Seven essentials every lady needs for a road trip

Not many people are comfortable with road trips because they take time and often leave one exhausted, given the state of Nigerian roads. But even in spite of the discomfort, road trips still have a lot to offer.

As a lady, it is important that you are in possession of some essentials when embarking on road trips.

Here are some important items you should have ahead of your next road trip:

• Comfortable clothing

This is a no-brainer. Most of the time during road trips, the weather will be warm, hence you’ll be required to wear light, comfortable clothing.

Think of fabric choices that are breathable and not too clingy to your skin. For instance, you’ll agree that wearing a pair of free palazzo trousers is a better choice than super thick leggings.

The reason you want to stick to breathable fabric is so that even after you sweat, no offensive smell is produced. Of course, breathable fabric is more comfortable to wear for such a long period of time.

• Identification documents

It’s quite dangerous travelling anywhere — whether by road, air, or other means — without having at least one identification document on you.

You cannot predict when an ID will be of importance, hence it’s safe to always carry one around when travelling. Besides safety, IDs could be required to check into hotels, stations in several cities across Nigeria and even outside the country.

If you’re wondering which identification documents matter the most in Nigeria, they are international passports, national identity card, driver’s license, voter’s cards, as well as other recognised professional IDs.

• Cash

Again, because of uncertainties, always keep some reasonable amount of cash handy when on a road trip.

Loose change is always encouraged especially if you won’t eat at restaurants along the way, buy fruits and other stuff as you pass by other states or cities to your destination.

Most of the time, traders on the road will not accept wireless transactions. They would want their payment in cash. You would not want to be stranded on cash and end up being overbilled by POS operators along the road.

• Sanitary products (pads, tampons, etc)

You may not always be able to keep Aunt Flo from paying a surprise visit during a road trip.

And so it’s crucial to keep at least a pack of a sanitary product of choice when setting out.

You’ll be saving yourself serious discomfort by doing so.

• Lip balm

Since you’ll be drinking water, eating, and may also sweat during your road trip, your lips will be bound to get chappy.

This is where having a tube of lip balm comes in handy and to the rescue.

Take note to routinely apply a generous amount of lip balm. I hear lip balms with beeswax are the best!

• Gum and mints

You never know when a piece of gum or mint will come in handy during your trip, so keep some of those handy.

Luckily, they are super affordable and easy to find in local stores.

• Power bank

You definitely do not want to be in a situation where your phone or important electronic devices go off during your trip.

Packing a power bank will ensure you have some power to fall back on when your devices need recharging while on the trip and upon arrival (you can’t predict the light situation in your destination).

Make sure to charge your power bank fully prior to your trip.

Of course, there are so many more items that can go on this list like packing some snacks (especially if you react poorly to public food). You can also contribute by letting us know some of these items in the comments.