Tips for Taking a Long Car Ride

Just like reading car reviews in the Philippines, you need to take note of the things you need to consider if you’re planning to take a long car ride in a few days. Because it’s not something that you can just do on a whim, you have to make some reasonable preparations to make the ride as comfortable and as convenient for all the people who will be tagging along. We compiled some tips below to help you get started in the preparation phase.

Plan ahead.

Get your itinerary and other relevant bookings at hand. Probe for the tiniest details if possible. This will give you an idea of the routes you need to take even before you head out. Sometimes, you get the chance to pick between having a longer trip but with scenery in between and a shorter trip that can give you the convenience of getting to your destination as soon as possible. Discuss this matter with your companions and see what you can come up with.

Go for a stopover every hour or so.

Long trips that will take more than five hours to complete will have you asking for bathroom breaks, meals, and just some time to stretch in between the trip. You may plot timeslots to do these things all at the same time or you can space these out to give everyone enough breathing room. Just keep in mind that more stopovers mean more delays getting to your destination.

Prepare everything you need for the trip.

You’ll never know what will transpire as you go on a trip, so you better be ready with the essentials at the very least. Medicine, emergency kits, car repair kits, and spare parts are just some of the things that you need to consider your priorities. Create a list of all the things you have to bring as much as possible. This will help you track if you already have everything in the car or you still need to prepare or buy something else to complete the list. In this case, it’s better to bring more than you need than to have scarcity in the middle of nowhere.

Bring objects that can provide comfort.

Each trip companion will have different needs. If you’re looking to tag little ones along, you have to make sure that pillows, blankets, jackets, mini fans, and other related things are ready in their personal stashes. Make these things accessible to ensure that they can get comfort from these things as soon as there’s a need for them.

Stock up on healthy snacks.

Who says that only junk food should be the source of nutrition for a long trip? You can always go for healthy snacks if you want. You may even go as far as preparing a bunch of them a few days or hours before you go on your trip. Nuts, crackers, and some crunchy vegetable sticks are just some of the things that you can stock up on. Make sure that they are in spill-proof containers to avoid making a mess inside the vehicle.

Stay away from complicated tasks.

Whether you’re going on a vacation or a business trip, set aside the complex tasks for later after alighting the vehicle. Some of these things include making huge batches of payments, deciding on what insurance policy to go for, and managing numerous files while on your laptop. Actually, do away with the laptop if you can for the entire trip. If that’s not possible, at least wait for the next stopover.

Pass the time with quick games.

Long trips can get really boring especially if you have little access to your mobile connection. But if you can create some easy games to make your companions participate, it can be a good way to bond with them even if you have yet to get to your destination. 

Charge up your gadgets.

This may be one of the most important things you have to do before you set off to your target destination. Expect that when you go out on a trip, you won’t get access to an outlet or any other similar power source.

Bring powerbanks.

Speaking of a reliable power source for your gadgets, why not bring a fully-charged powerbank while you’re at it? Ideally, bring something with at least one 20k-mAh capacity powerbank to ensure that more than one gadget can get charged while on the trip. As soon as you get to your destination, recharge the powerbank to make sure that you can get full use of it again on your way back.

Take naps if possible.

While this may be somewhat difficult especially if you’re someone not used to sleeping in the sitting position, this may be a good tip to consider if you don’t have anything else to do at the time. Recharge as much as you can so when you get to your destination, you can get the most out of your experience.

Pack an extra easy-access bag.

It may be a sling bag or a small duffel bag. Actually, it doesn’t even matter as long as you have all the things that you need in that one bundle. Have a bottle of water, some candies, meds, and some plastic bags ready in that bag at the very least so you can easily pull these out when the need arises. 

Tune up to your favorite jam.

It’s nice to be on a trip while you’re enjoying the music. Sometimes, you can even associate the songs you play with the trip itself even weeks or months after the actual experience. In this regard, try to go for songs that are upbeat and catchy. Groovy songs can also be great choices to get everyone excited, especially if you’re somewhat nearing your destination.

Make some downloads.

If you don’t suffer much from motion sickness and want to catch up on your to-watch list, going for downloads is a great idea. It prevents buffering issues while making sure that you get the best quality out of the file you have just downloaded.

Bring on-hand cash.

When there’s poor reception where you’re heading, there’s a chance you’ll also encounter this problem during your stopovers. So make sure you bring some cash along and don’t depend too much on your e-wallets. Otherwise, you may have some trouble dealing with your payment if ever the store doesn’t have an option to receive cash online.

Wear comfortable clothes.

Forget power dressing when you’re about to go on a long trip. In this regard, go for loose clothes that can help you move and breathe comfortably. This way, you can enjoy the long trip and make the most out of the journey.

Hydrate sparingly.

This will help you minimize going on bathroom breaks. After all, asking for another quick break when you’re in the middle of nowhere is something that most of us aren’t too excited to look forward to.

Now that you’re already aware of the things that you need to do to make the trip comfortable and pleasant for everyone, the next thing to do is to implement the tips that you can and combine these with those that you already know will work based on your previous experiences with long drives.