For students and the young at heart, road tripping is more than a way to get from point A to B. It’s a rite of passage and a means of exploring your surroundings and yourself. Road trips allow for improvisation and creativity, whether you hope to rediscover the back roads of your home state or retrace Route 66 all the way from Illinois to California. A successful road trip requires a mix of advance planning and flexibility while traveling, so here are some helpful tips so you can plan that perfect road trip.
Choosing companions: For your road trip adventure, the people you choose to bring along with you might be the most important decision you make. Remember, you’ll be spending almost 24 hours a day, day after day, in close quarters together, so it’s extremely important that everyone’s personalities and interests mesh well. You don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of Debby Downers!
Whatcha gonna do?: Brainstorming your trips itinerary is the fun part of trip planning, and you can do as much or as little of it as you like. You might start by studying maps to generate ideas, or if you want to be completely creative, don’t plan anything at all! Just drive and see where you end up! You may be surprised as to where you find yourself!
Comfort items: As we all know, road trips, at times, can be long, and depending on where your destination is, passengers can get bored and agitated. Make sure to bring some fun things to do while on the trip. If you like to get in touch with your inner child bring along something like coloring books and colored pencils. If coloring isn’t your thing, print out a bunch of Madlibs. They’re hilarious, and will get everyone in the car involved. You’ll be laughing away the time!
Make a road mix: Every successful road trip needs a road mix! Make a bunch of CDs with all of your favorite songs on them. There’s nothing like driving with the windows down, wind blowing in your hair, and singing your favorite songs at the top of your lungs! If you don’t want to make CDs, then have everyone bring their ipods and plug them into speakers! It will work exactly the same way!
Documentation: This, for me, is my favorite part of road tripping, and also the most important. Everyone wants to remember every last second of their perfect road trip. So bring your cameras and take pictures of everything! You’ll be laughing about everything all over again when you look back at all of the memories you’ve captured!
Happy summer to all! Enjoy!