75+ tips for planning the ultimate road trip

75+ tips for planning the ultimate road trip: from creating your itinerary to choosing the best games and songs

Current travel restrictions have many of us mourning the cancellation of a holiday planned months ago or disappointed about the prospects of our future travel plans. 

But don’t fret just yet! There are still plenty of ways to enjoy a proper getaway without setting foot on a plane — one of the best options being to hit the open road and embark on a cross-country road trip. Read on for our top road trip planning tips.

Ultimate road trip

Road trips are an excellent way to holiday because they can be as long or short, intense or relaxed, planned or unplanned as you like. But where do you start? How do you actually sit down and start planning out your trip?

We’ve asked some road trip enthusiasts at Skyscanner and beyond to share their top tips for planning, preparing for, and taking the perfect road trip. Here’s what they said. 

What would you do to start planning a road trip?

Some people love planning out every last detail of every trip, others would rather wholly wing it. Wherever you fall on this spectrum, it’s definitely best to make sure you have at least a semi-formed plan in place before you embark on a road trip. A few great places to start:

Choose an incredible endpoint. Finish your journey somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit and allow for some extra time to celebrate once you’ve arrived. This will give you something to really look forward to!

Pick a fantastic endpoint and build time into your schedule to enjoy it once you get there.

— Gemma, PR Manager at Skyscanner

Choose a route. You can select an iconic route or one a bit more off the beaten path. When choosing, it’s important to first determine what you’re optimising for. Do you want something scenic? Something quick? Or maybe something that brings you past a far-away friend’s house? Once you determine this, you can build your plan around it. 

Define the purpose of your trip. Map out all the places you want to visit and create an “optimal route.” If you have limited time, rank your location priorities. 

Ultimate road trip

— Eliana, Market Researcher at Skyscanner

Do your research. Do some digging to learn more about your rental car options (if necessary) and what lodging options, restaurants, petrol stations, attractions, etc. you’ll find along your route. While you don’t need to plan out every last detail, having a good idea of what’s out there and what your options are will come in handy.  

Your Cost and creating a budget (more on this below) is also really helpful. And finally, look into your car and travel insurance options for added peace of mind while on the road.

Choose the key places you want to go and then find the most interesting routes to get there. Ideally, with exciting foodie stops along the way. 

— Lisa, Communications Manager at Skyscanner

Make note of must-see stops. When doing the research mentioned above, make note of all of the incredible places of interest along your route and schedule time to check them out. Be sure to have a camera handy. 

Work out what cities, sights and locations you want to see. Create your own custom map in Google maps and add the locations on there, which will let you draw routes between them and see driving distances and times.

— Haitham, Global Marketing Manager at Skyscanner

Create a budget. Things like gas, snacks, accommodations — long evenings out with new friends in new towns — can really add up, especially when you’re on an extended road trip. Once you’ve done a bit of research and have a better idea of how much things will cost, set a daily (or weekly) budget and do your best to stick to it. It’ll make the trip a lot less stressful. 

When figuring out a budget, fuel and food are likely going to be the most significant expenses. It’s nice to be able to factor in meals at local eateries to support them as well. 

— Louise, Employee Engagement Manager at Skyscanner  What do you need to think about when planning a road trip?

A lot of planning goes into a road trip, but there are a few key things to keep top of mind throughout the process.

Ultimate road trip

Things will take longer than you expect. Traffic, car issues, waits at restaurants, getting lost — it all adds up. Be sure to always allow yourself a little extra time to get to where you need to be, and remember that you won’t want to actually be driving the whole day. A 10-hour car journey with few stops is actually terribly exhausting. 

An easy thing to forget is that you don’t actually want to drive the whole day, but rather, see as many things in each place as you can! 

— Marijke, Global Marketing Manager at Skyscanner 

Parts of the journey will feel a bit long. To get to the incredible places on your list, sometimes, you have to pass through some less than exciting spots. Being mentally prepared for long stretches of the same (occasionally uneventful) scenery helps alleviate any feelings of boredom. You can also plan to camp or take more frequent breaks to break up long drives.

For the two long trips I’ve taken, the most important thing I’ve found is that you need to be realistic about how long you’re willing to drive for and plan your stops according to that. Though you will have to make pit stops in less-than-scenic destinations, the journey will be better if you and your road trip buddies aren’t totally exhausted from daily 14-hour drives.

Road trip packing

The age-old question — what, and how much, should you pack for a road trip? It entirely depends on how long the journey is, where you’re going and who you ask. However, as little as possible seems to be the consensus, with a few essential items that seem to be pretty universal.

Driver’s license and registration

Copies of your car insurance papers

Copies of your travel insurance papers

Car manual

Roadside emergency kit

Spare tire 

First aid kit

Warm jumper

Always try to pack light but ensure that you have clothes for all types of weather, especially when travelling in places like Scotland, where you tend to get all seasons in one day, even during the summer! 

— Emma, Global Marketing Manager at Skyscanner 

Comfortable trousers

Comfortable shoes that you can walk long distances in

Pack as little as possible. You’ll probably wear those comfy jeans and shirts every day! 

— Fleur, Global Marketing Lead at Skyscanner

Sunglasses

Reusable water bottle

Travel mug

Cooler

Water and other drinks 

Snacks

Hand sanitizer

Loo roll

Toothbrush 

Toothpaste

Sunscreen

Insect repellent

Small bin bags for the car

Travel pillow

Towel

Flashlight

Umbrella

Notebooks, pens and pencils

Camera

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