Is there anything more fun than an awesome road trip with friends and family? Not in our book. Life on the open road is pretty darn sweet, allowing for plenty of happy memories to be made. However, that doesn’t mean that you can simply pack up the car, hit the road, and be sure of a great time. As with all trips, road trips have their ups and downs.
You can’t completely avoid the less-than-fun moments, but you can limit their impact. Follow our seven rules for road trip success, and you’ll be onto a winning trip that lives long in the memory for all the right reasons.
Photo by Avinash Patel
Keep the Route Vague
OK, when we say vague, we don’t mean completely vague. It’s best to have a route planned. What we mean is that the route should be kept relatively loose. One of the key advantages of cars over planes is that you have the freedom to go wherever you want, so you don’t have to stick to a route as if you’re a delivery driver. If you hear of something that sounds interesting two towns over, then there’s nothing to stop you from going.
Go For the Right Amount of Time
If there’s one mistake that people make when going on a road trip, it’s being either overly ambitious or not ambitious enough. It can be nice to dream of spending three weeks on the road, but if it’s your first road trip, it’ll probably be better to look at a slightly shorter timeframe. On the other hand, you should go for long enough that you really get to enjoy the freedom of the road. Try to aim for at least a week.
Prepare Your Vehicle
Your vehicle is ready for local driving, but is it ready for regional or national driving? If you run into a problem when you’re on your way to the supermarket, then you’ll know exactly what to do to get it up and running again. If you run into a problem when you’re in a mountain area hundreds of miles from your home, what would you do? You can make sure your car is fit for purpose by taking it to a mechanic before you depart. It’s also recommended to have a solid understanding of the capabilities of the car. Your small city car is probably not appropriate for a rugged, wild area.
Expect Some Boredom
Road trips are a lot of fun — but they’re not fun all the time. There’ll be times when the scenery you’re driving through is pretty boring. As such, it’s recommended to have some games handy so you and your family (well, everyone but the driver) can stay entertained regardless of how boring the landscape becomes. You don’t need to pack any special equipment — having a smartphone is enough. You can download games using WiFi before you depart on the road trip, or you can take a look at browser games; solitaire, minesweeper, blackjack, and many more can easily be played without having to download any software. You might also consider looking up a few family-friendly podcasts to listen to while you’re driving, too.
Always Have a Food Plan
It’s important to take care of the basics of life at all times, but it’s especially important when traveling. If you notice that people’s moods seem to be worsening, then it’s probably worthwhile pulling over to eat. Nothing will sink the energy of a road trip more quickly than a hungry traveling posse. If possible, try to always have a food plan — it’ll help prevent having to pull into a fast food chain once you realize that everyone needed to eat thirty minutes ago.
Let Everyone Have Their Say
If you’re the head of the family, then you’ll be responsible for making a big chunk of the decisions. But you shouldn’t make all of the decisions. Travel trips run much more smoothly when everyone feels that they can have their say, and when they’re listened to. Maybe you can do alternating decision selections for food, so everyone gets to eat the great roadside food they love.
Don’t Spend Too Much Time Behind the Wheel
Finally, while it’s a road trip, that doesn’t mean that you should be spending all of your time behind the wheel. Quite the opposite. Try to limit the driving to around 10 hours if there are two drivers — aside from being safer, it’ll also ensure that you actually get to enjoy the places you visit, rather than just driving through them.
