip

By Jessica Dunham, author of Moon The Open Road

The open road awaits! Here’s how to plan an epic—and stress-free—adventure on four wheels from expert traveler Jessica Dunham, author of the newly released The Open Road: 50 Best Road Trips in the USA.

Decide where to go

The first step to executing the ideal road trip? Choosing a destination. Depending on your schedule, your trip might be a quick weekend getaway or a longer two-week, cross-country journey. When selecting where you want to travel, consider your driving comfort level and experience, as well as the type of vehicle you’ll be using. Speaking of mode of transportation…

Get a tune up

Making sure your vehicle is up to date on all required maintenance before embarking on a road trip should be priority Number One. Have a mechanic check the tires and tire pressure, belts, hoses, and all lights and turn signals. Also ask them to check the vehicle’s fluids (oil, brake, coolant, and power steering), test the vehicle’s battery, and replace wiper blades if necessary.

Pack emergency essentials

This is another road-trip must-do. Follow this checklist: first aid kit, 3-5 gallons of drinking water, jumper cables, spare tire or tire-repair kit, flashlight, new batteries, blanket, emergency flares, waterproof matches, a few towels or rags, and non-perishable snacks.

Set a schedule

The magic of a road trip is indulging in spur-of-the-moment decisions, but having a loose outline of where you’re going each day and how long it takes to get there keeps things moving along smoothly. Plan for 4-5 hours of drive-time per day, although this is up to your comfort level and goals for the trip. If you want to stop often and see the sights, allow for less daily mileage. If you’re hoping to simply get from Point A to Point B, add more drive-time. In general, for a 14-day trip, aim for a total of 1,600-1,800 miles; for three days, plan for 200-300 miles.

Bring a paper map

Modern-day navigational tools are excellent, from the built-in navs in most vehicles to smartphone apps. But as a back-up for when Siri suggests an unknown route or when the Wi-Fi signal is non-existent, a road atlas can come in handy. It also offers you a bird’s-eye view of where you are in relation to other places, which can be helpful in picking fun side-trips to augment your itinerary.

Don’t forget snacks and entertainment

A small cooler filled with grab-and-go snacks and drinks is great for those long stretches of highway where gas stations and restaurants are few and far between. Same goes for music, podcasts, and audio books. Download any playlists, movies, shows, and books over Wi-Fi before you hit the road to avoid racking up data charges.

Jessica Dunham

About the Author

Jessica Dunham lives in Phoenix with her husband and two spunky dogs, but inherited a family summer home on Lake Champlain in Vermont. This seemed heavenly to her, until she tried to imagine getting there from halfway across the country. Then it required some effort and a little imagination. The only way to transport the herd from one place to another was to pile into a Jeep and drive. That's is how she came to know and love the Mother Road, and became an expert on the ins and outs of Route 66.

She's since driven from Phoenix to Vermont and back again six times, traversed the Southwest portion of Route 66 hundreds of times, napped in leafy parks, slept in a wigwam and at a Best Western, camped in tents, dined at mom-and-pop eateries, met strangers, and made friends in almost every town dotting the famed highway. She's seen the sun rise over Illinois cornfields and watched it set over the Pacific Ocean. After all this, she considers the beating heart of blacktop from Chicago to Santa Monica home.

Formerly a travel guide editor at Madden Media, Jessica is now a freelance travel writer. Her writing has been featured in PHOENIX magazine, Valley Guide, Phoenix Travel Guide, Arizona Visitor's Guide, Midwest Living, Phoenix New Times, Modern Luxury, Annapolis Visitors Guide, Connecticut Visitors Guide, Runner's World, Jane, Discover South Carolina, and more. Jessica is also the author of The Open Road: 50 Best Road Trips in the USA.

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