Travel tips

Remember there are people from all around the world, the USA, and Canada on the road! The USA is diverse, avoid getting road rage, don’t be the ass who doesn’t let someone merge, don’t stop in the middle of the road for pictures, don’t litter, recycle when you can, and just overall be a good person. There are so many different people on the road, try to be accommodating and understanding. Oh, and have fun! 🙂 [box] OH! And DON’T forget travel insurance. But you’re smart and knew this already, right? Jess and I both went with World Nomads for this trip. Just grab a quote real quick and check this off your list. [/box] I hope these road trip tips were helpful! Where are you road tripping to? Let us know in the comments!

It goes without saying that you’ll need to check the specification of the states you’ll be rolling through to be sure that you pack accordingly. Do you need more scarves or more swimsuits? Both?! You’ll have to do the research to make sure but aside from clothing, you’ll need to know what else happens in certain states. Being from Florida, I can tell you right now, road tripping around August and September could mean potential hurricane weather. I spend a lot of time in Oregon and the entire West Coast the past two summers have been LIT. And not in a good way; forest fires during July can get really bad and make the air quality terrible, obstruct views, and even close down roads. While our road trip on the West Coast was just after a lot of the fires that died down, there was tons of signage warning of potential dangers from the loose ground from the fires and also a fire ban in most places (AKA don’t make a fire anywhere!) There were even trails and campsites that were closed because of this.

I have to tell you something. And it’s going to happen on your road trip! It’s a guarantee… Ready for it? Things won’t always go as planned. Shocking, right? If this road trip tip seems so obvious to you, just remember while on the trip that’s how you felt when reading this. Sometimes we get caught up in the moment, want things to be perfect, and when one string frays, we break apart. You’ll run into a delay, a park being closed, a flat tire… Something. It’s a guarantee that SOMETHING will go wrong, so just accept it when it does. You’ll only make it worse by having a breakdown.

[box]RELATED: Your Adventurous Montana Road Trip![/box]

Seriously, my country is f-ing huge. We literally have 48 small to medium-sized countries on the enormous landmass that is the contiguous USA. Make no mistake, there’s no amount of time that is the “perfect” amount to see this place. Vancouver to San Francisco is only a measly 15-hour drive if you JUST DRIVE. This drive could technically be done by one person in two long days. Jess and I took 17 days so we could drive a bit more leisurely and we could have doubled that and still not had enough time. There’s is an insurmountable amount of things to do and see, don’t cut yourself short and try squeezing your trip into a few days, you’ll spend the entire time just driving.

Let’s be honest. WiFi is important for travelers. You should know how to find free WiFi (that doesn’t require you to purchase anything to use). Here are some places that nearly always have free WiFi:

• Libraries
• Sometimes coffee shops will let you use WiFi without buying anything
• Mcdonald’s and other big fast food chains have free WiFi (WiFi should be the only reason you ever set foot in a Mcdonald’s)
• Many airports offer free internet connections
• Some downtown areas of big cities now offer free wifi too. When using public wifi, I highly recommend using a VPN to protect yourself from data thieves. You never know who is on a public wifi network with zero security. I always have a VPN ready to go on both my phone and laptop, I personally use Hide Me which is one of the fastest and most reliable options out there. This particular VPN allows for up to five connections, handy for keeping all devices connected without purchasing multiple VPN packages.

Sleeping pads are not just great for camping. They’re useful in any situation that may be uncomfortable to sleep in. Let’s say you have a long layover in Kuala Lumpur (everyone does, seriously; KLA can burn in a fire) and are contemplating sleeping on the ground. Well, good thing you packed your sleeping pad! (Must’ve been that great airport travel tip you read about.) Or, maybe you’re a group of three and accidentally booked a room that sleeps two. “Don’t worry guys, I’ll sleep on the ground with my self-inflating mattress. Y’all can buy me dinner tomorrow.” Honestly, packing one of these is a game-changer, as you’ll be able to sleep soundly just about anywhere. That’s professional backpacking advice right there. Here’s our roundup of the best sleeping pads for backpacking.

Have you ever spent a night in a room with someone who sounds like the devil is trying to escape through their throat? It fucking sucks. When you are constantly sleeping in hostels, dealing with people snoring is a fact of life. Sleep deprivation never makes for an enthusiastic or happy backpacker. Bring along several pairs of earplugs and fight the good fight for a decent sleep. I promise you earplugs make the world of difference! Be sure to try the earplugs before you use them on a backpacking trip. They should be comfortable and most importantly, they should work! I prefer foam earplugs myself.