Seasoned travelers can attest that the best way to travel is by car. This gives you complete freedom of action in terms of time and route selection. If you wish, you can stay for a longer time in an interesting place, or turn off the tourist path to see local attractions. Preparing for such a trip should start with drawing up a route plan and preparing everything you need for the trip.
What to take on a trip by car?
What to take with you - this question is always asked when planning a trip to Ukraine. The first and most important thing is the documents. Passport, driver's license, and insurance are required.
To always stay in touch you need:
- smartphone;
- navigator;
- charging device.
You can install a DVR in your car, especially if you feel more comfortable driving with it.
On a long journey, you can get bored, and it is not always possible to find a radio station to your taste. Therefore, it is worth taking with you a smartphone with downloaded music, a USB flash drive, or a portable speaker.
Baggage preparation
When traveling by car, you should always have clean drinking water. A small snack and a bag that keeps the cold will not be superfluous. It is not necessary to take a full-fledged mini-refrigerator with you; you can use special foil to seal the sides of the bag. This will help keep the food fresh for several hours.
Another must-have item is a first aid kit. It should contain:
- pain reliever;
- antipyretic;
- sorbent;
- antihistamine;
- remedy for motion sickness.
It is also imperative to keep a small amount of money separate from wallets. The same must be done with copies of documents. Better to make some color copies.
This is a universal list, which is supplemented if necessary. Also in the first-aid kit, it is worth putting means for disinfecting wounds, a plaster, a bandage. In addition, every car owner must take care of the presence of a cable, spare wheel, fire extinguisher, and warning triangle. Try to stow all your luggage so that it takes a minimum of time to completely unload the car.
And remember that it is impossible to create the perfect trip by car, so it is worth stopping not only where you planned. Even if the trip takes longer, it will bring a lot of positive emotions.
Car preparation
If you have a choice on which car to go on a trip, of course, it is better to choose a newer one. But in any case, do not neglect the rules of preparation:
- checking the engine and chassis, if necessary, troubleshooting;
- checking the amount of fluid, changing the oil;
- spare wheel check.
You also need to stock up on a set of tools, oil, coolant, and brake fluid, as well as a jack and a pump.
Additional items for a comfortable trip
Traveling by car will be much more comfortable if you bring along soft clothes and comfortable shoes. When the trip takes place in the hot season, you need to stock up on a special overlay on the windshield, which will prevent the interior from heating up during stops. Blankets and pillows for passengers can also come in handy, especially if you are traveling with children.
For overnight stays, make sure you have sleeping bags and a tent. For self-cooking, you need a burner. These are not at all obligatory attributes, but with them, the train will be much more comfortable.
How to avoid mistakes when planning your trip
For a road trip to go smoothly, you need to get to know your transport as best you can: how it behaves under difficult conditions, how much fuel it consumes, and how much it can develop speed.
Do not forget to periodically check the remaining fuel and the location of the nearest gas stations. Traveling on scenic routes is often very exciting, so care must be taken to avoid unpleasant situations on the road.
Also, do not count on uninterrupted communication in any area. Therefore, it is important to have downloaded road maps, and it is better to stock up on a classic paper version in case your smartphone runs out of power.
If a good route is too long and you turn on cruise control, it is easy to relax and get out of control of the road. While driving, it is important to remain attentive to everything that happens around you.
How to plan a long-distance trip?
You must decide how many days you will be traveling. The endpoint is better to make the place where you have long wanted to visit, so the emotions will be the most vivid. You need to find out in advance what hotels, cafes, and attractions are on the way and add them to your map.
Plan your travel times carefully. Usually, drivers can spend up to 5-8 hours behind the wheel, more experienced ones - up to 10. But it is necessary to enter the car very carefully. You should not try to overcome yourself and fight fatigue when you start to get sleepy. Therefore, it is important to think about the places of rest stops in advance. Once every 2-3 hours, it is worth making stops for 15-20 minutes. If the trip takes place in hot weather and the engine overheats, you should periodically give it a rest.
And the last important tip is to always be prepared for the unexpected on the road. It is necessary to understand that the car can break down, communication periodically disappears and there is a risk of getting lost. Therefore, it is worth considering a plan of action in case of any of these incidents. But there are also more pleasant side effects. For example, you might unexpectedly stumble upon a good route, make new friends, or taxi to an attraction.
If several people are going on a trip, it is worth choosing one leader who will coordinate the process. This should be an experienced traveler, to whom the rest will listen. You should not invite a "weak link" with you, that is, a person who may suddenly want to return home or change the route, neglecting the drawn-up plan. If the trip is spontaneous, you should also not relax lying on your hotel bed when it’s time to check out.
Route planning
You should always remember that traveling by car is not a marathon in which speed is important. The most comfortable trip for an average vacation lasts from 3 to 7 days. Always soberly assessed their abilities and capabilities of the car. An experienced driver can easily cover up to 700-800 km per day on a good highway with several lanes. But all this pace will be quite tedious, therefore it requires a second driver.
To understand how much you will have to travel on average per day, you need to mark the main strong points on the map - attractions, natural objects near which you plan to stop, as well as places to stay. Then you need to calculate the distance between them.
The financial side of road travel
The more passengers travel around Ukraine by car, the cheaper the trip is. But planning a trip also takes more time, because you need to avoid omissions and find a compromise, so it's worth negotiating everything at the start.
First, calculate how much the fuel will cost and take about a third more. When calculating, it is better to rely not only on technical characteristics but also on your experience. You can use the online calculator, but remember that it cannot calculate a possible turn in the wrong direction and further search for the correct road. Therefore, you need to make a reserve of money for such a case.
The fund for the purchase of fuel on the road should be formed together before the start of the trip so that during the trip it is not necessary to figure out who will pay. The remainder can be divided at the end. And make sure that not only cards but also cash is always on hand.
Shortened checklist for travel essentials
In order not to forget the most important things on a trip by car, you can use this list, which indicates what to take with you:
- driver's license;
- cash and bank card;
- navigator and paper map;
- phones and chargers;
- water and snacks;
- minimum pharmacy set;
- wet wipes;
- blanket, pillow, comfortable clothes.