We don’t get long summers in Toronto, so I like to take advantage of the short 3.5 months we have good weather. And normally I’d be traveling out of the country, but as you know with the state of the pandemic, things are still a little different this year. Since it’s so much harder for us Canadians to fly out of the country as well as the endless restrictions forced upon us, traveling locally and taking road trips this summer was my best option.
In the past couple of years, I decided to really explore places around me, and this year was no different. In fact, this summer I was able to take more road trips around Ontario as well as Quebec, than I ever have. Luckily, there’s a lot that these 2 provinces have to offer. From visiting the multiple wineries and endless breweries we have, to searching for clear lakes and nice beaches (rare around here), chasing waterfalls, hiking through the vast amount of forests we have, and more. It has been an amazing summer and it was never a dull moment. If anything, I was exhausted and am in need of an all-inclusive vacation to recover.
Now after (almost) weekly road trips and getaways for 3 months straight and over 8,000 kilometres driven, I want to share what I learned on my road trips this summer and how you can prepare for yours in the future.
1 – Make Sure Your Car Is Ready
Before actually going on your road trip, you want to make sure your car is in good working order. Windshield fluids topped up, oil doesn’t need to be changed in the middle of your road trip, your tires are at the right PSI, and all your lights are working. You want to be safe when driving long distances, especially when there might not be any dealerships or service centers around.
If you want to take extra precaution, I would recommend using a dash cam that has. I am currently using one I found on Amazon and unfortunately it is no longer being sold. But there are ones that have front and rear cameras, come in 4K recording, have Wi-Fi, records when parked, are super wide angle and more – so there a lot of options to choose from depending on what your needs or wants are.
2 – Get A Good Playlist For The Ride
I can’t live without my music and I have music for every mood. And when I’m on a road trip, I absolutely have to have a good playlist for the ride. My favorite genre of music for the past 7+ years has been Reggaetón as it reminds me of being on a Caribbean island, gets me excited for life, and I have a love for learning languages. But when my particular playlist does run out, I have thousands of other songs in multiple genres to choose from on my iPod. Whether you like listening to music or love to have a podcast going, it’s important to have some sort of audio for entertainment besides the radio.
3 – Pack Enough Water
I’ve shared in my 8 Ways To Stay Hydrated For Great Skin While Traveling blog post, when I travel I like to buy jugs of water for the trip. It’s not always easy to get water when you’re on the road or in certain accommodations and you want to make sure you have enough H2O to keep you hydrated. Don’t forget to bring refillable water bottles as they’ll be super convenient during the car ride, when you go hiking, or even walking around the city. Having enough water in your car, especially on hot summer road trips are much needed.
4 – Always Remember Your Sunscreen
No matter if you’re indoors or outdoors, it’s always important to wear sunscreen every day. Especially when you’re on a summer road trip, you definitely want to bring a bottle of sunscreen with you and even reapply during your drive. The sun will always be hitting your face, even through the clouds, and sometimes even more so on one side of your face when driving. Here’s A Guide To Sunscreen Use And Choosing The Safest One For You.
5 – Map Out Your Itinerary In Order To Save Time
Like I’ve mentioned in my Itinerary For A One Night Stay in Montréal, Quebec blog post, I like to not have to double back and waste time on my road trip. Sometimes, I’m really tight on time and have to plan my itineraries very specifically. So map out your itinerary ahead of your road trip and basically connect the dots on which locations you want to visit and in an order that makes your trip a smooth one. This will also help you or whoever is driving know where to go next and what activity is coming up.
6 – Don’t Just Rely On Your Phone’s GPS
Depending on where you go, getting signal on your phone can be tough. Occasionally, you’ll even completely lose your cell signal. Especially if you’re in the woods or the countryside somewhere. There was a time when I was on a road trip this summer and my cellphone just wasn’t able to get a signal after leaving a provincial park. And it didn’t come back for about 20 minutes or longer and I needed my phone’s GPS in order to get to my next stop. Luckily, my husband’s phone got signal back earlier than mine and we were able to use his GPS for navigation.
Aside from relying on someone else’s phone’s GPS, it’s a good idea to have an actual car GPS that you can plug in as a backup. Which I actually did have in my middle console, but at the time, I think I just forgot about it since I rarely use it. Some vehicles will also have the luxury of having an in-car GPS system and that can come in very handy. My previous Toyota Camry XLE Hybrid had this and I loved it, but when I upgraded to a Lexus UX (great for road trips and bumpy roads), it’s surprisingly missing that feature and it’s a huge pet peeve of mine.
Another thing you can do is to download offline maps of the areas you know you’ll be visiting. At least this way, you’ll still be able to get a map of the general area and have the ability to use your phone’s GPS even when there’s no reception.
7 – Get A Good Phone Holder
If you don’t have an in-car GPS navigation system or a plug-in GPS for your car, it’ll be extremely useful to get a good phone holder for your road trips. You want to be able to see your phone from a comfortable position and be able to drive safely during your trip. I would recommend not getting one that sticks into your car vent as it’s sometimes really hard to remove, and it won’t fit all car vents. I had one that fit into my previous car, but doesn’t fit into my current car. I would recommend something like this.
I actually got a universal phone holder where you place the magnet in the back of your phone case and the attachment to a part of your dashboard. I love that it is very minimalistic and subtle, and you could even miss it if you didn’t look hard enough. But the problem was that since it was so hot in the summer, the sticky part/glue kept melting off my dashboard and since my phone is so big and heavy, it wouldn’t stay and kept dropping my phone. Luckily my cupholder is in a good place where I can place my phone and still see my maps when needed. But do keep in mind that when you are taking summer road trips, heat can really affect the glue or sticky part of your phone holder.
8 – Keep A Phone Charging Cable In Your Car
If you’ll be using your phone as a GPS, it is important to keep it charging when you’re driving. It will quickly drain your phone battery and you don’t want to get off at your stops and not have enough battery for photos, videos, texting, and whatnot. I like to be prepared so I keep a phone charging cable at home, in my travel bag, and in my car. Because as most of us know, these cables are either easy to forget or easy to lose.
And when you’re on the move a lot, especially on a road trip, it’ll just be more convenient to keep one in the car at all times.
9 – Have Snacks On Hand
I’ve said this a few times in different blog posts, I always need to have snacks with me. But I definitely over-packed snacks on some of my trips and never ended up eating any of it. I think it will be useful if you’re going to a place where there won’t be a lot of food, or easy to access food. But if you’re going on a road trip where you have many restaurants and stops planned out, just bring a few snacks – and ones that won’t go bad. I literally had a whole grocery bag of snacks and honestly, it was just another bag to take with us when we’re already carrying our luggage, backpacks, shoes, and cooler (for drinks).
10 – Bring A Cooler Or Cooler Bag
I have a cooler bag that I purchased from Wal-Mart for $10 CAD. I used it for drinks and sandwiches and put 2 ice packs inside and it worked better than expected. It actually kept our food and drinks cold for the entire day and the ice barely melted. This size was perfect since we don’t have a lot to bring (and it still looked stylish – mine is yellow) but if you want to cook up a storm, you’ll probably want a much larger cooler box. This is especially useful for summer road trips as it can get really hot and you don’t want your food going bad. Plus, a cold drink is so refreshing.
11 – Have A Garbage Bag In The Car
As you may stop at a drive-thru for a coffee or food during your road trip, you’ll find that you have nowhere to throw your garbage out. I find it very helpful to have a few plastic bags with you where you can put all your garbage and throw out at your next stop. That way you can keep your car clean and your garbage in one place.
12 – Gas Up Your Car
If you see yourself running low on gas, get to the nearest gas station! I like to use the GasBuddy app to find cheaper gas as the price range can be quite significant between different gas stations locations. But be sure that you have enough gas in your tank to take you to where you need to go as some parts of your drive can be in the middle of nowhere for miles on end. Especially in Canada, we have a lot of land and not all of it is developed. Bonus Tip: While you’re at the gas station, try to squeegee or wash your windshields and front bumper. I guarantee you it will be full of splattered bugs. And the longer your road trip is, the more you’ll get. And it makes it hard to see out your window since the windshield fluid and wipers aren’t strong enough to get rid of it.
13 – Take A Break When You Need It
It is extremely tiring to drive all the time, especially when you’re the one driving on your road trips. Coffee is definitely needed, but sometimes I found myself getting so exhausted from the long and sometimes boring drive. It’s super dangerous, but it was hard to even notice sometimes. I feel like I am so awake and concentrating on driving but for a split second, I feel my eyes closing. I think it’s definitely important to take a break when or even before you need it so you don’t get into an accident.
Also, make sure you get enough sleep too since not only are you driving, you’re doing multiple activities throughout the day. Also, it gets quite boring driving down the same road for hours with nothing in sight – having your travel companion be alert is helpful as well as any other form of audio entertainment I mentioned above. Sometimes even cracking a window for cooler air may help.
14 – Keep A Tissue Box In The Car
If you don’t already keep a tissue box in your car for emergencies, it’ll be very useful to have one for your road trip. Whether it’s wiping your hands from food or drinks or having to blow your nose or catch a bug in the car, you’ll need it more than you know.
There’s also been times when I stop for a washroom break, forgot my pocket tissues, and needed to go to my car to get tissues since the washrooms don’t have any!
15 – Bring Bug Spray
When going on a road trip, you may have some outdoor stops or you may even be visiting an area that’s full of nature. You want to be prepared with bug spray for summer road trips at all times. I’ve learned the hard way this summer when I was visiting Algonquin National Park to go hiking and forgot bug spray. The area was completely infested with mosquitoes and other bugs that we had to leave within a few minutes. On that same road trip, we made a couple stops in the area and the bugs were pretty bad that there wasn’t a second where there were no bugs biting or landing on us. It really made it hard to enjoy the trip. Bug spray doesn’t get rid of bugs completely, but it’s a huge help. Which leads me to my next point.
16 – Check Insect, Weather, And Other Reports If Possible
Early on in the summer when I went on my road trips, it was apparently Gypsy Moth Caterpillar season and I wasn’t fully aware of this. I read it on an online article in passing, but didn’t really pay attention and that was a big mistake. When I went to the areas north of Barrie, Ontario in Tiny and Midland, we made a stop to the Awenda Provincial Park, and it was infested with them. The ground was literally moving and cars were covered in them as well. A lot of these caterpillars were on the beach and in the water. They were also dropping from the sky and it was terrifying – I couldn’t even get out of my car at one point. That really put a damper on the trip and I feel like I had PTSD from it.
After that, I took a week and a half break from my summer road trips since I wasn’t sure how infested other areas would be. I also kept checking reports on whether they are present in certain areas. Thankfully, it only lasted a few weeks and they were gone by mid-July. But I definitely learned my lesson and will keep an eye out for this next year as well as any other insect reports for where I plan to travel to.
Also, it’s good to check for the weather and prepare for it if you are planning a road trip. You want to be well-dressed for either the rain, cold, or shine. Too hot, too cold, and too wet is never nice so I like to always dress for the weather. I prepare with boots, hats, rain jackets, umbrellas, layers, and whatever else is needed to be comfortable on my trip. And it does make a huge difference.
17 – Pack Your Own Towel
I’ve talked about this in my 13 Things You Need To Pack For The Cottage – Summer Edition blog post. It’s either a hit or miss when it comes to towels at your overnight accommodations in terms of quality. Sometimes the towels are of good quality, but other times, they pill and leave little fibres on your face and skin after you shower. And when you try to apply your skincare products, you feel the fibres sticking and spreading all over your face and body and it can be hard to remove. I’ve been packing my own towel in case that happened and it has come in handy many times.
Packing your own towel is also useful if you plan to stop at beaches or do water activities on your summer road trips and you aren’t staying overnight anywhere. You want to be able to dry off or have somewhere to lie down when you’re by the water.
18 – Pack A Travel Blanket For Extra Comfort
Hotel and rented accommodations don’t always have the nicest linens – whether it’s the bed sheets, comforters, or even pillow. The fabrics aren’t always soft and are even crisp and starchy. I like to bring my own fleece blanket since I know it’s clean and super soft and comfortable. My husband bought me one that is made specifically for traveling and you can either use it as a pillow, or unzip it and use it as a blanket. Here is a similar one to the one I have.
19 – If You Have A Tablet, Pre-Load It With Movies
You can use your phone too, but having a bigger screen is always better. I always like to pre-download movies for my tablet so that I can still watch them when there is no access to Internet. When you stay overnight for a road trip, it’s nice to relax at night in bed with a movie or two. The Wi-Fi at certain accommodations don’t always have great connection and you may not get connection at all or it can lag a lot. Sometimes, the TV may not be user-friendly or you don’t even have one in the room.
You want to be able to watch whatever you want, whenever you want in a comfortable place so it’s good to be prepared with entertainment. Plus, you can also use your tablet for games and other things.
20 – Don’t Over-Pack
Yes, you’re most likely in your own car when taking a road trip, but it’s important not to over-pack either. The more people there are, the more luggage there are. And don’t forget the food and drinks you may be bringing as well. And certain cars can only fit so much in the trunk and it could even possibly block your rear windows. That can be really inconvenient and even unsafe for driving when you need to see who’s behind you. You also don’t want to be carrying a lot of things since certain places can have tough parking situations.
For example, when I was in Ottawa on an overnight road trip this summer, the Airbnb we booked in Downtown was a 10 minute walk from the parking lot. We definitely had way too much stuff with us and it was a difficult walk. Like people (me included) who carry 20 grocery bags just so they only need to make one trip, I’m the same with not wanting to make multiple trips back and forth to the car and my hotel.
21 – Don’t Overbook Your Summer Road Trip Itinerary
I’m ambitious and don’t like to waste time on my trips. So I want to be able to hit every hot spot or point of interest when I’m in an area since it will be a long time before I visit again, if at all. I map out everywhere I want to visit and strive to hit them all. And if I can’t, it’s kind of disappointing.
But it’s important to know that things won’t always go exactly as planned and that there may be instances where something is closed on that day, you don’t get there in time, there’s too many people so you can’t get in, you get lost, or you spend too much time at one stop and don’t have enough time for the next. Don’t overbook what you want to do and see and make it a point to choose some of the must-see spots or must-do activities and make them priority to ensure you can do everything you planned. I need to keep this in mind as well. Plus, if you rush too much it can be hard to enjoy everything.
22 – Make Reservations
Whenever possible, make reservations for the activities you want to do ahead of your road trip. You want to be sure you can secure a spot when going to the places you plan to visit. It’s hard for people to always take time off or even have enough money to take a nice trip or to indulge in something and treat themselves. If there’s somewhere you’ve been dying to visit and finally have the time and money to go, you want to know you can get “access”. Whether it’s a reservation at a restaurant, a hotel you want to stay at, a spa treatment you want to book, admission to a theme park or national park – try to book ahead of time. Especially because there are still restrictions during COVID times.
To read more on how you can prepare for your summer road trips (or road trips in general), here are 13 Things You Absolutely Need To Bring On A Hike.