Road Trip Packing Tips

Charlie and I recently got back from a big road trip to go visit my mom in Virginia! Along the way, we stopped in Lexington, Kentucky to break up the drive. Road trips are fun, but staying organized on a 10 day road trip with 2 humans and 3 dogs is a skill. In this post, I’ll share highlights from my recent road trip from New Mexico to Virginia, and give you some of my top tips for staying organized on a road trip.

I love taking road trips because you get to see how the landscape changes from place to place. I also love seeing the hidden gems and quirky places along the way. This was the longest trip we’ve taken with 3 dogs, so it really took some prior planning to pack right. Here are my top tips:

• Pack smaller themed bags. Depending on what I was packing, I used different sized/shapes of bags, but clear bags are my preference. I had a bag of snacks for humans, snacks for dogs, art supplies, clothes, etc.

• Don’t pack everything you need into each bag. Use an “extras” bag (I used one for my clothes and one for things for the dogs) for things I might need for the variety of weather we might encounter, or extra food/treats/medication for the dogs. This way, I could keep my clothes and dog food bags manageable. I stored the “extras” bag in a less convenient location, so I could access it if I needed it, but it wasn’t taking up prime real estate.

• Use a collapsable wagon for bringing supplies in and out of hotels. Ok, I may have gotten a few funny looks, but it was worth it. Rather than having to make extra trips to use the hotel’s carts, I loaded the smaller bags into a wagon, so it was easy to keep things organized and portable.

• Use two coolers. Since our dogs eat a combination of fresh food and kibble, I had to precook a bunch of food that I needed to stay very cold. I used a Yeti cooler with dry ice, and it actually kept things frozen for several days! We also had another cooler with ice packs that we could refreeze in hotel rooms (or use ice) for things we wanted to keep at refrigerator temperature.

• Dogs traveled in crates or were belted in. We used the back seat for two dog crates for our small dogs, and our bigger dog stayed belted in on a dog bed with her doggy seat belt. This helped keep the dogs calm and safe.

• Figure out “your” timing. Google Maps may give you an estimated time of arrival, but make sure to add some buffer in for stops along the way. The journey is just as important as the destination, so don’t rush the drive just to get to where you’re going. Listen to good music, podcasts, audiobooks, or whatever you feel called to do. We listened to the book “Good Energy” which was very motivating.

Here are some of the other things we brought that made the trip so much more comfortable:

-Lumbar support pillows for the car

-A thin lap blanket

-Stretching stuff. After long drives, we both needed to use the foam roller, massage balls, yoga strap, and other stretching devices to get our bodies in alignment. We particularly like “the neck pillow”- a foam device that Charlie purchased from a chiropractor. We have the gray one. I don’t see a way to purchase them directly, but we have found this particular one to be superior over other neck alignment tools.

-An empty hiking backpack for long walks

-Water jugs/bottles to refill

-Collapsible water dishes and a Water Rover

-Carpet cleaner for doggy accidents

-Window cleaner for car windshield

-Dish soap/sponge in a Ziplock bag for dishes

-A lightweight dog playpen

-Benadryl- one of our dog’s got stung by bees, so we were very happy we had this on hand

Here are some of my favorite photos we took on our trip. We enjoyed lots of BBQ, filled up jugs of mineral water at Hot Springs National Park, went to Kentucky Horse Park, Charlie’s friend’s thoroughbred farm, and we got to meet American Pharoah and Justify at Coolmore-Ashford Stud. We also went to Monticello and explored parts of Virginia I hadn’t spent much time in. The dogs all got to run around on my mom’s farm, and they were happy as could be, hunting lizards, squirrels, frogs, groundhogs, and who knows what else. This was a very memorable trip and we look forward to making it back out to VA next summer so we can see more family.

Sara and I have helped many clients get organized to prep and pack for trips. If you want help prepping for your next trip, please contact us. We would love to help you!