Road trips are one of the best ways to explore an area and pack as many experiences into a trip as possible. Just flying from city to city, it's easy to miss out on so many amazing opportunities that come along the road trip experience, but a long road trip provides a whole new world to explore. HOWEVER, it’s important to do what you can to make everybody comfortable and keep folks entertained, otherwise, a dream road trip can turn into a nightmare.

Here are some of the best ways to take the stress out of a long road trip.




Hire An RV

If it's in your budget, consider renting an RV for more room during a lengthy trip. Part of the appeal could be tripping in your maintained regular everyday car - and that may be a great option if it's just two or three folks. But if many people are in on the trip, a bigger vehicle could be a better option. That way, there's plenty of room for everybody to move around or even go to sleep if they like, and it’ll make driving more fun, not so much a chore. Not to mention - an RV is also a place to stay. Instead of having to check into a new place every night, you can just search for a place to park the RV. Before choosing an RV on a whim, check out some RV Rental Reviews to get a good deal and find one that has enough space for everybody.



Plan A Route

Planning a route is so important because if a long drive down an entire coastline or across an entire country is part of the plan, you'll likely have a ton of ground to cover. If you’re just relying on GPS on your phone or checking the road signs, you’ll be spending most of the time trying to work out where you’re going, when you could be enjoying the views and discovering new places instead. Not to mention, some of those backroads may knock out your cell service, and then you could be SOL. So consider getting some maps before you go and work out an estimated route/plan.

BUT...



Don’t Plan Too Much

While it’s important to plan a rough route before heading out, you don't want to go overboard with the planning. The magic of a road trip is that you can discover lots of places along the way that you never expected to find. But if you plan the whole trip meticulously and factor in all of the stops that you’re going to make, you’ll lose the magic of discovery. Instead, plan a general route and then leave enough time for visiting places you'll find along the way.



Pack Light

Most people assume you should pack loads of stuff so you’ve got all of the creature comforts that you’d normally have back home and you can bring plenty of things to entertain yourself. However, you’re going to see a lot of different places along the way and you’ll probably want some souvenirs to take back with you. You never know what you’re going to find along the way so you should always leave some room to bring things back and only pack the essentials that you need.



Talk To Locals

When you arrive in a new place, you should always try to speak with the locals as much as possible. They’ll be able to give you tips on the best places to eat and the best sights to see. You’ll get a much more authentic experience that way, and let's be honest - the hole-in-the-wall places are usually the best places.



















*This is a collaborative post.