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Road trips, especially long distance ones, can be an amazing adventure. You’ll see so much as you travel across the country. From beautiful landscapes, to bustling cities and small towns, and everything in between, there’s something for everyone.
To have a successful journey, you’ll want to prepare as much as possible. I’ve taken this road trip five times now and am sharing all of my tips for driving driving cross country!
After 24 days on the road, I just returned from my 5th cross country road trip! Between a few coastal city moves and a book tour, I’ve been lucky to make the drive several times. Each trip was different and full of learning experiences that I want to share with you!
Why Take a Road Trip?
- Go Local— you’ll experience different food and people
- Off the grid places— discover and visit adorable small towns you wouldn’t fly to (they might not have an airport)
- Nature— America has endless breathtaking landscapes and National Parks (and state parks!)
I made a YouTube video covering my road trip tips! You can see clips from my most recent drive across the country in it as well, so be sure to head over to my channel or watch above!
If you’re planning to hit the open road anytime soon, here are my 10 tips for how to plan a road trip:
How to Plan a Cross Country Road Trip
Before you even pull out of the driveway, it helps to have the following taken care of:
1. Get your car in for a tuneup! Your safety is top priority when traveling by car. Change your oil, replace your windshield wipers if it’s been a while, and inspect your tires and fluids.
Often times you’ll be driving on long and empty stretches of highway with nothing around. You don’t want to have to walk miles to an exit if your car breaks down.
You may also want to sign up for a AAA membership as a safety backup. The membership will also get you a 10% off discount at hotels along the way!
2. When planning your road trip route, map your must-see stops then go in and see how many hours you want to drive each day. This will help you discover smaller cities along the way that you wouldn’t typically get to visit. Research as much as possible before leaving. Create a Google list so you have potential stops planned before you start.
3. Adding extra time will be a life saver to keep on schedule. If your drive time says 7 hours on Google Maps, that could easily turn into 9 hours on the road with stops. Inclement weather and construction can also end up adding hours to your trip.
Driving across the country means you’ll be in the car for days and your body will definitely feel it. Needing to stretch your legs and get fresh air is the perfect excuse to make a stop. It’s recommended to stop every 2-3 hours to prevent fatigue and stay alert on the road. Use these breaks to explore new places, take photos, or simply enjoy the journey. Let yourself explore and experience cities and towns along the way, but remember each stop adds time.
Keeping your drive time to around 5 hours per day will give you time to stop along the way and not feel stressed about time. Sometimes the places you want to visit won’t be close ,so it’s okay to drive longer those days. Other times it’s better to go slower just to avoid burnout.
4. Create your playlist and download podcasts before you leave. This will help save on data since you’ll be using a lot to map the trip. This also ensures that when you’re in areas with limited cell reception, you’ll still have music.
10 Tips for Driving Across the Country
Once you plan your route and stops, tune up your car, and download music, you are ready to go! In no particular order, here are just a few of my other tips to help you have the best road trip possible:
1. Pack Snacks. You can go to the grocery along the way to refuel or buy fresh produce if you need. This will be so much cheaper than making those impulse gas station buys. Eating at rest stops can actually be a lovely way to get fresh air and be outside your car for a bit.
When packing ahead, keep in mind the car will be hotter than you realize. Items like chocolate and pastries will melt easily.
2. Stay Hydrated. It’s important to drink plenty of water while on a road trip, especially if you’re driving long distances. Dehydration can lead to fatigue and headaches, so be sure to have a refillable water bottle and an extra supply of water in the car.
3. Get a mini cooler. This is a great way to keep water and snacks cool. You can bring it into the hotel at night and refill it with ice before leaving the next day.
4. A thermos will also help you optimize on free coffee and tea at your hotel stops! Just make sure you pack a way to clean them at the end of the day.
5. Know when Landmark stops open and close. If you’re trying to see a stop at the end of the day, but are driving in with 20 minutes to spare, it might not work. Keeping this in mind when planning your route will help you to optimize your time at must-see places.
6. Keep timezone changes in mind. Driving east to west will be easier because you will get an extra hour as you’re driving. On the reverse route, you’ll be losing an hour.
7. Use hotel rewards programs and discount travel apps like Hotel Tonight (use code RASMITH18 for 20% off). We booked our hotels in major cities a bit ahead of time because of the demand. For other stops, we were more flexible, often times not booking the hotel until a few hours before stopping for the night. Call hotels on your way to see if they have vacancies.
Keeping your schedule flexible will allow you to stop sooner or drive more that day depending on how you’re feeling. Walk ins to a hotel might even get a discount, especially depending on the time of night. Sometimes you get 10% off!
8. Don’t overpack your car to start. You might find things you want to buy along the route and they’ll need a place in the car. I found this flower painting for my collection on the second day of the trip and we drove it around for weeks.
Having a packing strategy will also help you unpack the car faster at night if you’re staying in a hotel. Have a system for easily unpacking your items to be able to bring them inside (this will get easier each time you stop).
9. Pack medicine. A pharmacy or a hospital could be hour or more away, so make sure to pack for those just in case moments.
10. Go Local.
Remember the reason you wanted to travel by car and not plane: to see and experience new things. I know sometimes you have to just pull off the side of the highway to eat, but try to go as local as possible as you drive.
Stop in at the local restaurant, visit small businesses and shop, talk to people around you. It will truly open your eyes to other ways of life and you’ll be supporting communities over chains.
So those were my 10 tips for how to plan a road trip! Remember to stay safe, have fun, and make the most of your time on the open road.