Spring break is coming up fast and we all know we’d like to take a trip to remember with our friends, but unfortunately we are broke college students and not all of us can afford a fancy trip to Mexico. That’s okay, problem solved! Get a friend or group of friends and go on a cheap road trip for the week! Here are a few tips on making your trip as cheap as possible!1. Planning. This is the most important part of any trip. Get an idea of what your destination is, pick a few places to stop on the way and plan out a route. Once you have a path planned you can begin researching what surrounds the area. Having a plan always makes things easier and run smoother.2. Exploring. Look around your stops for the cheapest forms of entertainment! I personally search for state parks and trails to see some scenery in the area while getting a hike in! Sometimes they will even have extra things you can pay to try, such as kayaking. It’s always cool to check out some nature if you can! But, there are always other cheap activities around the area to try finding, such as museums, monuments, coffee shops and popular hangouts!3. Places to stay. I find that the easiest and cheapest places to stay are campsites. The only tricky part about these are making sure that they are open year round or during spring break, and not closed for the season. It helps to also look and see if there are any discounts for the places to stay. I know I am able to get some discounts at certain places because I am an AAA member. Another thing to look into when trying to find places to stay is Air BnB. Basically, this is when people rent out a room or space in their house to those traveling. It is perfect for a place to crash for a night or two and save some money, since they cost about the same as a cheap motel or even some campsites. However, when looking at a place like this make sure to do your research and make sure your host is okay before booking to ensure that you are in a safe environment. Check them out and keep an eye out for anything that can help the bank account!4. Use your resources. Save up your dinning dollars! If you need some food for the road and want to save some money just save up your school dinning dollars and shop in the school stores before leaving! This is a great way to grab some snacks for when you’re in the car or you can even get meals to make at the campsite/place where you’re staying. They have all sorts of insta-noodles! Or look for coupons to get food from the grocery store.
5. Food. Cheap food can be easy to find anywhere that has fast food restaurants, but if you’d prefer not to stop everyday at McDonalds try looking into the easiest, cheapest meals you can make! If you have a cooler to bring with you it can give you more options of food to take with you. But, insta-noodles and rice packets are always easy; you can make them by just boiling water over a fire and adding it to the packets. You could also bring fruits and vegetable that will last a couple days without refrigerating. There are many ways around spending a lot of money on food, but it is always fun to hit some popular local restaurants around your stops and try new things, so make sure you save a little bit of money!
Here are a few tips to putting together a successful and cheap road trip! If you have no where to go for Spring Break, but are willing to spend a little bit of money, trying getting some friends together for a mini road trip!