There’s something special about a memorable road trip, discovering some beautiful place because you took a wrong turn or made a last minute decision to take a detour and hit the beach. My most recent road trip was in Victoria, Australia last year where I noticed there’s always a few essentials that I tend to pack or pick up along the way. So I thought I’d share them with you!

Here are my open road essentials (#openroadessentials).

Beach Towel

On a road trip you never know when you might come across an stunning deserted beach where you just have to stop off and catch some sunshine. A beach towel comes in very handy to keep the sand out of your shorts and for drying yourself but I also found another use for it. On a road trip along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia we really struggled to find any accommodation that had a vacancy for the night. What we didn’t realise was it was actually a Australian holiday and all the locals had headed for the coast. We ended up sleeping in the car and for a bit of privacy from the outside world I hung a beach towel from the passenger seat window, it works wonders!

Egg Timer

OK so this isn’t actually for boiling eggs, I use it for taking a timelapse with a GoPro. If you fix the GoPro to the top of the timer and then set it for 30 minutes it’ll slowly rotate whilst taking shots (in timelapse mode), giving you a really cool panning effect to the timelapse, it’s perfect for coastal sunsets.

Energy Drink

Sometimes you’ll find yourself driving long distances for hours on end, especially if you’re the only driver on the road trip. I’ve found myself driving for eight hours in a day and you really need to keep yourself focused, on some long straight roads things can begin to blur into one. Stopping for a break and a coffee is always a good idea on long trips, but if you don’t get the opportunity I find that slipping a large can of energy drink works for me.

GoPro

You’ve probably all seen the hype around GoPro HERO cameras or seen many extreme and adventure shots, this little camera can be placed where you wouldn’t dream of putting your standard camera. Take it surfing, underwater or stick it to the side of your car using the suction pad (top left in the photo). It’s a very useful device that helps you to capture unique angles and proves to be a perfect attachment for your road trip vehicle.

DSLR Camera

For taking top quality photos I prefer to use my DSLR camera. I recently upgraded from a Canon 450D (pictured) to a Canon EOS 5D Mark III
, it’s a superb camera for stills and video but can be a bit of a hassle to lug around.

Gorilla Pod

I pack a Joby GorillaPod Focus for my DSLR, it allows me to fix the camera to rocks, railings, trees and just about anything that’s in a fixed position. The main downside is that if you can’t find anything to attach it to it’s not a great deal of use.

Haribo

Sweets always go down well on a road trip, they also give you a bit of energy when you’re driving for a long time. My problem is that I usually eat the whole bag in one go!

Sun Protection & Insect Repellent

You never know when the sun might suddenly make a surprise appearance, so it’s usually a good idea to pack sun protection to avoid sunburn.

Staying in a remote wooden hotel in a small village surrounded by rice paddy fields I once covered myself from head to toe in insect repellent before bed to avoid unwanted cockroaches that were roaming the room, thankfully it seemed to do the trick! It’s sometimes hard to predict when you’ll find yourself staying in a place full of creepy crawlies or mosquitoes so it’s a good idea to pack the repellent. All in one sun screen and mosquito repellent can be useful too.

Havaianas

Havainanas are great in warm weather, they’re comfortable, perfect for the beach and pretty indestructible too!

Stubbie holder

If you’re having a picnic at a scenic stop off, a Stubbie holder keeps your beer or soft drink cold in hot weather and also keeps your hands from getting cold in chilly weather. Well worth keeping a couple in the car boot.

Win With Your Road Trip Essentials

So, enough about me, what are your road trip essentials? What are the items you just can’t leave behind before heading on a road trip?

You could win a £1000 road trip for two by submitting your own #openroadessentials.

For all the details check out Enterprise’s blog post #openroadessentials, good luck!