Tips for Finding Food and Entertainment While on a Road Trip

Road trips can be loads of fun, but the logistics of staying well-fed, and keeping people entertained on a long trip can be a challenge. 

While it can be nice to head off and see where your trip takes you, it is always a good idea to have some plan in mind for where you are going, and what you will do.                                                 

Good Food Options for When You’re on the Road

Road trip food should be fast, simple and filling. Ideally, you want food that is easy to prepare and that is relatively shelf-stable. 

While a lot of caravans have portable fridges and freezers, you don’t always want to be stressing about whether your meat and fish are fresh.

Look for simple snacks that you can eat on the go. Good choices are things like:

• Beef jerky
• Bananas (ideal since they are easy to carry and peel)
• Fruit and veg snack pots prepared before you leave
• Popcorn
• Peanut butter (high in calories, filling and convenient)
• String cheese
• Houmous as a dip for fresh veg

Keep non-perishable stuff in your RV or caravan, and a coolbox in the car or cabin so you can snack on the go. 

The Best Places to Find New Supplies

When you’re on a longer road trip, you will want to stock up on fresh supplies. Finding food that is satisfying and filling, while also healthy, is a challenge. 

You could just stop off at petrol stations along the way but if you do that you will be missing out.

Find local stop off points where you can sample quality dishes and get yourself a nice hot meal. 

If you’re the outdoorsy type, research fishing permits in the places you’re going. 

Load up on fresh produce whenever you find ‘civilization’, and if you see other caravan owners, why not ask if you can hang out for an evening and do a shared barbecue. 

You’ll make new friends and hopefully get to sample new food as well. 

Those kinds of impromptu get-together are some of the best forms of free entertainment you can find on a road trip. 

If you’re driving across states then you’re going to want to enjoy something outside of the petrol station menu!

Entertainment You Can Take With You

In a lot of ways, the traditional forms of entertainment are still the best. 

Even if you’re taking kids or teens with you, put their cell phones and iPads in the back of the car and get them to spend some time talking to each other, reading books, and appreciating the scenery.

Card games are timeless and don’t need batteries. This makes them a nice choice for a long car journey. 

You can play Solitaire alone, and Hearts, BlackJack and Poker are accessible family games.

The I-Spy series of books still exists and is full of games to play that are educational and that can build an appreciation for nature. 

It might take a while to get the kids interested, but it’s a good bonding experience and they’ll have fun once they get going. 

The Michelin I-Spy books can be found on Amazon for just a few dollars each, and if you pick up a few that suit the areas you’re travelling through that will give you a lot of hours of entertainment. 

If the areas you’re going are relatively popular trekking spots, then you might want to try geocaching, and combine it with photography. 

Take a disposable camera or a cheap digital camera with you so that you aren’t risking your best kit in the wilderness. 

You can use a normal phone for geocaching, but if you’re worried about battery life there are cheap Garmin devices that you can use instead, which are much more rugged and water-resistant. 

You can spend a whole day following directions and hunting for surprises.

Just be sure that if you take something from a cache, you put something back for the next person to find.

If you love the great outdoors, then there is simply no better way to enjoy it than in a caravan of your very own.

If you are thinking about buying a caravan, then you can’t go past Retreat Caravans. 

Please check out our range of caravans below, all carefully designed with you in mind:

• Whitsunday – Touring caravan
• Keppel – Compact caravan
• Fraser – Semi off-road caravan
• Hamilton – Luxury caravan
• Daydream – Off-road caravan