Ashley and I learned so much on our 35-day, 25-state road trip last summer! We also learned some tips for making your car ride easier! These are practical tips that just make your life easier. Today I’m sharing a few of these car hacks and travel tips we learned along the way!

1. Keep the bags you will need to access easily from the car in the middle of the back seat or on the floor in the middle

You know when you’re riding in a car and you need to reach something from a bag in the back but you JUST can’t reach it? Yeah, it’s annoying, especially if your next stop is in 3 hours. Plan ahead and think about the stuff you will need and keep it easily accessible by having it in the middle of the back seat so you can reach it easily from the front!

2. Turn your cooler so that the top can be easily opened from the passenger seat

We kept our cooler in the back seat on the drivers side. The worst feeling would be when we would try to open the lid and it would get stuck on the seat! It was too heavy to move, so then we’d have to wait! Try turning it so that you can easily open it from the passenger seat!

3. Freeze water bottles for long lasting ice in cooler

We kept a few frozen water bottles in the cooler to keep our items cold. When they melted, we could use them for drinking water and then freeze more later! It’s a no brainer.

4. Use a cereal container for an easy trash can

Ashley and I actually didn’t use this tip. We ended up just having a grocery bag. But we thought using a cereal container is a great idea for a trash bin that won’t take up too much space!

5. Keep a spare key on a person at all times

The last thing you want to do is lock your keys in the trunk in the middle of Wyoming and have to wait an hour for AAA to arrive when you had been planning your stop to Yellowstone National Park. Do I know from experience? Maybe…

6. Get AAA

Just do it. You won’t regret it. And if you need it, you’ll be SO thankful.

7. Keep a bag of coffee in the car to keep it smelling amazing

This one happened by accident. I kept coffee, tea bags, and other things in the back seat of the car because our trunk was so small. But it actually made the car smell like a coffee shop every time we got in! Which is GREAT when you’ve been traveling for weeks and things are getting dirty…

8. Wash and clean your car often

Your travel companion will thank you.

9. Lean how to make cold brew coffee

It’s SO easy! Every time we stayed with a new host, I was able to make a fresh batch of cold brew and keep it in the car and it lasts for days. SO WORTH IT.

10. Record your mileage before you leave!

It will be fun to look back and see exactly how many miles you traveled! Ashley and I drove over 9,700 miles and we are so glad we kept track of everything!

11. Get the Waze app and USE IT

Seriously. It saved us so much time. The one time we didn’t use it there was a major accident on the interstate and we got stuck in traffic for over 2 hours. Download it, use it, love it.

Stay safe out there, and happy traveling!

– Christi