Travel Tips

Viking River Cruises had not sailed onto my radar until my mom and dad cruised the Rhine River several years ago. And I don’t think that I would have considered a cruise for myself until my dad passed away, and I decided to sail the Danube River with my mom. It just seemed like something that older people did. (I know — I’m 50. Go ahead and laugh.)

But from the minute that we met our Viking-appointed driver — at midnight in the Budapest airport after a 30-hour trip from Fort Wayne, Indiana, via Chicago (where we were delayed for mechanical issues) and then Frankfurt (where we then missed our connection and ended up with a 12-hour layover) — I decided that I could get used to the bountiful little luxuries provided by a Viking River Cruise. 

The Pros of a Viking River Cruise

A bit of perspective: I’ve never been on a cruise of any kind. Most of my travel is roughing it: whether literally, out in the woods; or organizing busy budget trips for my family; or traveling solo, in which I’m solely responsible for my safety, transportation, accommodations, food, water and activities.

I’ve never been on a trip where people took care of things for me. So the very nature of a cruise in which things are planned and managed is a novelty. And that leads me to a long list of pros:

1. Transportation from and to the airport is arranged. If you book your airfare through Viking (we got free airfare as part of one of their regular promotions), then Viking will send you a baggage tag and a sticker for your shirt before you leave, and someone will greet you at the airport upon arrival, take you to the boat and put your luggage in your room. This was especially welcome during our unexpectedly arduous trip overseas. The same works in reverse: When it was time to leave, Viking took us by bus to the airport, helped us with our luggage and showed us to check-in.
2. You can get help during your flights. If you book your airfare through Viking and you run into travel snags, then you can call a number that they supply exclusively for flight issues and someone will guide you to solutions, as well as notify the boat.
3. Drinking water is abundant and free. They’ll give you a bottle of water when they pick you up from the airport. There’s always a large glass bottle in your room. When you depart for an included excursion, they’ll provide a bottle of water. I drink a lot of water all day long. In some places where I’ve traveled, tap water is unsafe, and drinking water is scarce. In others, it’s a matter of buying, carrying and keeping enough on hand to feel hydrated. On this cruise, someone made sure that I always had drinking water. I’d say it’s the little things, but this was huge for me.
4. The boat is luxurious. It’s not big, but it’s modern, bright, very clean and sleek, reflecting the Scandanavian design aesthetic of its country of origin. There are floor-to-ceiling windows nearly everywhere in the shared spaces, making it feel open and airy and allowing for great views of the passing scenery.
5. The service is exceptional. Thanks to my work as a food and wine writer, I’ve enjoyed some amazing service, and the people working on our Viking River Cruise were on par. They lead with enthusiastic welcomes, gracious offers of help and hard work.
6. The food is fantastic. There’s a huge selection of menu items at every meal, including dishes local to the region that you’re visiting each night at dinner. There were two coffee stations on our boat with cappuccino machines, hot tea and cookies available all day. The lounge had a full bar and, if you have the Silver Spirits package, premium cocktails, beer and wine are free. (Otherwise, a nice selection of wine and beer is free at lunch and dinner.) Breakfast and lunch include both a self-service buffet area, and sit-down, full-service options. Dinner is full service. SIDENOTE: In honor of Viking’s Norwegian heritage, Viking gives guests a glass of Aquavit, a Scandinavian-distilled beverage. Tradition dictates that the Linie Aquavit they serve must be carried in oak casks on ships that cross the equator twice on a four-month voyage spanning 35 countries. It’s believed that the moving seas and temperature changes allow more flavor to be extracted from the casks. How specific and charming is that?
7. The included excursions are phenomenal. I pride myself on comprehensively canvassing a city when I visit. I do a ton of research beforehand to identify places to see and to get a sense of the vibe and history. I map out routes and plan how to get around, whether by foot, public transportation or even a Hop-On Hop-Off bus. The basic tours included in our Viking River Cruise each morning eliminated all of that legwork — I could simply show up, look and learn.
8. There are spaces to tuck away. The boat includes a tiny library space and workspace at one end of the upper level where you can read, write or go online if you need a bit of a break from all the people-ing. (See the people-ing and wifi cons below.)
9. There is community. If you’re traveling solo and can swing the single supplement, this is a brilliant way to feel a part of a group. People grow familiar very quickly, and they’re quite friendly, adept at making interesting conversation. Many are avid travelers with good stories. The average age of the population on a Viking River Cruise is probably 70. And it’s a largely lovely group of well-traveled people who know how to make small talk and do a good job of it. If you’re traveling solo, you’ll have ample opportunities to make friends and share conversation.
10. It can be very affordable. If you have a traveling companion, and you take advantage of one of the specials — such as free airfare — you will likely beat the cost of a self-organized trip by a mile.

The Cons of a Viking River Cruise

1. There’s no space to work out. Yes, I know. It’s vacation. But after sitting on an airplane for hours (or days) and eating and drinking so much, I wished for a small gym. The upper deck of the ship is an open-air seating area with a walking track. But depending on the time of year in which you cruise, it could be a really brisk walk, as in blustery. 
2. I felt like a conspicuous tourist. During our excursions, we were shuttled to our walking tours in giant motorcoaches. We wore listening devices on bright red lanyards. We followed our guide, who was bearing a sign, in a slow-moving cluster. This all eliminates the opportunity to observe a place unnoticed. It makes you a more obvious target to vendors or pickpockets who follow travelers like bees on honey. And we were sometimes noticeably annoying to local residents.
3. Your time is not entirely your own. There’s not always a chance to linger at something you want to explore further when you’re on an excursion, or to venture further in a place. It’s the tradeoff for being free of planning responsibilities.
4. An introvert could be overwhelmed. If you dine in the restaurant, you’ll share a table with a group. When you go to the mandatory safety presentation, or the cultural presentations and port talks, or the captain’s welcome, you’ll need to continue chatting with other people. Sometimes it’s a lot of people-ing. And on a small boat, you’re not anonymous for long. The good news: The people on my cruise knew very well how to dip into a conversation and dip right back out.  
5. For the solo traveler, it’s expensive. The solo supplement turns an affordable trip into an extravagance. 
6. For a pair, the cheapest rooms are tight. It’s entirely manageable to share one of the lower-deck rooms. They’re well-designed, making the most of the teeny, tiny space. Your two twin beds are pushed together or separated, and there is space under the beds for luggage. But there isn’t enough room for two people to pass each other at the foot of the beds; it’s a bit of a dance to navigate. And any time that you have a suitcase out, it consumes all of the floor space.
7. The internet is unreliable. I was able to work extra before and after my trip and avoid long days or late nights on the laptop during my cruise. But I did need to send some emails and make some social posts, and I was dead in the water, so to speak, for several days. Our service was extra bad — they even brought in a tech team in Vienna, but the service failed again the next day.
8. You lose the sense of place that comes with staying in a destination. On a Viking River Cruise, you’re somewhat esconsed in typical American culture, far more than if you were staying in a local hotel for a few days. 

The Boat

Viking has a fleet of river and ocean cruise ships. Ours was the Viking Jarl, built in 2013. It holds as many as 190 guests. There are three levels on the ship, plus an open-air deck on top. The lower level includes guest rooms and crew areas. The middle level includes guest rooms, guest services and the restaurant, plus a dining terrace. The third level includes guest rooms, a library and other seating, and the lounge. The top level is an open-air deck with a walking track, herb garden, solar panels, shuffleboard and a golf putting area.

The Room

We chose the most affordable room, 101. It had two twin beds, a full bathroom, a small closet, three drawers, a mini fridge and a TV. We had a small window and were eye-level with the water. Other rooms offer more space, or balconies, or other combinations of luxuries and perks.

The Trip

We chose the Romantic Danube, October 2–9, including Budapest, Hungary; Vienna and Krems in Austria; and Passau and Regensburg in Germany.

Day One

Arrival in Budapest. If you arrive as scheduled, then you can embark at 3 p.m., leave your luggage and go into the city to see the sights on your own, or sleep off some jet lag. We missed this part of the trip, arriving after midnight thanks to our flight delays.

Day Two: Budapest, Hungary

An included excursion to Budapest (pronounced Bu-da-pesht). At 8 a.m. we boarded motorcoaches in four groups with four tour guides to the heart of the city. Along the way, our guide explained the basics of the Hungarian language and the large concrete buildings, a holdover from communist days, in which many of the citizens of the Pest side of Budapest live. Our first stop was Heroes Square, where we disembarked for a history lesson. We then boarded the buses for a driving tour of the Buda side of the city, enjoying views of the Danube, its many bridges and the Parliament Building.

Our second stop was Inner City Parish Church back on the Pest side; from there our guide led us on a walking tour through the retail corridor and gave us time to wander the Central Market Hall, where they sell everything from embroidered table runners to made-in-China plastic to spectacular meats and meals. There’s even an Aldi in the basement. I bought some authentic paprika from an upstairs stall. 

After a short visit, we boarded the buses to meet up with the boat, which had already set sail west for Visegrad shortly after we left. After we boarded the boat and headed to the dining room for lunch, the ship continued west. With less than four hours’ sleep the night before, I slept off some of my jet lag and did some writing before catching the tail end of a presentation on Viennese coffeehouse culture in the lounge, followed by the chef’s Champagne reception, dinner in the restaurant, and drinks and live music in the lounge. 

Day 3: Vienna, Austria

An included excursion to Vienna. I should have gone to bed earlier. I should have had fewer cocktails. I was dragging again the next morning, and jet lag and early morning noise from the boat’s mechanical systems didn’t help. (Our room, the cheapest on board, was under the boat’s gangway.) The ship was forced by local police to conduct a passport check — a sometimes occurrence — so those of us going into Vienna left the boat about 20 minutes after our scheduled 9:15 a.m. departure.  

We again boarded motorcoaches in groups; this time, some were going on different types of day tours. Our included excursion took us to the Ringstrasse, the broad boulevard through the city center, where we disembarked and walked with our guide through the historic area of Vienna, soaking up his stories of history, buildings and people along the way. 

Our guide left us in front of Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, reiterating directions for the metro and the nearest toilettes for those who wanted to stay in the city for the afternoon rather than take the coach back to the boat. Mom and I had already been armed with maps, and our guide even had euros on hand for those who needed to use the restroom and forgot to bring money. (It typically costs 0.50 euros to 1 euro to use a public restroom, known as a toilette or WC/water closest.)

Mom and I strolled inside Saint Stephen’s and took the elevator to the tower on top; after, we visited Sluka for its authentic Vienna coffeehouse culture and the restroom. We made our way back to the Spanish Riding School to inquire about tours of the Lippezaner horse facility, pausing along the way to gape in awe at the interiors of Saint Peter’s and Saint Michael’s churches, but the next ticket wasn’t until 4 p.m., so we meandered around the Hapsburg Palace area, then made our way back to the metro near Saint Stephen’s; a short ride on the train put us within a 10-minute walk of the boat. 

Drowsy, I explored the boat a bit and wrote for a while, until the port talk previewing the next day’s activities and then dinner.

Day 4: Vienna, Austria

We were on our own this day, so Mom and I booked a self-guided Grand Tour of the Schonbrunn Palace, the fantastical “hunting lodge” built at the end of the sixteenth century for Emperor Joseph I and his family. The website for the palace says the tour is 50 to 60 minutes, but allow at least two hours. You’ll want to gawk, and you’ll want to walk the grounds. 

I had the great idea that we should get off the U-Bahn (Vienna’s subway) at the Karlsplatz stop on the green line, versus the St. Stephen’s stop on the red line, to see a different part of the city before our tour of the Lippizaner training center, but we ended up lost in the maze of residential streets and missed our tour time. (I’m so sorry, Mom!)

Instead, after we found our way back to the city center we returned to Sluka for coffee and a sacher torte, then headed back to the boat for dinner. We finished our day with an add-on excursion to an orchestral concert of Mozart and Strauss, including dancers and opera singers. It was short and sweet and surprisingly spectacular.

Day 5: Krems, Austria

An included walking tour of Gottweig Abbey. We docked in Krems sometime during the night. In the morning we boarded buses for a short ride to Gottweig Abbey. Parts medieval, parts baroque and thoroughly gorgeous, the monastery is famous for its apricot wines and brandy. While there are roughly 35 monks still living and working there and in the surrounding community, one of the primary sources of revenue for upkeep, aside from leasing the surrounding lands, is tourism. In addition to a visit and wine tasting, you can book a stay on the grounds, which are rich with views and gardens. 

We returned to the boat for lunch, then sailed the Wachau Valley, a picturesque and rustic section of the Danube famous for its wines. Our program director narrated the sights and identified the small towns along the way while we basked in the warm October sun and sipped Viennese coffee. The day included other talks and a cooking demonstration, along with the usual entertainment in the lounge before and after dinner. There also was a presentation featuring discounts on future Viking River Cruises.

Day 6: Passau, Germany

It was incredibly foggy when we arrived in Passau. The sun soon burned the soft filter off of the Italian-designed pastel buildings to reveal brilliant blue skies, cobblestones and charming passageways at the confluence of three rivers. There were many, many university students, children, dogs and babies in the Old Town area; it made my heart so happy. I had beer at a ratskellar, visited a castle and petted puppies after the included walking tour. 

Passau might have been my favorite place on our cruise. People lined the waterways with their friends, families, pups, toddlers, beers and musical instruments to watch the golden hour bathe the picturesque pathways.

Day 7: Regensburg, Germany

The walking tours that morning included a Jewish history option. It was a gut punch in a lot of ways. Our marvelous tour guide, Sylvia Seifert, MA, showed us tiles built into the sidewalk that represent victims of the Holocaust. Part of an art program throughout Europe, they’re called stumbling stones — not to catch the feet, but the mind — and they’re placed in front of the homes where the victims last lived. She is working on a book to compile information about each of the stumbling stones memorials.

We also learned about the Jewish quarter versus the Jewish ghetto, as well as the various times Jews were wrongly blamed for crises over the centuries, persecuted and expelled. We learned that people destroyed Jewish cemeteries, and we saw the gravestones used as trophy architecture. Our tour included Emilie and Oskar Schindler’s home in Regensburg.

TRIP TIP

| To arrange your own walking tour of the historic Jewish Quarter in Regensburg, you can reach Sylvia Seifert, our guide, at Shalom in Regensburg. |

It was a cold, gray, impactful morning. After a warmup in a coffee shop, we ventured back out into Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We saw weddings in the square and German-made Christmas ornaments by the truckload and indulged in some retail therapy, as it was our final day. 

Of course we *had* to have sausage and (for me) a beer at Historische Wurestkuche, the Regensburg kitchen serving the workers who constructed the 12th century Stone Bridge and the oldest sausage kitchen in the world. It hasn’t changed a bit, judging from our peek inside! We also stumbled upon the centuries-old abbey … and a bit of a creepy saint altar within … before walking back to the boat.

Our final dinner on the ship was magnificent. There was entertainment afterward, but we opted to return to our room and pack. Even though our departure from Munich (about 1.5 hours away) wasn’t until 1:30 p.m. the next day, Viking wanted our luggage in the hall at 5:30 a.m. and us on the bus at 6 a.m. with others who were leaving around the same time. In fact, there were departures scheduled as early as 2:30 a.m. If you book your airfare with Viking, there’s no way around this. At the same time, it was very nice to have included transportation, and our wait in Munich wasn’t onerous. I dozed on the bus. 

Viking River Cruise FAQs

Do you have to dress for dinner?

No. You can if you want to; some people put on a more dressy top and jewelry before dinner, and some people came in casual dress. And some people wore the same jeans they’d had on all day.

Do you have to sit with the same people at dinner every day?

No, you’re free to move about the cabin. Mom and I sat with several very different groups of people, only similar in their charming conversation skills and warmth.

Can you store your luggage in your room?

Yes, I had a full-sized suitcase clocking in at just under 50 pounds, plus a large carry-on, and I was able to stash both underneath my bed.

Do you have to share a bed?

No. When you fill out your profile online on My Viking Journey before your trip, you can ask for the two twins to be split apart. It’s tight, but doable.

Do you need a converter and adapter for the outlets?

On our ship, you didn’t have to have them, but it would be helpful. There are several 110-volt plugs in the room. But if you have multiple devices, they’ll be used up in a heartbeat. I alternated charging my watch and my phone with the 110-volt plug using a regular Apple block, or with the one USB charger built into the wall. I brought an Apple Europe adapter for my laptop, and I brought the European hair dryer that I purchased in Milan several years ago, because the last time I traveled overseas with my American hair dryer, it conked out. I used the European plugs for those.

Is it an older crowd?

I’d peg the average at 70 on our Viking River Cruise, but that’s not to say that there aren’t any much younger people. There was a 20-something newlywed couple on their honeymoon on our trip, and several couples in their 50s and 60s. Children aren’t permitted on Viking River Cruises. There’s no pool, no casino, no disco, no umbrella drinks, no photography sales, no thumping late-night bass on their river cruises. The joy of this crowd, I discovered, is that they’re avid lifelong travelers — not vacationers. They’re curious and informed and gentle and friendly. 

Is it all-inclusive?

It can be. The price of our Viking River Cruise, the Romantic Danube in early October 2022, was $2,499. That included our airfare, thanks to a special promotion that comes along fairly regularly. For that price, we had transfers to and from the airport; daily walking tours of each new city; all of our meals plus snacks; beer and wine at meals; (spotty) wifi; and travel support. 

Our total trip came in at just under $2,949 per person with the fully refundable (for any reason) Allianz travel insurance provided by Viking; prepaid gratuities for the ship staff (though not bus drivers and tour guides); and the Silver Spirits package, which upgraded our booze. (It was embedded in the free airfare promotion, so we couldn’t peel it off). Our trip was six full days of tours and travel, plus the day before and the day after to and from the airport.

Any other tips?

• You can extend your trip through Viking before or after your cruise by a few days and see some other cities. We had so many delays on the way to Budapest that we wished we had arrived a day or two early. This also would have alleviated some jet lag.
• Bring Advil PM, an eye mask and ear buds. There’s ship noise, there are early tours and there’s jet lag. I barely slept. I came home in desperate need of a solid eight hours (plus a facial scrub and a food-and-alcohol detox).
• Bring tennis shoes. Though there’s no gym, the walking track on the open-air deck is an awesome way to get in some miles. You can make your own workout from there: push-ups, jumping jacks, triceps dips, walking lunges, etc.
• Don’t count on the wifi. This was the most disappointing surprise of the trip. I don’t usually travel with a SIM card or any other means of accessing wifi or cell service, and I thought that the ship would mean better connectivity than I usually enjoy. I’m glad I’d arranged to be free of my social media duties during my trip.
• Many people book second, third and more trips on Viking. Not only are their Viking River Cruises wildly popular, but their Ocean Cruises and their new Expedition Cruises draw repeat guests. To a person, the people with whom I spoke said that every experience they’ve had was exceptional. Service wins top remarks, followed by the food and the boats, as well as the excursions. Honestly, I agree. And I don’t get paid a dime to say that. They seem to treat their staff really well too. Our program director, a veteran of other ocean lines, had only worked for Viking for a week when the COVID pandemic shut down cruising; the company looked after her, as she said, through the duration of the pandemic. 
• Go to the port talks. Each night, they’ll prep you for the following day’s destination with a port talk, explaining times, procedures and key sights to see in the next city. There’s also detailed information in the Viking Daily, a printed document that arrives in your room during dinner each night. 

While it never felt like a hard sell, Viking arms you with literature about their other cruise offerings before you go home, and provides a limited-time discount on future trips. They didn’t need to sell me at all; the experience itself was enough to convince me that I should take another trip whenever I have the time and money again. (When my ship comes in, so to speak.) Apparently I’m not the only one: In 2022, Viking was voted the number one ocean line and the number one river line in the Condé Nast Traveler’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards for the second year in a row, as well as number one for both rivers and oceans by Travel + Leisure.

I don’t have experience with other river cruise providers, but I can say that my first experience with Viking made me a fan of that mode of travel. I haven’t traveled with other ocean cruise providers either, but my first Viking cruise made me eager to try one of their ocean itineraries as well. I have my eye on the 33-day cruise to Hawaii and Polynesia (Tahiti!). And the 138-day world cruise is an absolute dream. I need to start playing the lottery. 

I won’t forgo my other means of travel. But this was a bit of luxury that I’d love to do again.

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In April 2016, not long after I moved to Denver, I took advantage of a gorgeous Friday afternoon to go hiking about 25 minutes from my house. I packed up the Big Blue Boots and headed to my favorite vista at the Chief Hosa exit on I-70 heading west. (Yeah, if you’ve seen it, you know what I mean.)

Little did I know that I was about to get a lesson on the 10 essentials for hiking and why they’re especially important when you’re hiking solo, or in an unfamiliar area or in rugged terrain.

I was expecting an experience like the past two weeks’ hikes over by Golden: basically, an escalator of people going up and down. So when I pulled off the dirt road into the parking lot, I was a little surprised to see just four other cars…and lots of snow. When I hiked Chimney Gulch the week prior, I was feeling hot, hot, hot in a tank top and shorts. I was dressed similarly that fateful Friday, because it was even warmer than last week in Denver. But Genesee had had about 40 inches of snow (not 4, but 40) since last week, and it was still deep in some spots here. I was glad I had a cardigan and rain jacket in my trunk, though it would have been better if I’d had my whole road trip emergency kit.

As good fortune would have it, a gentleman named Robert (aka one of the most interesting men in the world) was preparing to embark on the Beaver Brook path at the same time. Robert was marking spots off the trail for the mountaineering class he teaches. Could I BE in better company? I think not. 

It turns out that Robert moved to Genesee in 2014 from Jasper, Indiana, not far from my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was executive vice president of a multinational cabinet-making company there. He’s also been a professional triathlete, participates in a wine group in Evergreen, has a degree in research science, has traveled all over the world, and skis and bikes most all year round. I’m fairly sure that at 69, he could kick my arse at most any outdoor endeavor. 

He’s also an instructor for the Colorado Mountain Club, and he introduced me to the 10 essentials for hiking…of which I had none.

We hiked the first third of the trail together, shimmying along a rock face at one point. Then he went right and I went left. Left, deep down into the forest, where it was cold and dark and I was alone. I kicked myself a few times for not bringing my day pack. I had no compass, no matches, no extra food, no printed map. Could I BE more ill-prepared? I think not. Lesson learned: Not every trail is flooded with families and dogs all marching in a single-file line every step of the way.  

The snow was kind of a bonus, because some brave soul and his dog had gone ahead of me in recent days. Every now and then I could pick up a footstep. And when I saw a vast patch of snow without a track, I knew I had lost the trail. (There was no signage.)

Curses to Beaver Brook. Maybe at other times of the year it’s different. Maybe at other times of the year when there’s not a lot of melting snow, you don’t cross the stream 18 TIMES. Yes, I counted. Actually, I lost count — instead, I took photos of each crossing and counted the pictures later. I thought maybe someone was playing a cruel joke when I encountered the first crossover — I had to actually clamber over a beaver dam. (Do beavers bite people?) Next I had to balance on slick rocks within the rushing water. The next few crossings were actually under water. The Big Blue hiking boots are waterproof, but that doesn’t help when you have to step in water deeper than they are tall.  

My yoga teachers would be proud: I used all kinds of balance asanas (extended side angle, standing splits) to pick my way across small logs and slippery rocks, grabbing any branch that extended its arm anywhere near the muddy bank. You just wish you were there to watch the hilarity!

I was never so glad to begin a huge ascent as I was that late Friday at the end of the Chavez Trail, which connects to Beaver Brook for a 4-mile loop gaining 1,100 feet in elevation. Climbing meant I would soon leave the cursed brook behind. I began to hear the highway off in the distance, the trees were thinning and the weak sun and the mountains were to my back…the end was near. I hiked up the road to the winter parking (yay for added mileage) and got to the Jeep just in time to see the sun set over my favorite vista. 

I stopped at the Morrison Inn on the way home for tacos and a well-deserved world-famous margarita on the roof. Then I promptly got online with REI and ordered some daypack essentials to make Robert proud.

The 10 Essentials for Hiking

The Colorado Mountain Club offers classes on very technical things, but also a basic class on Wilderness Survival, which I signed up for upon his recommendation. (Thank you again, Robert.) It sounds like something only a serious hiker would need. But honestly, it was just smart information for anyone who wants to wander through the woods. I had all of this (and more, of course) when I hiked Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula.

Here are the 10 essentials for hiking as recommended by REI:

1. printed map (Relying on cell service or your phone battery is a mistake. )
2. compass
3. sunglasses/sunscreen
4. extra clothing (Warm clothing, I’d suggest, including socks, gloves and a hat.)
5. headlamp/flashlight (Check the batteries every six months.)
6. first aid supplies (I’ve used these a lot. Check the expiration dates every six months.)
7. firestarter/matches
8. water 
9. knife
10. extra food (Stable things such as jerky, nuts, dried fruit and protein bars are best. Check the expiration dates every six months.)

Does this sound excessive? Consider this scenario: You slip, fall and break your leg. There’s no way you can hike out. And you have no cell service where you are. If you’re with a friend, they can go for help, but it might be a while. It might get dark. The weather might change. You might need to be prepared to spend several cold, wet hours out there…hopefully only in pain, and not in shock. 

If you’re hiking alone, you might need to stay there until someone realizes you’re missing. Which is why you always tell someone where you’re hiking and when you think you’ll be back, and you write your name, your trail and the date on a piece of paper and put it on the dash of your car.

Now the 10 essentials don’t sound so extra, do they? 

I keep a few extra key things in my pack:

• hand sanitizer, right in an outside pocket
• toilet paper in a baggie for outside potty breaks — put the used paper back in the baggie and carry it out for proper disposal
• a battery pack and charging cord for my phone. I like to take a lot of photos, and I use the pro version of the AllTrails app, which relies on satellite positioning.
• bear spray to deal with threats from animals…or people
• lip balm with sunscreen
• a photocopy of my ID

Here’s the deal. You won’t think you need all of this until you have a near miss…and then you’re ever so grateful that you brought along the 10 essentials and the recommended extras. 

It’s not hard — just set your hiking pack and forget it. I check for expiration dates on emergency medications and snacks and for battery life in my headlamp and my extra battery pack in the spring, when I start hiking again in earnest, as well as in the fall, when I wash everything and store my day pack for the season.

It’s truly not heavy — especially if you choose a good pack with ample pockets and padded shoulder straps for weight distribution. 

And a backpack with the 10 essentials plus a few extras is like a shot of courage for hiking solo, which I do all the time. It’s extremely reassuring to know that I’m prepared for nearly any eventuality.

I was purely lucky to have avoided catastrophe on that long, slippery solo hike in the snow, with darkness approaching. I’m really glad that I didn’t have to put other people at risk trying to rescue me if I didn’t find my way back to the car before sunset. 

I can’t promise that Robert will be on every trail across the country. So prep your daypack with the 10 essentials, at a minimum, and you’ll feel empowered to take on any hike. 

---

Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

---

_{The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.}

_{This post likely contains affiliate links. If you shop or make a reservation through these links, we may make a small commission (for which we are very grateful!) at no extra cost to you. Not all links are affiliates, and we only suggest products and places that we have experienced.}

_{We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.}

There’s always that one moment. 

You reach the crest of a hill. You round a bend. And suddenly, the landscape laid out before you literally takes your breath away.

You might argue that this is exactly the time when you’d want someone with you to share it. But there’s an extra intensity — a sense of being totally present — when you experience a moment like this alone.

Taking a solo road trip out west is iconic. The vistas are truly expansive, like a landscape painting that breathes. And there’s a sense of being a pioneer all over again, exploring places that you’re sure no one has ever passed — mostly because you’re completely alone. 

I promise I’m not anti-social. In fact, one of my favorite parts of taking a solo road trip out west is meeting people along the way, which happens differently than when you road trip in a more dense part of the country, such as the South or the East. But I find a road trip in wide-open spaces to be a fantastic way to travel solo. That may sound counterintuitive, but it’s easy to feel lonely in a crowd of happy couples and families.

It seems as if the expectation to be alone is more natural out west. Could it be because these areas are often home to rugged individualists who want to escape the grid? Perhaps. Lower population densities in many states west of the Mississippi are likely part of it too. 

Whatever the case, a solo road trip out west is ideal for meditation, for healing, for exploring thoughts and feelings. Places where Mother Nature demands your attention but little else does are especially good for someone experiencing a transition in life. Or for someone who simply wants to get away from it all. 

Going it alone in regions where gas stations are few and far between, however, does require you to be super smart about a few things.

18 Tips for a Solo Road Trip Out West

1) Before you ever plan a solo road trip out west, be sure to check out my blog on what to pack in a road trip emergency kit. I feel so much more confident knowing that no matter what comes, I can survive for a few days in my car. I also tend to go hiking along the way during a solo road trip out west, so I bring my backpack, which includes gear to help me survive for a few days as well. 

2) For a solo road trip out west, I recommend packing a cooler and a bag of food. Restaurants, even fast food joints, can be few and far between. And because of ongoing staffing shortages, sometimes they’re closed even if they exist at all. A cooler full of drinks, breakfast foods and other favorites can tide you over. 

Be sure that bag of food goes beyond the typical road snacks. In my last solo road trip out west, I packed turkey jerky, some salt-free tortilla chips, some nut and raisin mixes that I made at home and plenty of peanut butter and jelly. In my cooler, I included some mini packs of mashed avocado and a big bag of baby carrots, some yogurt, and some kombucha, sparkling water and Coke Zero. You do you, of course, but think about some healthy additions to your typical road trip snacks that can serve as balanced meals.

And don’t forget the water. Be sure you have plenty of reusable water bottles filled with drinking water. I always have extra in my car emergency kit, but I fill a few Nalgenes every day that I’m on the road — more than I’ll drink in a day — just in case I get stuck somewhere.

(I was really glad that I took a bowl of precooked rice and a can of tuna on that trip, too. By the time I arrived at my Microtel in Vernal, Utah, after a long day of driving and hiking, nearby restaurants were closed, but there was a microwave in my room. And that was a great dinner.)

3) Don’t leave that food in your car overnight! Bears have been known to rip doors off of cars and destroy the interior trying to get at food — and they can smell incredibly well. Take your food into the hotel with you. If you’re camping, use a bear canister; depending on where you’re staying, rangers may ask you to also string up the canister, or place it in a locker at the campground.

4) If you’re taking a solo road trip out west, I highly recommend both travel insurance and a roadside assistance plan. I have the Allianz annual plan as well as roadside assistance from my car insurer. It’s reassuring to know that someone will come fetch you and make it all better if you run into a real problem.

5) When you take a solo road trip out west, gas stations can be sparse. And the last thing you want to do is run out of gas miles from anywhere. Even with roadside assistance, you could end up waiting a long while. If I’m down to half a tank, I’ll stop and top it off, just because I don’t always know how far it is till the next gas station. Of course, you can do a pretty good job of figuring that out by using the plethora of road trip apps listed in this blog that I wrote for Airsteam. 

I make good use of the rest area app listed there, because on my last trip through northwest Colorado I stopped to find a potty six times at various places in one day, and only lucked out twice. One gas station was locked up; another didn’t have working restrooms; a visitor center was closed for Juneteenth…you get the idea. Thank God for rest areas.

6) On that note, another tip for a solo road trip out west is to take along a “potty kit.” I keep one in my glove box and several in my hiking pack. It’s nothing special — just a compostable sandwich bag with a single-use amount of toilet paper stuffed inside, paired with a small bottle of hand sanitizer. This way if I’m truly desperate I can find some shrubbery and make do without littering — I just toss the baggie when I see a trash can. (Though finding shrubbery can be as difficult out west as finding a restroom.)

7) In my work for Airstream, I recently interviewed several women who are solo female travelers. They had all kinds of ideas for safety and protection, including keeping an air horn handy. I carry pepper spray in my purse, and I have bear spray in my hiking backpack. Both will buy me some time in an emergency. 

I have a whistle, though that’s not as effective if you’re in a truly remote space. I also have an app on my phone called UrSafe that lets me push a button and send for help, as well as alert my emergency contacts. But again, that’s not always helpful if you’re in a remote area without cell service. 

So I also carry a sat phone. A satellite phone can be a bit of an investment upfront and does require a monthly service plan, but if you’re going to be hiking, biking or traveling in remote spaces, it’s a fantastic investment in your security. 

8) Sometimes when traveling on a solo road trip out west, you’ll pass through Native American lands. Many of these spaces have unique requirements: Sometimes you’re not permitted to take photos. Sometimes you have to provide identification upon entry and tell tribal representatives when you’re planning to leave the reservation. I know that as a Journey Here traveler, you’ll be respectful of customs and cultures. 

But what you might not know is that these lands often lack services. No restaurants, no gas stations and no cell service, sometimes for hours. Driving through a Native American reservation is a stunning experience, because you’ll get dark skies like no other, and it’s a rare glimpse into what the western part of the United States might have looked like centuries ago. But all of the tips in this blog are truly essential here.

9) Keep your gadgets charged, and consider including a solar charger in your lineup. I keep all of my communications devices topped up when I’m traveling on a solo road trip out west. My phone is always plugged in, because it’s my navigation. But I also top off my spare battery, and I carry a solar charger so that, worst case, I can use the power of the sun to get a few sips of juice. Mine is small and light enough to strap on the back of my backpack so that every time I go hiking, it’s picking up energy.

10) If you’re not from these spaces out west, be prepared for a bit of culture shock. Those used to a more urban or suburban environment might be uncomfortable. I’ve found that if you can overlook some of the obvious differences and be friendly and relatable, people will be friendly and relatable in return. Having grown up out in the country in the Midwest, I learned that sometimes the barrier is a bit of insecurity. Some people in more rural spaces anticipate that a person who looks differently or dresses differently or has different license plates might be condescending. So being open and friendly when it seems appropriate knocks down a lot of those walls. 

Of course, some of these spaces really aren’t friendly to women traveling alone, people of color or people of different races, ethnicities or practices. So listen to your gut. Use all those skills that you use when you’re traveling in any foreign environment. Pay attention, try to assimilate as much as possible and be aware of prevailing practices. 

I find that national and state parks are often friendly environments. It means there’s a better infrastructure for and expectation of tourists and visitors. And the people who visit the park systems come from all over to explore and see new things, so diverse experiences and perspectives are baked in.

11) Stay organized. This is a good tip for any road trip, but when you’re in places with dust, sand and rocks, where opportunities to offload trash and especially recycling are rare, a few extra steps could save your sanity.

• I built a little trash bin for my backseat out of the box that formerly held a case of almond milk from Costco. A small trash bag fit perfectly inside and was sturdy and stable. I put it within arm’s length of my driver’s seat. I tossed trash at gas stations but kept my cans in there until I could recycle them. 
• I chose biodegradable and compostable servingware and dishes to lessen my impact while eating away from home. My sandwich and snack baggies are biodegradable and compostable too. I carry dish soap with me so that I can wash out my reusable water bottle each night.
• I have an old rug over my floor mat so that as I’m getting in and out of my car with filthy shoes or hiking boots, cleanup is a little easier. I can grab the rug and shake it out along the way, then toss it in the washing machine on hot when I get home. 
• I always keep a pretty big bottle of hand sanitizer in my center console. But I also have hand sanitizing wipes there, because sometimes you’re just dirty, and liquid sanitizer is only going to smear it around. I also have some Seventh Generation cleaning wipes handy so that I can wipe up spills like coffee or yogurt or bugs that find their way onto the dashboard and die. My car may be pretty cluttered during a solo road trip out west, but I don’t like it to be really grubby.

12) Stay comfortable. A road trip can be good for the soul, but it can be hard on the body. These are the ways I take care of myself.

• The sun is much stronger in many parts of the west, especially at elevation, so I keep sunscreen in my center console. I always put it on my hands and wrists, as well as on my shoulder if the sun is coming through the side window.
• I tore my hamstring at the connection to my hip this spring, and I’ve always had piriformis syndrome, so I put a custom cushion on my seat. That makes my lumbar support all wonky, however, so I also put a cushion behind my lower back. Yes, I very much feel like an old lady. I suppose maybe I am. But the ache is intolerable otherwise.
• Being in the car puts me right to sleep. Literally, if I’ve been going hard, I can doze off at a stoplight driving across town. So I give myself plenty of time to sleep at night, in case my insomnia kicks in, and I try to avoid driving more than five to seven hours a day.
• I also break up a long drive with a short hike. I use the pro version of the AllTrails app to find hikes along my route. I can think of no better way to restore blood flow while seeing unique gems, and an hour doesn’t put me too far behind. 

13) Prep your entertainment. Speaking of staying awake: You might not have cell service during your solo road trip out west, which means you also might not be able to make phone calls or listen to music. Download a lot of podcasts, audio books or language lessons. You can feed your brain from point A to point B. 

You can also download the Otter app and do some writing while you’re driving. Not literally, of course, but the Otter app allows you to speak into your phone and get a rough transcription of your thoughts, which you can send to email and clean up later. That’s actually how I wrote this blog. It was composed while I was driving from Vernal, Utah, to Salt Lake City amid some of the most gorgeous but remote scenery you’d ever hope to see.

14) Stop at the rest areas. They tend to be a little bit cleaner than gas station bathrooms, and there are often interesting tidbits or brochures about the region inside. Iowa has some of the best rest areas along I-80, with fascinating facts about the wind power turbines that you can see in motion all around you as you drive.

There’s usually some green space, if you need to get out and stretch your legs a little bit. Or If you need to close your eyes for 15 minutes, you can pull off at a rest area, park in one of the spots a little further toward the edge, lock your doors and put your seat back

And I’ve seen some amazing scenery from rest areas. Driving back to Idaho Falls from the Tetons during a solo road trip out west, I stopped at a remote rest area along the Snake River. The sunset was so stunning that I went back to my car and grabbed my phone to take photos. The rest area in Glenwood Canyon, in Colorado, is right beside the sparkling Colorado River. And a rest area that I visited in Utah on my way to Salt Lake City had a path to the top of the hill at the edge of the parking lot where you could see a massive lake, plus whole eras of paleontological history in the bluffs behind it. 

So stop at every rest area that you see. You never know when you’re going to get another chance to go potty, and the views can be phenomenal.

15) Stop at the viewing areas. My someday dream is to endlessly road trip with enough time to stop at every scenic pulloff. Getting out of the car is different than seeing the scenery at 65 mph. The air will smell different from place to place, depending on the flora and fauna. It might feel warmer or cooler or drier. You can hear the sounds of native birds and animals. Getting out and appreciating the detail of a place from the viewing area off the highway is a sensory experience. Most highways have signs at least a mile in advance so you can make your way over. 

16) When you set out on a solo road trip out west, you need to understand how to drive up and down big hills … aka mountains. Please don’t freak out when I encourage you to learn how to drive in the mountains. Believe me, I didn’t know how to for a long, long time. I grew up in very flat northeast Indiana. A little bit of time with Google or YouTube can help teach you how to use your gears and your brakes on steep inclines and declines and hairpin curves.

You also need to be aware that wild animals could cross your path, especially at twilight when deer are more active. And in certain parts of the country, you’ll encounter a lot of bicyclists riding on the shoulder. So you should watch not just the road, but also the sides of the road. 

17) Knowing how to handle things like a massive rainstorm, hail or an encounter with an animal is really important too. I didn’t grow up knowing this either. (Except deer. It was an unfortunate and expensive rite of passage to hit a deer driving alongside woods and fields every time you went anywhere, growing up in the rural area where I did.) I lived for three years in Chicago, so I’m comfortable in spaces that are dense, noisy and heavily populated — places without falling rocks or moose. But I promise you that this is something you can learn. 

If you really want to be empowered, try taking a wilderness first responder course — graduates are called “woofers.” While it’s intense, and it’s not necessary for a solo road trip, it will help you prepare for any eventuality and make you aware of things you should avoid or do in the outdoors.

18) And before you embark on a solo road trip out west, you should read our general solo travel safety tips. Among the important considerations here: 

• Don’t tell people that you’re traveling alone.
• Don’t tell them where you’re staying.
• And be hyper-vigilant about the cars around you or the people hiking around you on a trail.

As with hiking, you should always tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to be there, so that if something happens, people know where to begin the search. I also share my location on my iPhone with a loved one. I may be traveling solo, but I have a whole support team back home.

One of the things that I love about a solo road trip out west is the sense of openness and awe and wild. I feel as if there are endless new vistas around every corner or at the top of every hill, and wide open spaces where I can think and explore forever. 

I also love the challenge that comes with being alone in these wide-open spaces where Mother Nature is in charge and you have to play by her rules. You have to be smart, savvy and aware. You have to have a plan A and plan B and a plan C.

The good news is that just about anyone on a road trip is happy to share their tips and advice. So many people going in the other direction have told me about their favorite spots in the town I’ll be passing through next, or a majestic view on the highway ahead. So many people have been willing to share information or ask questions. They call it trail magic when you’re hiking. I’m sure there must be a similar name for the kindness I’ve found during a road trip.

A solo road trip out west can be an incredibly moving, empowering and stunning experience. You’ve heard of Eat Pray Love, right? For me, it’s Drive, Think, Hike. I don’t always have someone to travel with, but I’d never want to give up those experiences. So pack well. Fuel up often. And get ready to see things that blow your mind and crack your heart wide open.

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Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

---

_{The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.}

_{This post likely contains affiliate links. If you shop or make a reservation through these links, we may make a small commission (for which we are very grateful!) at no extra cost to you. Not all links are affiliates, and we only suggest products and places that we have experienced.}

_{We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.}

I can admit that I’m a bit of a neat freak and a germaphobe. 

I’m not clean or tidy to a disordered level. But I do think a lot about what touched what. And I require that things be organized in the spaces where I live and work so that I can be calm and focused.

Of course, travel is messy. That’s part of what makes it wonderful. But I don’t want to bring that into my home, and especially not into my closet. So unpacking after a trip is a whole thing. 

I have a routine now, which I’ll share with you in a minute. It makes things go pretty fast. One year I came home from Paris and left for Uganda less than a week later. Another year I came home from Albuquerque and left for Norway less than a week later. And I went through this whole routine in between.

Why, you might ask? 

Even if you’re not convinced that your suitcase is disgusting after rolling it through airports, touching the handle in the bathroom stall before you can get to the sink, and sending it through security …

Even if you didn’t visit a destination that has really nasty insects, lots of mud, or diseases that your family’s immune system hasn’t met (and we all know about COVID) … 

You might appreciate this: By following this routine, then any time that an opportunity for travel arises, you’re already ready to go. So here’s how I keep it PG-squeaky clean when I come home from an adventure and get set for the next.

Unpacking After a Trip

1. When I come in the door, I leave everything in the garage or on the tile or hardwood. My purse, my jacket…everything but my phone and laptop, which I carry to a hard surface like my kitchen island for immediate sanitizing. I use Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes, but don’t take this as advice for your technology, because I don’t want to be responsible for damage. Use whatever you use to sterilize your tech gear. (You do that regularly, right?)
2. If I have time, I like to shower right away. Some trips don’t allow for many showers! I leave the clothes that I was wearing on the tile bathroom floor until they can go in the laundry. (I don’t normally do this, Mom!) 
3. If I had the time and space during my trip, I did myself a favor and sorted my dirty laundry into my packing cubes before I left my destination. This way I can get a load into the washer right away. If not, while I’m unpacking I pick through things inside my suitcase to put together a load. I carry them straight to the open washer, toss them in and wash my hands after depositing them inside (before shutting the lid, adding detergent and starting the washer).
4. While the first load of laundry is going (my new washer takes nearly two hours to get through a sanitizing cycle of socks and underwear), I clear a cleaning station on my kitchen island or kitchen table, and I grab my stash of disinfecting wipes.
5. I fetch things out of my purse, as much as I can carry, and deposit them on one side of the island or table. As I wipe each thing, I put it on the “clean” side. I’ll even wipe my credit cards, lip balm, keys … everything. 
6. If any of these objects were in a fabric or reusable plastic pouch, such as a cosmetic case, I’ll start a pile of those bags on the tile or hardwood floor for washing later. 
7. I continue this unpacking process through all of my cosmetics, toiletries and any other hard-surface item from my luggage or purse.
8. If an item can go in the dishwasher — your plastic toothbrush can survive a few cycles, and your toothbrush holder can go on the top rack forever — I stick it in right away. WARNING: Do not wash your contact lens cases this way. I used to until I ended up with dishwasher detergent residue in my case (or so my doctor believes) that made me nearly go blind in one eye. Instead, I open up my case, put it in a mug, put on a kettle and, when it whistles, pour boiling water into the mug to sterilize my case. I sometimes have some tea while I’m at it — in a different mug, of course.
9. Somewhere in the midst of this process of unpacking after a trip, I usually can move some more laundry. One of my early loads, if possible, is the accumulation of cosmetic bags or reusable plastic pouches, so I can repack them. Believe it or not, you can wash almost everything in the washing machine (especially if yours doesn’t have an agitator). Even handbags.
   • If it’s a delicate, structured object (reusable plastic pouch, woven handbag, baseball cap) wash it on cold with little soap and almost no spin cycle. Reshape it and set it somewhere clean to dry.
   • If it’s a plain old fabric cosmetic bag, wash that puppy on a hot sanitizing cycle. Mine have survived years of this treatment, even though I’d like to get new ones. 
   • If it’s a vinyl or leather handbag, you can simply wipe it clean with some sort of sanitizing wipe, inside and out. I do use Seventh Generation wipes on my leather objects, but I follow up with a leather conditioner so that they don’t dry and crack.
   • If my tennis shoes are a disaster, I put them in on hot, but with a low spin cycle. I air-dry them.
   • NOTE: I am not guaranteeing that you will have zero tears, fading or other damage from cleaning your items this way; however, mine come out just fine every time. It’s amazing what you can put in the washing machine, really.
10. If I find anything that’s no longer usable while unpacking and sanitizing objects — makeup has cracked, flashlight needs new batteries — I’ll dispose of it and put a replacement in the clean pile immediately (washing my hands after trashing the old and before digging for a new one, of course); or I’ll charge/repair it; or I’ll make a note that I need a replacement. 
11. Once my cosmetic bags and purse are dry, I repack all of my sanitized items in them for my next trip (or everyday use, in the case of my purse). I have a place in my linen closet where I keep my packed cosmetic bags, along with backup travel toiletries; you could keep them in your suitcase, too, if you store it somewhere that’s temperature-controlled.
12. Last but not least when unpacking after a trip, I wash my suitcase. I store my suitcase in my bedroom closet, so I want it to be really clean before it sits on the carpet in there, nestled up next to my clean clothes. Also, when I’m packing it I spread it out on my bedroom floor, so I don’t want airport bathroom cooties on my bedroom carpet.
    • I leave my suitcase where I dropped it until a semi-nice day; then I take it outside. I save “empty” laundry detergent bottles for just such a purpose (or for washing winter boots, or plastic storage bins, or whatever). I use the hose to shoot some water inside one of these empty bottles, put the lid back on, give it a shake and then douse my suitcase inside and out with soapy water. This works for both hard-sided and fabric suitcases. I’m especially careful to soap up the handle and the wheels. Then I hose off the whole suitcase, inside and out, and let it air-dry outside. My neighbors have witnessed this often and, believe it or not, no one has ever approached me with concern nor stolen my suitcase off my front porch. Here too, my suitcases have survived this treatment for years, even though I’d like new ones. (Note: Be sure you took all of the receipts out of the front pocket of your fabric suitcase before you start the hose, or you’ll have to air-dry those as well.)
13. If you don’t have a space where you can clean your suitcase this way, you can use the aforementioned wipes; however, this is tedious and kind of gross, especially when you start wiping the wheels. 

Packed for Your Next Trip

The best part of this unpacking routine is that I give a little thought to what I did and didn’t use on my trip and what I wished I had packed. It’s a great time to refine your packing list for your next trip, especially now that everything is clean and restocked. 

Unpacking after a trip can feel like a drag — the party’s over, and everything is grubby and sad. If you travel like me, you’re probably exhausted, too. I’ll fully admit to letting everything go until the day after my return, with the exception of taking a shower and sanitizing my laptop and phone. If it’s a day off, I can get through the whole process in a few hours. 

And not long after, I’m likely planning my next trip. I may have to hose mud and bathroom cooties off of my suitcase pretty often, but I don’t usually have to dust it!

---

Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

---

_{The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.}

_{This post likely contains affiliate links. If you shop or make a reservation through these links, we may make a small commission (for which we are very grateful!) at no extra cost to you. Not all links are affiliates, and we only suggest products and places that we have experienced.}

_{We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.}

Even if you and your ladies don’t succumb to food poisoning in the street (Bridesmaids) or roll down a hill (Wine Country), a girls’ trip can be an amazing bonding experience and an opportunity for a special kind of travel.

But planning a girls’ trip requires more than a case or ten of wine. Here are five things to consider as you bring your crew together. 

Girls’ Trip Considerations

1. Time Off

How much time off from work does each person have? Is it just a long weekend, or do you all have a week or more? A shorter trip requires a closer destination — you don’t want to waste precious time going to and fro, especially when you consider point 2. If you’re all meeting up somewhere, consider a destination to which most or all of you can get a direct flight.  

2. Centrality of Location

Are you all starting from the same place, or are you each coming from a different part of the country (or world)? If you’re traveling to your destination as a group, your options are greater. A road trip can be part of the fun … or it can be the entire girls’ trip! If you’re meeting up from different places, look for a destination that splits the difference, so that no one feels the burden of a longer or more expensive commute. It’s easy to run each person’s starting point and your destination through Google Flights and see how it will work.

3. Budget

This is the hot potato. Everyone tosses the question around, but no one likes to slice it, dice it and butter it. (Did butter take the metaphor too far?) If you have a good sense of the budget of the person whose disposable income is the tightest, plan from there. Unless that person really has a chip on her shoulder about her budget, she’ll likely feel pressure to acquiesce to the group’s plans to avoid crimping anyone’s style. So be sensitive! 

Plan for the basics (transportation and room) to be budget friendly, and then allow those who want to splurge to do so in discreet ways. Get separate checks at dinner, or if that’s a hit for your server, split the bill amongst yourselves according to what each person ordered. (Apps Billr and Divvy make it really easy to split both shared and separate menu items.) Look for a destination that has nice amenities baked in, yet allows for people to peel off easily if they want to indulge in luxury activities. (Sorry — I can think of nothing but potatoes now.) 

4. Activity Level

Do you have a range of abilities? Or are you all sofa slugs/triathletes? If it’s a range, again consider the person whose abilities are most limited. No girlfriend left behind! There are really so many options. Here in Colorado, there are paved hiking trails for people with assisted mobility, and trails with Braille and guide ropes for people with limited vision. If there are people who want to rest or to challenge themselves, allow a day part — right before or after lunch is usually a good time — for members of your party to express or accommodate their energy levels. A girls’ trip doesn’t require everyone to be in lockstep.

5. Accommodations

Do you want to stay together in a shared space, or would you each prefer your own bedrooms and/or bathrooms? Part of this will shake out in the destination decision; if you’re going to an all-inclusive, for example, the options are much more limited. Consider whether your trip is more about the resort or about the things you’ll be doing when you’re not in your room. Consider how well you know the other women in the group. Consider sleeping habits, cleanliness, snoring, smoking and other challenges to a shared room. It’s nice to have a private space for your group to gather, but that can be achieved in an expansive hotel suite as well as in Airbnb-type lodging.

Allow for Modifications

Before you lock down anything, test the waters with your gang. In fact, you may start with an “absolutely not” list if you don’t know everyone in the group well. Along the way, do check-ins as you build the trip. First, the destination; then, the accommodations; and then, the activities that will form the bones of your adventure. And be sure to leave room for weather, flight delays and people being human. Once you’ve crafted a good structure, put it into a format such as Google Docs (see our post on planning a trip itinerary) where people can comment on things and make collaborative suggestions.

Sojourn Safely

One of the benefits of traveling with your gang is safety in numbers. But that doesn’t eliminate the need for smart steps to secure yourselves and your trip. See the travel safety tips section of our site for pointers on gear, emergency kits, buying travel insurance, getting vaccinations and registering your trip, if you’re traveling internationally. 

We’ve Got You!

Whether your style is soaking in hot springs or sampling the best hot wings, shopping or bar hopping, beach or city streets, you can plan a girls’ trip in which no one ends up crying in her rosé. Round up your crew and prepare to institute a new tradition — potato vodka optional.

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Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

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_{The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.}

I’d never wish you a catastrophe on your next road trip. But thanks to climate change, the odds are increasing that you might run into flash flooding, a forest fire, hail, a hurricane, a blizzard or even a bomb cyclone, and you might need to sit in your car as you wait to evacuate, let the weather pass or allow emergency crews clear the area. 

Beyond this, there are your average automobile breakdowns. I mean, who among us hasn’t been stranded along the side of the highway with a broken axle (not my car) after a long afternoon of day drinking at the Cubs game when you have to get to another state before bedtime?   

This is the reason I carry a road trip emergency kit year-round.

Even if you think the only possible bumps in your road trip are the usual traffic accidents, it’s smart to be prepared for anything. I mean, who wants to take selfies with the tow truck crew? (Or worse, end up stranded alone, in the dark, with no cell service or no battery.) Why not pack a road trip emergency kit? Set it and forget it (except to replace expired products). Here’s what I keep on hand.

What’s in my road trip emergency kit

First things first: Any time I’m specifically heading to the high country here in Colorado, I prepare intentionally for the trip. If it’s summer, I grab my backpack, which already contains the 10 essentials. In the winter, I bring an extra coat, boots, gloves and a hat, because I grew up out in the country in Indiana, where roads don’t get cleared very often and you might have to push your car. It’s also cold on a mountaintop in July. I also always pack water and sunscreen, because of the altitude in Colorado. 

My road trip emergency kit is in a water-resistant REI stuff sack that lives in my trunk. It always includes:

• a whistle, as well as instructions on how to signal with a whistle (the series of tweets that indicates a rescue is needed, for example)
• a needle and thread kit, to sew up torn clothing or blankets (or skin, if it’s really urgent). Duct tape can serve this purpose too.
• duct tape is also important if you leave your car, so that you can tear off pieces and mark your path. (But your odds of survival are better if you stay with your car.)
• a pen and notepad, so that if you leave your car, you can write a note telling people when you left, with whom, and where you went
• a can opener and bottle opener
• a pocket knife
• rubbing alcohol and antiseptic wipes, as well as an insect-sting-relief wipe
• bandages and gauze
• rubber gloves for providing first aid 
• a Lumen Aid solar light that also can charge by USB (One of my favorite tools for all kinds of travel. It packs flat, and it hangs with a strap. Once charged, whether by the sun or by USB, it can charge your USB devices too!)
• a length of cord or string to hang onto if you exit your car in the dark or blowing snow … or to tie car parts back together, depending on the age of your car
• a spare cellphone battery pack and charging cords — bonus points if the battery pack is solar, too
• water purification tablets, in case you need to drink snow or stream water
• compostable baggies, useful for melting snow into drinking water, among other things
• compostable baggies with some toilet paper folded inside. Tossing toilet paper in the wild isn’t good for the environment, so put the used paper into a compostable baggie to throw away properly later.
• hand sanitizer, obviously, considering the bullet point above
• a carabiner so you can clip things together or onto your clothing if you need your hands free
• a first-aid thermal foil blanket, which can contain body heat. These fold up super tiny — bring two!
• a plastic-lined insulated blanket, which is cozy on one side and stays dry on the other (not just for your road trip emergency kit, but also perfect for picnics and concerts in the grass, too)
• a safety pin, for all your Macgyver needs
• fire starters and weather-proof matches
• a rain jacket with a hood
• spare tennis shoes and socks, in case you’re driving in dressy shoes
• an extra hat and gloves
• hand and foot warmers
• a satellite phone. If you go off the grid a lot, a full plan may be the right move, but there are now cheaper plans that provide the opportunity to send a simple SOS signal. I like my Garmin sat phone.
• notes on first aid, emergency best practices, and ways to signal with body and arm gestures, because when you’re scared or panicked, it can be hard to remember what you learned in your first aid class
• a day’s worth of any essential medications. Be sure to rotate these when you replace expired snacks.
• water and snacks. Last but definitely not least. Nuts stay fresh quite a long time, and boxed water is way less likely to freeze and expand than bottled water. 

This can all be a lot of clutter or be easily lost, so I recommend putting the smallest items in a sturdy packing cube like this; then your road trip emergency kit is easy to toss in the trunk. (Or throw in the back seat, if you need the trunk for luggage. Just don’t take it out right before the road trip to make more room for luggage, as a certain someone in our household used to do on the regular. (Thank God we never got stuck before I realized what he was doing.)

If you’re facing blizzard conditions, you also should include a small shovel, so that you can keep the area around your tailpipe clear. If it’s blocked by snow and you allow your car’s engine to run, exhaust can back up and poison the occupants.

And though these aren’t necessarily specific to a road trip emergency kit, you should always have a set of jumper cables, an ice scraper, a tire gauge and — again, depending on the age of your car — a screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

You also should fill up your gas tank before any road trip, short or long, so that you can start your car periodically if you happen to be stuck. You’ll want to occasionally enjoy some heat (or air conditioning). 

Ultimately, whether you’re on a road trip or a drive across town, the weather can be unpredictable. So can rocks, other drivers and even wild animals. So it’s smart to keep a road trip emergency kit in the car at all times. Set a reminder to check expiration dates on snacks and first-aid items every six months or so, as well as charge up batteries. Then you can embark on your next adventure more securely and maybe even help out in a bad situation, instead of requiring extra help.

Now it’s your turn. What have you packed in your road trip emergency kit?

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Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

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_{The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.}

_{This post likely contains affiliate links. If you shop or make a reservation through these links, we may make a small commission (for which we are very grateful!) at no extra cost to you. Not all links are affiliates, and we only suggest products and places that we have experienced.}

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When I decided to take my daughter to Spain in March of 2008, traveling solo as a woman wasn’t talked about as much as it is today, let alone taking an international solo trip with a child. A number of people told me I was crazy.

But I had been a single mom since Mia was just over a year old; she was 11 by then, so we had lots of experience doing things alone together: moving to Chicago, going out to dinner and to museums, and taking trips around the United States.

Because we’d been doing things on our own since she was a baby — grown-up kinds of things — she knew how to be in those kinds of spaces. I had also trained her in the ways of my budget management: She knew that she had to consult me before she could choose her meal if we went out to eat, and we never, ever ordered anything to drink but water.

Still, it wasn’t exactly easy to take a solo trip with a child to another country. I was the sole navigator for the two of us, responsible for our safety. We traveled in the off-season to save money, so I had to contend with weather and delays (including an epic travel delay at the end of this trip). And it was more affordable to travel to a smaller city such as Malaga versus a big European capital, but that meant fewer people who spoke English. When we got off of the bus from the airport, the driver gave us directions to our hotel in Spanish, and mine was rough.

But I had already visited Madrid a few years before to see my longtime boyfriend, who moved there to study; and when he dumped me for a fellow student, I shifted my second Madrid trip to Barcelona and went with my sister. Driving from the airport after that trip to Barcelona, I called Mia to tell her that I was on my way home, and she asked me if I would take her to Spain. I promised her that I would, and it was a promise kept.

Traveling solo with your child or children is incredibly rewarding. Mia and I share memories of countless adventures together, just the two of us — from our overnight at a cabin in a nearby state park in the off-season when she was a preschooler (and the only other guests were wearing orange jumpsuits on a work-release program), to her graduation-from-college gift, a trip to Hawaii. If you think you’d like to begin exploring the world with your child or children, consider these suggestions.

Before You Plan a Solo Trip with a Child

Practice makes close to perfect. Just as you want to ease into solo travel yourself, it’s wise to attempt a few increasingly complex outings with your children first.

Take them out to dinner. Being able to get through most of a meal is important to a solo trip with a child. But your expectations don’t need to be high, nor your budget large.

Mia and I practiced at Pizza Hut every Wednesday night, when kids paid their age plus a dollar for the pizza buffet. She was only a year old, so it was cheap. And after a long day of work for me and daycare for her, with a long night of grocery shopping ahead (and no oven or dishwasher in our apartment), it was easy. Enjoyable, even. She learned how to engage with a server and how to manage her voice. I learned how to keep her occupied when she got restless. We learned how to talk over a meal, even if it was sometimes about Barney.

Take them to a museum. Most museums have free days for locals and/or families, so it can be very affordable practice. Just prepare to be very vigilant and engaged. Prepare to be brief — start with 10 to 15 minutes, if your child or children are little. And don’t try to cover a lot of ground.

One of my favorite ways to explore a museum even today is to focus on one exhibit, one room or one painting and just talk about that. Ask your child what they see. Ask them what they think about what they’re seeing. Take some crayons and a pad of paper and let them scribble what they see (on the paper). Hang it on the refrigerator afterward. This is special time with Mommy or Daddy that they will soon look forward to.

Take them somewhere overnight. Again, it doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy. I wanted to take Mia camping, but I didn’t have any gear or any money for gear. I rented that cabin at a state park, the one where it was cold and rainy because it was the off-season and thus cheap, and the Department of Corrections had a team at the park cleaning up. It was just an hour’s drive from home (and our daily work/daycare commute was a half-hour each way, so I knew she could handle it). I didn’t have to pack much.

She may have only told her preschool teacher about the giant spider in the shower, but we both learned about preparing to be away from home together without anyone to help.

Really, any sort of grownup place is great practice for a solo trip with a child. The key? Make it a grownup-ish place. Sometimes outrageous behavior is contagious among kiddos, especially when parents feel like they can relax, abandon control and check out. Your goal is to practice being in spaces where people of all ages can exist comfortably. It takes extra work to be a solo parent in these situations, but it pays off in the end. And if all fails, pack up, go home and try again another time.

As You Plan a Solo Trip with a Child

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, your child or your budget for your first solo trip together. This one is less about the destination and more about the experience.

Do your research. Make sure you understand the risks of your destination. In fact, take a look at our solo travel safety blog first, if you haven’t already. The tips there are important times two — you need to be aware of your surroundings while engaging with your child.

Choose comfortable accommodations. Whatever the day brings, you want to feel safe and sound at bedtime. Rather than being in the heart of it all, you may want to find a hotel that’s quiet, with well-lighted parking or regular public transportation nearby. A front desk can make you feel more secure than an Airbnb during a solo trip with a child, and free breakfast solves one mealtime every day. Check out the amenities: When my parents drove from Indiana to Colorado every other summer with three little girls in the back seat, we lived for the motel swimming pool.

Buy trip insurance. Allianz has some affordable travel insurance plans. Choosing a refundable room reservation, car rental or flight is a good idea for your first solo trip with a child too. Ear infections and soccer championships happen.

Travel in the off-season. As long as your trip isn’t entirely weather dependent, you’ll benefit in two ways: Your trip will be cheaper, and you’ll experience fewer crowds. Fewer crowds mean shorter wait times at attractions and restaurants, and fewer people to try to squeeze through and be aware of when you’re navigating for two.

Pack light. Pack smart. Depending on your child’s size and age, you likely will be carrying everything at some point. Probably into an airport bathroom with your child. Leave behind the multiple outfits and shoes. Take the truly important things for your child’s comfort: any sleep essentials, a beloved book, some favorite snacks. Include a basic first-aid kit. And leave the rest at home. Better to buy what you need in your destination or take along some laundry detergent sheets than to fumble with a lot of baggage while you’re trying to keep a close eye on your kids.

Let your child help plan. This is the fun part! Regardless of your child’s age, he or she can listen to a podcast, a story or music about the destination you’re visiting. You can pre-select some appropriate activities and then let him or her choose a favorite or a top three. Talk about how things will be different in your destination, and how they will be the same. This is a wonderful way to share your enthusiasm for travel with your budding wanderer.

Leave behind copies of your itinerary and travel details. Whether you’re traveling alone or solo with a child, it’s smart to leave a thorough list of locations, attractions, accommodations and other details with plenty of people at home. And don’t forget to take along the contact information for your health insurance company, your pediatrician and other important people in your child’s life.

During a Solo Trip with a Child

Lower your expectations. Don’t expect to get to Disneyland before 11 a.m. with a teenage girl. Don’t expect to sit through three hours of an orchestral performance with a six-year-old. It’s the journey, not the destination on a solo trip with a child, right? I’ll confess to failing on that front regularly. But when I managed to relax, we had some of the best times.

Think proactively. Think about your child’s attention span. Think about his or her mealtimes, naptimes and bedtimes. Think about what you need to take with you for the day. Strategically plan places to rest, refill and restore. Especially on a solo trip with a child, try to drape your activities around your child’s routine.

Engage your child in all parts of your trip. Teach your child how to read signs (or if they’re too small, to notice cues). It won’t be long before they’re able to help you navigate, if you tell them what you’re looking for. Encourage your child to speak to adults; after reminding Mia of the Spanish word for “fork,” I made her ask the server for one in Spain. She was shy, and the server’s English wasn’t great, but it worked out, and she felt better for it. Point out interesting sites around you. Some attractions have guides designed for children; if you don’t find one, play “I Spy” or ask your child to be your tour guide.

Help your child create a memento of the trip. Allow your child to choose a souvenir — ideally, from within a selection that suits your budget. Give him or her a disposable camera (just keep in mind that it might not make it all the way home). At bedtime ask your kiddo to write about your day or draw a picture; collect everything and include it in a photo book that you give your child when you get home. A photo book or scrapbook helps your child talk about his or her trip to friends, family and teachers when you get back and becomes a precious keepsake as he or she grows older.

Take Heart

You don’t have to be a perfect parent to take a solo trip with a child. Your kiddos don’t have to be perfect either. My daughter has ADHD of the inattentive variety that posed special challenges whenever we were trying to get somewhere. I have a deficiency of patience that was particularly acute when my daughter was little. I look back at some of my frustrated behavior during our trips and cringe.

There are things that I wish I would have done better, but I’d always take the trips all over again. Traveling with your child, especially as a solo parent, is a bonding experience unlike any other, and a source of incredible memories and growth. It expands your child’s world and allows you to each build confidence. There’s no age requirement for a lesson in becoming brave.

I grew extremely proud of Mia’s poise, street smarts and ability to navigate as we traveled together over the years. And now that she’s an adult I have the perfect traveling companion … one who will soon be able to afford to pay her way to travel with me!

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Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

---

_{The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.}

We’ve grown to rely on a range of trip-planning sites over the years. But one of the best, no-fail, essential travel planning tools we love is Google Flights. 

It’s an excellent way to find the best prices on flights, especially if your destination is specific but your dates can vary a bit. And that’s true whether you’re booking a flight in the coming weeks or up to a year ahead.

But to get the best results, you really need to know how to use Google Flights. Here, we break down the obvious and not-so-obvious features.

Using Google Flights

Start at https://www.google.com/travel/flights/ (or just google Google Flights). 

Here on the main screen, adjust the settings for round trip or one way, number of passengers and flight class appropriately.

I always search on Economy, because my budget allows for several inexpensive flights per year or one really nice one, and I choose the former, but you do you. 

Enter your starting airport and your destination. If it’s a one-way trip, the date range will automatically adjust to a single date.

You have some choices when choosing an airport on Google Flights for your departure or destination. While you’re still here on the main screen, click in the boxes for each city, and you’ll see a drop-down menu. If you don’t mind traveling to or from an airport a little ways away, you’ll see more results. This is the default. But if you really want to fly from a specific airport and not just anything within a large radius, make a selection here.

And if you want to be able to see the best prices and times from all airports in a region, to possibly travel to one airport and then depart from another, choose multi-city. I used this when I was trying to find the best prices for a trip to and from Destin, Florida, which is served by several small (expensive) regional airports, so that I could book a flight into Pensacola and back out of Destin.

If you want to check prices from multiple airports at the same time, simply type the airport code into the departure box, put a comma after it and type the next airport code. You can put in multiple airports, and your results will show pricing for all flights from all the airports that you’ve selected. Heather has three airports within three hours that she checks, as well as her home airport. This is what it looks like.

If your dates are a little flexible, click in the date box on this main screen (see below). A magical window appears! At least it feels like magic. Here, you’ll see how traveling sooner or later — sometimes by just a day — can dramatically change the cost of your trip. This is one of the best things about learning how to use Google Flights, in my opinion. 

Here, I’ve chosen to fly from Denver to St. Martin, because this island in the Caribbean remains on my bucket list. Clearly, flying on May 26 would be silly, but I could almost afford to go on May 7, depending on my return date, which you can tweak in this view as well. Take a minute to click around on the dates above the calendar view, and the dates in the calendar. You’ll soon see how it works. 

If you don’t have a specific timeframe in mind, click the arrows to the sides of the calendar view (see the next screenshot) and experiment with different months. You can see quickly how your prices change, and whether current prices are low, typical or high compared to past averages for the same route. Google Flights also recently added a new feature. “For searches with reliable trend data,” you can now see when prices are typically lowest to your destination. This means some routes will have this information; others may not. You can also turn on price tracking to get change notices via email.

Just for fun, I decided to go on a seven-day trip in August. (If you’re going to fly that far, make the most of your time and CO2 emissions and stay longer.) Let’s take a look at some further features now that I’ve made this totally non-binding decision.

In this new view, you’ll see some filters at the top of the screen. Let’s talk about each:

Stops

This could be key if you want to avoid lots of airport hopping. I prefer to make only one stop, if I can, which sometimes costs more, but is often worth it. If I would have chosen that filter, then I wouldn’t see that first American flight that costs just $316 but takes me 19 hours and 1 minute. Instead, my first option would be the 5 a.m. flight that costs $424 but takes just 8 hours and 28 minutes. 

(The bigger question: Would I book a flight that requires me to get up at 1:30 a.m. to get to the airport in time for an international departure? Probably not. I might opt for the third option: the later, slightly longer and more expensive one from Delta. Atlanta is a big airport with lots of nice diversions. I know this flight has a layover of 4 hours and 17 minutes in Atlanta by the indication under “1 stop.”)

For more on how to use layover information to your advantage, see Make the Most of Your Layover below!

Airlines

If you want to travel with a specific airline because of loyalty perks or preference, you can adjust your search here. This will narrow your search results significantly, so I leave it open knowing that there are just three airlines (that shall remain nameless) that I will never fly with again. 

Bags

You aren’t choosing your number of bags here, so you might as well leave this open. In fact, you don’t actually book your flight through Google Flights either; instead, it will offer you the opportunity to book your flight by clicking through directly to the airline’s website. (Or if you have a system of travel points down, you can take this information and book via your best points site. More on this later.)

Price

I prefer to look at options for different dates in the date grid rather than search within a price range — especially because if you’re limited by dates and price, you might not find any results. 

Times, Emissions, Connecting Airports, Duration

Here again, the more filters that you apply, the more likely you are to narrow yourself right out of any options. Even if you have some preferences, leave as many filters open as you can. This way you might find a flight that meets most of your needs, and determine that you can compromise on one or two lesser elements. 

Right under those filters you’ll see two view options on the right: Date Grid and Price Graph. Click on them! Play with them. This is especially helpful if you have a destination in mind but not a time frame. You’ll see when prices go up or down within a window or even throughout the year. The Price Graph shows you a broad view of flight cost patterns for your chosen trip length. The Date Grid shows you prices for trips of different lengths; here again, a day or two can make all the difference.

Underneath Best Departing Flights you’ll see a list of Other Departing Flights. Google Flights chooses the best based on cost, flight times, flight duration and even flight timeliness and reliability. I recently booked a flight from Newark to Fort Wayne with a layover in Chicago that, because it’s the last flight of the night from Chicago to Fort Wayne, is often delayed by 30 minutes, according to Google Flights. I booked it anyway because it offered me the best combination of price, duration and departure time—I really want to have time that day to do some sightseeing before I leave the city. But I’m prepared for a delay or maybe even an overnight in Chicago.

How did I learn this detail? There’s an arrow to the right of each flight option. When you click it, you’ll see the full details of the flight, including the type of airplane, in-flight features, layovers and airports. (Fun side note: The airport in St. Martin, SMX, is Princess Juliana International Airport. I think this is further proof that I’m destined to visit St. Martin.) 

For this pretend someday trip, I looked down the list under other departing flights, and I didn’t find anything that costs less and has better flight times or less travel time than that third flight from Delta under Best Departing Flights. I like it! So what next? 

When you find a flight that you like, click on it. You’ll come to a window that says Returning Flights. Here again you’ll see them sorted by price, as well as flight time. A bonus: These prices, while they don’t include checked bags, *do* include taxes and fees, so you won’t be unpleasantly surprised. 

The top option for my return from my “trip” to St. Martin is also the best: lowest price and shortest flight time. It leaves at a humane 3:25 p.m., meaning I probably can squeeze in a few moments of fun that morning, and it gets in late, which is fine because I can come home, shower and go to bed. I leave time the day after my return from a trip for my extra-clean unpacking routine.

I love it! I’m ready to book. I just need to decide what fare I want. I may decide to upgrade to Main Cabin, just for the flexibility of making changes if needed. (Though I’ll first click that link where it says the “airline may be offering additional flexibility for bookings.”) 

If you’ve made your final selection here, you have one of two options.

1. Simply scroll down on this page. You’ll see a button that says Booking Options. Book with [your airline]. If I were to click this button, it would take me straight to the Delta site with all of these selections already pre-selected. I’d only need to choose my luggage and seat options, then enter payment, and I’m set. Bon voyage!
2. You can take all of this intel and go to your favorite booking platform to search for and select these choices. If you book travel via Chase, for example, you might not only find this flight, but also earn points from Chase for your trip. 

This highlights again an important feature of Google Flights: It’s not a site for booking flight deals. It’s a site for finding flight deals, and for seeing how tweaks to your plan can change your price. You book with the airline directly.

(Update from Google in September 2023) “On some flight results, you’ll see a colorful price guarantee badge, which means we’re especially confident the fare you see today won’t get any lower before departure. When you book one of these flights, we’ll monitor the price every day before takeoff, and if the price does go down, we’ll pay you back the difference via Google Pay. These price guarantees are part of a pilot program available for select Book on Google itineraries departing from the U.S.”)

The things I love about Google Flights are that it seems reliable and accurate; it aggregates hundreds of airlines’ flight offerings in one place; and it lets you see how playing with options affects your trip time and costs. 

Once you learn how to use Google Flights, we think it might be the first place you start when planning a trip. In fact, if you don’t have a specific destination, you can even use the tools on the left side of the Google Flights home page. This is the space for dreaming!

Click on the Travel button at the top left side of the Google Flights home page. You’ll see upcoming trips in a handy list, as well as travel advisories, potential trips, suggested destinations, popular destinations and past trips. (The latter is proof that big tech is watching you.)

The Explore button is a starting point for broad interests. It’s a little bit like the Date Grid described above, but rather than just searching by flights and places, you can also search by car travel and interests. If you have a specific timeframe in which you want to travel but no specific destination in mind, this is a way for you to see where in the world your budget might take you. Try zooming in and out for prices on places at a glance. Because everywhere is on our list at Journey Here, we love any opportunity to explore.

Underneath that is Things to Do. We’re a little biased at Journey Here Travel, but we’d recommend starting first with our Destinations section for ideas on things to do in those places we’ve visited. However, we haven’t been everywhere … yet.

If you click on the Flights button on the left side of the home page, it’s the Google Flights home page. It lets you do the same things we described from the start of this blog. 

The Hotels button under that is similar to booking.com or hotels.com. There are lots of filters on the next screen after you’ve entered your destination. It also offers guidance on Where to Stay, When to Visit and What You’ll Pay, incorporating details about and vibes for regions or neighborhoods, high season versus low, weather, and well-known features. Update the map view at right to search on restaurants, shopping and attractions nearby; a slider lets you see what’s within your selected walking distance. 

Finally, Vacation Rentals works much like Airbnb and VRBO. Here, however, you’ll find listings aggregated from Vacasa, iTrip, Rentals United, TripAdvisor, BluePillow and more. There’s a similar map view here.

The best way to learn how it all works is to use Google Flights, knowing that it’s less than a booking agent but a whole lot more than a booking agent at the same time. While we still appreciate the value that experienced travel guides and consultants bring to a trip, Google Flights puts more of the traditional travel agent experience at your fingertips. There’s no personal service as with a travel agent or travel consultant, but there’s a world of choices available to anyone with a bit of time and a computer screen. 

Make the Most of Your Layover

If you have a flexible schedule and don’t mind breaking up a flight, you also can look for really long layovers and see something while you’re there. In the example below, I am flying from Chicago to Athens, but have two long layovers: one on the way there, and one on the way back.

On the departing flight, I’m flying overnight, landing in Copenhagen at 1:15 p.m. I have until my departure at 8:30 a.m. the next day to see the city. This also breaks up my flying time nicely: eight hours and ten minutes from Chicago to Copenhagen, and then just three hours to Athens the next day.

On the return flight, I would have an overnight layover in Stockholm. It’s slightly less time, but still enough to do a little sightseeing and stretch my legs.

I could take this same trip with a 13-hour departing flight and a slightly longer return flight for just $240 more (see below). A longer layover (above) saves money on the ticket, but adds expenses for accommodations. It lets me get a glimpse of two new places, however! The second trip (below) is more efficient and slightly more costly. It just depends on your priorities. (Though personally, I’m always down for a two-for-one kinda trip!)

If life hands you lemons in the form of an extra-long layover (or a travel delay), it might be an opportunity to sample a new destination’s lemonade!

Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

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The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.

I’d never wish you a catastrophe on your next road trip. But thanks to climate change, the odds are increasing that you might run into flash flooding, a forest fire, hail, a hurricane, a blizzard or even a bomb cyclone, and you might need to sit in your car as you wait to evacuate, let the weather pass or allow emergency crews clear the area. 

Beyond this, there are your average automobile breakdowns. I mean, who among us hasn’t been stranded along the side of the highway with a broken axle (not my car) after a long afternoon of day drinking at the Cubs game when you have to get to another state before bedtime?   

This is the reason I carry a road trip emergency kit year-round.

Even if you think the only possible bumps in your road trip are the usual traffic accidents, it’s smart to be prepared for anything. I mean, who wants to take selfies with the tow truck crew? (Or worse, end up stranded alone, in the dark, with no cell service or no battery.) Why not pack a road trip emergency kit? Set it and forget it (except to replace expired products). Here’s what I keep on hand.

What’s in my road trip emergency kit

First things first: Any time I’m specifically heading to the high country here in Colorado, I prepare intentionally for the trip. If it’s summer, I grab my backpack, which already contains the 10 essentials. In the winter, I bring an extra coat, boots, gloves and a hat, because I grew up out in the country in Indiana, where roads don’t get cleared very often and you might have to push your car. It’s also cold on a mountaintop in July. I also always pack water and sunscreen, because of the altitude in Colorado. 

My road trip emergency kit is in a water-resistant REI stuff sack that lives in my trunk. It always includes:

• a whistle, as well as instructions on how to signal with a whistle (the series of tweets that indicates a rescue is needed, for example)
• a needle and thread kit, to sew up torn clothing or blankets (or skin, if it’s really urgent). Duct tape can serve this purpose too.
• duct tape is also important if you leave your car, so that you can tear off pieces and mark your path. (But your odds of survival are better if you stay with your car.)
• a pen and notepad, so that if you leave your car, you can write a note telling people when you left, with whom, and where you went
• a can opener and bottle opener
• a pocket knife
• rubbing alcohol and antiseptic wipes, as well as an insect-sting-relief wipe
• bandages and gauze
• rubber gloves for providing first aid 
• a Lumen Aid solar light that also can charge by USB (One of my favorite tools for all kinds of travel. It packs flat, and it hangs with a strap. Once charged, whether by the sun or by USB, it can charge your USB devices too!)
• a length of cord or string to hang onto if you exit your car in the dark or blowing snow … or to tie car parts back together, depending on the age of your car
• a spare cellphone battery pack and charging cords — bonus points if the battery pack is solar, too
• water purification tablets, in case you need to drink snow or stream water
• compostable baggies, useful for melting snow into drinking water, among other things
• compostable baggies with some toilet paper folded inside. Tossing toilet paper in the wild isn’t good for the environment, so put the used paper into a compostable baggie to throw away properly later.
• hand sanitizer, obviously, considering the bullet point above
• a carabiner so you can clip things together or onto your clothing if you need your hands free
• a first-aid thermal foil blanket, which can contain body heat. These fold up super tiny — bring two!
• a plastic-lined insulated blanket, which is cozy on one side and stays dry on the other (not just for your road trip emergency kit, but also perfect for picnics and concerts in the grass, too)
• a safety pin, for all your Macgyver needs
• fire starters and weather-proof matches
• a rain jacket with a hood
• spare tennis shoes and socks, in case you’re driving in dressy shoes
• an extra hat and gloves
• hand and foot warmers
• a satellite phone. If you go off the grid a lot, a full plan may be the right move, but there are now cheaper plans that provide the opportunity to send a simple SOS signal. I like my Garmin sat phone.
• notes on first aid, emergency best practices, and ways to signal with body and arm gestures, because when you’re scared or panicked, it can be hard to remember what you learned in your first aid class
• a day’s worth of any essential medications. Be sure to rotate these when you replace expired snacks.
• water and snacks. Last but definitely not least. Nuts stay fresh quite a long time, and boxed water is way less likely to freeze and expand than bottled water. 

This can all be a lot of clutter or be easily lost, so I recommend putting the smallest items in a sturdy packing cube like this; then your road trip emergency kit is easy to toss in the trunk. (Or throw in the back seat, if you need the trunk for luggage. Just don’t take it out right before the road trip to make more room for luggage, as a certain someone in our household used to do on the regular. (Thank God we never got stuck before I realized what he was doing.)

If you’re facing blizzard conditions, you also should include a small shovel, so that you can keep the area around your tailpipe clear. If it’s blocked by snow and you allow your car’s engine to run, exhaust can back up and poison the occupants.

And though these aren’t necessarily specific to a road trip emergency kit, you should always have a set of jumper cables, an ice scraper, a tire gauge and — again, depending on the age of your car — a screwdriver and a pair of pliers.

You also should fill up your gas tank before any road trip, short or long, so that you can start your car periodically if you happen to be stuck. You’ll want to occasionally enjoy some heat (or air conditioning). 

Ultimately, whether you’re on a road trip or a drive across town, the weather can be unpredictable. So can rocks, other drivers and even wild animals. So it’s smart to keep a road trip emergency kit in the car at all times. Set a reminder to check expiration dates on snacks and first-aid items every six months or so, as well as charge up batteries. Then you can embark on your next adventure more securely and maybe even help out in a bad situation, instead of requiring extra help.

Now it’s your turn. What have you packed in your road trip emergency kit?

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Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

---

_{The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.}

_{This post likely contains affiliate links. If you shop or make a reservation through these links, we may make a small commission (for which we are very grateful!) at no extra cost to you. Not all links are affiliates, and we only suggest products and places that we have experienced.}

_{We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.}

Expert Tips You Need to Know and the Questions to Ask Before You Go!

Planning a trip with your best pals is a blast, but there are plenty of things to consider when planning and executing a trip with friends or family. 

After taking a ten-day trip to Spain with three friends, I can honestly say that following these tips will help you have the best time planning and executing a smooth trip! These tips can be used for any trip, but since we were in Spain, some are Eurocentric. To get the details of my trip — how much it cost and where we stayed —check the bottom of the blog.

Let’s get into the good stuff: the planning!

Pick your travel friends carefully

Let’s get real: Travel can be stressful and exhausting. If you get tired and cranky, go into an alcohol-fueled serotonin dump, or have a crying jag triggered by body dysmorphia and too many inflammatory foods, are your friends going to murder you? I might be speaking from personal experience.

But seriously, go with friends who love you and friends you love so that minor irritations don’t turn into ruined friendships at the end of the trip. We often see this in travel forums — friends who couldn’t weather the ups and downs of traveling together.

How do you pick travel friends? Keep reading. 

Activity level

When planning a trip with friends, pick travel companions similar to your general activity level. We never discussed this, but we all work out at the same gym, are very active, and regularly hang out, so we knew going into it that we all like to do similar things and are generally high-energy. As the oldest in the group, I was a little worried about my energy level matching, but I didn’t need to worry. We averaged eight to ten miles of walking per day, and I don’t think anyone had any issues with that, though we were all certainly tired at the end of the day!

Questions to ask your trip mates about activity levels and getting around:

• Do you have any physical limitations for walking up and down hills, steps, across cobblestones?
• Do you have issues with heights? This is useful if you are taking cable cars or funiculars.
• How many miles per day of walking is doable: 3-5, 5-10, 10+?
• How much do you want to rely on taxis or rideshares? How many taxis or rideshares per day would you be open to?
• Are you willing or comfortable using public transportation such as buses or subway rides if it’s time efficient?

Picking a roommate

Depending on where you are traveling and the accommodations you choose, you may end up sharing a room or even a bed. 

If you travel to Europe, hotel rooms and beds can be small. If you plan to share a room or bed, there are a couple of key factors to consider.

Preferred room temperature is a major consideration. Having a preferred temperature range to discuss is very helpful. My roomie and I liked the room cool, but not freezing. We were surprised when we popped down to our friend’s room to find that their room was easily 10 degrees colder than ours. Funny correlation—they are both married, and we are both single. I think they have both been acclimated to their husbands’ temperatures!

Other things to discuss are snoring, noise machines, routines, bathroom habits and tidiness. 

Questions to ask your potential roommate:

• Do you snore? If I snore, will it keep you awake?
• What is your ideal bedtime and wake-up time?
• How much chaos can you handle in the room, or do you need it to stay pretty tidy and clean?
• What is your ideal room temperature range at night and during the day?
• If we are sharing a bathroom, how much privacy do you prefer?
• If we share a bed, how light or heavy do you sleep?
• Do you have quirky sleep habits I need to know about?

Speaking of quirky sleep habits…

Product tip:

I need to be able to listen to TV when I sleep, so I always travel with this headband with speakers. This allows me to listen to my shows when I sleep and also blocks out any noise my roommate might make. It doubles as a sleep mask and looks super cool. It pairs nicely with my mouthguard. 

This travel fan is also nice and produces a bit of white noise. 

Budget

Setting up budget expectations is crucial when planning a group trip with friends. We never set a “total budget,” but we made group decisions at each step of the planning process, with everyone providing input. This wasn’t a “budget” trip, but it wasn’t a luxury trip either. When booking hotels, we presented options and decided as a group. We chose a less expensive option for our time in Barcelona, a hotel on La Rambla in the heart of the Gothic Quarter; and for Soller, Mallorca, we splurged on a very lovely two-bedroom home using Airbnb. 

We opted out of a private boat tour while in Mallorca, which was on the pricy side, and chose a winery tour that fit our collective budgets. Go into your trip planning with a rough idea of what you feel comfortable spending and communicate openly. 

Plan to add another couple of hundred dollars for expenses that are harder to predict, such as taxis, ride shares and the late-night splurge on fancy cocktails. 

Questions to ask your friends:

• What is the maximum you want to budget for accommodations?
• What is the maximum you want to budget for meals? 
• What is the maximum you want to budget for tours and excursions?

Building and sharing your itinerary

Google has an itinerary template in Sheets; we used it to build our itinerary. This is where we kept our reservation information, confirmation numbers, addresses, etc. Everyone had access to the sheet in Google Drive, so even when we split up, everyone had the information at their fingertips. We had two planning meetings: one to rough out our activities and one to finalize details. 

Planning activities

Having one or two planned activities and some “we could stop here” backups is a good approach. I would consider restaurant reservations as a planned event. 

Leave plenty of time to enjoy each outing and to get between events. I think we did a great job with this trip. Planning your itinerary is essential so you don’t spend much time saying, “What should we do now?” It’s equally important to leave downtime. We had an hour or so each day before dinner to relax. When planning our trip, we all wrote down five things we wanted to do and planned around those. We had a mix of architecture and history with plenty of time for wandering. 

Pro tip for Barcelona: I pitched a bike tour to my friends (at the recommendation of another friend!), and they all HATED IT. I thought it would be a great way to see a large swath of the city, and we did, but it was terrifying. Barcelona is a bustling city, and riding an electric bike through crowds, traffic and narrow streets was not fun. I do not recommend it. Instead, pick a hop-on, hop-off bus tour or a walking tour. I’ve been really happy using Get Your Guide to book tours.

Questions to ask your friends:

• Would you rather do outdoor activities, indoor activities or a mix of both?
• Are museums a priority for this trip?
• Would you like to do immersion activities such as a cooking class?
• What are five things you would like to do in this city?

Introverts vs. extroverts

Even if you are a go-hard or go-home traveler, traveling with a group requires social energy, and taking some time for yourself is essential. It can be as simple as eating breakfast alone, setting aside a “free” morning, or leaving ample time before dinner to recharge. Don’t let FOMO get the best of you. Even if you have to skip a planned activity, make sure you take time for your mind and body to rest. 

Questions to ask your friends:

• How much downtime do you need each day?
• Do you feel comfortable asking for some alone time?
• Should we build alone time into the schedule?

Sunrise, sunset

How you have your activities booked will largely determine your wake-up and getting-to-bed schedules. Generally, it’s good to know how much time everyone needs in the morning to wake up, get ready and get going so that enough time is left for sleeping! Conversely, it’s good to know everyone’s ideal bedtime. If you have some early risers and some late owls, try to pair them up on the trip and leave room for people to crash early or wake up early as needed. 

Questions to ask your friends:

• What would be your ideal time to be done with our day on most days?
• What would be the perfect time to start our adventures each morning?
• How much sleep do you need at night to function?

Eating out

I highly recommend setting expectations around eating out. When, where and how much to spend are good questions to ask. I personally am not a “foodie,” and I’ll eat whatever is close and cheap. For this trip with my friends, we did book several fancy dinners. Food culture in Spain is unique, so I will specify this for Barcelona: 10:00 p.m. is not an abnormal time to eat dinner in Spain, but you can eat earlier. 

What I noticed in the restaurants we chose, which were mostly high-end and very well-rated, is that the “typical” dinner of a light meal was not the case at the places we ate. Many of them had “set” menus and encouraged many dishes. I left every dinner stuffed.  

We ate breakfast in our hotel each morning and had lunch around 1:00 or later. Some of us snacked between lunch and dinner. All but one of our dinners in Barcelona were between 10 p.m. and midnight. Almost every restaurant in the Gothic Quarter serves dinner starting at 8 p.m., so eating earlier is convenient if your group wishes.

I am a very picky eater, and most of Spain’s food culture revolves around seafood and pork, two things I do not eat. Since some meals are tapas, meaning you order a lot of plates of food and share everything, I was grateful my friends were accommodating and ordered plenty of vegetarian plates for the table.

Questions to ask your friends:

• What is the ideal time for everyone to eat dinner?
• Are you a breakfast person, or do you prefer to skip breakfast? (This also helps you decide if you need a free breakfast as part of your hotel package—unless you make a late included breakfast part of your lunch budget.)
• Do you have a budget in mind for meals?
• How many “fancy” meals sound good to you?
• Do you have food allergies or restrictions that the group will need to accommodate?

Connected and organized

Everyone on this trip had iPhones, but it is best to move to WhatsApp or Signal for group messaging if you have Android-based friends. If you are using an eSim, messaging can be hit or miss between the two operating systems. WhatsApp is used worldwide and is very handy to have on your phone if traveling internationally, as many tour groups, drivers and hotels will use it to communicate with you. 

Two of us used an Airalo eSim, and two used international plans. (Learn more about international phone service options.) Our messaging on our iPhones was seamless.

Have a plan for navigating and using maps so the burden and expense are split amongst the group. Make sure everyone can access the itinerary so no one person is in charge of ” what’s next.” 

I was so impressed with our group that we were all on time, every day, even with our very tightly packed schedule!

Pro-tip: Assign a leader per day. Each day, one person is in charge of “leading” the group, navigating to destinations and keeping the day on track. This splits up the mental load. Some people are better navigators, so determine as a group whose strengths to use. One in our group was better at Spanish, so she handled more of the Spanish communication, such as asking for our table or the check. One of us is better at navigation, so she did the most to get us to specific places. I like to know when we need to be places and ensure we have enough time. 

Questions to ask your friends:

• Who best uses maps and gets us from point A to point B? (pick more than one)
• Who is going to check the itinerary and manage the tickets?
• Who is most comfortable hailing taxis or calling ride shares?
• Who is the time manager?

Photo sharing

You can create shared folders in iPhoto or Google Photos, but I like the photo-sharing app Photo Circle. It has a free version and is easy to use. It doesn’t clutter up my phone as the photos don’t dump into my camera roll, and I like that it shows who took what picture. 

Take candid pictures of your friends and have them take them of you, too. Share at the end of the trip. They might not be your best-posed photos, but aren’t those really the best?

Tracking expenses

Splitwise is a lifesaver when you are sharing expenses with a group.

Enter expenses as they happen and use your location’s name. When you get home and go through your banking statements, it’ll be a lot easier to figure out what expense was what if you use the name of the restaurant and a description of what you had. Instead, I used “weird salad place” or “all the potatoes,” which was not helpful when I got home. For this trip we entered items in euros and then, when we got home, converted the entire thing to USD in the app. 

Pick your drivers

We rented a car in Mallorca and decided on two drivers for that duration. I prefer to drive, even in an unknown country, and one of the other women chose to be the additional driver. It’s always good to have two in case someone gets sick or you need a backup driver for any reason. I was thankful to have a second driver. The winding mountain roads in Mallorca can be pretty scary. The driving was challenging but not the most demanding driving experience; that award goes to the Island of Madiera in Portugal! As a side note, you need an international driver’s license in Spain, and we were asked to present it at the car rental counter in Mallorca. We got ours at our local AAA office for under $30, and it’s valid for one year. Check out our tips for renting a car before you go.

I highly recommend using the Spain Driving Guide by Tripamo before you go. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with the rules of the road, the unfamiliar road signs, and even how to fuel your car! Their courses are reasonably priced, and the video portions take less than an hour to complete. They even come with a downloadable PDF you can reference during your trip should you need it. 

For more on planning a trip with friends, see our blog on Planning a Girls’ Trip: 5 Important Things to Consider. Going on a trip with your friends is something you will never forget; it will bond you in new ways and deepen your appreciation of one another. You’ll make memories that last a lifetime. 

Check out our Spain section in Destinations to get tips on visiting Barcelona and Malaga!

Trip Details

• Me and three friends, ages 33 to 54
• 4 Nights in Barcelona, Spain
• 3 Nights in Soller, Mallorca
• 1 Night in Palma, Mallorca
• Rental car in Mallorca

The total cost was $4,664 for all four of us or $1,166 per person, plus flights we purchased individually. We all flew the same United Airlines flight. My flight was $820 after I paid $220 to bump to economy plus seats on the way back. Hot tip: United’s basic economy seats are brutal.

Where we stayed:

Barcelona: Hotel Cuatro Naciones. Simple, clean, excellent breakfast right on La Rambla.

Soller, Mallorca: Airbnb. Stunning with beautiful gardens, fruit trees and a lovely pool.

Palma: Puro Hotel. A splurge, completely worth it!

Ready to book your trip?

Book your accommodations

We like booking.com for accommodations. They offer a range of hotels, resorts, apartments, guesthouses and even hostels. The platform also has a loyalty program that allows members to save even more.

Book your tours

We love booking tours through a single provider and keeping our mobile tickets in one spot. We use GetYourGuide. We appreciate that they work with local companies and provide a wide variety of tours!

Stay connected

When using an eSIM, we like Airalo. An eSIM is the easiest way to obtain cell service outside your network. We have used their eSIM cards in Budapest, Canada and Ecuador, and so far, so good! Simply download the Airalo app, select the country you’re traveling to, and choose the amount of data you want. Follow the installation instructions and turn it on when you arrive!

Shopping for your trip?

We make a small commission when you use our Amazon Affiliate link. It helps offset the expense of maintaining our website and costs you nothing extra.

---

The views expressed on this website represent the opinions of the authors; we encourage you to form your own opinions and confirm any facts.

This post likely contains affiliate links. If you shop or make a reservation through these links, we may make a small commission (for which we are very grateful!) at no extra cost to you. Not all links are affiliates, and we only suggest products and places that we have experienced.