Preparing for a Road Trip

In October, hubs and I took a road trip to the French Riviera. We stopped by Montpellier, Frejus, Nice, Cannes, Monaco and more. If you'd like to find out more details, be sure to check out my post and vlog. This was our first road trip so there are certain things we hadn't thought about when packing and realized only when we needed them in France. I thought I'd put together a few things I wish I had known before leaving Barcelona.

1. Research the sites you want to see in each city

When taking a roadtrip, it isn't enough to just decide on what cities you'd like to visit because you need to have specific destinations to put in the GPS. On our roadtrip, we decided on the cities but not on specific sites we would like to visit, so we had to spend time in the evenings searching for interesting locations for the next day. Don't be too rigid with where you'd like to visit though because delays can easily happen and you may not have time for everything.

2. Order a pocket wifi

When we were planning the trip, I started looking into pocket wifis and where I could get one. My first impression was that it was a bit of a hassle so when hubs asked if I really needed it, I decided I didn't. Boy was I wrong. I was so excited about the roadtrip I wanted to share what we are up to on social media all the time. The internet at the first hotel was ok but that at the second was totally crap. I couldn't get anything to work, and when it finally did, it took forever. That's when I realized I should have gotten the pocket wifi.

3. Take an electric kettle

A road trip isn't a cheap vacation because you'll need to rent a car, book hotels, pay for tolls and the rest. Living in hotels means you'll either have to eat out all the time (which can be pretty expensive) or try and make some food yourself. For breakfast, you can get some fruits and croissants, and make some tea. And for dinner you can make some couscous and have some tuna. This is where the electric kettle is important.

4. Take cash for tolls

Roadtrip means you cannot avoid tolls entirely, and tolls don't always take credit or debit cards. I would also recommend taking lots of coins or lower value cash so you don't have problems with change. We hadn't thought about this much and ended up in a bit of a situation at some of the tolls, so learn from my mistakes.

5. Get some snacks

Before you set out, make sure to get some snacks from the supermarket. You're going to need it and it'll be cheaper than getting it at the gas station afterwards.

6. Take a pocket charger

Anyone who does a lot of moving around or is going on vacation needs a pocket charger. I honestly have no idea how I lived without mine because it makes life so much easier. I've got the Olixar Encharge Portable Charger which gives enough power to charge your phone 5 times. It is very handy if you're using your phone as a GPS, taking loads of pictures etc.

Do you have any tips on preparing for a road trip?