45 Tips and Tools for Travel Nursing Road Trips
Road trips are a big part of travel nursing. When I was recruiting, it seemed like almost every traveler I worked with got to their assignment by driving their own car, traveling as little as 100 miles to as much as 3,100 miles. While it’s true that road trips are typically fun, they can also be risky, stressful and grueling. So, here are 45 tips and tools to help make your travel nursing road trips safe and enjoyable.
Tips for Planning Your Travel Nursing Road Trip
1) Plan Your Road Trip
I’m sure it sounds obvious that you should plan your road trip. However, a lot of travel websites and blog posts about road trips recommend a “flexible itinerary”. Essentially, map it out and go with the flow. They say this makes the trip more fun.
The problem is that you could actually miss something that you would really like to see or do if you only knew it was there in advance. You could also get stuck without knowing where the next place to sleep or rest is located. More importantly, travel nurses are often taking road trips to get to their next assignment, so time can be an important factor.
Therefore, consider mapping a detailed trip itinerary in advance. By doing so, you can avoid potential pitfalls and take advantage of tons of tools and services that can help you get the most out of your road trips.
Finally, it’s also important to add some time to the road trip schedule for unforeseen circumstances like bad weather or an unplanned stop along the way. This way, your schedule has some flexibility built in should you need it.
2) Consider RoadTrippers.com
Consider RoadTrippers.com to help you plan your trip. This website and the accompanying App for iPhone and Android helps you find things along your route. Simply enter your starting point and destination and the service will map out accommodations, attractions, dining options, recreation areas, points of interest, camping options, entertainment, services, shopping, and sporting options along the way.
The service also has a feature that allows you to control the area for the results. You can set it as low as 5 miles to as high as 30 miles from your route.
3) Consider TVFoodMaps.com
If you love to watch food shows and dream of chowing down at all the amazing restaurants they feature, then you might like TVFoodMaps.com. The service includes over 4,000 restaurants that have been featured on over 30 TV shows including Man vs. Food and Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. There are several search options including by show and by state. However, you can also enter your starting point and destination to see the options available along your route.
4) Consider RoadFood.com
RoadFood.com can help you find the restaurants that the TV food shows haven’t discovered yet. The site lists only non-franchised restaurants and has over 1,800 listings. You can search by state, city, food item, keyword and restaurant type.
Their insider service costs $20 per year and provides several premium features. You can download all reviews to a PDF. You’ll also get access to a mapping service to help you find things easier. You can also integrate with Google Earth to take your search to the next level.
5) Consider RoadsideAmerica.com
RoadsideAmerica.com bills itself as “Your online guide to offbeat tourist attractions.” If you like to visit quirky attractions like giant chickens, or dinosaurs made out of used car parts, then this site is for you. On the website, you enter a city and state and it returns the attractions in the area. They also have an iPhone app that will let you locate attractions that are around your current location. The app charges by the region and it’s less than $10 to purchase all regions.
Staying on Course
6) Consider Google Maps
There are tons of map services out there, but there is a reason that maps have become synonymous with Google. They do maps better than most, especially for long distance road trips. You can start by mapping your trip on your computer which makes it easier to look at alternate routes. Or you can go straight to the app which includes an “Explore” feature that will display things to do near you in several different categories.
7) Consider Waze
Waze is an app that allows users to contribute information about road conditions so that everyone can benefit. The app works like other navigation apps in that you enter a destination and it provides tracking and automated voice guided navigation. Meanwhile, the app is tracking the progress of all users to determine traffic issues that the app uses to determine if there is a better route for your trip. Users can also enter information like police radar traps and vehicle accident reports. The app will also help you find the cheapest gas relative to your current location. Finally, you can connect with others and share your road trip progress.
It’s important to note that the app only accepts road trips of less than 1,000 miles. So, it might not be the best option for your cross-country trips.
8) Bring a Paper Map
Technology is awesome and all, but it requires energy and a data connection. You may find yourself without one or both of these things on a long road trip, so be sure to bring a paper map with you. Considering that travel nurses could potentially trek cross country several times during their careers, a great map might be a good investment. Here are a few popular options:
Rand McNally 2025 Large Scale Road Atlas
The Next Exit 2024: The Most Complete Interstate Hwy Guide
National Geographic Road Atlas 2024 – Adventure Edition
9) Find what you need while en-route with iExit
I find Google Maps to be very poor at helping me find what I’m looking for while I’m en-route. iExit is a great app for doing just that.
iExit knows your location and provides you with route selections near you. For example, if you’re on Interstate 5 in California, it will give you options to select North or South. Then, it will list out each exit along that route using your location as the starting point. Each exit will show icons for the types of services that are available at that exit. When you select an exit, it will show you how far off the exit each service is. You can then select to get directions in your preferred mapping service.
It’s a very highly rated app. I’m compelled to say that you must pull over to use it. Do not use this app while driving.
Finding Places To Stay on Your Travel Nursing Road Trip
Many travel nurses will have road trips long enough to warrant an overnight stop along the way. Here are some tips to help with your search.
10) Truck Stops Are For Travel Nurses?
Truck stops are great options for your road trips. They typically have the cheapest gas in the area. They always have restaurants attached to them and their retail stores usually offer an eclectic mix of interesting and useful items.
Perhaps most importantly, you can always count on truck stops if you just need a shower. The shower fees are typically $10 – $15 and the service usually includes a fresh towel, washcloth, bathmat and soap.
You can sleep in your car at a truck stop. However, many truck stops have major hotel and motel chains attached to them these days, so if you need a bed, then you can typically find one nearby.
11) Finding Truck Stops
There are tons of apps that can help you find truck stops along your route. One of the most popular is called “Truck Stops and Travel Plazas”. The app is provided by AllStays which provides tons of useful services for travelers. However, this app costs $10.
Another app to consider is called Trucker Path. The app lets you plot a route and shows you the truck stops and rest areas along the way. Best of all, it has a free version.
Another premium app to consider is Rest Stops Plus. This is another app provided by AllStays. It has over 4,000 rest areas, welcome centers, turn-outs, service plazas and scenic vistas in the USA and Canada. The app costs $2.
Truck Stops and Travel Plazas on iPhone
USA Rest Stop Locator on Android
12) Use Airbnb and VRBO to find vacation rentals
It goes without saying by now, but you can use Airbnb and/or VRBO to book vacation rentals along your road trip’s path. You can find options that are much less expensive than a hotel. This is especially true if the location is not a big city, which is likely to be the case when you’re road tripping.
13) Try Hotel Tonight
Hotel Tonight is an app that is designed to get you great deals on hotel rooms at the last minute. It won’t always be useful for a road trip because you’ll often find yourself in small towns and rural areas that aren’t well serviced by the app. However, it’s always worth a shot as it’s typically considered the best way to save on hotel rooms.
Prepare Your Vehicle for Your Travel Nursing Road Trip
Next, you’ll want to make sure that your vehicle is ready for the road trip. Here are some tips to help.
14) Check the tires
According to the American Automobile Association, issues with a car’s tires are one of the most common problems that derail road trips. Inspect the tires for damages such as punctures and make sure the tread is in good condition. Also, make sure that your tire pressure meets the manufacturer’s specifications for the weather you’ll be driving in.
15) Check Your Spare Tire
Given that tires fail more than anything else, it’s wise to make sure you have everything you need to switch to your spare. Make sure the spare is properly inflated. Also, make sure you have a jack and tire iron. It’s also a good idea to practice a tire change just to make sure you have everything and know what you’re doing in case of emergency.
16) Check Your Windshield Wipers
Getting stuck in a big storm with shoddy windshield wipers opens you up to unnecessary risk. Windshield wipers are cheap and easy to replace. Make sure you check them before you embark.
17) Ensure Maintenance is Up to Date
Beyond the tires and windshield wipers, it’s also a good idea to get current with your auto manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule. This can include a whole host if things if you’ve gotten off schedule. In general, the breaks, fluids, filters, belts, transmission, lights, heating and cooling system should all be up to maintenance recommendations.
18) Bring The Jumper Cables
Jumper cables are always good to carry on board your vehicle, especially when you’re taking a road trip!
19) Bring a Spare Car Key
It stinks to get locked out of your car anywhere, but it can be a real nightmare when you’re on the road. Car keys are getting pretty fancy these days, but most cars still require some form of key to get the vehicle started. Having a spare key can be a life saver if you accidentally lock your main set in the car, lose your main key or have the key battery die while on the road. I use a Gorilla Box hide-a-key myself, and I highly recommend them.
20) Consider Roadside Service
Many folks just don’t do well with cars even when it comes to small things like changing a tire. Moreover, road trips always present potential for major breakdowns. A good roadside service plan can be well worth the cost, especially if you plan on several road trips in a year. US News has a list of great roadside services to consider.
Random Preparation Tips for Your Travel Nursing Road Trip
Long road trips can be full of surprises and unforeseen circumstances. So, let’s take a look at some random preparation tips.
21) Bring Money For The Toll Trolls
Toll roads are popping up more and more these days. It’s a good idea to have change and paper money on hand in case you run into one that requires cash. I know it sounds crazy, but many rural areas haven’t yet adopted the electronic systems that are commonplace in urban areas. Some states, like Illinois have toll roads that require you to throw some change in a bucket. There are parts of southern California that have this too.
Similarly, you might run into old-school parking meters while road tripping. Having a roll of quarters handy can be a life saver.
22) Charging Devices for Electronics
Charging devices can be a life saver on long road trips too. There are many options on the market. Some are more reliable and effective than others.
For example, there are USB chargers that plug into cigarette lighters. Of course, your car may already have built-in USB chargers. These options are okay. However, they don’t work if your car battery dies. Moreover, they tend to breakdown often.
That’s why we highly recommend you bring at least one fully charged battery pack. You’ll want a battery pack that has both high capacity and high output current. This way, you’ll never get stuck without a way to charge your phone during your road trip.
23) Bring Toilet Paper
It’s a real downer to enter a rest stop or gas station bathroom and realize there is no toilet paper until after you’ve gone. Get in the habit of carrying your own and you’ll never get stuck in this awkward situation.
24) Bring a Flashlight
Flashlights come in handy in many road trip situations. Use them to help you change a flat tire, or to save your car battery while reading in your car at night (parked of course). Be sure the batteries are fresh before embarking.
25) Bring Sunscreen
It’s easy to forget that you can get a sunburn when driving all day long. Your left arm is typically most at risk, but your legs can get hit too. Be sure to carry some sunscreen with you in the cab.
26) Carry Plastic Grocery Bags For Trash
Keeping plastic grocery bags in your cab to dispose of trash can save you from the distraction of finding somewhere to put your trash and help you keep your Zen going for the long haul.
27) Keep Your Essentials Handy
Pack a small necessities bag so you don’t have to dig through a bunch of stuff when you need something.
28) Notify Your Bank
Banks are serious about security these days. If their system detects that your card is being used somewhere outside the norm, then it may automatically shut the card down. It’s best to contact your bank prior to your road trip to give them an idea of where you’re headed and for how long.
Stay Safe on Your Travel Nursing Road Trip
It’s a good idea to plan for safety when taking a long-distance road trip in the USA. So, let’s take a look at some practical and easy safety precautions.
29) Pepper Spray
Most travel nurses are road-tripping solo. Consider carrying pepper spray with you. The laws for pepper spray vary from state to state. The Pepper Spray Store has some useful information about state laws.
30) First Aid Kit
C’mon, you’re a highly trained healthcare professional. You know better than to leave home for a long road trip without a well-equipped first aid kit!
31) Keep People Posted
It’s always best to keep people posted with your progress. Provide your family with an itinerary and let them know you’ll be checking in daily. You can even use many of the apps we discussed above to keep your family updated with your progress.
You might even consider the Life360 app. It offers a host of location-based services including location sharing. For example, you can share your location with a family member using the Life360 app. They’ll be able to see your location on their version of the app. You can even enable “crash detection” so they get an alert if the app detects you’ve been in an accident.
Stay Clean & Comfortable on Your Travel Nursing Road Trip
Long road trips can be grueling and get sloppy. So, here are some tips to help you stay clean and comfortable on the road.
32) Stay Hydrated
When you’re road tripping on a timeline, forgetting to drink water can be really easy. You may even make a conscious decision not to drink water in an effort to cut down on pit stops. However, make sure you don’t get dehydrated. As you know, dehydration causes all sorts of side-effects that can ultimately slow you down, negatively affect your sleep and lower your immune defenses. In the end, it’s just not worth it.
33) Keep Water and Snacks Accessible
With that in mind, prep your cab with water and snacks prior to heading out. Keep them easily accessible to minimize stops and maintain your attention on the road.
34) Bring Wet Wipes
Consider moist towelettes for your hands and bathroom needs. Also, a small pack of Lysol wipes for cleaning the car will help you stay tidy and focused.
35) Paper Towels
Paper towels are versatile. They can replace tissue and napkins. They’re more durable and easier to use on the road.
36) Bug Repellent
You never know when you’re going to end up in a place with a mosquito infestation while you’re road-tripping. It’s always best to carry a small bottle of mosquito repellent just in case.
37) A Small Cooler
Coolers, or Ice Chests, can take up a lot of space. However, having a small cooler handy to keep various fruits, vegetables, meats and beverages chilled is well worth the space.
38) Exofficio Underwear
Sitting in a car for long periods of time can cause you to sweat through the seat of your pants even when the Air Conditioner is on. And even if it doesn’t, being in the same pair of underwear for extended periods while sitting in a car is uncomfortable anyway. Exofficio provides the best underwear I have found for traveling. They have both men’s and women’s underwear that are breathable, lightweight, quick drying, and antimicrobial.
39) Bring Sleeping Gear
Truck stops, roadside hotels, motels and camp grounds can be really noisy and brightly lit. Also, it can be tough to get comfortable if you choose to sleep in your car. So, consider bringing an eye mask, ear plugs and travel pillow.
This eye mask from Temper-Pedic is my personal favorite.
Backpacking pillows like the Thermarest Compressible Pillow are great because they pack down really small to save space.
I’ve used earplugs nearly every night for over 10 years. Of all the varieties I’ve tried, the Mack’s Ultra Soft foam earplugs are my favorite.
Entertainment On Your Travel Nursing Road Trip
You definitely need entertainment for a long road trip. So, hear are some tips to keep you entertained while also keeping your eyes on the road.
40) Consider A Satellite Radio Subscription
Many people love satellite radio. It provides access to over 140 channels depending on the subscription you select. There’s commercial free music, television shows broadcast via radio, sports and much more.
If your car isn’t pre-equipped with a satellite radio, then you’ll need to purchase a unit that is. You can get these all over the place including directly from SiriusXM. The units cost as little as $50 and the monthly subscriptions start at $15. For me, that’s a little too expensive so I opt for the options below.
41) Download Your Favorite Music And Podcasts In Advance
When you’re road-tripping, finding good radio stations can be a pain. Moreover, you may lose your cell connection. So, having your favorite music or podcasts downloaded in advance is always a good idea. Of course, we highly recommend The Truth About Travel Nursing Podcast which can be found on iTunes, Spotify and most other podcast services!
42) Consider Audio Books
Audio books are a great way to make time fly while road tripping! There are tons of options out there for purchasing and playing audio books. My personal favorite is Audible which is an Amazon company. They have a monthly subscription service which gets you one free audio book per month regardless of price. You also get discounts on all additional books you purchase. The cost is $15 per month. You can also forgo the subscription and purchase the books straight from Amazon at full price.
You can have the Audible app downloaded on several devices so you could potentially share your library with a couple of friends or family members if you wanted. One helpful thing to know is that if you already have an Amazon account, then you automatically have an Audible account. Use the same username and password for both. If you want to share your account with someone, then you need to provide them with your log in information.
43) Consider your local library for audio books
Did you know that there are apps that work in conjunction with local libraries to make the libraries’ audio books available for checkout through the app? Essentially, you get a library card from your best local library. Then, you provide your library identification number to the app. Once you have it all setup, you’ll have access to checkout audiobooks from your local library as they become available.
Different libraries partner with different apps. Therefore, you’ll need to check with your library to find out which app you can use. The most popular apps in this realm are Overdrive’s Libby, hoopla and Cloud Library.
As a bonus tip, Overdrive has a service called Kanopy that lets you stream movies from your library. Obviously, you won’t be using this while you’re driving, but this service is amazing given that it’s free!!
44) Try A Cassette Adapter
Cassette?! Yes, I said it…cassette. I have a 2001 Toyota Tacoma with 120,000 miles on it. Clearly, I’m not taking many road trips. Either way, lots of people still have cassette players in their cars and lack the ports or Bluetooth necessary to connect their phone to their car’s audio system. So, if that’s you, then a cassette adapter can connect your mobile device to your car stereo.
Here is an option that uses Bluetooth. It requires recharging. So, if you’re out for a really long road trip, then here is one that connects directly to your phone.
45) Try A Bluetooth Mini Speaker
Maybe you don’t have a cassette player, or it’s broken because it’s too old. If so, you can try a Bluetooth mini speaker to enjoy audio from your mobile device on your road trip. These units have a wide range of quality, options and price. You can certainly get by with something cheap like this. However, I’m a big fan of this Bose waterproof speaker. This larger Bose speaker is more robust and water resistant.
As always, we hope you found this information useful! Please let us know if you have any additional tips or recommendations for travel nursing road trips!
