So I have written several different posts about road trips that a solo traveler, or really any traveler, can take. There are so many different types of road trips that can be taken and I think it is important for me to write a post about planning a safe, budget friendly, and practical road trip. This is the Travel Black Spinster’s guide on how to plan a road trip.
Prep Work:
There are several questions that you have to ask yourself before you head out on a road trip. It’s important that you have a very clear understanding of your limits before you head out on any type of road trip. You should ask yourself:
How far can you drive before you lose efficiency? I know that I can comfortably drive about 6 hours before I start to lose my ability to concentrate. Now in a pinch, I know that I can do 12 hours in the car without a problem. I have even done up to 15 hours in the car but by the time I got out of the car, I could have sat on the ground and cried.
Do you care more about the drive or the destination? I am the kind of person that mostly cares about the drive. I want to see the geography changing and stop at road side attractions. There are others that care more about the city that they are going to, and could sleep through the whole ride and not care. You should know what you care more about so that you can tailor your drive to your own desires.
What’s the budget? Are you on a “sleeping in your car budget” or a “hotel every night budget”? Can you afford changing gas prices? Are you packing snacks or stopping often for food? Are you cooking your meals or eating out? There are so many budget questions that you need to determine before you start making a plan.
Destination is key:
There are a few different types of American road trips that you can take that are based on destination. Here is a short list to pick from:
- An east coast road trip: This is basically starting from some point between Maine and Florida and driving either up or down. You are looking at major cities like New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Wilmington Beach, Boston, and Atlanta.
- A west coast road trip: This is where you can hit up San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver (Cananda), Cannon Beach, and many other coastal towns.
- Midwest trip: Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Missiouri and other states in the area. You can see Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis, and even Green Bay.
- The Deep South: This will cover states like Louisiana (New Orleans), Alabama (I literally just drive through this state), Florida (so many options), Texas (so many options, and Alabama. You can even throw in states like Georgia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
- National Parks: This will cover Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah.
- You could choose just one state to drive around: California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, and Colorado are great choices if you just want to dig deep into one particular state.
- New England Road Trip: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusettes..
- Coast to Coast Road Trip: Too Many to name but you get the picture.
Play Weatherman:
Different trips require different vehicles at times. I drive a Mazda CX-5 and feel confident taking my car to any state and in any weather. If you are planning a trip where you have to be concerned about snow, mountains, mud, or anything that will put stress on your car, you want to make sure that you are prepared.
Weather plays a big part in where you go and when you go. If you are planning a trip to Florida in the dead of the summer then you should keep in mind that the roads are going to be super hot. Can your tires handle that? People have popped tires or worn their tires down. Is that an expense that you can handle?
Weather should be a big part of your planning. It can change the activities that are available, the pricing for lodging, the size of crowds, and your safety.
Budget tips to influence your trip:
- States have low seasons too. States like Florida, which are big for families are always busiest when kids are out of school. If you go when kids are in school, you can save a lot of money.
- Airbnb is good all over the country. This is a great way to save money on your lodging. If you only stay in hotels, you end up spending more than you have to.
- Try the priceline “name your price” tool. This works better the closer to your date for check-in. It isn’t always cheaper than an airbnb but if you really want to stay in a hotel it is a help.
- You really need to research gas prices. There are certain states that have huge dry spots for services. This means that any services that you find will be 50%-100% higher than “in town.” Make sure you stop before you get desperate.
Extra Tips:
- Remember that several road and activities shut down in the winter. For instance, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon shuts down for part of the year. Certain national parks will shut down several of their roads. States will shut down certain roads. This can really lengthen the amount of time it takes to get from point A to point B.
- The time that Google Maps gives you to travel is not the only time that you have to calculate for. I would suggest adding at least an hour, if not two, to any anticipated travel. You will be stopping for bathroom breaks, leg stretching, getting gas, and you always have to budget for unexpected lane closures and traffic.
- I always want to be where ever I need to be, early in the day. You definitely want to be there before you get caught in work traffic. I always try to be on the road before the work people and in my new city by the time work people get out. You don’t want to get lost and stuck in traffic at the same time.
How to Plan a Road Trip:
- Establish your driving limit: When you know how long you can stand in the car you can figure out whether you can to focus on a small geographic area or travel over multiple states.
- Figure out where you plan to travel: Are you trying to hit the coast? A particular state? The beach? The mountains?
- Set your budget? You need to have a baseline for how much money you can spend on gas, lodging, activities, and food. That will greatly influence where you will choose to go.
- Figure out if you need to rent a car or if you are planning to take your own.
- Find the activities that you want to do and budget for them. I would make sure that you check out Groupon and similar sites before you buy anything as they often have great deals that you can participate it.
- If you are driving your own car you will want to make sure that your tires are good and that you have had a recent oil change.
- Start booking your trip. I would start with picking the cities that you want to hit up, then lodging, then any tickets that you need for activities.
- Always set aside some sort of contingency fund. What if you pop a tire, hate your hotel, or having to pay some extra money for something. You should always go prepared.
