Headed on a Fall road trip and have no idea what to pack? In this post, I’ve got you covered with the ultimate Fall road trip packing list, including road trip tips and tricks, road trip essentials for safety & organization, road trip must-haves to keep you entertained, my favorite road trip snacks, and so much more!
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Must have New England Fall road trip essentials
If you haven’t been on a New England road trip yet, this is your sign to add it to your bucket list ASAP! Last year we had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in New England, and it was truly a magical experience that I’ll never forget.ย
I’m not going to go into detail about all of the places that we went to on our New England road trip (you can check out that post here), but I thought I’d share all of the long road trip essentials we packed in case you’re planning one of your own this Fall.ย
In this post, I’ve got you covered with the ultimate road trip packing list to ensure a successful New England road trip (or any road trip for that matter), including road trip car essentials, how to stay entertained on the road, what to pack for your pet, and much more!ย
Wondering where else we want on our East Coast road trip? Check out these related reads!
- The best places to visit in New England
- Best things to do in Historic St Augustine Florida
- The best South Carolina coastal towns to visit
- Best restaurants & things to do in Annapolis Maryland
- 5+ best towns to visit in Massachusetts (especially in Fall)
- Discovering Maine: Best things to do in Kennebunkport
- P-Town Unplugged: Best things to do in Provincetown MA
*DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.*
New England road trip itinerary
Road trip tips & tricks
- Service your car before you leave! Luckily my husband is on top of stuff like this and had our car fully serviced before we departed on our road trip. Your girl probably would have had a panic attack if our car broke down and we got stranded in the middle of nowhere! I think it goes without saying that having AAA coverage is never a bad idea, either.
- Always take the scenic route! One thing that my husband did on our roadย trip that Iย really appreciated was that he planned our route so we could enjoy the beautiful views along the coastline! I mean, that’s the whole point of a road trip, right?! This also allows you to discover new places that weren’t originally planned. Those places ended up being some of our favorites from our road trip!
- Make sure to pack a toll pass! There were a ton of tolls along our route through New England, so I would recommend getting the Uni pass. This gives you access to all toll roads and most bridges in 19 states, including most of New England.
- Check the weather! Thank you captain obvious. This mostly applies to snow (especially if you don’t have 4WD), but it wouldn’t hurt to check the weather in general before getting on the road. I also recommend plugging your planned route into Waze (my personal favorite for road trips), as it provides real-time updates and is a little more proactive in changing up a route when problems arise.ย
- Plan ahead! We had our entire road trip planned and booked before we even left. Of course, not everything went 100% as planned, but this allowed us to budget appropriately for our trip and gave us peace of mind knowing we would have a place to sleep at night.
TIP:ย Have no idea how to plan a road trip? I HIGHLY recommend using Roadtrippers to plan your journey, and you can do it all right in the app ahead of time. This road trip planner will allow you to discover all the best stops along your route, and code BTR5QTP gets you $5 off!
- Keep your gas tank filled up!ย Unless you spend extra time mapping out where to stop for gas along your route, it’s always best to fill up as you see them (especially if you’re driving through the Midwest). There were stretches of our trip where we were in the middle of nowhere, so we always made sure to have at least a quarter tank of gas at all times.
TIP: Trying to put together a budget for your trip? Check out this AAA gas calculator road trip to figure out how much gas you’ll end up needing!
- Pack a lunch!ย I’m happy to admit that we only stopped for fast food a handful of times during our entire six-month road trip. We tried our best to pack food that was easy to eat in the car (like sandwiches) and ALWAYS had snacks readily available. If you’re planning on stopping to eat lunch, it wouldn’t hurt to have a picnic blanket and travel utensils set on hand, just in case.
- Only pack the necessities!ย Full disclosure, we packed absolutely TERRIBLE for our six-month road trip, haha. Below is the perfect example of what NOT to do! Just because you have the space doesn’t mean you need to fill every inch with useless things like a crock pot.
Road trip essentials for car
car air freshener | car trash can | rooftop carrier | car vacuum | Hydro flask water bottle | sauce holder | sunglass holder | dash cam | car sun shade | back of seat car organizer | car trunk organizer | car tissue holder | window shades | road atlas | yeti cooler | first aid kit | car safety kit | wireless car chargerย
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For safety
Even though you’re going to have your car fully serviced before departing (as recommended above, hehe), you never know what could happen, so it’s always a good idea to have a car emergency kit on hand.ย It also wouldnโt be a bad idea to have aย dash camย handy in the event of an accident. Word on the street is that your insurance company may even give you a discount for owning one.
For navigation
Thisย wireless car chargerย was probably our most used travel essential of the entire trip! Not only was it our source for navigation, but it also kept our phones charged up at all times. The last thing you want is a dead phone when you’re on the road in the middle of nowhere (I’ve seen way too many horror movies, lol), so I cannot recommend this enough! As much as I hate to say this, it also wouldnโt hurt to have a handy dandy old-schoolย road atlasย on hand if you lose service.
For organization
I’m kicking myself for not buying any of theseย car organizersย for our New England road trip! We had stuff EVERYWHERE in the car (including on the floor), which not only took up legroom but definitely made our trip (for me mostly) uncomfortable at times.ย Theseย would have been so helpful!
For cleanliness
We road-tripped for six months (with our dog), so as you can imagine, our car definitely took a beating. It was so nice to have aย car vacuum cleanerย readily available to help keep things so fresh and so clean clean throughout our journey. It also doesnโt hurt to have a car air freshener plugged in, and I especially love theย Capri Blue car diffuser.
For when hunger strikes
Pin it for later!
Car road trip essentials for entertainment
Car power inverter | Fujifilm camera | Uni pass | Ipad Air | Airpods Pro | Colored pencils | Coloring book | Road trips book | Mini games set | Shotgun game | 3 in 1 wireless charger | Tech case | Anker portable charger | Bluetooth speaker | Car Ipad holder | Noise cancelling headphones | Kindle | Nintendo Switchย
Favorite travel gadgets
Whether I’m traveling by car or air, my AirPods Pro, my Ipad, and a portable charger are my favorite tech gear that is ALWAYS coming with me. We also bought a car power inverter for our last road trip, which was so helpful in keeping our devices charged up at all times in the car, including my laptop.ย
Another travel gadget I didn’t know I needed until we started road-tripping a lot was a Bluetooth speaker. It’s nice to have around if you’re hanging at the beach, hiking, biking, or doing any kind of outdoor activity. I particularly love this one from Amazon that is really travel friendly and can be clipped onto just about anything!
TIP:ย If you’re going to try to do some work while you’re on the road, I recommend investing in a mobile hotspot router so you can stay connected at all times!
Fall books to read
One of my goals this year is to read more, and there’s no better place to do it then on the road! Below are a couple of books that I’m planning on reading this Fall.ย
TIP: Don’t like having to haul a book around and prefer to read on a kindle instead? Check this one out.ย
Netflix shows to download
When I travel, I also like to download all of my girly shows that Charles won’t watch on my iPad. The car is the perfect place to rot your brain with garbage TV! Some of my favorite series are The Bold Type, Younger, Virgin River, Vampire Diaries, and Legacies. There are honestly so many. I could probably go on forever, haha!
Prefer to watch a movie? Check out this list of the best road trip movies, including some of my favorites, like Dumb and Dumber, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Tommy Boy, and so much more!
Road trip games
If you’re traveling with the whole fam, road trip games are always fun to have along on the ride! I’ve linked a bunch of options in my Amazon storefront here, and you can also find a variety of fun printable road trip games on Etsy.ย
TIP:ย Traveling with kids? Check out the best road trip essentials for kids here.
Other ways to stay entertained on the road
Some other things to do to stay entertained on the road are to listen to podcasts, audiobooks, or even stand-up comedy. You could also put together a fun Spotify playlist to listen to!
Road trip must haves for the passenger princess
For comfort
Road trips can be super exhausting for the passenger princess, and if you want to avoid any meltdowns, I recommend making sure she (or he) is comfortable at all times.ย
To do that, you’re going to want to grab thisย travel pillow/blanket combo from Amazon that is super travel-friendly and also includes a sleeve to attach to your luggage easily. It also wouldnโt hurt to have a few pairs of comfy socks handy in case she gets cold!
For self care
If there’s anything the passenger princess loves most, it’s self-care! Some of my favorite travel beauty essentials that I ALWAYS make sure to have in my bag for any trip include under eye gels, facial sheet masks, and a lip mask.ย
Additionally, I always like to have Advil and Dramamine readily available just in case, and I never leave the house without hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes.
Road trip snacks
The last thing you want on your New England Fall road trip is for the passenger princess to get hangry, so keeping the car fully stocked with all the best road trip snacks is super important. Some of my favorites include Smart Sweets (the sourmelon bites are especially tasty), Chomps beef jerky sticks, and Verb energy bars (if you need a pick-me-up).
To stay energized, Celsius (specifically sparkling orange) is my fave, and I also like to carry some Liquid IV packets in my bag to keep hydrated.
TIP: Click here to build your own Smart Sweets box and use code TRAVELMEETSSTYLE10 for 10% off your purchase!
Road trip essentials for your pet
I’m honestly surprised by how easy it was to travel with our French bulldog, Melvin, on our New England Fall road trip. He’s always been really good in the car, but we weren’t sure how he would do with long 8-hour driving days. He obviously got antsy at times, but for the most part, enjoyed looking out the window and napping to his heart’s desire.ย
Regardless, I tried to make our car as comfortable as possible for him and, of course, had lots of chew toys around to keep him occupied. If you’re planning on traveling with your dog, below are some dog road trip essentials that worked wonders for us on our road trip, and would definitely recommend!
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Packing list for road trip
I already told you above how horribly we packed the car for our New England road trip, so it probably comes as no surprise that my suitcases were a hot mess too. In my defense, we had to pack for three different seasons, which made packing much more challenging.
If I had to do it again (which I will bc we’re planning a 2023 New England road trip!) I definitely would have brought a lot less and packed a lot more efficiently. For example, I recommend packing a small bag with your toiletries and a few outfits for shorter stops to get you by. You can leave the larger bags in the car and take them out for longer stops!
Scroll below to check out some of my road trip packing list tips and travel essentials to help keep you organized
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Packing tips for a road trip
- You don’t need to pack everything you own! It’s called a washing machine people, and most hotels & Airbnb’s have them. I’ll be the first to admit that I packed way too much for our road trip and didn’t wear even half of what I packed! Comfort is key when traveling (especially on the road), and I ended up re-wearing a lot of the same things.ย
- Pack outfits that you can mix and match! This is something I definitely need to be better at when I’m packing. I like to shoot a lot of content when I travel (which means lots of outfits), but it’s just silly to pack that much. You can easilyย recreate a new outfit by pairing it with something different and switching up accessories. Check out some of my how-to posts here.ย
- Utilize packing organization products! Packing organization products has been aย game changer for me, especially if you’re living out of a suitcase. Before I discovered packing cubes, my bag always used to look like a tornado had gone through it. I like to think of them as almost like dresser drawers you would have at home, so as you can imagine, it’s a lot easier to find what you’re looking for! See below for all of my favorite travel essentials.
- Layers are key! If you have to pack for multiple seasons like I did on our road trip, I would recommend bringing lots of layers. The weather can fluctuate by day, and itโs a lot easier to put on/peel off layers than to be stuck in an uncomfortable outfit all day. Packing layers rather than bulky items that take up a lot of space in your suitcase is also a lot more efficient.ย
Packing essentials to stay organized
If you guys have been following me for a little bit, then you know how much I love packing cubes! They truly have been such a game changer for me, and I can’t recommend them enough. Check out this post here for everything you need to know about packing cubes and why you need them in your life!
I’ve also included some of my other favorite travel accessories below that make packing so much more efficient (and enjoyable) and have really helped me to stay organized throughout my entire trip.
TIP:ย Check out my post here that shows you exactly how to build a Fall travel capsule wardrobe that’s efficient, versatile, and perfectly suited for any adventure!
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