The memories you make on a road trip last a lifetime, they’re the kind of stories you’ll be telling your kids in twenty years. They’re also a fantastic way to save a bit of moolah, because who needs expensive getaways when you’ve got a tankful of petrol and the wide open road ahead of you?
Thing is, all that time squished in a car with minimal personal space can be very tense, so you need some feud-preventing tactics up your sleeve.
Agree to a group contract from the get-go.
It may sound heartbreakingly legalistic, but setting some ground rules will help resolve the inevitable disagreements. Consider how you’ll divvy up driving time, allocate bathroom breaks, and split fuel costs. Are messy drinks allowed in the car, or nah? Who’s responsible for checking the car is locked up at night – the driver or the owner? Everyone’s going to be a lot happier when there are some agreed rules to follow.
Slow and steady wins the race.
A slow and steady road trip is a safe road trip. That includes the safety of your friendship as much as the risk of physical harm. Pick your end goal carefully, and give yourself more than enough time to get there and back with several hours to spare. You need a buffer against bickering (‘we wouldn’t be late if you didn’t spend 30 minutes in the shower this morning!’) and an excuse to switch off and enjoy the ride. The best road trips are ones without a deadline.
Snacks, glorious snacks.
Hangriness can and will get the better of anyone, so stay stocked up. It’s unlikely you’ll be having any five-star meals while you’re on the road, but try your best to accommodate everyone’s dietary preferences. Oreos and Doritos are great for the backseat bandits, but you might want to take a camping stove so you can have a few decent, hot meals together, or a soothing cup of tea.
Make sure the playlist absolutely slaps.
IMO, this is the most important step. In this golden age of music streaming, no longer are you confined to the number of mixtapes you can physically carry. Start a collaborative playlist long before your road trip kicks off so you can get the hype happening ASAP.
Picking the music is an excellent bonding activity, and if you accidentally discover one of your mates’ taste is terrible, you can veto their song choice before you’re behind the wheel of a two-tonne killing machine. As the great prophets of the internet once said, if the honour of the aux cord is bestowed upon you, you better not play trash. Bangers only, fool!
Expect things to go wrong, and embrace the chaos.
It’s Murphy’s law. It really doesn’t matter how well you prepare, because life is unpredictable, and road trips even more so. And that’s okay. Did I forget to mention that the most memorable parts of the journey are often the most disastrous ones? Getting lost, ending up in shonky accommodation, picking up shady-looking hitchhikers – those are the things that are most hilarious in retrospect. So enjoy the hijinks while you can!
