Life Hacks + Little Secrets to Ensure You Have The Best Road Trip Ever: Free Checklist Printable, List of Must Have Apps, & More

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We've driven to tropical ports, trekked to campgrounds, cruised our way to luxury hotels, made our way to our extended family's country homes, and even braved our way toward spooky haunted hotels.

We've driven our car through a zoo in the middle of Arkansas and had a buffalo stick his head in our window just to say hello. We've traveled half-way across the country in a car without air conditioning. We've spent countless hours listening to a GPS who's maps haven't been updated since 2010 and then finally learned our lesson and started using our phone's GPS.

We've giggled for countless hours while joking around and singing along to some of our favorite songs. We've spent so much time on the road during our years as a couple, I suppose you could refer to us as a couple of professionals, so today I want to share some of our road trip hacks. Most of these "hacks" are tips, tricks, and little tidbits we've learned from life experience while on the road, so take notes if you are prepping for an upcoming road trip and be sure to print off the list of goodies, download all of the apps, and of course, pack wisely with the tips I've shared!

Let's talk about checklists... If you know me, you know I'm not really the checklist type, most of the time. When it comes to road tripping, I'm a little different though; I like to keep things organized and I really want to be sure we have everything we need while on the road. I've linked to a printable so you can make sure you grab all the necessities before you go, but first I'm going to share more about why you should take these items on your next trip!

We'll start with the Snacks + Sips, I think we all know that road trips are the time in our lives when calories don't count, right? That's why I like to make sure we stock up on all of my favorites from Albertsons before we head out on the road.

It's like Albertsons knew we were ready for an adventure, they have an incredible "Best Road Trip Ever" sale going on right now and of course, they had the best foods on sale! I stocked up on Dove Dark Chocolate Blueberries (seriously, these are heavenly), Snickers Bites, Mountain Dew, Oreos, Fruit Punch Gatorade, Life Savers, and Skittles. Not to mention the fact I grabbed our favorite snack for a great deal, chips + salsa! To top off our little road trip shopping spree, I added a pack of Orbit to the cart and we were on our way.

We make a quick stop at Albertsons before we head out of town, every-single-time we take a road trip and I recommend you do the same. If you can't make it to the store before you leave, I've  noticed that Acme, Tom Thumb, and Safeway have what I need when we need to make a stop along the road as well!

Other than making sure we are stocked up on food and drinks, I always like to make sure we have the other necessities, from a sewing kit to bug spray - you never know what you'll need while driving down the road. You don't want to get the most important things just because you are feeling antsy to get on the road! I added things as simple as chargers and even left you a few lines to add your own items to the list. Don't forget anything and print this little baby off today:

{Click here to download this FREE printable!}

 Now that you've made your list of everything to pack for the road trip, I want to share how you can pack your suitcase without having to stress about running out of room... because remember, I'm a professional at this type of thing. I literally, am the worst over packer in the world. The only benefit to this admission is the fact that you can trust that I know how to make sure everything fits in a bag, no matter how small it is.

Tips to Ensure You Are Packing Correctly

Tip #1 to Ensure You Are Packing Correctly: Always, always, always roll your t-shirts, tank tops, etc. Anything light weight and holds up fairly well against wrinkling should always be rolled.

Tip #2 to Ensure You Are Packing Correctly: The pockets on the front of your luggage are there for a reason, use them! I highly suggest stuffing undergarments or shoes into those little pockets on the front of your luggage. This utilizes all the space in the piece and allows you to make more room in the actual suitcase for valuable pieces of your wardrobe and accessories.

Tip #3 to Ensure You Are Packing Correctly: For jewelry, specifically necklaces, package each piece inside a piece of tissue paper. Preventing your jewelry from tangling is such a time saver!

Tip #4 to Ensure You Are Packing Correctly: Package all of your bathroom items in a separate bag! Even if you place that bag within your suitcase, always put your shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, razor, etc in a bag so if one of these products happens to explode, all of the suds and soap won't end up on your clothes!

The Best Apps for Road Tripping:

Another reason I love road tripping is all the reasons you can stop along the way. From exploring local restaurants and boutiques to wandering around waterfalls, we've stopped and explored all along our trips and loved every single second of it. Most of the places we've stopped along the way have been because we found them on an app! Are you planning a road trip and wanting to find the best places to stop, the cheapest gas, or maybe you even want to treasure hunt (geocache). Check out these apps and be sure to download them all to your phone!

1. Foursquare: When you need to make a stop along your journey, be sure to check out what is around you with Foursquare. You'll be able to find everything from happening night clubs to local kid-friendly diners that serve pizza, seek and you will find with Foursquare!

2. c:geo: This is another great app to help you find some cool spots to stretch and walk around for a bit. I love geocaching along the way on road trips and this app is so easy to use and find awesome caches to seek.

3. TripIt: Plan your entire trip with this app and access your itinerary while on the road.

4. Periscope - While this may eat up your entire data plan, all the entertainment Periscope will bring will make it worth it! I can't wait to Periscope some of our upcoming adventures and share our fun road trips in real time with you!

5. Gas Buddy: Don't worry about spending too much on gas, download this app and save big when you search for the lowest gas while driving along the road!

6. Roadtrippers: This is another awesome way to plan your trip and access your itinerary. Discover the best diners, scenic spots, attraction hotels, and more with the database of over a million awesome places.

7. TripAdvisor: Take advice from fellow travelers and hit the hotspots listed on TripAdvisor!

8. Airbnb: Find the perfect place to stay overnight, in a local environment or a beautiful palace. Rent a room or an entire home with this awesome service.

9. Voyager: Route Planner: This app helps you plan your trip, guiding you on the optimal route along the way.

10. Instagram - Trusty old, Instagram is a fun way to find places to stop. Look for the #hashtag of the town you are driving through (#LittleRock, #STL, #Tempe) and you are sure to find some epic, local spots that you must visit.

With all of that said, I think it's about time for me to start planning our next adventure. Where should the masters of road tripping go next? Give me some ideas of your favorite places to road trip in the comments below! I'd also love to know what your favorite road trip snack list would include! Plus, don't miss your chance to win big, click here to get all the details and to share your Best Road Trip ever!