Road trips are a great way to travel and spend time with the family, but if you’re looking to comfortably do both, you should consider planning ahead to ensure you and your loved ones can truly enjoy the experience as much as possible. Staying comfortable during long road trips is a make or break necessity, and one of the quickest ways a family road trip can go sour is failing to properly prepare the car for the journey ahead. That said, keeping everyone as comfortable as possible throughout your drive is totally doable and easy to navigate from quite a few angles.
Let’s take a look at some of the main things you can do to stay comfortable during long road trips. Even if you decide to follow just a few of these tips, you’ll find that your road trips will be so much more enjoyable as a result.
Optimize Seating Positions
No matter what, there is no doubt that sitting for hours on end will take a toll on your back and legs, so this is something that you are going to have to try and work around. One of the things that can help here is to adjust your seat so that your knees are slightly bent and your back is well supported. It’s a simple change, but it makes for a much better position — and one that is going to be a lot more comfortable on the whole.
You might also want to consider adding a lumbar support cushion or a seat pad to help reduce strain. In any case, making yourself more comfortable with the proper seat position or some quick and cozy add-ons is a pretty simple fix.
Wear The Right Clothing
Of course, what you wear is hugely important too. Before you hit the road, you should make sure that you and your family members are wearing clothing that is as comfortable as possible for those longer stretches in the care. If you can do that, it’s going to make a huge difference to how you can feel and what kind of level of comfort you have throughout each journey.
Try to avoid tight jeans and stiff fabrics; instead, opt for breathable and stretchy clothing. You might also want to make use of layers, as this is one of the best ways of ensuring you are keeping warm but also able to cool down again as the situation demands. Remember, the temperature may fluctuate a lot throughout the trip depending on where you’re headed.
Photo by Peter Fazekas via Pexels
Keep the Vehicle Clean
It is surprising how much of a difference a clean vehicle makes, but trust us — it really does. If you are able to keep the vehicle clean, you’ll find that it will make a huge difference to how you feel while traveling inside it. It may be somewhat unconscious, but being in close quarters with others for hours at a time is already tough. Ensuring the car stays neat as you go is a low-hassle way to usher in a much more comfortable experience.
Before you head out on your journey, giving your car a good once-over with a pressure washer and electric cooler should ensure the exterior is fresh. Of course, cleaning the insider is arguably more important, as you are much more likely to be able to keep comfortable as you travel. Consider keeping some shopping bags on hand to easily gather up any trash from snacks or drinks as you go. Whenever you stop to get gas or let everyone take a stretch break, use the opportunity to do a quick sweep of the interior before you get moving again.
Stay Hydrated
You will find that it really helps your comfort levels too if you are keeping yourself as hydrated as possible. This is the kind of thing that people often overlook, but it really can help. You’ll feel better mentally and physically, so this is an easy way to elevate your whole experience. Consider bringing along some refillable water bottles for your crew to avoid dropping unneeded funds to stay hydrated.
You want to avoid dehydration, but you should also make sure you are not over-drinking — otherwise you will be uncomfortable in a different way! You don’t want to have to take a restroom break every 30 minutes, after all.
Plan Regular Breaks
That being said, working in some breaks is essential. You and your passengers will truly benefit from having breaks pre-planned as part of the journey. If you can plan ahead, there should be no stress about lost time. These breaks are part of the process, to be sure that everyone is getting the time they need to stretch and avoid going stir crazy in close quarters. Without breaks, it’s much easier to feel physically and/or mentally uneasy.
The experience can quickly get uncomfortable, and you and your passengers might find yourselves wondering why you decided to take the trip to begin with. It’s about the journey and the destination, so do what you can to create some ease through the process. Working in breaks is a simple but powerful way to improve your trip as a whole.
Final Thoughts
These are just some of the things you might want to think about in order to be able to keep comfortable on long road trips.
You and your crew may have some specific things that help you feel most comfortable on the road, so be sure to prepare your vehicle ahead of time so that everyone stays happy on the journey. Soon enough, you will be at your destination!
