Let’s face it – no one likes to talk about it, but we all have to deal with going to the bathroom when we travel. It’s not the most pleasant discussion, but it’s reality, and we should all be prepared to take care of business when we hit the open road.
So how do you not go to the bathroom on a road trip? Public restrooms can be pretty sketchy at best and downright disgusting at worst, so how should you handle the inevitable bathroom breaks when you’re taking a road trip?
There is also the stressful dilemma about what to do when there is no bathroom around and you just can’t hold it any longer. What options do you have that don’t involve just peeing your pants? And when you have kids, it can be even more complicated.
Don’t stress! I’ve compiled a complete guide for you on how to limit bathroom breaks and “hold it,” some tips and tricks for when you have to use roadside bathrooms, and the best resources and inventions for when there are no traditional toilets around.
Here we go!
How to not go to the bathroom on a road trip
While you can only go so long before you have to use the restroom on a road trip, there are certain things you can do to make your bathroom breaks less frequent and less urgent.
Here are a few great tips!
Limit liquids
This one is pretty obvious, but it’s one of the best pieces of advice on how not to go to the bathroom on a road trip.
While you certainly don’t want to dehydrate yourself by not drinking anything, you don’t want to guzzle a ton of water in one sitting either.
Drink when you are thirsty, but try to limit the amount of water and other drinks you consume while driving.
Avoid coffee and caffeine
When it comes to the liquids you do drink, you should avoid or at least limit the number of caffeinated drinks, including coffee, you ingest. Coffee and caffeine can make you need to use the restroom (both #1 and #2) more frequently.
If you are one of those people who need caffeine to function, especially in the morning hours, consider letting someone else drive in the morning so you don’t need to drink it, or plan to make a restroom stop about an hour after you’ve had your cup of joe.
Go to the bathroom every time you stop
You should be stopping every 2-3 hours when you are on a long road trip in order to stretch, fill up the gas tank, and also go to the bathroom.
If you plan out your road trip route with stops included (and I highly recommend that you do), you’ll know approximately how far you have to go to the next break, and this can often take away the stress of not knowing where you’ll be able to take a pee break when you have to go.
If you train your bladder (see below) to go to the bathroom on a schedule, you’ll be able to control the urge to go for longer periods of time and be able to drive several hours before you have to stop.
Put less pressure on your bladder
If you find yourself in a situation where you feel the urge to go, there are a few things you can do to lessen the feeling and prevent an accident.
Ultimately, you want to relieve any pressure on your bladder, so that means uncrossing your legs, sitting as still as you can, loosening your belt and unzipping your pants, and wearing looser fitting clothing in general when you drive.
Finding a distraction, like talking to your partner, listening to music or an audiobook, or playing a game are all great ways of keeping your mind off the fact that you need to go.
While you can’t always help it, trying not to cough, laugh, or sneeze is a good idea too as those actions make your abdomen contract and can also press on your bladder.
Train your bladder
While I’m no expert in how to train your bladder, it’s a great and healthy way to keep your need to pee on a predictable schedule, especially if you have an overactive bladder or need to go all the time.
In a nutshell, you want to empty your bladder on a strict schedule, starting about every hour or so and then working up to longer periods of time. You want to empty it even if you don’t feel like you have to so you are “training” your bladder to go on a schedule.
For more information on bladder training, check out this article.
Wear a diaper
If the stress of having an accident while you are in the car is enough to prevent you from taking a road trip or enjoying the journey, you can always wear an adult diaper for extra assurance. There is no shame in that! Better safe than sorry, right?
There are also a ton of other bathroom solutions to consider if you can’t find a public toilet. We’ll cover those at the end of this post, so keep reading!
Tips for using rest stop and gas station bathrooms
Most of the time, you’ll probably be able to reach a public restroom and relieve yourself the “normal” way. But SO many people use them and not all bathrooms are created equal in the cleanliness department.
Here are some things you can do to make using rest stop and gas station bathrooms less gross and easier to find when you need them.
Map out your route
I mentioned this earlier, but if you plan out your road trip route and make a point to stop somewhere every 2-3 hours, you’ll always know when your next bathroom break is, whether that’s at a gas station, a rest stop, a restaurant, or an attraction.
If you are anxious about having to go to the bathroom and not knowing the next available spot, this will help relieve a lot of your worries and make you feel more confident, plus you’ll enjoy the actual road-tripping experience a lot more.
Download a road trip bathroom app
There’s an app for pretty much everything these days, am I right? And bathroom finding apps are no exception.
There are a few of them out there, but here are the highest-rated and most well-known choices:
- Squat Or Not (Apple)
- Where Is Public Toilet (Android)
- Bathroom Scout (Apple and Android)
- Flush (Apple and Android)
Bring the essentials
We’ve all been in that situation where you find a porta-potty or a roadside restroom and they are all out of toilet paper or soap. You don’t want to have to go find another option for something like that if you can help it.
Make a point of packing the essential bathroom items with you, such as toilet paper, disinfecting wipes, hand soap sheets, and hand sanitizer so that if you run into this scenario, it’s no big deal.
Touch as little as possible
We all know that germs thrive in places like bathrooms because so many people use them, so limit your exposure by touching as little as possible.
When you flush the toilet, use toilet paper to touch the button or handle. When turning off the water faucet, grab a paper towel to do so. And this probably goes without saying, but don’t touch your face before you’ve washed your hands thoroughly.
And to be extra safe, use a dollop of hand sanitizer when you get back to your car.
A little prevention can go a long way to keeping you and your family healthy on your road trip adventures.
Avoid dirty bathrooms
All bathrooms are “dirty” the minute someone uses them, but when a restroom is visibly dirty with overflowing trashcans, dirt all over the floor, and a messy sink, it’s probably not sanitary and you shouldn’t use it if you can help it.
I’ll never forget my bathroom experience going through Chicago. I had to go so badly that we pulled off the highway at the first exit and found a rinky-dink gas station with only a porta-potty for a restroom.
Let’s just say it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t even want to describe it – use your imagination and then multiply it by 10, it was that bad. Peeing my pants was more acceptable, so we hightailed it out of there until we found a better option (which we luckily did).
Sometimes it’s just not worth it to use a gross restroom no matter how badly you have to go. In cases like these, consider another bathroom solution.
Other road trip bathroom solutions
I wish I had known about some of these other bathroom solutions during the Chicago fiasco. Now that I do know about them, I use a combination of a few different ones so that I don’t end up in the same scenario again.
Go outside
I find that rural travel tends to create more bathroom-less journeys than any other. When you are traveling on the highways and through cities, there are usually plenty of places you can stop and use the restroom.
But when you are driving through the woods or fields and stops are few and far in between, you may not have any choice but to just go outside.
When I travel back and forth between Minnesota and Pennsylvania, I like to travel through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan because it’s prettier and has a lot less traffic, and I don’t have to drive through Chicago (cue traumatic bathroom situation again and the stressful driving).
But this also means very few bathroom options, especially in the winter when the roadside stops are closed. There are long stretches of time without any restroom options at all unless I want to take a detour, and I’m all about avoiding detours as much as I can when I just want to get from point A to point B.
So oftentimes, I’ll just pull over on the side of the road and do my business in the woods.
For guys, this is super easy and probably a no-brainer, but it can be a little more complicated and time-consuming for us ladies.
There are a few things you can do to make this easier and less awkward, whether you are alone or with someone else.
- Have the bathroom essentials so you don’t have to rely on leaves and grass to wipe. Just don’t be a jerk and leave the toilet paper on the ground – pack it up and out just like when you are backpacking or camping. I just use a plastic shopping bag but you can get specific compostable ones if you want.
- If you have someone with you, have them turn their back and watch for traffic if you are concerned about this. If you are alone, it helps to have both doors on the passenger side open to create a bit of a “shield” in case anyone does drive by.
- If you are in a super rural area with few cars or houses, walk into the field or woods and go out of sight of the road. I’d recommend having your hazard lights on and locking the car if you are alone so that no one can mess with your vehicle if they do happen upon it.
Travel John
Where has this been all my life? I only recently learned about Travel John, and I now carry a few of them with me in the car at all times. It truly is a game-changer.
These handy little pouches are essentially disposal urinal bags, but the best part is, they contain gel polymer that absorbs the liquid and solidifies it instantly, meaning it can’t spill! After you go, you just seal it up and toss it out. So simple!
The best part about these is that you can use them pretty much anywhere. You could use them inside a vehicle, tent, or boat, making them ideal for not just road trips but also backpacking, camping, fishing, boating, and other activities.
There are a variety of options, but the unisex one is perfect for both men and women. They do make a Travel Jane that is geared specifically for women, but the only thing that seems different is that the opening is a little larger. I think most women could use the unisex one just fine.
These can also be used for vomit if you or your kids are prone to carsickness. The only thing I wouldn’t use these for is if you have to go #2 since this is meant to absorb liquids, not solids.
SheWee/other FUDs
Female urinary devices (FUDs) have been around for a while, and they can be really useful to have if you don’t want to dispose of a urine bag or if you are backpacking and want to have as little waste to carry out as possible.
Basically, these are funnels that allow women to stand up while they pee so they can go more discreetly and cleanly on the side of the road or while out hiking or camping.
I’ve used these before and I highly recommend you practice at home first before trying one for the first time on a road trip since there is a slight learning curve to make sure you have a proper seal and don’t leak. But once you figure it out, it’s easy peasy.
SHEWEE is one of the most popular brands, but there are dozens of them out there now, so check out all the choices on Amazon here.
Portable toilet
For those of us who want as much comfort and shelter as we can get while using the restroom without, well, an actual restroom, consider buying a portable toilet.
Basically, these portable toilets are bag-lined buckets with a toilet seat that allow you to sit down and use the bathroom and then dispose of the waste afterward. Simple but genius.
There are many options out there in all price ranges, but a good quality one at a decent price point is this folding one from Siewl. It has a lid and also comes with bags.
Ideally, you’ll pair a portable toilet with a shelter of some sort to give yourself privacy if you don’t feel comfortable using it in your vehicle. Again, there are plenty of choices, but I like this one from GigaTent because of its bright color, ease of setting up, and reasonable price point.
The real bonus of a portable toilet and shelter is that they can be used in a lot of situations. Camping is a great example. There are plenty of rustic campsites out there that either don’t have a bathroom at all or they are far away. This is a great option for late at night when duty calls but you don’t want to go traipsing through the woods to find the bathroom.
And let’s not forget about traveling with kiddos. When you are road-tripping with younger children who are still learning to potty train or who haven’t mastered the ability to “hold it” yet, a portable toilet could be a lifesaver.
For the littlest ones, a specific kid toilet is a great choice on any road trip. These are designed specifically for their little bottoms and can make having an accident less likely when they just can’t hold it until the next rest stop.
Conclusion: How do you not go to the bathroom on a road trip
Having to go to the bathroom while road-tripping doesn’t have to be stressful or ruin your adventure. With a little planning and some other bathroom solutions, you’ll be on your way to a great trip without worry.
