There are few things in life that can match the excitement, adventure and the uncertainty of a road trip. It surely gives you an extremely different perspective on life and what kind of a person you are. What you carry on your trip is a major factor in determining whether your trip will be smooth or fraught with anxiety and worry.

1. Your Ride

This is a no brainer. Indian terrain differs sharply from one city to another, even within city limits; there is no guarantee of the road condition. Choose a vehicle, which you are thoroughly comfortable with. Don’t opt for an SUV when you have no idea how to care for it. If it breaks down in the middle of the road, you’ll wish you had hopped into your trusted Maruti 800. Get your car serviced, fill it up with fuel and also keep a puncture repair kit at the back.

2. Essential equipment

This includes a powerful flashlight, maps or a reliable GPS system, mobile phone chargers, spare tires, a length of rope, a long stick (to ward off any animals), bottled water or an icebox, where you can keep ice cubes, sunscreen lotion, paper towels, batteries for your torch.

3. Loose cash

Shops in smaller towns and villages don’t accept debit/credit cards. Keep loose change handy for small purchases, like toiletries and food. Also, keep cash on hand ready to pay at tollbooths.

4. While traveling with children

Children can be the most wonderful or the unhappiest of travel companions, and a lot depends on what is provided for them. Bring along at least two extra sets of clothes, lots of napkins, diapers (if traveling with very small children), toys, board games, music and storybooks. Also, don’t forget to pack in snacks which can be eaten in a couple of bites, like finger sandwiches or cheese balls or fruit, a variety of dry snacks like biscuits, cookies, chips, granola bars, popcorn and lots of drinking water. Do not let them get bored or cranky. Get them to play fun car games like license plate spotting or fun songs or naming all the places they’ve just seen. 

5. Plastic/paper bags

You will generate an astonishing quantity of trash while you travel. Instead of looking for a garbage bin every time you open a pack of juice or a box of cookies, dump them all in a large, handy plastic bag and dispose it off later, when you land at your destination.

6. Sleeping bags/mats

A road trip is eventful. You may not get accommodation at a hotel or inn of your choice. A sleeping bag solves this problem for you. A good-sized bag, with a sleeping mat will convert any surface into a sleeping area.

7. A first aid kit

It should contain essentials such as gauze bandages, disinfectant lotion, hand creams, hand sanitizers, Band Aids, cotton wool, iodine, insect repellant, basic medicines for minor ailments like headaches, stomach ache, body pains etc.

Have fun on your adventure!