There are many things that make road trips eternally exciting and memorable. The thrill of being cooped up in a car with your friends or family and simply driving.
Going as far as far goes, and stopping now and then to enjoy sights, well-deserved rests, deliciously cooked meals, and many more.
There is a sense of fulfillment that washes over one when you return from a road trip and your mind runs through the roads you traversed inch after inch; the places you visited and the beautiful people you met; and the good and not-so-good experiences you had on the trip.
However, a road trip could quickly turn sour when some things go wrong. All the fun and excitement just fly out of the window, leaving a boring and pitiful void in its place.
The question is, how do you plan for a perfect road trip and have the best time of your life? Here are some useful tips for the perfect road trip.
Tip 1: Choose The Right Vehicle
Ignore this tip at your own peril. A faulty vehicle could turn your entire trip to a disaster. Having to make unplanned stops to fix some car component time and time again could eat deep into the time you should spend enjoying road trip benefits.
This is why you have to make sure that your car is in good condition before you set out on your road trip.
And just as having a faulty vehicle could ruin your trip, taking the wrong vehicles could have the same effect. Do not take a front-wheel-drive on a trip for an all-wheel-drive. Similarly, a convertible could be more perfect for a trip as against a non-convertible.
You can easily rent a vehicle if you think yours is not suitable for the journey. And if your road trip would last for months, you can buy a car for road trips – See sites like KBB.com, Edmund’s, Find The Best Car Price – and then resell after if you don’t intend to keep it.
Tip 2: Make Simple Plans
Some people like to have everything planned out down to the simplest detail. While this may be a commendable thing, you might quickly find your plans shattering into splinters the moment you hit the road.
There are a lot of uncertainties that await you on the road in the form of unexpected stops, lost properties, empty gas tanks, and lots more.
Making an over-complicated plan would only make your trip filled with failed plans which could sour your road trip experience.
At the same time, having no plans at all could overwhelm your trip with inconveniences that you could have easily avoided. So you see, you need to balance these things.
Make flexible plans that you can easily adjust in response to unplanned road trip needs. This could involve overestimating travel times, making reservations at rest places, and many more.
Tip 3: Music? Definitely!
Your trip could quickly get boring if there is nothing interesting to fill up your ears. And what would better to listen to than your favorite music playlist?
Listening to your favorite songs could make your trip significantly less boring. However, if your trip will be long, you might need to mix things up a little.
Except you are extremely fond of your playlist, even that could quickly get boring when it’s on repeat for hours on end.
In this case, you can add some podcasts to your playlist. You can even spice things up with an audiobook from one of your favorite authors.
And at some other times, silence could be a pretty welcome sound. Just take in the sights and savor it. You could even opt for the monotonous sound of the wind rushing against your ears or the sound of your wheels eating up the road.
It is a road trip and you want to make sure you enjoy the best of everything you have the opportunity to enjoy.
Tip 4: Take A Map Along – Google Or Paper
It is always good to choose the starting and ending points of your trip before you set out on the journey. Every other point in the middle could be as flexible as you want.
And to make sure you don’t get lost, grab a map. Although paper maps might not be as sophisticated as google maps, they are still dependable for a lot of things.
Also, you might feel you want to detach yourself from the outside world by using your phone less or even disconnecting from social media, so you leave google maps out of your plans. However you wish to do it, do not go on a road trip without a map.
Tip 5: Bring Things To Entertain You
You probably already know that you would spend more time in your car than out of it on your trip. For this reason, it is a good idea to arm yourself to the teeth with things to entertain you.
It could be a card game to play with your friends or even smartphone entertainment. You don’t have to restrict your fun times to when you are out of the car alone.
While you are in your car, there are tons of things you could do to entertain yourself and your co-travelers. Having a boring trip could make you doze off while driving. And the last thing you want is an accident in the middle of nowhere.
Tip 6: Take Card And Cash
Coming from cities, you may not think twice about swiping cards to make payments because it is not a big deal over there.
But on your road trip, you might find yourself in small towns where they don’t accept card transactions. Imagine you wanted to refill your almost empty gas tank but cannot because card transactions are not accepted at the gas station.
You might get stuck for a while and this is exactly why it is essential to go along with some cash to avoid scenarios like that.
Tip 7: Divide And Conquer
When you are on the road trip with your friends or family, it is always good to share responsibilities among yourselves.
Some people are fantastic at planning out meals and some others are great at predicting fun places. Other people even love the act of driving itself.
When you have these responsibilities designated to individuals, no one feels unnecessarily overworked. No one feels useless and everyone has a fulfilling road trip.
Tip 8: Locals Know Better
Of course, there are online forums that offer reviews of places and sites. But the locals know their town better. They know where you are likely to get the best food or entertainment center.
You can keep the online reviews for when there are no locals around to guide you. But always depend more on what the locals tell you. They are right most of the time.
Tip 9: Try It If You Fancy It
On your trip, you might come across some places you want to try, or some unplanned sights that suddenly catch your fancy.
Before you let these places shrink to a dot on your rearview mirror, remember that you might never get another chance to visit them again.
If you think you can squeeze in the time, try to enjoy these places. Who knows, they might be the highlight of your entire road trip.
Tip 10: Refill Your Gas Tank Whenever You Can
There are endless stretches of road that suck up all your gas and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere in need of refueling.
These are situations you want to avoid at all costs during your road trip.
Whenever you can top off your gas tank, do not hesitate to do so. You would help yourself greatly that way.
Tip 11: Drive In The Day, Rest At Night
Late-night travel is something you want to avoid on your road trip. Not only are you more likely to miss out on seeing pleasant views and sights, but day travels are also safer than night travels. Leave your rest place at dawn and stop for the day in the evenings.
Conclusion
These tips will help you cut down the hassles and discomfort you may encounter during road trips. Familiarise yourself with them and watch as they help you have the best road trip of your life.
