30 Important Road Trip Essentials You Need To Be Packing

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Who doesn’t love a good road trip?! Joe and I love to hit the road year round and especially during the summer. We had our first road trip of the summer this past weekend. Joe and I made our way to San Luis Obispo for our wedding anniversary. It’s about three hours from our home in San Jose. We have a number of items we make sure to bring on all our adventures. This trip inspired me to create a post on road trip essentials to put on your next packing list.

30 IMPORTANT ROAD TRIP ESSENTIALS YOU NEED TO BE PACKING

Snacks: Maybe really obvious but arguably the most important. Let’s be honest – we’re not fun road trip company when we’re hangry 🙂 My go to road trip snacks are: granola bars, nuts, chips, and gummy candy. With snacks comes the inevitable spill, I make sure to keep an OxiClean stain pen in my car to manage the mess. I’m excited to be partnering with OxiClean on the post! More about their amazing product further on in this post.
Beverages: I like an assortment of drinks to choose from. Typically we’ll stop for coffee early on in the trip. I also always make sure I have plenty of water on hand.
Medicine: Make sure you have any medicine you need on hold. I always keep ibuprofen and allergy medicine in my car in case I need them.
Google Maps: This one may seem obvious but I needed to include it. It’s really helpful to have an offline map – I mentioned wishing I’d done this in my Maui travel guide.
Tissues or Napkins: The worst thing on a trip is needing to wipe something off your hands and not having a napkin.
Sunglasses: Joe and I are both Ray Bans fans. I’ve been wearing Wayfarers for the past 10+ years. Joe loves his aviators.
OxiClean Stain Pen: This item is crucial for me. As a clumsy person, I spill on myself a lot. Honestly I generally use my OxiClean stain pen multiple times a day. I love the scrubber tip, which really helps tackle stains. I keep multiple around, in my car and home, so I’m never without one. Thank you, OxiClean, for partnering with me on this post!
AUX Cord: We need something to play music or podcasts.
Car Charger: Another necessity.
Sauce Dip Clips: Ok hear me out on this one: how annoying is it to hold food AND sauce while trying to eat on the road? These clips were a fun stocking stuffer I got for Joe. Last year, we obviously couldn’t eat inside restaurants so there was a lot of meals in the car. These are so easy – you just clip them onto your car vents and drop your sauce in.
Hand Sanitizer: This has become a staple for all of us. Most hand sanitizers are awful but this one is my favorite. It has plant-based alcohol and still kills 99.9% of germs. Win win!
Pillow: I love my travel neck pillow.
Entertainment: Line up your favorite podcasts or make a road trip Spotify playlist. Make sure you have everything downloaded so you’re not eating up data and battery during your trip.
Blanket: Whether you want to take a nap or need a makeshift picnic blanket, this will come in handy.
Reusable Bag/Empty Tote: This was something I found really useful in Maui. If you stop off for snacks or pick up souvenirs, it’s convenient to have an empty bag on hand.
First Aid Kit: These are important to have. Luckily I’ve never really needed mine other than bandaids but I still vote you have one on hand.
Water Wipes: I think these are supposed to be for babies but I use them for everything. After a meal in the car, grab a water wipe. If you spill something, grab a water wipe. Maybe someone is putting on makeup in the car and gets it on their hands – you guessed it – grab a water wipe.
Flashlight: Always good to have!
Jumper Cables: I don’t think I need to explain this one.
Multi-Tool: Joe just got one of these (for everyday use) and it’ll be a great item to have on road trips. It’s a 9 tools in 1. We use the knife, scissors and bottle opener the most.
Sunscreen: I hit it hard with the sunscreen. I keep body sunscreen, face sunscreen, and hand sunscreen in my glovebox.
Pen: It’s just something I find myself needing often.
Mini Fridge: Ok this one is extra and you may not find it a “necessity”. When I got this mini fridge for skincare, I had no idea that it can also be used on the go. It has an adapter that can be used in the car and fits 6 12oz cans.
Lip Balm: Preferably one with SPF.
Garbage Bag: I definitely recommend bringing a bag for trash you accumulate on your trip.
Reusable Utensils (includes straw!): These are great if you want to use less plastic. You won’t have to remember to grab utensils at the restaurant either.
Reusable Straws: This was something I really wished we’d brought to Maui. A lot of places are doing paper straws (which are the worst!) and it’s so easy to pack your own straws.
Car Seat Organizer: I love this organizer. It’s so useful! We keep this in our truck and store our reusable bags in it. On the road, it’s great to keep in the backseat with all your road trip essentials for easy access.
Cash: You never know when you may need some cash, especially if you stop by a little local business.
Towel: A lot of my road trips include a beach stop. Whether it’s sand, dirt, or something else, I recommend having a towel on hand.