How I Build the Perfect Travel Day Playlist
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Every trip has a soundtrack.
Certain songs and albums have a way of taking you right back to a specific time, memory, trip, or destination. You can go years without hearing a song, and then it comes on one day and suddenly you’re right back there.
When I hear Taylor Swift’s Lover, I think about when I first moved to Nashville. When I hear certain songs from my running playlist, I think about living in Greece and going for runs through Athens at 6 a.m. And when I hear “Getaway Car,” I think about driving to school in California and road trips.
Music has this weird ability to preserve memories without you even realizing it’s happening.
And when it comes to travel days, I put a little more thought into what I’m listening to.
My approach is pretty simple, though: it depends entirely on whether I’m traveling by car or by plane.
Because apparently, I have two very different travel playlist philosophies.
Travel Day Playlist
Why a Good Travel Playlist Matters
A good travel playlist can make a long travel day feel shorter.
Instead of spending half the trip searching for something to listen to, you can spend more time looking out the window, watching the scenery change, and actually enjoying the journey.
Music can turn a boring road trip into an epic karaoke session. It can help settle your nerves during a stressful flying experience. It can set the mood before you even arrive at your destination.
And years later, it can bring the entire trip back.
You might forget exactly what airport you flew through or what you ate on a random Tuesday during the trip. But then a song comes on, and suddenly you remember everything.
That is why I think a travel playlist is worth making.
Not because you need to carefully curate the perfect soundtrack for every second of your trip. But because sometimes the music you listen to becomes part of the memory.
My Road Trip Playlist Philosophy: Familiar Songs Win Every Time
I love to sing.
Actually, I am almost always singing. I’m singing while writing this blog post.
So if I am going on a road trip—especially a solo road trip—I want to listen to songs that I already know.
I want the songs where I know every word.
I want to dramatically sing along like I’m performing at a concert.
Or, more accurately, sing karaoke to the soundtrack only.
There is no better opportunity for that than a solo road trip. Unless you’re traveling with friends who fully get the vibe and like the same music, in which case that is also acceptable.
For a road trip playlist, I usually fill it with familiar favorites, nostalgic songs, and songs that I know well enough to sing without having to think about the lyrics.
And, if we’re being honest, there is usually a lot of Taylor Swift.
I Also Think About My Vocal Range
This might not be something everyone considers when making a road trip playlist, but as someone who loves to sing, I think about whether the songs are actually in my vocal range.
There are plenty of songs that I love but should probably not be attempting at full volume for three hours straight.
I don’t want to spend an entire road trip struggling to hit the notes or straining my voice.
So the ideal road trip song is something I love, know by heart, and can sing without sounding like I am actively fighting for my life.
A pretty important qualification.
Sometimes I Need a Break From Singing
On a super long road trip, though, even I need a break.
Sometimes I’ll switch to a podcast, an audiobook, or even put on a favorite TV show or movie that I already know by heart.
This is especially good for those stretches of driving where you need something different but don’t necessarily want to spend time searching for something new.
The important part is having those options ready before you leave.
Because sometimes you just don’t feel like listening to music anymore.
Even if you did spend the last four hours performing an imaginary concert from the driver’s seat.
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My Airplane Playlist Philosophy: Flights Are for Discovering New Music
Unlike a road trip, a commercial flight is unfortunately not the ideal place for a full sing-along.
So, for the sake of everyone sitting near me, I usually save the karaoke performance for the car.
Instead, flights are when I like to discover new music.
I love listening to an album that was just released by one of my favorite artists or working through the songs I’ve been meaning to listen to but haven’t gotten around to yet.
Air travel gives you built-in, uninterrupted listening time.
You don’t have to worry about driving. You aren’t trying to sing along. And you don’t mind missing a lyric because you’re hearing the song for the first time anyway.
By the time you land, you might have a few new favorite songs.
And then those songs can become connected to that trip forever.
Where I Find New Music
When my playlist runs out, I have my Apple Music set to continue playing songs that it thinks I might like.
Honestly, I have found a lot of my favorite songs that way.
I also get recommendations from lists on the internet, my favorite creators, and Pinterest playlists. And sometimes I have friends add their current favorite songs to my “new songs” playlist.
Before I add any song to my actual music library, though, I like to screen it first.
So I always have a running playlist of songs that I want to listen to.
That means when I’m about to get on a flight, I don’t have to start desperately searching for something new while the boarding announcement is happening.
I already have a little collection waiting for me.
How I Actually Build My Travel Playlists
I don’t have an overly complicated system.
In fact, my biggest piece of advice is: don’t overthink it.
Start With How You're Traveling
For me, this is the biggest factor.
If I’m driving, I mostly want familiar songs that I can sing along to.
If I’m flying, I like to fill my listening time with new music, recent releases, or albums I’ve been meaning to hear.
You might be the complete opposite, though.
Maybe you need familiar music to help calm your nerves on a flight. Or maybe discovering new music is what keeps you entertained on a long drive.
There is no correct way to make a travel playlist.
Add Songs Based on the Mood
You can also think about how you want the trip to feel.
Maybe you’re heading somewhere exciting and want high-energy music.
Maybe you’re going on a beach vacation and want something relaxed.
Maybe you’re taking a solo trip and want a playlist full of songs that make you feel like the main character.
Or maybe you’re going somewhere you’ve visited a hundred times and don’t care about matching the destination at all.
The playlist can match your destination, your mood, the season, or absolutely nothing.
Again: don’t overthink it.
Think About the Length
For a road trip, I like having enough music that I’m not listening to the same songs over and over again.
Unless I want to listen to the same song repeatedly, which is also a perfectly valid travel choice.
For flights, I try to make sure I have enough downloaded music to cover the journey and any potential delays.
Because if there is one thing I have learned from travel, it’s that your flight schedule is sometimes more of a suggestion.
Download Everything Before You Leave
This is one of the least exciting parts of making a travel playlist, but it might be the most useful.
Download your music before you leave.
For flights, you obviously won’t always have internet access once you’re in the air. On road trips, you can also lose service in remote areas.
Downloading your playlists can also help you avoid using unnecessary data while traveling internationally.
And don’t just download your music.
Have backups.
Download a podcast, audiobook, movie, TV show, or anything else you might want in case you suddenly decide you don’t feel like listening to music anymore.
Your future self, sitting in an airport during a delay or driving through an area with absolutely no service, will appreciate it.
Grab your FREE
✨Ultimate Greece Travel Starter Guide!!!✨
Skip the overwhelm — I pulled together the must-knows so you don’t have to dig through a million sites.
My Little Travel Playlist Traditions
I think little travel traditions make the journey more fun.
For the longest time, I listened to “Elevate” by Big Time Rush during takeoff.
I would try to time the pre-chorus with the exact moment the plane actually lifted off the ground.
Was I successful every time?
Absolutely not.
But when it worked? Incredible.
For landing, I do the complete opposite.
I put my music on shuffle and let fate decide what the vibe of the destination is going to be.
It’s kind of a risky game.
You could land to the perfect cinematic soundtrack that makes you feel like you’ve just arrived at the beginning of a movie.
Or you could land to something completely unhinged.
But I think that’s part of the fun.
Apparently, I'm Just Homesick for Wherever I'm Not
Another thing I’ve noticed is that I love listening to country music when I’m in Greece.
And when I’m in Portland, I love listening to Greek music.
I guess I’m just perpetually homesick for whatever home I am not currently in.
But there might also be another explanation.
My social anxiety sometimes convinces me that other people can somehow hear what I’m listening to through my headphones.
So if I’m listening to Greek music in Portland, most people around me probably have absolutely no idea what I’m listening to.
And the same goes for listening to country music in Greece.
Maybe it’s a subconscious strategy.
Maybe I’m just homesick.
Probably both.
A Travel Playlist Is More Than Background Noise
Months or even years after a trip, hearing a song can instantly transport you back to a specific moment.
Maybe it was a song you heard for the first time while staring out the window of a plane.
Maybe it was a song you sang at the top of your lungs during a road trip.
Or maybe it was a song you had already heard a hundred times before, but now it is forever connected to that one trip.
That’s what I love about music and travel.
A travel playlist isn’t just background noise. It’s one of the easiest ways to preserve memories without even trying.
You might completely forget about a trip for a while.
And then one day, a song comes on.
Suddenly, it all comes rushing back.
What songs are linked to specific memories in your mind?
Let me know↓🥰
