Top tips for a great summer road trip

Weymouth, Dorset

Everyone loves a road trip, right? Blasting the old school tunes, packing the car full of bags – as if you are anything like me, they never all fit in the boot – and the biggest array of car snacks you have ever seen. This year I have been super lucky and been on lots of summer road trips, girl trips, family trips, work trips that saw me take in the sights of Fowey in Cornwall, Burton Bradstock in Dorset and Brighton.

But what does make a great road trip? I have put together the things I think are important to remember when planning an epic road trip this Summer.

The Playlist

No road trip is complete without an epic playlist of old school tunes, memory jerkers, sing along ballads and the hottest hits of the Summer. I use Spotify for all my playlists and I swear by it. You can get a free version if you don’t mind listening to ads, but I pay the subscription fee of just £9.99 a month and I can create as many playlists I want. You can also download them so you can still play them even when you are offline, perfect for something like a camping trip where you might not have much signal.

Your Outfit

I don’t know about you but I love to travel in comfort. However, you just never know when you may have an impromptu photo opportunity or bump into Ryan Gosling in a service station, so you have to make sure you do comfort with an added bit of chic. My absolute go to for road trips, flights or train journeys is always a good pair of comfy culottes accompanied by a sassy cropped t-shirt. I have recently been buying t-shirts and cutting them myself into tie at the front crop tops, great DIY tip right there!

SHOP THE LOOK

Top – Primark / Bag – River Island / Shorts – Dorothy Perkins / Sunglasses – Ray Ban

Safety First

Have you ever been on a road trip and broken down or had a flat tyre? Absolute mood killer right there. Make sure you do all the normal car checks before leaving or get someone to do them for you. Checking the oil, water and petrol levels – I know this may sound stupid, but it’s worth remembering – can all be the difference between the trip of a lifetime and a disaster. Another thing to think about is your tyres. Are they bald? Having a bald tyre is where the tread on a tyre wears down over time and when it is completely worn down to the wear bars, you have a bald tyre. That is not only dangerous but an absolute disaster for a girls trip, so get them replaced before a trip if the tread is wearing thin. Also, don’t forget to check if your tyres are all at the right tyre pressure? I am lucky in my MINI and it flags to me when my pressure is low. Not all cars do this. Make sure you take a quick trip to the local petrol station to check your tyre pressures and get them pumped up, it only costs about 20p. After all, nobody wants to spend hours on the side of the road waiting to get picked up by the AA.

If you are looking for tyres in Milton Keynes browse the Point S website.

Get charged

Don’t forget to charge all your tech. Laptops, phones, tablets, cameras, portable speakers – nobody wants to be running out of juice halfway down the motorway. I take a portable charger with me everywhere, it’s a blooming god send! You can get them for fairly cheap, even Primark sell them. But I would recommend investing in a decent one that carries multiple chargers, especially if you are going to a festival or something similar.

Set off early

I always set off at stupid o’clock for a road trip. Not only does it mean you get to your destination at a decent time of day, you usually can avoid traffic this way. Mostly I end up doing this as I just get stupidly excited before a big trip and can’t sleep anyway. I would say 6am is the best time to set off for a road trip, we did this on a recent trip to Dorset and were there before lunchtime, on the beach by the afternoon!

Lyme Regis, Dorset

And the most important…stack up on snacks

I don’t know about you but I am no fun when I am hangry. I have to make sure I have enough snacks and drinks in the car to keep me going in case we don’t see a service station for a while. Sweets, crisps, fruit – of course… – and the odd croissant are all my go tos. You do not want to deprive this lady of food for too long.

So there you have it, my ramblings and top tips for a great summer road trip. Where will your next one be? Let me know in the comments.

This post was sponsored by Point S.