Road trips are a great place for families to connect and have the time to have real conversations. I love them. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of road trips. From cross country, cross border, farm trips to going home visiting family. As much as I love to do these journeys I’ve come to realize that we all need a few things to make them better, whether it’s a few days or a same day journey. I therefore came up with these 10 essential tips for a road trip for you and your family.
1. Health and Hygiene Check
Your health is very important, I mean traveling sick especially for a trip that is meant to be fun can be strenuous for you and your travel buddies. So make sure you and your family are in good health. If you’re visiting a place that has malaria make sure you take the necessary prescribed medication in time.
From my experience, pack some anti-acids to avoid that indigestion as you try out new drinks and food. Also pack some remedies depending on what you’re normally vulnerable to (e.g headache pills,flu syrup etc).
2. Cooler Box and Beverages
At the moment, on average, temperatures in Botswana are very high therefore it’s imperative to always have a cooler box handy. In there you could pack ice cold juice, soft drinks,water and alcoholic beverages (for passengers ONLY).
*DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE*
3. FOOD
Have you noticed how food is in caps!? HEHE, that’s cos there’s nothing as frustrating as traveling early in the morning and getting hungry in the middle of the road with no signal, no store or food outlet. So before you travel make sure you’ve prepared FOOD. It could be any snacks, meat, carbs as long as they can easily be eaten and enjoyed even when cold. Plus if you’re travelling with kids food is always a good idea.
4. Money
As much as you may love traveling, being financially stable is key. You never know what will happen when you’re on a road trip.
5. Kit
There are many types of Kits such as a tool kit and a first aid kit. Double check you have a tool kit. You don’t want instances where you need road side assistance but you cannot be helped due to lack of the right equipment. Also a first aid kit could save your life! You can get one from Clicks.
6. Outfit
Clothes are very important whether you’re an average person or fashionista. An outfit will depend on where you’re going, if you’re going to a farm to help out obviously you won’t need to go all out. However if you’re on a vacation to beach you’ll obviously need those surf shorts, bikinis, summer dresses.
7. Research
Before leaving for a place research should be done. As much as we like to go against the norms and be different it’s imperative to respect the culture of those you’ll be visiting. Make sure you know how long you’ll be on the road and what to expect. You don’t want to be nagging people on why you’re not arriving already.
8. Be Open Minded
Every travel person should be open minded. You can’t be travelling if you’re not willing to try at least a few of the activities that will be going on in the area. You must be willing to get out of your comfort zone and be on the YOLO tip. But be safe all the time, there’s so much to live for.
9. Documents
We live in a world of laws and all that, a world that requires us to have some documents. Grab the documents that you know or think would be required from drivers license, passports, National ID, affidavits etc.
Still on the document tip, make sure if you’re going a across a border that you report it to your bank to avoid being blocked and stranded in a foreign country. Also get your facts as to how to roam from your network providers. Remember it’s obviously more expensive to roam.
10. Gadgets
Last but not least, grab all your favorite gadgets that would make your trip better from mobile phones, tablets, camera, laptop & GPS. And oh just don’t forget their chargers and power bank, you obviously don’t want any to turn off on the way because of battery right? Plus these are great for keeping kids distracted on long journeys.
Otherwise, note that I did not exhaust the list of options so do let me know what you think of these tips (if you’ve ever encountered a hiccup due to lack of any). Please also add if you’ve any tips for a road trip you think I might have left behind.
Happy Road Tripping!
Kago L Ngwato,as much as he’s an introvert ,he is also a lover of LIFE and a jack of all trades. He’s currently pursuing a Bachelor Degree in Economics and Statistics, is the sole creative director for his lifestyle blog, and a rising digital entrepreneur. Kago believes together we can do so much. In his spare time he enjoys trying out new things to share with his readers. Check out his blog – www.kagongwato.com
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