Going on a road trip is a great way to see a country – you cover a lot of ground and you come across things you’d find on an organised tour. It’s an especially good way to see your own country inexpensively.
You don’t want to do too much road trip planning, but a little bit is really important. You should choose your general direction straight away and also consider your final destination and the timeframe you have. Keeping on track will save you from a day or two of hard riving near the end!
It’s important to have snacks in the car, but think carefully about what you want to eat – avoid the big low that comes after a sugar high by eating sweets in moderation. A bag of local fruit is a good alternative to lollies – just make sure you have a rubbish bag handy for peelings and cores. To avoid arguments, it might be worth creating individual snack bags with equal amounts of different snacks in them – this tip is not just for travelling with kids!
Like sugar in sweets, caffeine and sugar in your drinks are a big problem … especially since the caffeine means you need more toilet breaks. Try to get by on water and fruit juice as much as possible. In the long-run it’ll keep you more alert and safer. That said, I always make use of coffee stops to grab a quick shot … I’m too much of an addict not to.
Three or four people in the car is an ideal number in terms of budget – you can split on-road costs and it makes it cheaper for everyone. More than four in a regular car is too much of a squeeze – get a van or take two cars.
However, the more people you have with you, the less you’re likely to see. With a group of people, each nominate one thing you really want to do, and plan your direction around these few things. Make sure you see what you want to see and leave some space in your itinerary for spontaneous decisions. And most of all, have a good time!
Learn more about road trip planning. Stop by http://indietravelpodcast.com where you can find out all about budget travel and what it can do for you.