Summer time is fast approaching us, which only means one thing: road trips! In the midst of planning a two-week road trip out to Colorado, Utah and Arizona, it’s only natural to share some of our top tips and tricks when planning a road trip. Here are our Top 5 Road Planning Tips! Whether you are going for a long weekend for a month, make sure to keep in mind the following things:

1. Get a Tune-up on your car. Before leaving, it’s a good idea to have a mechanic look over your car to make sure it is in tip top shape. Now’s the time to replace air filters, get an oil change and any fluids topped off. You don’t want to be in the middle of the desert, or at the top of a mountain and have something happen to your car!

2. Pack Snacks and Drinks. You want to make sure to have enough road trip worthy snacks on hand to last you between meal stops. Some go-to items include gorp, smoked almonds, dried fruit (mangos are my favorite), apples, carrots and hummus and crackers. For drinks, having a water bottle for each member of your party is key, along with a few special drinks, like La Croix. Yes, you can always stop at gas stations for these items, but sometimes you will be in the middle of nowhere! It’s always better to be prepared.

3. Make reservations….but leave some room for spontaneity. I made sure to book most of our campsites in the National Parks we are hitting up (remember, they open 6 months to the day!), but we also have a few days where nothing is booked. Why? For a couple of reasons. One, I wanted to stay in a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) place in Moab. Two, what’s the fun of a road trip without a day or two of spontaneous travel? We don’t have hotels booked for the night before we get to Vail, our three nights in Moab, or the two nights in Bryce. I have a feeling we will be fine, especially with all the available BLM options out there!

4. Download your Favorite Songs, Podcasts and Books before leaving. Your cell service might be spotty at points and you don’t want to waste all of your service on one trip. Make a list with your road trip buddies on what you want to listen to and allow people the option of having turns (I like to let the driver pick what they want to listen to, since I normally read in the car). Need some good options? Podcasts: Slow Burn, The Dream, Gladiator, How I Built This, Fresh Air and This American Life are all great. I love creating playlists in Spotify and downloading them before a road trip. Some recent great reads: The Fifth Risk, Where the Crawdads Sing, Florida and The Female Persuasion.

5. Bring a Paper Map. I love Google Maps as much as the next person, but I also love looking at a paper map or atlas and seeing all of the places along the route, along with keeping track of where we are going. Also, these’s just something so romantic about a paper map….

What are your top road trip tips and tricks? Where are your favorite summer road trip destinations?

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Thanks for reading!
Amy K