Advice for planning a road trip

[Chuckanut]

One my my 2018 goals is to finally take a long road trip across the USA and perhaps venturing into Canada. I am thanking about 4-6 weeks, most likely in the late Summer after school opens and things are less crowded.

One thing I have learned in life is that "You don't know, what you don't know". And, I expect there are things I wouldn't know about planning a road trip until after the trip is over.

So, I am asking for advice on planning the trip. Not where to go exactly or what to do (A good part of that will be left for the trip itself), but how to plan it.

Any suggestions?

 

[Bamaman]

My advice about planning for a long road trip is do little planning. Figure out basically where you want to go, and then read about the places on Wikipedia. Every trip is better taken slowly vs. running flat out from place to place.

Take a laptop or tablet that allows you to make room reservations as you go along the way. If you find a place you find interesting, stay longer. If you find a place not to your liking, hit the road.

And remember you can not take in every travel sight in every town you visit. You have to prioritize sights seen.

I often pickup hotel discount coupon books at rest areas and save substantial $. And I also go to GasBuddy.com looking at fuel prices ahead--to save $.

 

[Senator]

I went on several road trips in 2017.

Plan a route, and follow it. Make motel reservations along the way ahead of time. Most motels you can cancel the day before, or even the day of by 6 PM, and still get 100% of your money back. Get gas coupons and discounts. Use Google Maps or similar.

You can look at various itineraries that other people have done. There is a lot to see, have a reason to stop wherever you are and do something there. Traveling 900 miles a day is possible, but that's all you will be doing. Stick to 300-400 miles a day, with some days staying stationary.

Plan your mail, bill payments, credit card vacations, newspapers, etc. You will need to do laundry along the way, bring a laundry bag and soap to bring to a laundromat (or a relatives house).

 

[RetiredGypsy]

From my multitude of epic road trips back when I was able to take them:

Let your insurance know you're traveling, and update the planned yearly mileage if it's going to change.

Let your bank, credit cards, wherever you get money from for spending know where you're going. It really sucks to be stuck somewhere at 11 PM trying to get gas out of state and having your card declined.

I've never personally been in this situation, but anyone I've known who likes going on longer road trips tends to carry some amount of cash on them, the concern being that somewhere out in the boonies someone might not take credit.

I never bothered to get the car serviced or tires changed unless it was really close to time to need serviced before a trip. An oil change might be worth it, if you're going far enough.

If you happen to travel with a concealed carry permit, know the different laws in each state. Not identifying yourself as carrying in one state may be fine, may be a criminal offense in another.

I don't recall offhand what my average daily miles were in the car, but on the motorcycle it was almost always under 300. Especially enjoying the back roads. A car isn't as demanding, but it's still worthwhile to keep the daily mileage short enough to still get somewhere, but want to explore when you finally arrive.

 

[ivinsfan]

My advice would to cut down on the ground you want to cover and perhaps do 2 long trips instead of one. IMO overscheduling is the number one mistake people make on road trips. Many of the popular place are going to have pretty high hotels costs, but if you stay a week and use VRBO or something similar you will be more comfortable and save much money per night. You will have a washer and dryer so you aren't looking for laundromats or fighting for the hotel washing machines. You won't have to eat hotel breakfasts, fast food lunches and dinner out every night.

If you are interested we have lots of road trippers including myself who can you in a couple of different directions for a couple of trips instead of one. Personally I'd work on my itinerary first.

 

[Nemo2]

We haven't done a road trip for 10 years or so.......but we never had an itinerary, just a (very) vague idea of where we wanted to go.

Last one we envisioned a clockwise loop...I took the wrong exit and said "**** it, I'm not retracing", so we went counterclockwise. Serendipity is your friend.

 

[kimcdougc]

We have an RV and have made 3 cross country trips so far. We did find out 2 months is our max for traveling.

We never made any plans just a general direction of where we wanted to go. When we got to where we wanted to go we would just google the top 100 free things to do in the area. We did some free things and some paid things. Just remember to have fun along the way and don't get caught up in we have to be here one day and there the next day.

We find traveling in September to be the most relaxing. Everyone is back at school etc. Sometimes by April it is too hot to be in Florida and further South.

Take some time and make some plans. Have a blast on your road trip. Look forward to hearing about your adventures.

 

[Ronstar]

I use google maps to create the route. I usually have a route in mind based on the attractions that I want to visit along the way. Based on driving hours, I make advance hotel reservations. I usually have a few attractions to visit daily, so I figure out how many driving hours are left after the attractions. After I figure out what city would match the ending miles of each day, I use TripAdvisor to choose the hotel.

 

[BOBOT]

Avoid interstates. They are sterile deserts and the development around them is all the same. I find it kind of depressing to drive 400 miles & see the same things you saw when you left. When you travel on the secondary highways you'll come to appreciate the real beauty of the country, and the small towns. Seek out the oddball attractions; they're everywhere, and coming on one by chance can make your day.

 

[Elbata]

Maybe just me, but I think one's options are greater in the eastern US.

When my wife and I wanted to go north, we looked for the most off-beaten path, and took that. For me, there's nothing I enjoy more than driving country roads I've never been on.

One trip we took that we enjoyed--driving from Maine to Miami, hugging the coast the whole way.

 

[frugal-one]

I went on several road trips in 2017.

Plan a route, and follow it. Make motel reservations along the way ahead of time. Most motels you can cancel the day before, or even the day of by 6 PM, and still get 100% of your money back. Get gas coupons and discounts. Use Google Maps or similar.

You can look at various itineraries that other people have done. There is a lot to see, have a reason to stop wherever you are and do something there. Traveling 900 miles a day is possible, but that's all you will be doing. Stick to 300-400 miles a day, with some days staying stationary.

Plan your mail, bill payments, credit card vacations, newspapers, etc. You will need to do laundry along the way, bring a laundry bag and soap to bring to a laundromat (or a relatives house).

Where do you find gas coupons or discounts??

Also, planning a road trip this winter. Thinking of staying in a chain (perhaps Best Western?) so the points would add up for free hotel rooms. Yay or nay?

What is the best way to secure my IPad? I only have a tracPhone so may have to check into getting a cell phone to utilize a hotspot for the IPad?? Not really sure how to do this.

 

[OldShooter]

As stated, Google maps driving distance estimates are your friend. I do my planning on Google maps and in most cases will limit driving to about 4 hours/300 miles range.

Motels? Ugh! AirBnB is a a lot more fun and each place you stay you will have a local resource for sightseeing & restaurant recommendations. For us, it's not about saving money. We sort the places highest prices first, skipping over the huge homes and specialty offerings, looking for an offering that is obviously not a business for something like a mother-in-law apartment with a private bath or use the AirBnB "Entire Home" filter to browse.

Another advantage with AirBnB is that you can select places with kitchens so you can carry breakfast stuff (and maybe an evening drink or two) in a cooler. This saves a few bucks but mostly to us it is a lot more relaxing than having to go out. If you like you can even cook meals but we never have.

Look at the Great River Road and the western end of the Trans-Canada Highway as possible segments for your trip. BBQ in Memphis is not to be missed. New Orleans and Cajun country to the west is not to be missed. Another great drive is through the Canadian maritime provinces, especially if you are a seafood fan.

 

[FireBug]

My advice would to cut down on the ground you want to cover and perhaps do 2 long trips instead of one. IMO overscheduling is the number one mistake people make on road trips.

Agree.... once you've left your starting (familiar) area, don't schedule any 8hr travel days unless you are sure there is nothing you particularly want to see on that leg of the trip. My wife and I took an extended, well planned trip a few years back and while it was fabulous and we saw everything on our agenda, you will also find that leaving plenty of 'open' time on your route will pay dividends. Once you start talking to locals or hitting the web at night for local points of interest, or just passing fun stuff on the road, you'll wish you had even more time that what you scheduled for.

 

[Senator]

Where do you find gas coupons or discounts??

Also, planning a road trip this winter. Thinking of staying in a chain (perhaps Best Western?) so the points would add up for free hotel rooms. Yay or nay?

What is the best way to secure my IPad? I only have a tracPhone so may have to check into getting a cell phone to utilize a hotspot for the IPad?? Not really sure how to do this.

The MyPilot app gives you I think .03 off regular gas. GoodSam gives .08 off Diesel. Holiday Gas has cub foods discounts. Shell has a rewards card, or you can use your HyVee card.

The Gasbuddy app is pretty good at finding discounts too.

McDonalds has an app that has plenty of BOGo offers and discounts.

 

[REWahoo]

Where do you find gas coupons or discounts??

PenFed Credit Union's Platinum Cash Rewards Visa credit card gives a 5% cash discount on all pay-at-the-pump purchases. Anyone can join PenFed CU - select "other" under qualifying organizations on the membership application.

https://netmember.penfed.org/NetMember/Forms/OpenAccounts/Eligibility.aspx?MEMBERSHIP

 

[pjm-7]

I know this is old-school but get an atlas (a basic Rand McNally will do). GPS is not flawless and may take you where you do not really want to go. Also, you may not have good internet reception in certain remote locales. This is similar to the previous post about having available cash in the event that a credit card is not an option.

 

[Dancer373]

I also always keep a Ran McNally Road Atlas in the car for a road trip. I usually bring a couple of rolls of quarters for the laundromat. My son and I were heading back to North Florida from North Dakota at the end of a summer (years ago) and stumbled on Car Henge in Nebraska. I love the path less traveled, you never know what you'll find.

 

[frugal-one]

ok. I have used GasBuddy and do get a discount on my credit card for gas. Hy-Vee in my area can be used for local gas stations. Guess YLMV in that instance.

We also take an atlas on road trips. Sometimes, it is so much better to see the whole picture vs snippets!

 

[ivinsfan]

If you have several key states where you plan to linger I recommend the Delorme..state atlas..they are a great resource...Amazon has a lot of states ...we have a Utah one we have been using for 20 years.

 

[Chuckanut]

I plan on getting maps from AAA for the regions as well as some cities. Other than certain places I defiantly want to see, I will try to be open to whatever comes along.

Is Airbnb good for last minute rentals? I'm cruising through Lake Puddlemuk and at 2:00 PM decide I would like to stay there for two nights. I've only used Airbnb for multi-night rentals ahead of time.

 

[aja8888]

I have taken three road trips this year averaging 4,000 miles per trip. Lots of good advice above.

Take an extra car key and store it outside the vehicle out of sight so that if (when) you misplace or lose your key, you have a spare.

Set your hotel addresses in your Garmin or your device to have them identified and easy to bring up.

Make sure you have roadside assistance for your flat tire or dead battery.

Pack a gallon of engine coolant to have available if your cooling system starts leaking. Even a small leak can disable you.

Take a first aid kit (buy it or make it up yourself).

You can buy an inexpensive "emergency kit" that contains road flares, rubber cones, wet suit, flashlight, etc that will aid you if you break down in a remote area or dark road.

There's more, this is a start.

 

[shortstop14]

I've taken a lot of long road trips in the last few years. Definitely avoid the interstates, unless there's no choice - it's just so much more interesting and real on the back roads. I always have a cooler with food and extra water, along with a sleeping bag in case I run into some place with no hotels available - a lot of my trips are in the west with long distances between cities, and some of the interesting areas can be remote.

I tend to wing it on hotels a lot, just get to a town and use Kayak to find a cheap room, if I'm just staying overnight. In bigger cities, or where I'm staying a few days, I'm a little more organized.

Sometimes I plan to camp along the way rather than use hotels, but that makes for a much slower trip, since it's nice to find remote campsites in the daylight. I also always have a Rand McNally atlas so that I can identify interesting looking areas along the way.

 

[Bamaman]

We seldom leave town in our retirement. But one good road trip is in late Spring when the car rental companies have too many cars sitting in Florida. You can rent one for $5 to $10 a day and then drop it anywhere "up north." We flew to Orlando and went to Disneyworld and then stopped at Daytona, Savannah, Charleston, Myrtle Beach and ended up in the VA suburbs south of D.C. We flew home cheap from Baltimore.

 

[ivinsfan]

Bamaman you can do this out West too...AZ to one of many Western states...we were able to do a trip at this rate in early June..

 

[Chuckanut]

I like the idea of a Spring road trip from Florida. Maybe in the Spring of 2019. This Spring is already taken.