If you’ve ever taken a road trip, there are some essentials that will make the journey much more enjoyable. If this is a family trip, get a list of destinations you plan on visiting and print directions to them. When you have directions pre-printed from one location to the next, it makes the trip more organized and fun.

Perhaps you are planning on going for a 3 day trip along the west coast and you want to see if there are hotels along the way. By searching for hotels in the city you’d like to stay in, you may find a few options for where to stay. When you find a hotel in these destination cities, make your reservations by calling them up at minimum a few days to a few weeks before you’d arrive. When you place a reservation, they simply secure it with a credit card but you won’t be charged until the day of your visit. This works well because you can plan your day out well based on where you’ll be staying.

Try and pack yourself a cooler if your trip will be several hours between destinations. A few sandwiches, and plenty of water will help keep you focused on driving and staying alert. If you are driving along the coast, you may find a good picnic area so having these items with you in the cooler will be good as there may be very few restaurants along the drive.

Always plan to spend at least an extra hour or so on top of what the online map may be indicating for traveling from point A to point B. You’ll be stopping and taking pictures, having lunch along the way, and even perhaps going for a mini hike depending on whether you like doing that kind of thing. If that’s the case, be sure to put a small backpack for everyone who’s going on the trip. So if you come to a place that looks like a trail might lead to a lookout, you can put some essentials into your backpack and not be forced to leave because of things you need that are back in the car.

Take pictures, videos, and try to keep notes on the places you visited. This will provide not only memories, but may be good suggestions to a friend who is considering a trip like this.