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Hitting the open road is an American rite of passage. Watching the countryside pass by and see flatlands turn into rolling hills turn into mountains is a gift everyone should see. If you’re new to road tripping, here’s some practical advice to get you started planning your next trip.
choose a destination and how long you’ll be on the road
The first thing you need to do is decide where you want to go and how far you are willing to drive. This will help set your overall road trip budget which we’ll talk about in the next section.
As a general rule of thumb, the farther your destination is from your starting point, the more money you’ll spend in gas, tolls, food, lodging, etc. For example, if your starting point is Cincinnati, OH and you’re deciding between road tripping to White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire or the Ozarks in Missouri, you’ll likely spend more on your trip to New Hampshire since it’s farther from Cincinnati than the Ozarks.
And, keep in mind the farther you travel, the more time you might need for your trip. For example, if you decide you’re willing to be gone for 7 days total and you spend 2 days on the road each way, you only have 3 days to spend at your destination. If 3 days is enough time, great! If it’s not, you may want to plan for a few extra days… or pick a different destination.
Picking a destination is more than just choosing what’s closest to save time and money - it’s dependent on what you want to do or see. Interested in National Parks? A road trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park may be for you. Want a road trip to the beach? Driving the coast of California might be a good option.
create your budget
If you’re looking to stretch your dollars the farthest, planning a budget is going to be important. It’s very easy to blow your travel budget if you’re not careful (trust me, I’m an expert at this). The best way to make sure you stick to your budget is to set realistic expectations.
It may not be realistic to road trip from Dallas to Grand Canyon National Park on $500… unless you’re planning on pitching a tent at every KOA. When creating your budget, the two biggest expenses that you’ll likely have are gas and accommodations.
What I like to do is start by planning how much I’ll spend on gas to and from my destination by using Gas Buddy. Using their “Plan Your Trip” tool, you can estimate how much it will cost in gas to get to and from your destination based on the vehicle you’re driving. While the total cost of gas isn’t going to be 100% accurate, it’s still a good starting point for budgeting gas. For additional gas, like driving around a city, national part, etc., you can make an educated guess on how many additional gallons of gas you’ll use.
The best way to budget for lodging is to plan your stops along the way so you know what cities you’ll be staying overnight. When planning accommodations at your final destination, you can likely save money by staying farther away. For example, if you’re planning a trip to the Grand Canyon, you may save up to one hundred dollars per night on lodging by staying in Flagstaff. However, you will be spending more on gas since it’s farther away. If you’re planning on staying, let’s say, 1 hour outside your final destination, you’ll want to leave more room in your budget for gas. I like to use Priceline to look for hotels along my route and at my destination. If you’re looking to save money on accommodations, Priceline Express Deals is a good option. When you enter in your destination and trip dates, Priceline will give you hotel options that are up to 60% off the original price. You don’t know what hotel it will be until after you book and the bookings are non-refundable, but if you’re willing to take the risk, you can save a lot of money. I’ve personally used Priceline Express Deals many times and have never had an issue with the hotel that is booked.
Be sure to plan for other expenses like food, entertainment, park fees, and more. There are ways you can save on food - like buying groceries and eating packed lunches for most meals or staying at a hotel with free breakfast. For savings on entertainment, check websites of museums, parks, and more to see if there are online deals.
It’s important to always allow room in your budget for extra expenses that I may not initially think of or plan for. I usually add about $100 dollars onto my budget to give some flexibility.
plan your route and stops along the way
When planning a road trip, I like to use an app to track my route and plan stops along the way. There are a lot of great road trip apps available and I’ve written about a few of them here. Apps like Roadtrippers gives you points of interest along your route that you can stop and checkout. I recently used Roadtrippers on my drive from Dallas to Albuquerque and stopped at Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo. If I wouldn’t have used the app to plan my route, I wouldn’t have ever known about a ranch of Cadillacs that are open to the public to add spray paint art to… and it was right off I-40.
Planning your route and stops along the way gives you the flexibility to find hotel deals along your route if you’re spending multiple days on the road. So, planning ahead may mean you save money and you get to see some cool places along the way that you may not have thought to stop at.
Even though you’ll want to plan your route and stops, allow for some spontaneity… being flexible and spontaneous is half the run of a road trip.
prepare your vehicle, documentation, and insurance
I learned a lot from watching my dad get ready for family vacations which were always road trips. He’s a practical, smart traveler and I always use tips I learned from him when planning road trips. One of the most important things I learned from him was to check your vehicle before hitting the road - because the last thing you want to be dealing with is a flat tire in the middle of Kansas. I’m not a mechanic (though my dad is which came in handy on family vacations) but here are a few things that I check before I hit the road:
Tire tread for signs of strain, bulges, or other damage
Tire pressure
Wipers & wiper fluid
Coolant
Oil, power steering, and brake fluid
High and low beam headlights
You can check out more tips for preparing your car for a road trip here.
You’ll also want to make sure you have copies of your car registration and ownership document, car insurance, and drivers license. These seem like no-brainers but they are easy to forget if they’re not already in your car or you don’t always carry them on you. Whether you have printed copies or digital, make sure you know where and how to access any documents you may need.
plan what you’ll eat and do
Planning what you’ll do and eat is an important piece of your budget. Having a set, yet flexible, plan of the parks you’ll be visiting, museums you’ll be going to, and other things you’ll be doing will help you maximize your time and stay within budget. Pre-planning your activities also means you won’t be fighting ticket lines or losing out on potential savings from online bookings.
Having an idea of meals you’ll be eating out at restaurants and meals where you’ll pack a lunch is also an important piece of budgeting for food. If you’re trying to save money, cutting costs on food is an easy place to start. Knowing which meals you’ll eat out and which ones you’ll pack will help make sure you’re not blowing your budget on food and free up some budget for other sightseeing and activities.
create your packing list
Creating a packing list is key. The beauty of road trips is that you can pack basically whatever you want. You’ll want to pack things like basic toiletries, books, medicine, pillows, headphones, chargers, Chapstick, tissues, blankets, and the list goes on.
Think about what you’ll be doing and how long you’ll be on the road. Do you need summer or winter clothes? Is it going to rain so you’ll need an umbrella and raincoat? What type of entertainment do you need for the road?
Knowing what to pack can seem overwhelming, but there are a lot of great resources to help you craft your list. You can check out this article for a list of items to add to your road trip packing list.
conclusion
Whether you’re planning a short weekend road trip or a longer road trip through multiple states, these tips will help get you started as you plan your next road trip.