How to pack the perfect road trip picnic & recipes

Sunday road trips to nowhere are my absolute favourite thing to do.

I love climbing in the car, wide open road ahead of us, 80’s music blaring, and no real destination in sight.

I’ll normally make coffee in travel mugs, which have an almost metallic aftertaste as you sip on the hot caffeine.

In the back is the juice for the kids and water for us all. And in the boot, our trusty picnic basket or cooler box, filled with “padkos”¹

These are often “finger foods”, dried wors² biltong³, fruits or nuts that are quick to grab as we are in the car.

What foods to pack on a road trip

I pack two types of food when we are on a road trip.

The first is small snacks that can be enjoyed in the car, throughout the journey and the other is a full picnic, one where we need to stop and find a park or beach spot to enjoy.

On the go :

Nuts

Dried fruit

Hard fruits like apples, pears, etc

Berries

Biltong

Dried wors

Cheese

Salty crackers

Chips

Pretzels

Popcorn

Mini rice cakes

Baby tomatoes

Cucumber slices

Carrot or celery sticks

Raisins

Biscuits

Breakfast bars

Bottled water

Bottled juice

You can also try my favourite snack ideas:

Orange & lavender infused water
https://funmammasa.co.za/orange-and-lavender-infused-water/

Puff pastry mini pies
https://funmammasa.co.za/puff-pastry-mini-pies/

Oats crunchies

https://funmammasa.co.za/oat-crunchies/

Picnic

Sit down picnics make it much easier for you to sit down and enjoy a meal.

Here I like to pack sandwiches, wraps, pita pockets or rolls for the beach. Easy foods that allow you to eat and keep busy while still feeding kids who need to be reminded to eat something.

If we are going to a designated picnic area, park or plan to find a roadside picnic space I will pack more complex meals.