So you want to go on a road trip? I absolutely prefer driving versus flying unless of course I’m traveling to another continent. In less than 2 weeks, my family & the boyfriend are driving all the way to Boston and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I find with driving you can experience so much more of what the U.S. has to offer versus flying past all of the cute small towns or lush forests along the way. I wanted to give a couple road trip tips I learned to help create a smooth driving experience with friends or family.

Dress Comfortably for the Drive

I never drive in jeans because I want to be comfy if I have to be in the car for 10+ hours. I personally love driving in active wear because it’s soft, and doesn’t cling to you in hot weather. Sure, you can turn on the AC, but if you’re stuck in traffic with the windows rolled down, you will be sweaty. Active wear is the way to go for driving long distances. Also wearing sneakers versus flip flops is a must! It’s unsafe to drive in flip flops because it doubles the amount of time to move your foot from the accelerator to the brake. Please wear sneakers 🙂

Pack Sunglasses or a Hat to Protect your Eyes

Racine, Wisconsin. Can you tell I forgot sunglasses?

^^^ This will make your road trip pictures look better if you’re not squinting against the sun.

Plan out your trip, but leave room for spontaneity

Metropolis, IL

Figure out museums, parks and other attractions you must visit, but leave some room in this road trip for stops along the way. When I was driving through Illinois to get to Kentucky, we found the city with the largest Superman statue + museum. There was a sign alerting us to it so we pulled off and took many photos outside the museum and with the statue. It makes the road trip more memorable if there are stops that you weren’t originally planning for.

Have an emergency fund.

Include at least $400 for an extra hotel room, car repairs or medical emergencies. In June 2015, me and my friend drove to a music festival in Michigan. When we were pulling into the camp grounds, my car shut off and wouldn’t turn on. We were able to gather at least 10 people to push my car off to the side so I could call for a tow. This event unfortunately put a damper on our vacation because we weren’t sure how to get home and we didn’t have the $$$ for major car repairs. Thankfully it all worked out, but it could have been much worse.

Set a budget!!

How much will you spend in a day? How much are you planning for the trip? This is crucial to ensure that traveling doesn’t break the bank. Also when you think of purchasing a souvenir, actually ask yourself “do I really need this?” Sometimes if we truly evaluate our purchases before impulsively pulling out our credit card, we can make the right decision and not regret it later.

I hope these tips are helpful, but ultimately you will come up with your own road trip tips when you experience the pleasure of driving from point A to point B. Also if you’re from the East coast please give me recommendations of things to see. I have never been out to this part of the U.S. so I need all the help I can get.