Popular Tips

Car Registration Charges In Delhi: RTO Delhi Road Tax Fees & Registration

Checklist For A Road Trip: What You Should Bring Along In A Road Tríp In India?

by IndianAuto Team | 27/11/2018

Road trips are relaxing and adventurous at the same time. They are great but they require a bit of planning and preparing, and this checklist is going to help you do the packing work.

What you need to bring on a road trip greatly depends on where you are going to, but there are some absolute necessities that you have to bring on all trips, like important papers, first-aid kit, food, drink, and clothes. The mistake that many people make when going on road trips is that they overpack and underpack at the same time. It may sound ridiculous but we bet you have been through that experience when you cannot find the things that you need in your bags during the trip, and when you come home, you discover that more than half of what you packed was not used. We have all been there, so there is no need to be ashamed. What we need is a solution to this issue.

To eliminate this problem, the first thing you need to remember when packing is: Pack light. If you travel by car, you can leave all your stuff in the trunk or on the seats and that is that, but if you travel by bike, overpacking is going to cost you a lot of time unpacking and tidying up several times during the trip.

1. Important Documents

You have to bring the important documents with you on a road trip and you need to put them somewhere within reach, so in case any authorities ask for, let’s say, your driving license, you can whip out your paper in an instance and present it to them. Some general important documents include:

Personal identification card
Driving license
Hotel address and phone number (if you are staying at a hotel)
A small notepad that records all the important information in case your phone is lost
Some cash (do not carry a lot of cash or you may regret it when some unfortunate events happen)
Credit card and/or debit card (because it is more secure than cash)

If you personally need some other documents, feel free to add it to the list.

Put your important documents somewhere that you can reach for within seconds

2. First-aid kit

Preparing a small first-aid kit is very important. Travelling to unfamiliar places can make you sick more easily because of the difference in weather, good, hygiene, etc. A lot of time you may not use it, but when you do need to use it, you will be very grateful that you have a first-aid kit on hand. Some general medicines that you might need on the road include:

Prescribed medication (if any)
Fever medication
Medication for upset stomach
Pain reliefs
Insect repellants

Apart from the medicines, you also have to prepare some stuff to help you in case of emergency, for example, bleeding or road accident. Here are some first-aid tools you need to pack before hitting the road::

First-aid bandages (for small cuts)
Elastic bandages (for more serious wounds)
Gauzes
Surgical tapes
Antiseptic wipes
Small clean scissors
Small clean tweezers

If you have any personal needs when it comes to health, feel free to add them to the list. A lot of people who go on road trips do not prepare a first-aid kit and when accidents do happen, they have to wait and resort to the help of others. In this case, having something readily available and within reach may save your life.

A small first-aid kit may save your life so do not skip it

3. Clothing

Depending on where you are going and the weather of the location(s), you will need to prepare different kinds of clothes. Here is the thing you need to remember when it comes to clothes: Bring less than what you think you need.

You might think that you need one set of pyjamas for each night, but the reality is that you only need one, because you will mostly stay in your outdoor clothes and only sleep in your pyjamas so they are relatively clean and can be reused. So, if you are travelling for two weeks or less, you will only need to prepare one set of pyjamas, and if you are travelling under one month, two sets are all that you need.

However, with undergarments, you would want to bring something from 4 to 6 sets, because you will never know if you have the chance to wash them or they will ever dry. In case you have a big bag or a suitcase and most of your clothes are in there, we recommend you prepare a complete set of clothes and 2-3 undergarments inside your carry-on or backpack in case of emergency. It is not fun if your suitcase is lost somewhere and you have nothing to change into. Also, do not forget to fold and layer them in the bag and/or suitcase properly to save space.

Prepare your clothes strategically based on how you will actually wear them, not how you think you will wear them

4. Miscellaneous

Some more stuff you have to bring on a road trip that does not fit into any of the aforementioned categories but some miscellaneous are:

Food/Snack (put them in zip lock bags and close the opening so the food does not spill out and insects do not find the way that leads to your food)
Water (the amount of water depends on how much water each person needs, but generally, we recommend 2 litres)
Some extra plastic bags
Toiletries
Deodorant
Small hand mirror
Hairbrush
Soap
Toilet paper and/or tissues
Different scissors and knife
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Power bank for your electronic gadgets

This is a very general trip that everyone needs, so please add anything that you specifically need. For example, female travellers have to bring some feminine hygiene stuff, bikers will need to pack a hand pump for his or her bike, or if you are going to somewhere cold, you will need to bring a small blanket. But do not forget to pack light and put in your bags only what you will actually use.