Going on a road trip is the dream for many of us; a chance to reconnect with friends, listen to music and share stories on the open road, with nowhere to be and no timetable to keep to. Once your road trip becomes real rather than a pipe dream, there are some top tips to keep in mind to make sure it’s the best it can be.

Make sure you have good car insurance 

• Obviously, the hope is that nothing will go wrong while you’re on the road – but it’s just tempting fate to assume that everything will be fine. Rental car insurance protects you against damage, accidents and even personal baggage loss – so it’s an absolute must-have for peace of mind and safety while you’re enjoying the adventure of a lifetime. Make sure your policy also covers multiple drivers, so you don’t get in trouble for taking shifts on the road!

Get off the highways

• You’ll get where you’re going faster, but what’s the point of a road trip if you don’t take the road less travelled? Get off the main roads and take back roads which will take you through towns and countryside so you actually see the country you’re travelling through, rather than zooming along the asphalt without getting a sense of where you are.

Share the playlist

• Hopefully, you and your road trip buddies will have similar music taste, but if not, make sure all your playlists are a mixture of everyone’s taste – sitting on a long car ride while heavy metal blasts out the speakers when you’re a Lumineers fan makes the minutes feel like hours, and is a buzz killer for any journey. Make sure everyone gets a say!

Service your vehicle before you go

• What could be worse than getting all excited to go on your trip, and breaking down before you hit 100 miles? Make sure you take your vehicle in for a full service as close to your start date as possible and invest in fixing any problems – staggering around the country in an unreliable car that’s horrible to drive will turn a dream trip into a nightmare.

Have a rough plan, but not a set itinerary

• While it’s good to have a few major stops along your route that you want to get to, avoid planning out the entire trip down to the last hour. It will cause arguments over navigation and who wants to do what, stop you from going off-map and exploring and make the entire journey stressful rather than relaxed and enjoyable.