The 21 Ultimate Road Trip Essentials for Couples

Road trip essentials for couples you are going to need on your trip.

Some of the best memories are made on a road trip with your significant other. The things you get to see, the moments you get to enjoy, and the problems you get to solve, will bring you closer together and make your trip unforgettable! And with these road trip essentials for couples, you will have the trip of a lifetime!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of the product links, we’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you. We only promote products and services we 100% believe in. Thank you so much for supporting us! Read more about it in our disclosure policy.

Preparing for a road trip together

Before going through the road trip essentials, it’s important that you know how to prepare for your road trip. So here it goes.

Clean your car inside and out

You don’t want to start off your trip with a mess in your car. You will need all the room and even the tiniest of spaces for your stuff. And it just gives you a great feeling if the car’s tidy before you go.

The same goes for the outside, just wash your car, to start off your trip with a clean slate.

Organize everything

Starting off your trip with a clean and tidy car is a must. All you need to do after that is trying to actually keep it tidy.

Organizing your car will help you a lot on your trip, you won’t spend precious hours trying to find something and then figuring out you left it at home. You’ll save a lot of time knowing where everything in your car is and keeping it tidy.

You should get some boxes or pouches to keep all your stuff where it belongs.

Get the right supplies

And of course, what this post is all about. Getting the right supplies for your road trip is a necessity. Without the right supplies and things, you could get in trouble, and end up spending way too much, or anything else.

These road trip essentials are there to help you on your trip. To help you save precious time, money, stress, and trouble.

Now without spending more of your time, here are the best road trip essentials for couples!

The ultimate road trip essentials for couples

Nutritious snacks

The first and most important essential is nutritious snacks. I mean, you’ll always need snacks on your road trip, but try to get some that are healthy or filled with nutrients.

I know for a fact that I can react heavily to too much sugar or caffeine, and sometimes it leads to arguing with my boyfriend. And we always find afterward that it was actually the sugar and caffeine talking instead of me.

Yes, delicious snacks aren’t always nutritious, and you should take these as well, but try to take some nutritious snacks with you as well, like fruit, nuts, veggies, eggs, protein bars, dates, raisins, or anything else.

Water and other drinks

Staying hydrated is so important. You’ll need to drink enough water or other drinks, to stay healthy and hydrated. Most people go on a road trip in summer, which makes it even more important to keep water in your car.

Especially in emergencies, your car may break down in the middle of nowhere and you may need to spend some hours or a day in that place. Water will keep you hydrated and alive, for that matter. Of course, the chances of this happening are small, but you never know.

And make sure not to use plastic bottles, but take some reusables with you. You can fill them up almost everywhere for free, it’ll save you money and save the planet.

Easy picnic gear

Eating out when you’re on the road will set you back a lot. Even just getting a sandwich at the gas station is super expensive. That’s why you should go picnicking!

What’s more romantic and memorable than picnicking on your road trip? Just take a break from driving, find a nice spot, and enjoy eating your meal on a cozy blanket with your loved one.

And as if the vibes aren’t enough, picnicking is cheap and super easy! Enjoying your meal in the best way possible won’t cost you much time, so you’ll be hitting the road again in no time!

A paper roadmap

Another authentic thing I love on a road trip is using a paper map!

I love the idea of not needing your phone for everything, and with a paper roadmap, you won’t need to use google maps. And you can draw exactly which roads you took.

Using a paper roadmap on your road trip is a fun and authentic way of navigating, one you should definitely try!

Fun games

I mean, what’s a road trip without fun games? There are plenty of quiz games you can play while driving.

Buying a game is always an option, but inventing your own game will keep you busy for hours as well.

And don’t just go for quiz games, you can easily spend the evenings in your accommodation playing card games, poker, or anything else!

Fun games are a road trip essential!

First aid kit

A road trip together can be fun, but there’s the possibility of unfortunate events happening. Sometimes you can’t prevent these things, all you can do is be prepared!

Keeping a good first aid kit in your car is a must for your road trip. It may be lifesaving.

I hope you won’t need a first aid kit, but please keep one in your car. Be prepared!

Roadside emergency kit

Another thing I hope you won’t have to use but you need to keep in your car anyway is a roadside emergency kit.

Accidents or breakdowns can always happen no matter how good your car is. And you’ll feel much better knowing you are prepared.

For only $40 you can buy a roadside emergency kit, check it out below.

Portable car safe

I can imagine that you might not have a good feeling about leaving your stuff in the car. Phones, cash, credit cards, identification, it’s all the stuff you don’t want to have stolen. So get a portable car safe!

And I know what you’re thinking; portable means they can just take the entire safe and crack it open. But that’s why you should buy one like the one below. This car safe has a cable, so you can lock it to something sturdy.

This portable car safe will make it a lot harder for thieves to steal your important stuff, definitely a road trip essential!

A car phone charger

If you’re not as authentic as I’d like to be, you’ll need your phone for everything. For navigating, music, instagramming, texting home, reservations, and even more. So you don’t want it to run empty.

Having a phone charger in the car is simply a must!

Cozy blankets

If you plan on camping in your car or van, having some cozy blankets is the best way to enjoy the chilly evenings outside.

And it’s so romantic, together wrapped up in a blanket drinking some wine while it’s getting dark. I’m already melting just thinking about it 😉

Cozy blankets are definitely a road trip essential for couples!

Cleaning wipes for EVERYTHING

For your face, body, your car’s dashboard, textile, just name it! Cleaning wipes will save you so much trouble. Even if it’s just for freshening yourself up real quick, a cleaning wipe is the way to go.

And to keep your car clean, just take some car cleaning wipes with you. Easy peasy!

Garbage can

I’ve tried keeping our van tidy with just garbage bags, but even using just a garbage bag isn’t enough to keep your car tidy. These bags will ALWAYS be in the way and things may fall out, the bags will rip, and it’s just so messy.

Since we bought a garbage can for our van, we stopped having these problems and now we can just throw away everything without making a mess!

Don’t underestimate the power of using a garbage can instead of bags.

Make a super fun playlist and download it

Everyone needs a ‘’road-trip playlist’’ for their trip. Just making a playlist with every good vibe song you know. It’ll make the time fly when you’re listening to fun music.

And make sure to also make a playlist of sing-along songs, you’ll have so much fun singing in the car together!

You do need to download these playlists, you won’t always have wifi or 4G/5G on the road.

A camera

When going on a road trip, you’ll need to keep your camera close. You’ll find the most scenic views from your car and it’d be a shame if you didn’t take a good photo of it. Having a camera near you will allow you to make the most wonderful photos from the car.

And just for stopping at a spot, you won’t have to search your entire car for your camera if you just keep it close at all times!

Neck pillow

Sometimes you just have to drive for hours and you may get a bit tired. Sleeping in the passenger seat will give you some energy to take over the wheel when the driver gets tired.

I know we do this all the time. Driving, and whenever you get tired, switching drivers and getting some sleep in the passenger seat so that you can drive again in a few hours.

Keeping a neck pillow close to you will help you get some better rest!

A spare tire

Have you ever been in a situation where your tire needs to be changed? Well, I’ve only been on a few road trips so far and we’ve had to change the tire 2 times (of different cars).

Tire problems can and will happen to everyone. You don’t know when it’ll happen, but just that it could happen anytime. So keeping a spare tire in your trunk or under your car is a must!

And make sure you don’t just have a spare tire, but also the right tools to be able to change your tire. Because in some situations you can’t just go to a garage or let someone come to you, you have to know how to change your own tires.

Flashlight/headlight

Let’s say you’ve actually come into a situation where your tire needs to be changed, but it’s dark and there are no street lights. A flashlight or headlight will help you in so many emergencies.

When we went to Norway we bought headlights, but I never knew we’d use them that much! Not just for camping, but also for visiting caves, and like everything dark! I can’t recommend getting a headlight enough!

Hands-free phone mount

As I’ve said before, you’ll be needing your phone for everything from navigating to texting home. But especially for using google maps, a hands-free phone mount is something you simply need. It’s super easy to be able to see your navigation without having a phone in your hand.

E-reader

In the car, you won’t always be talking, playing games, singing together, or anything else. Sometimes it’s just good to set the music to a low volume, grab your E-reader, and just take a little ‘’me-time’’.

Going on a road trip together is super fun, but you should be able to withdraw at times. Don’t forget yourself and do something that you want, instead of something you both want. Because if you’re in the car for 14 hours and you’re constantly doing something together, problems are bound to happen.

So take an E-reader with you, it’s small, easy, and it allows you to have some ‘’me-time’’ on your road trip.

Sunglasses

I guess this speaks for itself. Sometimes the sun will be in your face all the time and your sunshade won’t block the sun from your view. Sunglasses will help you drive safely, so make sure you keep some in your car!

Duct tape

Whenever there’s something wrong with your car, use duct tape. Is something wrong with your camping table? Duct tape. Is your hiking boot falling apart? Duct tape. Is your girlfriend annoying? Don’t use duct tape, just be more annoying to her.

But the thing I’m trying to tell you is that duct tape will help anything that’s falling apart. I can imagine that you don’t want to buy a new camping table or chair when you’re on vacation, so just use some duct tape to make sure your equipment survives at least til the end of your road trip.

So just keep a roll of duct tape in your car, you may or may not need it.

Final thoughts on road trip essentials for couples

So now that you know which things you need to take with you on a road trip together, you will be fully prepared! Prepared for long hours of driving, emergencies, car trouble, and anything else!

Where are you going on your road trip? Let me know in the comments below!

The 21 Ultimate Road Trip Essentials for Couples

Road trip essentials for couples you are going to need on your trip.