When you hear the words “Holiday Travel” what comes to mind? For most people, it’s navigating their way across the country through airport lines and enduring cramped plane seating. But, most people would probably be wrong. Per the AAA, the clear majority of holiday travelers choose to make their way to their loved ones via the roads. In 2015, almost 42 million Americans drove, while only 3.6 million flew. Crazy huh? In the spirit of the holiday roadtrip, here are some of our road trip tips for making your adventure better.
Don’t Pack Lighter, Pack Smaller:
Vehicles have been getting smaller and smaller and, depending on the Holiday, you’re going to need to fit all your turkeys, hams and gifts into whatever economy sized car you most likely own. After that's all said and done, it doesn’t leave much room for all your people, pets and their travel needs. Our suggestion, to find luggage that allows you to fit all your clothing and toiletry needs into a travel container that is super packable. The ATOM Collection has several items designed to do just that. Never choose between the dog bag and an extra pair of shoes again.
Travel Apps:
What are the essentials of any roadtrip? Knowing your route, filling up on gas and SNACKS! The holy trinity of any good journey. Snacking options are so vast that the app generation has not quite nailed it down but, such is not the case with gas stations and route options. Use these apps to save a bit of money this year.
Gas Buddy- Gas buddy is an app that's available for all operating systems that allows you to look up the gas prices at every station near you. Not only that, you can put together a trip calculator while mapping out the ideal fill up options all throughout. Plus, these are great snack reloading opportunities!
WAZE- the world's largest community-based traffic and navigation app. It allows you to join other drivers in your area who are sharing real-time traffic and road info. It's an awesome tool to save time and gas money on your trip. Millions of users nation-wide are constantly live updating the app with accidents, police sightings and other delays. Combine that with the power of Google maps and it's one of the most accurate trip calculators available today.
Let us not forget about the best way to kill a couple hours in the car. FREE Phone games! Here is a solid list of some of the best.
Travel Comfort:
Nothing’s worse than sitting in an uncomfortable position with no leg room, no blanket and no pillow. You can take care of the leg room issue in the section above, the finer comforts are what we're here to talk about. If looking at a screen or reading book makes you a little car sick, a solid nap is usually the best way to put a couple of hours in the rear view. If you’re anything like me, that’s not possible without a pillow and blanket. One of the two at the very least. If you're looking for an amazing travel pillow, this hooded travel pillow is amazing for keeping the early morning sun or your siblings out of your face, especially if you’re stuck in the middle seat. This packable travel pillow is a ridiculously comfy window headrest without being a burden on extra car space. As far as blankets go, you're going to need one that's not only warm and soft but also doesn’t take up precious back seat space when not in use. This Bamboo travel blanket meets all of those requirements. It also has a cozy foot packet so you can never pull it up too far.
Whether you're traveling by land, air or sea, make sure you have a plan. We hope that some of these tips are useful and make your journey a bit more enjoyable. One last pro-tip, statistics show that the highest reported traffic activity is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so if you must travel that day use the force. No just kidding, use the WAZE app.
