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15 People Share the Best Ways to Make a Long Drive Enjoyable

Image Credit: Pixabay

Road trips are, in my opinion, pretty awesome. But if you’re not so inclined – or you have little kids who make long car rides intolerable, then you’ll definitely want to check out these 13+ tips from real people who know your pain all too well.

#15. Make frequent stops.

“Compensate for time by taking the trip early so that you can make frequent stops at landmarks and places of interest.”

#14. Podcasts.

“Podcasts, my friend. Podcasts are the answer to really long drives. S-town, Serial, even the first season of up and vanished are worth their weight in gold when you’re looking at a long drive. Others probably have great suggestions too.”

#13. The car is key.

“Drive something you enjoy driving. I just recently moved to Michigan this last October. I have two vehicles, so two separate trips. I rented a UHaul to haul all my shit during the first run. I towed my 2003 Explorer on a trailer behind me because that vehicle has like 220,000 miles on it and it’s the one that I don’t trust making a 1700 mile drive from Utah to Michigan without mechanical issues. God that drive was pure hell. Slow lumbering Uhaul hauling not only a full load in the back, but a whole other vehicle on a trailer behind it. It was slow, gutless, took fucking forever to get up to speed, and it was a battle to try to get into certain lanes during busy times of traffic.

I flew back to Utah after that drive to go get my other vehicle. Yeah, flying really is the best option lol. Turned a 2 day route of driving into a 3 hour flight. Fuck.

Then I got in the Mustang. I have a 2016 Mustang GT. Performance package. Manual. Fun as all fuck to drive. Felt completely vindicated after dealing with a big slow lumbering UHaul. A 2 day drive still blows. But doing it in a car I actually love to drive? I actually had fun making the trip, too.

Also, just pay for a room already. I made two separate visits out here to MI from UT before I had moved. 1700 mile 2 day long drives both ways. And I hardcored it. Tried to cat-nap at a rest stop but just got like 1-2 hours of infrequent shut-eye before hitting the road again. Straight up delerious and exhausted when I reached my destination. This time, during both drives over the course of this move I stopped and got a room at the end of Nebraska, right before leaving that state. The halfway point of the drive. I stopped, slept on a real fucking bed with no alarm set. Just let myself wake up when I was ready. Got me a nice shower and all cleaned up, breakfast. And felt like a new man ready to take on the road again. It was worth the $60 or so both times. Be safe and just spring for that shit if your drive is over 12 hours.”

#12. Get Sirius.

“Cruise control the constant leg on the pedal really takes a toll on your leg. Also sirius satellite radio because it has music, talk radio, comedy…”

#11. Reddit, of course!

“If I’m driving long distance alone I like to play my Iron Maiden playlist and sing every song at the top of my lungs. This makes a long drive go fast.

If I’m driving long distance with my wife, the passenger will pull up Reddit and find interesting topics of discussion. This makes a long drive go fast.”

#10. Stand-up comedy.

“My husband and I like to listen to stand up comedy on long trips. It makes it go by much faster.”

#9. Get into the music.

“Music, lots of music. I find that screaming along to disney playlists makes my trips feel much shorter.”

#8. Install a gaming system.

“Video games.

Friends and I took a road trip 15 years ago and removed the middle seat from a minivan and took turns playing.”

#7. Call a friend.

“Call some friends you can just laugh and have a good time with. I’ve been on a road trip with me and one other person in the car, we were in a 8 person discord call and the time went by like nothing. When our service started getting shaky, we took turns playing music and saying why or why not we like the song and rating it out of 10.”

#6. Necessities.

“Music and snacks.”

#5. Sleep, talk, sleep, talk.

“Depends. If I’m driving and driving alone I’ll listen to podcasts or audiobooks.

If I’m a passenger, then I’d read a book or talk about the places we’re passing by. Oh, and sleep. Sleep’s amazing.”

#4. Pee break requests are important.

“Don’t minimize pee break requests. It may take a few minutes longer to get where you’re going. But when everyone doesn’t have to hold it too long, folks get less cranky. Plus, others in the car can stretch while you’re waiting.”

#3. Dive into the whole album.

“I was the only person that took music on a 33 hour trip once. It forced us to listen to WHOLE ALBUMS and everyone else got into music they hadn’t heard before.​

We also listened to the heck out of NPR, which I had previously never heard. The weekend programming is fantastic for passing time.”

#2. Get free audio books.

“Free audiobooks from your local library”

#1. Playlists and windows.

“I see you’re from the midwest as well. Get your playlist together. Some game soundtracks, full albums, or some songs you’re working on memorizing, and play them on loop.
Also if the weather’s nice, roll down the window.”

Enjoy the road, my friends.