How to Plan a Road Trip: A Beginner's Guide to Planning a Road Trip

Planning a road trip can be fun and exciting, but it can also be stressful. Many people will try to plan their trip based on what they think they can afford or what their favorite places are. However, the best way to plan a road trip is to think about why you want to go on your adventure, narrow down your goals for the journey, and then plan how you're going to get there. Here are some tips for planning a road trip that is useful for any road-tripping neophyte.

What is a road trip?

Before you plan your trip, it's important to take a minute and think about what the best way to travel is. Road trips are perfect for travel to remote, natural, or historical sites, such as the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park. The drive can be long and scenic, as long as you plan to stop at every attraction along the way. On the other hand, if you're only going to be in a particular city or area for a couple of days, taking a train, bus, or plane is your best option.

The types of road trips you can do are limitless. You can drive across the country, through Europe, across state lines, and to every ocean on earth. Before you plan your road trip, it's important to think about which road trips are ideal.

Why do you want to go on a road trip?

The first step to any road trip should be to have a reason for wanting to go on the trip. This may be simply to spend a few days with family or friends. It could be to spend a few days with someone you haven't spent time with within a long time. It could be to just get away for a couple of days. There's really no wrong reason to go on a road trip.

After you've identified your goal and why you want to go on the trip, you'll need to think about how you're going to be able to go on the trip. Are you a student? Do you have student loans? If so, you may want to consider taking a longer road trip. If you're able to go on the trip, your next step is to calculate how long you can realistically afford to drive.

What are the must-see destinations for your trip?

The first thing that you should think about when planning a road trip is what your main objective is. Do you want to go to a popular tourist destination that everyone likes to visit? Do you want to take a different route to your destination so that you can experience something different?

The best thing that you can do is go out to popular travel websites like TripAdvisor and Google Maps and find the place you want to visit. This will be a great way to get an idea of what places are popular so that you can narrow down your search. Once you know where you want to go, the next thing to consider is what sort of road trip is going to work best.

How can you best plan your epic escape?

Plan where you want to go, the roads you want to take, and how to get there. If you're going to go to Yellowstone National Park, start with a trip down Highway 50. At any of the major junctions between all the states you'll want to stop along the way, you can jump onto the interstate.

Keep in mind that some states may have restrictions on which roads you can travel on, especially in major tourist destinations, so check beforehand. Most states will allow you to drive on their interstate highways, as long as you're staying in their state and never crossing state lines. Find good rates for car rentals. Make sure you check with your local rental locations to see if they have discounted rates for travelers or if they offer any loyalty programs.

Planning Your Trip

It's easier to think of what you're going to do on your road trip once you've decided what kind of trip you're going to have. If you're going on a long journey, you can use our Ultimate Road Trip Bucket List to help you think about some of the best things to see on your trip. Alternatively, if you're just going on a weekend getaway, you can do some research to find out what other popular attractions in your area are worth a visit. By thinking of things that you'll want to do, you can reduce the amount of time you spend thinking about where you want to go and what route you want to take to get there.

How to plan where you're going to stay

Many people make the mistake of setting out on a trip and not really thinking through where they're going to stay. For a first-time road trip, this can be a good idea since you don't want to waste a lot of time searching for a place to stay. If you choose the wrong place to stay, however, you can lose a lot of time trying to find somewhere else to stay. Make sure that you plan at least some of your stops before you leave, as this will allow you to make a better decision about where to stay. Don't forget to factor in any extra costs when making your decision as well, such as tolls.

For many people, the most important part of planning a road trip is to find out how long it will take to drive there.

How to decide when and where you'll stop for the night

In order to go as far as you want on a road trip, you'll need to find somewhere to sleep. This can be really difficult, so before you start your journey, think about where you want to end up and how long you want to stay in that location. Make a list of possibilities and decide on which locations you're most interested in stopping at. It's also important to consider the nature of your journey and how early you'll start, so plan to travel at off-peak times and avoid weekends. For example, a lot of New York museums have free days on the weekend.

When should you leave and how long will it take?

One of the first things to do when planning your road trip is to set departure date. You should take at least two months to organize your trip. It's always better to get out of town before the summer starts if possible. It can be much harder to find a place to stay on the road than it is at the beginning of the year. When you plan out when you want to go, you should make sure that you have enough time for both transportation and staying at places.

When it comes to travel times, it's hard to predict anything, but it's better to assume that traffic is going to be bad and get an earlier start. It is true that a later start will make the trip more expensive but it's also much more fun.