Much more than just traveling from point A to point B to get to your vacation spot, a road trip is a way of traveling. It attracts many travelers around the world and allows you to have unique and memorable experiences. Are you tempted by this style of travel and want to organize a road trip but don’t know where to start? Discover below some tips and tricks to help you plan it and fully enjoy your trip.
What is a road trip?
The road trip, which can also be written as “road trip” is a very simple concept to understand: “road” means “road” and “trip” means “journey”, the literary definition of these terms allows us to understand that it is a journey on the roads. It can be done by car, motorcycle, camper van, bicycle or even hitchhiking on both short and long journeys, or even on a world tour.
Beyond the literal meaning, the road trip refers to a real experience defined by the establishment of a route chosen in advance and by moments of unexpected discoveries along the kilometers. The goal of those who go on a road trip is to let themselves be carried away and discover destinations often far from hotels and holiday clubs, with a strong feeling of freedom.
The road trip has some points in common with “ slow travel ”. Both allow travelers to discover places at a slow pace and take care to be attentive to the environment during their escapades.
Road trips are known throughout the world and some legendary routes such as Route 66 in the United States, the Garden Road in South Africa, or the Route des Grands Alpes in France are very popular with travelers who are fans of them.
How to prepare for your road trip?
Have you decided to go on an adventure? Organizing your road trip requires several stages of preparation, including:
Choose your destination(s)
Often, for people who go on a road trip, the destination is just an excuse to live a great adventure. This begins as soon as they get into their car or get on their motorcycle, for example.
Whether it’s in your own country, neighboring countries, or on the other side of the planet, it is possible to take road trips almost anywhere in the world. To give you some ideas, we have selected some travel blog articles that will help you find inspiration:
- Prepare your road trip like a Pro
- Tour of Gaspésie (Quebec) in 7 days
- Tips and advice for preparing your road trip in the American West
- Roadtrip in Argentina: Salta – Cafayate
- Road Trip in Thailand: The Mae Hong Son Loop
- Take a road trip to New Zealand
- 5 days road trip around Taiwan
- Road trip in Sicily: the best routes
And because you don’t necessarily need to go to the other side of the world to have a road trip worthy of the name, here are some ideas for having an adventure on French roads:
- The Route of the Great Alps
- 25 road trip ideas to do in France
Choosing your mode(s) of transport
Depending on habits, preferences, or needs, the means of transport used by a traveler for their road trip can vary: car, motorcycle, van, camper van, bicycle, etc. Depending on the route, the mode of travel of travelers can be the same from point A to point B. For others, it may be necessary to change several times during a single road trip.
When choosing your mode of transport, it is important to take into account that certain means of locomotion offer more or less flexibility, autonomy,y, and comfort.
Bet on safety and efficiency, and don’t forget that whether it’s a bike trip or a road trip in a van, the means of transport is a key element of your trip. If, for example, it’s a car trip on winding trails and roads, choose a suitable car; if on the other hand, you’re doing a road trip in Australia or Iceland and you want to have space for your things, or even be able to sleep in it, renting a van can be a good option.
In any case, whether you are leaving with your vehicle or with a rental car, make sure that it is in good condition to take the road and that all the papers are in order.
Plan your route to get organized
When organizing a road trip, to maintain a certain freedom when the time comes, it is not necessary to plan everything. However, certain aspects must still be prepared before your departure so that you do not find yourself in difficulty. This will depend on your mode of travel, the destination, the route, the stages, and even the season…
In summer for example, for accommodation, we advise you to identify a few key places to stay on your route and even make reservations. On the other hand, in low season, thanks to comparators like Booking or Tripadvisor, finding potential accommodation at good prices on your way will be quite easy.
Days on the road can be long and tiring. When you go on a road trip, you have to keep in mind that 500 kilometers on highways and national roads isperfectly feasible, however, on small mountain roads it can be much longer! Finding yourself in a very uncomfortable hotel when you have spent a long and hard day on the road can be very unpleasant. To avoid unpleasant surprises, find out!
Also, remember to find out about the activities and visits you can do on the road. It would be a shame to miss out on great discoveries and great times.
Make a checklist of what to take.e
The space for your personal belongings if you travel by motorbike or camper van wwill notbe the same. It is up to you to adapt to the capacity of your means of transport: suitcase or backpack? If your space is limited, we advise you to travel as light as possible. When preparing for your trip, choose practical and space-saving travel bags, clothes, and accessories, only leave with what you will need for the adventure. Also remember that during the road trip, you will have to pack and unpack your bags several times, traveling light will make your task easier.
Passport, visa, driving license, registration document, insurance, first aid kit … To make sure you don’t forget anything, make a checklist and remember to check it before you leave. It would be a shame if something you forgot spoiled your adventure.
Calculate your budget
Managing your money well while traveling is essential for a successful road trip. Make sure that your means of payment correspond to your destination: cash, visa card, etc. If you plan to travel to a country where the currency is different from yours, find out about the exchange rate. Also, get an idea of the cost of living in that country.
Once you have all this information together. Plan a budget for your entire road trip and also a daily budget. Having an average budget per day is highly recommended: this will allow you to stick to your total budget more easily. Plus, if one day you choose to spend less, you can treat yourself to something “nice” the next day!
Here are the main expenses you need to think about for your road trip:
- Transportation plane tickets (if your road trip is on the other side of the world, you will have to take the plane), train or bus tickets, car rental, gas costs, tolls, etc.
- Accommodation: hotels, campsites, hostels… there are many options available to you. Inexpensive solutions such as Couchsurfing, woofing, nights at locals’ homes, or even apartment exchange also exist. They will allow you to reduce your budget significantly and meet great people. Think about it!
- Food: depending on your destination, food expenses can vary greatly, shopping or restaurants, you will have to think about planning a daily expense for this. As your supply points will most likely change every day, to avoid running out of food or water, we advise you to check in advance if there are shops or restaurants on your way.
- Activities Throughout your journey, you will come across tourist centers where it will be possible to do outdoor activities, visits o, or participate in festivities. In order not to miss out on incredible moments, we advise you to find out in advance about the centers of interest and potential activities that will be on your way.
- Shopping and other souvenirs who can resist the urge to bring back a little souvenir for themselves or their loved ones? Often criticized as “not very useful”, spending on souvenir purchases can add up to a hefty price tag. Very few people manage to resist the temptation of a little object that reminds them of their exceptional adventure on the road.
Don’t forget to add to this the administrative fees for your procedures before your trip abroad or even telephone packages and others if you are going to faraway places. It is also relevant to consider an “unforeseen budget” in which case you would face a problem during your trip.
What tools should you use to create your itinerary and plan a road trip?
Once you have selected your destination, you will certainly go hunting for information on the internet. To gather the information you need to prepare for our trip, we invite you to consult blogs, travel journals, and specialized road trip travel guides. You will find advice and testimonials there to organize your itinerary as best as possible. To prepare your itinerary and identify the different points of interest that you will pass through, there are many tools and resources on the Internet. Some of them will help you calculate distances and create the stages of your road trip. They are also an excellent complement to applications such as Booking or Tripadvisor to search for accommodation, places to eat, etc. before and during your road trip.
Map, GPS, or both?
Having a map in your hands may seem very “old school” to some, but when there is no longer access to new technologies, it is very useful. All the roads are codified, which allows you to choose the route that suits you best. In addition, a paper map allows you to have an overall view of the area to be covered and can be a very good complement to a GPS or a smartphone.
Here are some free tools that can help you create and plan your itinerary:
- Google Maps
As simple as it is, the Google Maps application helps you plan your destination and add stages to your itinerary anywhere in the world. The GPS application quickly plans and optimizes your trips in real-time. Despite all its effectiveness, we advise you not to always follow the GPS and to take advantage of your time to take roads that will sometimes be longer, but prettier. Two little tips for Google Maps: you can download maps in advance so that they are available offline and if you want to avoid highways and favor small roads, simply configure the application when creating the itinerary. - Via Michelin
“Michelin” gives you access to several tools to facilitate and optimize your travel, especially in Europe. Whether on a paper map or the ViaMichelin.fr website, everything is done to facilitate your planning. For example, on both versions, you will find the roads with the most beautiful views and those that are of particular interest highlighted in green, enough to experience real changes of scenery. TheViaMichelinn travel and GPS applications allow their users to create an account to save their favorite routes and plan their road trips as they see fit. - Roadtrippers
If you are planning to take your road trip in the United States, Canada,Australiai,a or New Zealand thethis websitete/application can help you! It allows you to discover the points of interest of a place (accommodation, attractions, nightlife, etc.) and to create a travel itinerary. If you are going by car, the application calculates how much your gas costs will be, the duration of the trip and the kilometers to be covered.
Motorcyclists often prefer small roads and beautiful routes. Even if you don’t go on a motorcycle, a look at motorcycle route-sharing sites can give you some very good ideas:
- Motorcycle Trip
- Motorcycle Diaries
To make your organization easier, you can also use spreadsheets. They will help you plan the stages of your road trip and update it as the trip progresses. Tools like “Excel”, for example, can help you list the places, calculate your distances, or even your budget. This “homemade” method is very useful for those who like to take notes and optimize their trips in a precise and detailed way.
Our little extra tips:
- Choose the apps, sites,,s and methods that meet your expectations and match your destination.
- Also, don’t hesitate to use several tools to organize and optimize your road trip as best as possible.
- Consider using tools that also work without an internet connection.
- If you are traveling with several people, remember to ask your passengers to help you follow the right routes!
What administrative procedures should I take before going on a road trip?
Is your road trip project starting to take shape? Destination, budget, itinerary… Now, take a close, or even very close, look at the administrative procedures and formalities to complete before setting off on the road. They play a significant role in organizing your road trip.
- Visa/passport applications: if you are going abroad, you may have to apply for a passport and/or visa. Remember to check with the consulate or embassy of the destination country(ies). If you are required to apply for a vi there may be conditions that must be met in certain cases. These may include the obligation to have travel insuranc .
- Vehicle insurance and assistance service:y our locomotion vehicle will be leaving its usual territory. For it to be authorized to do so, contact your insurance company. They will give you the necessary instructions to properly insure your means of transport.
- Take out travel insurance: so if your road trip is abroad, think about it! Once there, even for just a few days, you are not safe from illness or an accident that could result in significant medical expenses. Taking out travel health insurance before your departure allows you to approach your stay with peace of mind and fully enjoy your adventure in complete safety.
So convinced? Dare to go on a road trip! It will leave you with memories in your head and will allow you to experience unique moments.
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