Can border officers ask for hotel bookings and financial evidence on a road trip?

Yes. Border authorities may ask for evidence of the visit’s purpose, accommodation, sufficient means and return or onward arrangements. The same documents are not necessarily examined in every case, but a visa does not remove these checks. Keep bookings, host details, a short itinerary and current funding evidence accessible. Explain a return by private car through the actual road plan rather than an unrelated flight reservation. Offline copies and suitable printed documents are useful. Remember that vehicle paperwork and a passenger’s personal entry documents satisfy different requirements.