Road trips are increasing in popularity, it is easy to see why, they are a fun way of exploring a country, or even a series of countries and not being limited to the typical tourist routes, city centres and public transport limitations.
The US has always been known for providing excellent road trip routes, Route 66 for example still attracts thousands of visitors per year, people wanting to enjoy this piece of history or how about the coast to coast? Ideal for those looking to see as much of the Great States as possible and have the time available in order to do so. Just imagine all of the sights you will get to see on a road trip from New York to Los Angeles!
The most successful road trips are likely to have had a lot of planning behind them. Although it may sound fun to just drive there are benefits to planning, especially when there are so many pitfalls and potential issues to avoid. Here are some of the essential points to consider for a road trip:
Your Route
The most important part of your road trip will be the route you plan on taking and the time you have available to you. Even if you are potentially unlimited when it comes to time it is good to have an end point, just in case. If you don’t want to end your road trip once you reach this point you can easily continue. Most road trip success stories have been from those who planned their route in advance, ensure you include some leeway in your times, you don’t want to be running behind and then having to rush through some places and miss out. Plan your route out on a map and mark out any grocery stores and most importantly, make yourself aware of all of the gas stations.
Car Rental
Car rental is another essential with several points to consider when finding a company to lease a car from, generally they will need to know when you will be returning the car, which is why the above point of route planning is so important. In addition, find a car rental company which has depots near the start, end and at points during the route. This will mean little extra travelling at the start and end of your trip to get the car and drop it off and points during the route will make sure you have assistance if there are any problems within easy reach. The cost of car rental will be one of your biggest costs so look to reduce the cost with car rental discounts, coupons and any special offers you find. This may take some time but once again, the rewards are reaped from the planning!
Accommodation
You are going to need to plan your accommodation throughout the trip, some of which can be booked in advance although you don’t want to go overboard on the bookings in case the plans change. However, there is a degree of planning you can do, identifying the hotels, motels and hostels on your route, finding discounts that can be used and researching the loyalty schemes for booking services and chain hotels, you may find this can result in huge savings. In addition check out services like AirBnb.
About the author
Jolie is an avid traveller and having completed two road trips she is look to help others realise their dream.