When on the road, we usually get asked the same questions : « But, how do you shower while a road trip ? How do you eat ? Where do you sleep ? How do you do your laundry ?»
Well, unless you are planning on sleeping every night in an hotel, or renting a caravan that is already equipped with showering facilities, being able to take shower everyday while a road trip gets a little tricky.
During a road trip, you have to make a few sacrifices, and showering on a daily basis is one of them. But don’t worry! There are 11 places to shower on a road trip, and we are going to share them with you. You can also check out our South-East Europe road trip here.
Shower on the beach
If you are road tripping on the seaside, you have an easy access to the public shower on the beach, so take your soap, your shampoo, and jump into the shower.
You will find showers with manholes cover allowing the water to run inside the sewer, so here feel free to use as much shampoo as you need, but you’ll also find simple shower with the water just going on the sand, and using soap or shampoo there isn’t good for the ocean.
Solar shower
We love this methods cause it allows you to take your shower anywhere you like. You just need to fill up the bag, and whenever you find the right spot to hang it, wash yourself.
The water inside gets hot in about 2 / 3 hours while left on the sun, and to make it faster we were filling the bag with hot water.
The solar shower is also really practical because you can keep it full in your vehicle as long as you want, so just imagine you ended up driving in the middle of nowhere and it wasn’t in your plan, your full solar shower will save the day!
Campground
Driving on the seaside or in the middle of nowhere, passing through national parks, you’ll for sure meet campgrounds on the way, and they will be your best chance to get shower.
Private campgrounds or not, find your way inside and ask if you can use the shower facilities. Some of them will let you use it at any cost, some will ask you to pay for it, and others will just say that you have to spend a night there to use it. If you have time to sleep one night there, well! If you don’t, find the next one…
Note that not all the campgrounds are equipped with shower facilities, and in some of them the showers are operated with coins.
Gym
That’s for motivated people who wants to stay fit while traveling. Every gyms are equipped with showers, so you can invest in a gym membership pass for the country where you are traveling in.
Swimming pool
After long days driving & hard working days, you just need to take some time to relax, so why not at the swimming pool?
Enjoy the pool, the sun, do some stretching, relax, and of course, enjoy the shower.
Swimming pools are the best place for shower, if you are planning to stay the whole day or just to enter for the shower, the price usually ridiculously cheap will be worth the spent.
Shopping center
When you are in a big city and not willing to spend money in an hotel..that’s the solution! Go in a shopping center, find your way to the disabled toilet, use the sink, and wash yourself quickly.
Make sure you clean after yourself and to don’t stay too long inside.
Truck gas stations
They can be found all over the country on highway, freeway, expressway and interstate roads. They are made for truck drivers and all of them have shower facilities. The showers are clean and come with shampoo, soap, hairdryer, towels.. but the price isn’t that cheap: from 10 to 25€. You’ll be able to stay as long as you want, and even take some time for a snack and coffee.
Motels
Well, why not staying a night or two in a motel ? It can be nice sometimes to take few days to relax and don’t have to go around with all your toiletries and clothes to wash yourself. If you can afford it, why not? Sometimes, it’s just the only resort after not being able to wash after couples of day…
It’s hard to find a motel who’s going to only accept to use the shower facilities, but not impossible! Some of them will accept with pleasure, for free, or for a ridiculous amount of money. You just have to find the right one.
Tank of water
You are driving in the middle of nowhere since 3 days and you really need a shower.. You haven’t passed in front of a singe hotel, or the gas stations had no shower facilities.. But you probably passed in front of water sources, it can be a fountain, a tube, a tiny waterfall, and that’s when you know it’s shower time!
Take your tank of water (you must have one on a road trip), fill it up, and ask your partner to throw water on you. Shower done!
Waterfall / river / lake
That’s probably the most freezing way to refresh yourself. Find a sneaky spot away from people’s eye and wash yourself.
Don’t use soapy products inside the water, it isn’t good for the environment and species living in the water. Provide yourself with a bottle, a bucket, a tank, anything that can contain water, and use this to wash yourself.
Hairdresser
This is only to wash your hair, just ask the hairdresser if he can only makes you a shampoo.
I used this method once in Istanbul when we stayed a week, sleeping in our car in the parking of a shopping center. We had no ways to take a proper shower in a such big city apart of booking an hotel. But of course, we didn’t want to spend some Euros for a shower, and my hair were a catastrophe! I couldn’t handle them anymore and could make oil by squeezing them. Avoid hairdresser’s chain, they asked me 30€ only to wash them..and then I went in a small hairdresser in a little quarter of Istanbul, and I found a lovely women who only asked me 1,50€.
Hot outdoor shower in Iceland 
Solar shower
That was our 11 places to shower on a road trip! If you have more, don’t hesitate to share them with us.
Lots of love,
Valerie & Alex
xxx