Here are travel tips from my road trip with the essentials to pack in your car and bags.

I overpack for every car trip, but we loved having a yeti for the road trip latte and a bluetooth speaker for the rental house.

I also learned some new travel tips to help you on your next road trip.

What to pack for inside the car:

Kleenexes – instead of in the floorboard, pack it in a brown paper bag with other boxes of snacks. TIP: use gallon baggies for the snacks instead of the boxes.

This road trip was just for 2 people so we did have back seat space. Dollar bills or change from your money jar in the stays-tight money pouch

Pack an emergency kit: headache meds, soap sheets (some gas stations do not have working soap I found out), dollar bills for ancient parking lot meters, wet wipes if sticky from eating doughnuts or waffle fries.

Pack bungee cords are like the duct tape of road trips so pack them and do not leave them in the garage this time.

I forgot to pack paper towels if spills.

Pack an extra car charger cord because we usually only have one for daily use.

Here is the travel hack: pack your emergency kit in your hanging toiletry kit! It can zip up to be compact, but it also can stretch and hold so many small travel essentials you may need in the car OR while on vacation.

Cupcake wrappers in cup holders is a classic travel hack for cup holders inside your car.

My favorite road trip essential is

this newest cup holder because our Genesis gv70 does not have room for road trip accessories like my reading glasses or phone. It also holds a really large aluminum bottle if you easily remove the tabs. I kept mine in one of my favorite bags in the glove box. Notice that there is also a slot if your mug has a handle.

A travel hack for a road trip is plastic gum containers: pack hair ties, gum pieces, or AA batteries in there.

Trash bag you packed your road trip snacks in and a little trash bag for end of trip too for dirty laundry or just to clean out the car when you get home.

Travel hack for a road trip is from longtime viewer Emily who puts one in an old Tupperware cereal box so it does not spill out. Watch how it works in my video. I am a pilot’s wife YouTuber sharing tips that I have learned from 20 years of packing in a carry-on only since we mostly fly standby.

Pack a crossbody or small wallet to run into buy a snack or bottle of water while husband is pumping the gas.

Since you are now the passenger, use the second hook from the set of seat back hooks for a purse.

By the end of a road trip, I need a hat for my dirty hair but especially if rainy at any point.

I wish I would’ve packed a belt bag or waist band for hiking/walking.

This brings up a great travel tip for a road trip:

You will have a car key when touring, hiking, walking or shopping. or my waist band stretchy thing that I walk the dog with would have helped me be hands-free.

I would have had my phone, maybe the portable charger if hiking or on the lake for a long time, my wallet or few cards AND the car key.

2 Hotel Tips:

1. Pack hotel slippers and pajamas at the top of your bag because you will need those first.

2. Another hotel tip is to pack a reading light and ALSO use it inside an airplane if you are really short and cannot reach the overhead light.

Sometimes the hotel tiny reading lights are still too bright. This has lights on both ends, is chargeable and has 3 settings.

Pack a selfie stick for family photos. That is why we travel, right?

If you need my all-time master packing list to pull from for any trip in the car or in the airplane, just click on the link below.