Road Trip Planning

Now, I'm no expert on road trips since I've only ever planned one myself, but I do have some tips and tricks for you if you're planning one.


Back in 2014 my sister, a friend and I, packed up our mom's Dodge Journey drove 1,885 kms to a different province for the Cavendish Beach Music Festival. This involved driving 9 hours across our own province, a 6 hour ferry, getting lost in Nova Scotia, and again in P.E.I until we finally showed up on my aunt's doorstep. It was a great adventure. The concert was also great and is still probably one of the best birthdays I've ever had.

So, if you are thinking about hitting the road there is a few things you should keep in mind, if you are heading on a road trip with a destination.

One: Budget

You should really do this. Plan out how far you will be going and how much money you can put away for this. How much gas may you be spending on this, additional costs such as ferries, tolls, food and determine just how much this trip is going to cost all together and divide up among everyone how much each person should put forward. It's also good to know how far your car can go on a full tank of gas. Newer models usually will tell you, but if you have an older model before 2013 or 2014 it probably doesn't tell you. When we went the Journey never told us so I filled it up reset the trip and then when it was pretty much on empty I checked how long the trip was before getting gas again. This gives you a ball park figure of how far you can get by the amount of liters your car can hold. You can pretty much sum up then how often you will have to fill the car up on your trip based on the amount of kms you'll have to go.

Two: Research

If you're going a way you've never gone before look up what's along the way. See how many gas stations are on your route because that dreaded I'm running out of gas, but feel like I haven't seen a gas station in years is NOT a great time! There's a section in Newfoundland where you're not running out of gas yet, but the next gas station you won't reach until you're empty and it's too late. So, plan ahead. If you have to take a ferry look into buying the pass before hand, you will usually save money rather than when you buy it when you get there and determine how much time you should be planning before you get there.

Three: Buy Snacks

Do this. Head to the Dollarstore and just stock up on inexpensive snacks or breakfast bars. This will save you so much money compared if you always stop to a restaurant along the way. A small cooler will come in handy for this as well for any fruit or water you wish to keep cold. The Journey was great because it had under the floor cooler storage and also in the dash on the passenger side you could fit three or four soda cans or two water bottles in there to keep them cold. Anyway, for sure bring snacks and lots of them.

Four: Plan your outfits

If you're going for a few days or a week plan out those outfits. If you're planning on being in the car for most of it you really won't have to worry about getting too dirty and if you end up staying over night somewhere there's always a laundry mat somewhere. You can always wash clothes and that way you're taking up a lot of room in your trunk especially if you have a couple of people going.

Five: Insurance

If you do happen to be going for a while and want someone else to be driving for a bit. Call your insurance company. It is usually not too expensive to have someone temporarily put on your car insurance. This also saves you the hassle of having to drive all the way yourself or if you do let them drive and an accident occurs you'll at least be covered in that event. Best to be safe than sorry.

Six: Get Maps and Guides

This is a must. Even if you think you don't need it or you have a GPS why would I need a map. You never know what could happen. For example, the reason we got lost in Nova Scotia was due to our GPS crashing when we stopped to a newly open Walmart near the ferry that was being shown on the GPS as a park. It then got confused and would not work. We had to rely on signage and our phones (oh how horrible the bill was that month) to get us the rest of the way to P.E.I. Well most of the way, we managed to find a information center along the way and the lady there thankfully gave us maps of Nova Scotia and P.E.I and told us exactly how to get to the ferry. That's another thing don't be afraid to ask for help or stop into those places. They're there for a reason and that's to help people. I know, I've worked in one for 7 summers. Never be afraid to ask for help!

Seven: Organize everyone's everything

With packing make sure everything is together that way you don't have to route around the trunk trying to find a new pair of socks. Keep most of your snacks with you in the car and clothing, gear, or whatever else you're taking in the trunk. Keep this part organized too. You'll thank yourself later when you have to stop or heaven forbid get a flat and have to take the dummy tire out. Much easier if everything isn't in a mess. On to point eight...

Eight: Tires Understand Them

Bring a tire pressure gauge with you. Look up how to change a tire, print off the instructions and put that in your glove compartment. You could be out of service when it happens or have no data. So, best to have it there on the safe side. Especially if no one whose going on the road trip knows how to change a flat.

Nine: Have a family contact plan

If you're going far from home have a plan. Have a rough idea of where you will be what day so that in the event something does happen your family will know where they could reach you or if they should call the police. Not that road trips are scary, but if it is your first one it's best to be safe.

Ten: Have fun!

Not to scare you in the last one, but for sure just have fun. Enjoy the trip and the views and don't forget to stop and explore outside the car at times before you head out on your road trip! Take pictures and take it all in.


I hope you have enjoyed this post. If you guys are or aren't enjoying these things in life type of posts let me know. Would love to hear your thoughts as I develop more content. Have you guys ever gone on a road trip? Where did you go?

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you all have an amazing week!

Jessie xoxo