Roadtrip 2016 Update: 2 Months To Go, So Much To Do!

Preparing for our 8-week roadtrip is slowly starting to feel like a full-time job. Even when we’re not googling filming locations, accommodation info and roadtrip packing tips, it feels like I’m spending half my waking hours just thinking about it. In my head, I’m thinking about things to buy before we go. I worry about what to pack, worry about my photography equipment, laptop chargers, warm socks, hiking boots, water bottles, travel snacks and so on…

We’re pretty experienced roadtrippers, so I’m quite certain we’ll be ok. We know what it’s like to live on the road for weeks and have limited space for stuff you’re bringing with you. Sure, it’s easier with a car than it would be to be backpacking, but still… dragging your luggage up and down hotel & motel stairs and into tiny elevators can become quite tiring. Especially if you travel like we do and move into a new hotel every single night.

So, there are a few super handy lessons we’ve learned and think might be useful for anyone traveling to distant places by car. Let’s call them…

The ultimate roadtrip packing tips!

Well, at least a few that I can think of right now. We’ll probably publish a big ol’ list of tips (or add some of them here) at some point as we prepare for the trip. (Hmm, maybe we could start working on that roadtrip guide we’ve been talking about for such a long time?!) (And how many brackets exactly can a blogger use in one paragraph? Quite many.)

The bags

But let’s start with this one: an overnight bag. Apart from your big bag of all-the-stuff-you-need, you’re also going to bring an overnight bag. Something that’s easy to carry, but has enough room for clothes and tiny shampoo/soap/conditioner bottles to last a night or two. This will make it possible for you to grab something from the big bag and take upstairs to your room in the small bag. Believe me, that’s what you want to do instead of carrying all that 30kg up there every night! But it’ll also mean you have to pack the big bag accordingly: keep it neat and have a system. That’ll make it easier to find whatever it is you need to find every night, while rummaging through the car boot in the dark.

The shoes

Depending on where you’re going, good shoes are an absolute must. Our roadtrip will take us to mountains, parks, lakes, countryside… but also to big cities and full-day-of-walking-on-asphalt urban adventures. So I’m thinking we’ll need to prepare with good hiking shoes as well as something light and comfy for hot days in the city. If you have any tips on where to get good hiking shoes, please leave a comment below! We’re not experienced in this field, so we don’t really have a go-to hike shop just yet.

The power

We’ll also be needing chargers, and I mean all sorts of chargers and adapters. As travel bloggers, it’ll be important for us to make daily social media and blog updates. So that means laptops, tablets (for sceneframing and map reading), phones, all of which will be needing power during the (up to) 12 hour days of driving.

The same goes with the camera charging equipment. I’ll probably be needing at least a spare battery to go just in case. Maybe even two charger so I can get both charged during our often too short sleeps.

I’ve been investigating our options: it seems a car charger that can be plugged straight into the cigarette lighter is probably our best option. Not all of them fit all the laptops, so it’s probably wise to ask someone at the store what goes best with what.

Like I said, there’s a thousand little things we need to consider. We’ll try to share all our tips and experience with you guys during the weeks to come. Plus, we’ll of course talk about our silly little sceneframing project and everything we need to do before visiting dozens and dozens of filming locations during just one roadtrip.

Have any good DOs and DONTs of your own for long roadtrips like this? Please share below! :)