Planning A Road Trip
December 28, 2009 by Jonathan Asher
Filed under Travel
Road trips are a cool way to get around your own country and see all sorts of new things. They\’re also fantastic for exploring new countries too. You can do a bit of road trip planning, get behind the wheel and get started with your own awesome tour; you\’ll see all sorts of things that others won\’t because you\’re travelling independently.
It\’s worth putting a bit of effort into planning, but don\’t overdo it. A lot of the fun of road trips is the spontaneity that\’s possible – if you plan every minute of every day, the holiday can turn into a chore. First choose a general direction and consider some of the places you might like to stop along the way.
Food and drink … the all important road trip snacks!!! The one thing we all eat is high-sugar sweets and drinks, but those sugar highs are followed by deep sugar lows, so it\’s wise to eat lollies in moderation. Try to spot fresh fruit sellers on the side of the road or stock up from a supermarket or farmers market. Remember to take a plastic bag to act as a rubbish bin; don\’t throw things from the car and pollute for those that follow.
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.
In terms of budget and fun, the more the merrier. This isn\’t always true in terms of comfort though! Four or five people can be a bit of a stretch, so a group of three or four is the perfect match of splitting costs and sharing space. It\’s always nice to be able to lean on someone\’s shoulder and fall asleep in the back seat.
The more people you have, the more road trip planning you feel you need to do. This isn\’t neccessarily true though. If everyone chooses one key thing they want to see or do, you can plan for all of them and allow the rest of the time for random stops and diversions … that\’s the key of any road trip in any case! Ensure you leave time for the random and, most importantly of all, have fun.
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.
