A guest blog by Peter Minkoff.

Today, traveling has been made easier than it ever was before. In order to stay competitive, airlines are making discounts, limited time offers and lowering the overall price of the tickets. The price of travel is not the only thing that has changed. Namely one hundred years ago an Atlantic voyage from New York to London used to take 3 days and 12 hours, while today, a flight can take you there in about 3 hours.

Still, even though flying is clearly superior in many aspects, the travel itself is half the fun, which is why a lot of people still prefer going on a road trip. Sure, you can’t cross the ocean with your car, but nothing prevents you from just renting a vehicle once you reach your target destination. Unfortunately, traveling by car in the summertime and doing so in winter are two completely opposite things and here are few tips on how to prepare for the latter.

Climate Differences

One of the things people often lose from sight is that just because your hometown is suffering one of the coldest winters in existence, doesn’t mean the place where you are going has the same problem. This is particularly troublesome when visiting tropical/polar regions or a different hemisphere since you enter an airport in one season and leave it in another. This can be particularly difficult since vacation packing in summer is different than packing in winter.

Packing for extremely low temperatures requires you to bring massive clothing items like jackets, boots, scarves, hats and gloves, which on its own doesn’t leave much room for anything else. Boots alone can take up almost one third of your luggage, which is why a lot of people advise traveling in them. Of course, this can potentially make driving more dangerous, which is yet another thing you need to take into consideration.

Prepare for the Road Conditions

The greatest difference about driving in winter are the road conditions. Snow and ice can make steering your car much more difficult, not to mention that some cars simply aren’t made to withstand extremely low temperatures. The first thing you need to do is pay attention to car wheels and tyres. You need to make sure they are ready for winter even if it means putting chains on them. As for the temperature, you may want to add some antifreeze to the car’s cooling system. Finally, you never know when you may get stuck in the snow, which is why it might be worth to consider packing some additional rations just in case.

Check Your Car

Finally, this is something that is universal for both summer and winter travel. You need to ensure your car is travel-worthy before you set out on this adventure. Any malfunction on the open road can jeopardize your own safety or at very least cause a great deal of annoyance. Needless to say, this is not why you decided to go on this vacation in the first place. Simply take your car to mechanic beforehand and you should have no such problems.

Conclusion

While preparing for cold weather travel is not a difficult matter, it does require some time, effort and careful planning. Following through with this, however, reduces the hazards of such a journey and allows you to enjoy your vacation to its fullest without having to think about trivial things.