What's Stopping You? The Essential Guide to Solo Road Trips

Remember those magical family road trips from childhood? The singalongs, the roadside attractions, the endless games of I-Spy? There's something deeply nostalgic about hitting the open road—but experiencing that freedom solo introduces an entirely new dimension of adventure and self-discovery.

Safety doesn't mean sacrificing spontaneity when traveling alone. I've learned through countless solo journeys that preparation creates the foundation for freedom. Establishing a reliable check-in system with a trusted contact (supplemented by location-sharing apps like Life360 or Google Maps) provides crucial peace of mind. Your accommodation choices matter tremendously—opt for hotels with interior corridors over exterior-access motels, or try car camping near populated areas for both security and flexibility. That converted van or simply reclining your seats with a proper mattress can transform your vehicle into a cozy, lockable haven wherever you roam.

The practical elements of solo road tripping deserve attention too. Download offline maps before departure, pack traditional paper maps for the big-picture view that digital navigation can't provide, and ensure your vehicle passes a pre-trip inspection (tires, oil, brakes). Your emergency kit should include self-contained battery chargers, tire repair tools, first aid supplies, blankets for all weather conditions, and power banks for electronics. But beyond these practicalities lies the true gift of solo travel: uninterrupted reflection time. Those hours behind the wheel become meditative spaces for thinking, listening, and reconnecting with yourself away from daily demands. Why not draw a circle representing your comfortable driving radius and discover what unexplored wonders await within reach this weekend? The road is calling—what's holding you back from answering?

Ready to create your own road trip memories? Subscribe to Solo Travel Adventures for more practical tips and inspiration for your next journey. Share your favorite solo road trip destinations in the comments below!

Chapters

• 0:00 Nostalgic Road Trip Memories
• 0:37 Safety First: Having a Contact Person
• 2:54 Choosing Safe Accommodations
• 5:27 Car Camping Tips and Tricks
• 8:47 Navigation and Emergency Preparedness
• 11:28 Why Solo Road Trips Matter

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Do you have fond memories of a road trip growing up, or one you did as a parent when your children were young? In recalling both sets of memories for me, I became very nostalgic for a good old road trip of my own. In today's episode, I will share some tips on solo road tripping, because you are listening to solo travel adventures and I'm Cheryl Esch, your spontaneous road traveler. Well, whether you are winging it or you have every mile planned, you do need to. Number one, have a contact person, and this would be someone who knows your itinerary, or someone that, if, since you, someone, that if you're doing it spontaneously and you're not sure where you're going to be from day to day, that that person is your check-in point, and I would say you'd want to check in with them about twice a day. Or, if you're moving to a different spot, let them know hey, I've arrived here, or hey, I'm going here right now.

Speaker 1: 1:07

There are some apps out there that you could also use. I still like the check-in method, but there are the famous Life360, find my Friends, family Locator, m Safely Map my Run believe it or not and Google Maps, and many of these, though, do cost a monthly fee to have, but Google Maps does not, and if you are a runner, you probably already have Map my Run, which is also a way someone could track where you are. So these are you know apps that you can track each other, especially as a family member might be able to see where you are. So these are you know apps that you can track each other, especially as a family member might be able to see where you are in real time. So that is a big suggestion, as you are solo traveling, that you have somebody that knows your whereabouts and if you don't check in at a certain time, or maybe you miss a day or time, that they know, kind of, what to do next. You know if it's something serious enough that they would know who to call and to make sure you are safe, or if you just forgot, maybe your phone died, so giving sort of a backup plan to for them to follow in case you don't check in. Just having someone to know where you are always makes me feel good. Even if my children don't like it, I often, if I'm traveling, I will let them know. Hey, I made it here. I'm going here. I share pictures. We do have Life 360. They're not always on it, though, to check on me, but it is a great app to have.

Speaker 1: 2:54

Number two you want to make sure, since you are traveling by yourself, that there's safety within the accommodations you have chosen, and there are a couple approaches to this. It depends on whether you're staying, maybe in a hotel. I recommend, if you are staying in a hotel, that you stay in a hotel with interior rooms and kind of a front desk and reception area, versus the hotels or what we call motels here in the US, where all the doors are on the outside. I just never feel safe with those, because A people can see that you are by yourself. First of all, and number two, they could. You know it's a little easier access, depending on where your room is just accessible without others knowing, possibly. So I just don't feel comfortable with those types of setups. So a hotel with interior rooms is always a much better option and if you're doing campsites, I like to stay near a bathroom or the check-in area. If possible, be near a lamppost as well, just, or a more populated area so that you are feeling surrounded by other people is always always kind of makes me feel a little safer.

Speaker 1: 4:18

In general, depending whether you stay in a hotel, airbnb your camping, your car camping. Airbnb, your camping, your car camping whatever it is that you have decided for your accommodations, you want to check the area out for safety, and it might be hard to assess that online. So often I wait to book these things kind of last minute because then I can drive around. Kind of last minute because then I can drive around, get a sense of the area and whether it actually feels safe to me or not. So that could be an idea. I've also recommended in the past that you could use Google Maps and use the satellite version or the street version to also get a better sense of the place online, because they could post beautiful pictures of the bedrooms and whatnot. But the outside area I mean it could be just next door to some place that has bars on the windows or just not a safe area possibly. So something to consider as you look at that.

Speaker 1: 5:26

Now I will car camp. Now, what is car camping? If you are unfamiliar, some people have these beautiful like sprinter vans, they call them that have it, or other vans that they've converted where they actually have a bed and they stay there. It's almost like a mini RV, so to speak. Or there's car camping where you put a tent. There's a pop-up tent that you can put on your roof or in your car. So I actually do quite a bit of car camping. Even if I pick a campsite, sometimes I'll hop in my car to sleep because maybe the noise is too much.

Speaker 1: 6:09

I've noticed as I've gotten older that I'm definitely more sensitive to noise and I'm not talking about outside cricket noises, I love that noise. I'm talking other people noise. For example, I did do a campsite over near July 4th weekend here in the US and unfortunately that night was super noisy. People were setting off fireworks really late and it wasn't even July 4th yet, and then someone had their motorcycle and a dirt bike driving around the campsite really noisy and loud, and so I prefer the encompassing feeling I have when I car camp versus in a tent. Honestly, I actually feel safer because I can lock my doors right.

Speaker 1: 6:58

But car camping, you know, if you don't get into a campsite, so to speak, and utilize car camping, I have parked in safe parking lots, a place that has, for example, truck stops. Other truckers are stopped Typically. That's pretty safe. I love my love travel centers and Buc-ee's, and there are certain Walmarts that also will do the trick. There are certain Walmarts that also will do the trick. So, making sure you feel safe and when you car camp, try to make it like I will not get out and crawl through the back. I'll actually stay in my car and crawl from the front seat to the back so no one can tell that I'm actually sleeping in my car.

Speaker 1: 7:47

Just some tips. If you decide to do car camping, which I love to save money and so and I actually feel safe in my car, so that's sort of tips that I use safety in your accommodations. With this trip I do actually have a trip coming up and I'm going to do a combination of I have a hotel my first night and then two nights I'll be in a state park which I will car camp, and I bought myself an actual interior mattress that fits in the back part of my, my Jeep, and then, um, I'll stay in another hotel, uh, on my fourth day or so, and then I haven't decided really what I'm going to do on my last night I'll be headed home, so we'll see what happens there, but either way, I make sure I'm safe. I feel safe in my accommodations.

Speaker 1: 8:43

Number three tip is that you want to download maps. I say download them on your phone so that if you lose GPS, so you kind of download them so that you can access them what's called offline in case you're in a dead zone or you know. I do recommend paper maps which I'm headed to. Here in the US we have what's called AAA where I can get maps, and back in the day, just bringing up memories of those lovely triptychs that AAA used to give to us I don't even know if they do that anymore, but I just have some regular state maps to help me. I love to see things kind of from a broader view and it's really hard, not just, you know, small on your phone. But even if I were to look at a map on my laptop, I just can't get all the views I want to see when I'm trying to just do a road trip and spontaneously plan, oh, that looks like an interesting place, and then I can look it up. So download those things so you have them on your phone if you lose GPS or lose service, so to speak. I would also recommend downloading any kind of podcast, music or audiobooks that you also may want to listen to, so they're already downloaded on your phone before you leave, because you never know when you kind of again lose service and it's nice to have those things already pre-downloaded.

Speaker 1: 10:09

And number four I always pack emergency items in my car and this would include a battery charger so I don't have to ask somebody to jump my battery, it's a self-contained item A tire pump and even a patch First aid kit. I always keep a blanket a regular blanket and a thermal blanket in my car, because it's still summertime here. I have this little portable fan, which will be useful as I do some car camping this trip. A power bank totally definitely one of those and, of course, all your necessary chargers. One of those and, of course, all your necessary chargers, but a power bank. If you happen to forget your chargers, it could be a great way to power your phone and potentially anything else like laptop or anything that also needs charged.

Speaker 1: 11:06

Number five before you go, please make sure your car is in good shape for a road trip. For, for example, before you leave, check your tire pressure your oil doesn't need changed, check your washer fluid and how are your brakes. So just making sure all that is in good order before you hit the road so that you're not having to deal with that while you're on the road. And there's so much more I could talk about as far as maybe it's packing items, but the bottom line is road trips are an awesome way to take a trip. You don't even need to do a whole lot of planning, I think. As long as you know your destination, you can probably go from there. Or if you don't want to go far, you just want to get out of town, maybe for a weekend, you know, look at your town and I would say, you know, draw this like circle kind of a certain radius right and think you know three hours or five hours away, whatever, however far you want to drive and see what's in that area that you have not explored yet.

Speaker 1: 12:14

I love the idea of a road trip because there's so much flexibility and freedom in the whole idea of a road trip, and for me it's also a great time for reflection because it's just me and I'm going to be spending a whole lot of time staring down the road thinking maybe I'm praying, maybe I'm listening to be spending a whole lot of time staring down the road thinking maybe I'm praying, maybe I'm listening to some good podcast and audio books, whatever it is, you know I love that time alone and kind of away from everything else. So I encourage you. If you've never done a solo road trip, it's not hard. It just take a couple of these tips that I gave you as far as prep stuff to do and then pick a place and just go. What is holding you back? Get out there and have those adventures.