Road trips give you absolute freedom to create a personalized itinerary, allowing you to stop whenever you want to take a photo, eat, rest or visit some tourist spot.
However, when you think about a journey of thousands of kilometers over days or weeks, doubts always arise.
Here, in this guide, we will provide you with several sound tips on how to organize your road trips and make them as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Let’s dive in!
1. Choose an ideal destination:
It seems obvious, but it’s the most important thing. May your journey end where you have long dreamed of visiting. Thus, you will have a guiding star and an event that is pleasant to wait for. Don’t forget to take the time to mark the way you’ve made and enjoy the beautiful places you’ve reached.
2. Organize the route:
Once you’ve chosen the destination, determine the route and calculate the distances between the places you want to visit.
Ask yourself what you want from this adventure. Are you more drawn to get to the point of destination as soon as possible or find pleasure in admiring a scenic road? When you decide, it will be easier to make a non-tiring route.
The Google Maps app is a top priority for most travelers. By entering the locations of your starting and finishing points, you’ll get an idea of how much time it will take to reach your destination.
You can adjust your route, try different options, and add or remove places depending on the time available. Leave yourself the possibility of modifying the main route according to your desires and what you will discover along the way.
Roadtrippers is another option to try. This trip planner can suggest the best routes and help to find suitable campsites, as well as beautiful natural sites and attractions.
4. Make a travel budget:
Travel expenses can significantly lighten your wallet, especially if your trip is longer than a couple of days. That’s why staying within budget is very important. You definitely don’t want to spend your entire budget in the middle of the journey. Research the route, calculate how much you can spend per day, and don’t spend more than this amount – this will save you from unpleasant surprises.
5. Choose the right car:
The type of car depends on your destination, the type of trip, and the number of people accompanying you. Will you need a 4×4, an SUV, or a convertible? Book in advance, opt for unlimited mileage (unless you are sure of the number of kilometers you will travel), and take out the necessary insurance.
If you are going on a long trip for more than two months, for example, it may be worth buying a used vehicle that you will resell at the end of the trip. Just make sure you get it checked out before closing the sale to avoid a sudden breakdown in the middle of nowhere.
6. Take more people with you who can drive:
When considering the steps of the route, you should know the number of drivers that will go on the trip. Organizing a trip that covers many kilometers with one driver or several are two different things.
Think about the driving time. Spending 4 to 8 hours a day behind the wheel is considered normal. But driving a car to exhaustion is extremely dangerous: this is not the kind of activity where you need to fight fatigue. Don’t forget to take regular breaks during your trip and make pause as soon as you feel tired.
7. Don’t forget the documentation you need to drive and look up traffic regulations of the state/country:
Before traveling to another country, you have to check if you need an international driving permit in the destination country. Most countries don’t require it, but some do.
And of course, check the traffic rules. Many things can vary, such as the maximum speed allowed, parking regulations, or even the direction of travel. It seems very obvious that if you travel to the United Kingdom or New Zealand, you will have to drive on the left. But did you know that, for example, in India, you drive on the left but the steering wheel is on the right?
8. Stay safe:
Get out of your comfort zone and off the beaten path, and explore while remaining cautious. Listen to advice, make sure your friends and family always know where you are and don’t take any risks.
Besides, don’t talk much with unknown people, and don’t share any personal details with the ones you hardly know. Don’t trust blindly. Try to find some information about them from the available sources. Use PhoneHistory or Nuwber to know more about your new acquaintances.
9. Going alone or with others?
Road trips can make or break a friendship. There are many cool things about traveling together, but still think that you will all be locked in a car together for several hours in a row, the worst being when the GPS no longer works and no one can read a map.
Do you have the same interests? What if you want to see historic sites and they are only bars? This might be hard to deal with.
Go with someone who shares your enthusiasm for certain types of travel, who can support or complete you by knowing how to read a map or how to get a discount in a shop, and someone who can support you at all times during the trip.
10. Think outside the box:
Taking the highway is a much faster way to bypass the cities, but you might miss out on some great points to visit. If possible and if you have time, take less traveled roads. You’ll see much more, meet locals, and enjoy the places you’ve never been before.
Key takeaways
It’s certainly true that road trips are fabulous. It’s a unique experience to get up in the morning wondering where you are going to go, what places you are going to visit, where you are going to stay to sleep and eat, etc.
It’s up to you to decide where and when to go according to your budget. Anyway, we hope these tips will help you make the most of your vacation!