After a year of being stuck at home, it’s no wonder people are looking for any reason to get out of the house. Vacations were just one of the many things affected by the COVID pandemic, and many Americans are looking forward to their next chance to travel. In fact, a study conducted at Travel Agent Central finds that 60 percent of Americans are planning to travel even more this year than in 2019 before the pandemic hit.
What if you want to travel, but don’t want to spend the time and money going to a faraway location? One of the best solutions is to plan a road trip instead. Looking for ideas on how to plan your own trip? We’ve got you covered.
Find an Interesting Destination
Just because a destination is close to home does not mean it cannot be just as exciting or fun as a trip that is far from where you live. The odds are there are plenty of places you do not even know about that are within a day’s drive from your home.
Find a small town you have never been to, or a tourist attraction that you have never got around to trying. Sometimes finding a local hotel or resort and planning a “staycation” close to where you live can be just as refreshing as going to one on the other side of the globe.
Websites like Yelp™ are great for discovering the best-reviewed establishments within a relative distance from where you are. This is also a great resource once you are on the road trip itself, to help look for things to do and places to eat.
Have a Trip Itinerary (Sort Of)
So, you have settled on a destination for your road trip, and even figured out some fun activities you want to do while there. Having a trip itinerary is a wonderful way to organize and make sure you can accomplish all the things you want to do. However, planning out your trip down to the minute can cause additional stress that you should avoid while on vacation.
Have a very loose plan for what you want to do. Pick one or two big things per day and leave room for spontaneity! Sometimes the best memories are made doing something that piqued your interest in the spur of the moment. Having a packed schedule does not leave much wiggle room for life to happen.
Tripit®, is an app that will take all of your booking confirmations and make them into an itinerary. If your trip involves several stays and ticketed activities, this is a great way to simplify the planning process and make your trip stress-free.
Advice for the Road
Road trips are a different animal than your normal travel experience. There are things that you need to keep in mind, that may not have come up if you weren’t traveling primarily in your car.
First off, having a clean space, and maintaining that space throughout the trip, is more important than you might think. Clean out your car and have it checked for any maintenance issues before you set off. The last thing you want to discover hundreds of miles from home is that you need a new transmission.
If you’re traveling with kids, make sure you have enough activities to entertain them in the car. Include them when planning things on the trip so they are in the know, and not asking you questions every five seconds. Make sure to have those tablets charged and movies downloaded so that the kids can keep themselves occupied during long drives. Are your kids little? Check out this list of helpful rhyming books that they can read in the car.
Travel is going to be in people’s minds for the next few years, as COVID restrictions begin to relax and we can return to more places. Road trips provide a safe and personal vacation experience, without the need to go far from home.
Some of the most memorable trips are formed when cruising down the highway with a few of your closest friends or family, singing along to the radio at the top of your lungs. The road never ends, and it’s waiting for you to get out there and explore it.
Looking for a summer getaway? Start planning now! Try one of these patriotic destinations for the Fourth of July.
