Ultimate Guide To Planning A Road Trip

Road trips can be one of the most epic ways to travel, no waiting for coaches or queuing at airport terminals, just hop in, roof-top down cruising along with a breeze in your hair and the wind to your back, that is until something goes wrong! Avoid common blunders with our step by step guide to planning your epic road trip.

A road trip is as much about the journey as it is the destination. You can tailor your own holiday or mini-break and travel without most of the constraints of let’s say a train journey or flight — where you’re simply just travelling from point A to B.

It gives you the freedom to plan and create your own adventure, see things you would normally miss and get a real feel for a place.

We love exploring a country this way, we always have unexpected experiences, meet cool people and get hopelessly lost — but that’s okay when you’re surrounded by beautiful scenery, discovering off the beaten-path adventures.

Our ultimate step-by-step guide can make planning a road trip a lot smoother and less stressful

Before we get started the first thing you need to consider is how many people are in your group, and if a road trip is the best way for you to travel? Sit down and have a discussion with the rest of the group and see who is happy driving, whether you’re going to share the driving and how to split the costs — this will avoid any arguments or problems. Once the formal stuff is settled have a discussion with the group or other passengers and decide on a destination together.

1 Destination

First of all you need to decide on where you’re going, and whether or not a road trip is a realistic way for you to travel around your chosen destination. Also consider if there are enough cool places to stop off, and things to see and do along the way — after all nobody wants to be stuck behind the wheel of a car for 8 hours a day, driving from one place to the next.

Here’s a list of things to consider

• • Can you hire a vehicle at your chosen destination? — In Vietnam for example you can’t hire a car for self-drive road trips, but you can however hire a car and driver to take you around.
  • Will you be driving your own vehicle? If not are there enough places to pick up and drop off a rental vehicle, without you going too far out the way or doing an unnecessary round-trip.
  • Do you have the necessary driving licence for your intended country?
  • Do you require any additional paperwork such as visas or international driving permits?

Also consider the climate, terrain and weather conditions you will be driving in.

• Will you be travelling in desert heat? Where vehicles are prone to overheating, air conditioning is a necessity as is a good supply of drinking water.
• Will you be travelling in monsoon season? Where sections of road can get flooded, there may be landslides and less-safe driving conditions.
• Will you be travelling in harsh winters? Where you will require additional equipment, such as ice chains, a snow shovel and scrapers.

2 Things To See & Do

Okay so you’ve considered all the factors and decided that an epic road trip is the only way forward! Now you can make a list of attractions and places you want to visit — this will help you figure out a route based on what you are interested in.

Research unique and interesting things to see and do using various resources:

• Travel websites – Search well known travel websites such as Lonely Planet.
• Tourism Websites – Check out the official tourism board websites.
• Trip Advisor – Check out the top 10 things to do based on peoples reviews.
• Blogs – There are many travel blogs that provide detailed and informative guides
• Pinterest – This is like a visual search engine where you could search for things to see and do along your road trip. You could then create your very own board, pinning all the cool things you have found for your trip.
• Instagram – You can find things to see and do at your destination on Instagram using hashtags.
• Roadtrippers – There are millions of places from scenic points to national parks and quirky attractions all shared by a community of seasoned travellers.

When you’re on your road trip, get to know the locals and ask them for advice on cool things to see and do, after all no one knows the area better then the people who live there.

Next you need to check out the map and decide on the best route for you — this will also give you an idea as to the type of vehicle you need to complete your trip.

3 Route

Have a look at the map and figure out a realistic route and allow enough free-days, and unique and interesting stop-offs along the way. Also remember when choosing a route that most car rental companies charge heavy one-way fees — these are fees for picking the vehicle up at one location and dropping it off at another.

When you plan the route don’t be afraid to venture off the main route a little, after all that’s the most enjoyable part of a road trip.

Consider the logistics and experiment with different options. Maybe it’s better to combine a train journey with a road trip. Or sometimes it works out better and cheaper to fly between two destinations, and have two separate car rentals than it would be to cover a massive area with one vehicle.

Most of the time it’s cheaper to do a round-trip as there can be heavy one-way fees which are charged by the rental company. There can also be separate fees added by the rental company for taking a vehicle across the border into another country, even if you are returning it to the same place.

Take the route less travelled and venture off those boring highways! The lesser travelled roads may take you longer, but they’re bound to be more scenic and you’ll likely see some cool stuff along the way.

Check Maps

Roadtrippers – is a fantastic website that has a great interactive map for planning your road trip. Not only this but it lets you plan your route from start to finish, adding on any attractions, or unique stop-offs along the way. It also gives you an estimated fuel cost, you can book accommodation along your route and it lets you save your road trip. There is also an app which is available to download on IOS and Android.

Waze – is similar to Roadtrippers but focuses more on social interaction, by letting other community users decide which routes are best to take. Other users can also report any accidents or road blockages across the app allowing you to avoid any delays along your route.

GoogleMaps – If your route is pretty straightforward or you just want to check and plan certain aspects of a road trip  such as the distance and different routes you can take, this is probably the quickest and easiest way.

Consider

• What places you want to visit at your destination?
• How long  you want to spend driving each day?
• Whether you want to spend days at different places along the way or just the odd night somewhere in-between periods of driving.
• Is there enough accommodation along your route or will you need a camper van?
• Are there enough gas stations along your route or will you need extra fuel supplies?
• Will you have enough food and drink between stop-offs and are there enough places to stock up?
• What the terrain and road conditions are like — this will also give you an indication as to the type of vehicle required to complete the trip.
• Are you going to be driving off-road in more remote conditions? – can your vehicle handle this, if so it’s wise to let people know your plans in case of an emergency.

Tip – Always have a back up route as many roads can get blocked — when we were on a road trip, driving through Costa Rica, a road was blocked from an earthquake and we had to change our plans. Having a back-up route planned beforehand would have saved us a lot of time!

4 Choose The Right Vehicle

Okay so you have your route planned out and you know the climate, road conditions and the terrain you will be driving on, this should give you an indication as to what vehicle you need to complete your road trip.

Other things to consider

Are you driving your own vehicle and if so is it up to the task? Has it been recently serviced and well maintained? Or will you need to hire a vehicle to complete the trip safely, comfortably and responsibly — remember the passengers safety and well-being, as the driver, are your responsibility.

Are you visiting a country and planning a road trip over an extended period of time, maybe months or longer? If so it may be more feasible to purchase a vehicle at your chosen destination — this will save you money and you can recover some of the costs by selling the vehicle after your trip.

Don’t always choose the cheapest vehicle, if you’re going to be spending long periods of time in the vehicle your comfort is essential.

When we drove around Costa Rica we opted for a cheap sedan and covered areas across dusty and rocky roads, we stopped regularly to stretch our aching muscles, and in hindsight we should have gone for a slightly better vehicle, maybe a small SUV.

Ultimately you need to do your research when choosing the right vehicle as there are many different variables across different countries. Below we have given you a brief guide on choosing the right vehicle for the task.

Types of vehicle

Mini & Hatchback vehicles – These cars are generally the cheapest to hire and really only useful for shorter length trips due to limited space and comfort. They are good for city driving and on well conditioned roads, consider a slightly larger vehicle for longer trips or extended periods of driving. Most will accommodate 4 to 5 passengers but room for only one or two suitcases.

Saloons/medium sized cars – These vehicles will afford you more comfort and space with a slightly larger boot size. Most will comfortably accommodate 5 passengers and 3 to 4 suitcases. They are good for city driving, on freeways and over longer distances on well conditioned roads. Ideal for a small family or if you needed more room you could buy a roof-rack to stow some luggage on top of the vehicle.

Estate or small SUV – An estate vehicle is technically a saloon with a larger boot, affording you more space for luggage, maybe 4 to 5 suitcases depending on the size.

Alternatively there are small SUV’s that will give you a similar amount of space and a little more power behind the wheel. They also have more road clearance, making them a good choice for normal driving conditions as well as on some dust tracks and dirt roads.

Sports cars & Convertibles – Most of these cars are more expensive to hire and limit you on room for luggage, but if that’s not an issue and you want to get to your destination in style then why not. These cars are generally for city and freeway driving or normal road conditions, however it is likely they will consume more fuel than your average car.

SUV – These are 4×4-style vehicles that are family friendly, most offer greater safety with more space and practicality than regular vehicles, some SUV’s however don’t have a four-wheel-drive option. Their rugged design makes them good for everyday driving as well as in poorer driving conditions. Good for dust roads, dirt tracks, and in winter they are more suitable for icy and snowy road conditions (some have off-road capabilities).

4WD/AWD – Many car rental companies may not include this option and only include SUV’s.

These vehicles are more specifically designed for off-roading. If you are hiring one of these vehicles for the purpose of off-roading or dune-bashing you will have to go through a specialist company. A specialist company will have vehicles with the appropriate suspension and tyres, and they will cover you for those activities.

It will be easier to get one of these vehicles in countries where most of the roads and terrain itself require a 4WD/AWD vehicles.

Although some of these vehicles may be suitable for different road conditions or have off-road capabilities it’s always wise to check the car rental’s small print. Most of the rental companies will void your coverage if you take the vehicle off paved roads. So make sure you are appropriately covered or if you need to, take out additional cover. If you are unsure where you can go in your hire car ask at the desk and tell them your planned route. 

5 Budget Your Trip

Once you have decided on your destination, route and know what vehicle you need, you can start budgeting your epic road trip!

The costs of a road trip can vary greatly and depend largely on whether you are using your own vehicle or a rental car.

By now you know what vehicle you need, and you can also work out from your planned route the distances and the vehicles average fuel consumption, and factor in these costs.

You know what attractions your want to visit on your road trip, so work out a reasonable amount of daily driving time, how many stops you want to make and for how long — this will help you factor in your accommodation costs.

Consider

• Toll-roads – Be sure to check as these can add quite a bit to the cost of a road trip, especially in countries such as Japan.
• Congestion fees –  These are fees in place around certain cities which will charge you for driving through certain zones at certain times of the day, so be sure to check if you are driving through big cities.
• Parking –  The parking costs can add some expense to a road trip especially in larger cities — You can filter your accommodation searches by free parking on websites such as Booking.com.
• Food costs – You can save money by visiting large stores, buying supplies and making your own snacks and lunches. There are usually many recreational areas, beaches and picnic spots for you to stop at.

Check Fuel Costs

You can check fuel prices around the world, by country on www.globalpetrolprices.com – using this data combined with your routes mileage and the vehicles fuel consumption (mpg), you can get an idea of your fuel expenses. Alternatively you can use the website www.roadtrippers.com which gives you an estimate of your road trips fuel expenses along your mapped out route.

6 Book Car Hire

After budgeting your trip we recommend you book your car hire. It’s better to book your car hire well in advance as the later you leave it the more you will pay, and you’ll likely be choosing from a limited supply of cars, especially in peak seasons. Also the last thing you want to be doing after a long flight is negotiating with car rental companies.

Tip – Always play it safe and book your car hire an hour or so later than you intend to pick it up. If you don’t show on time to pick up a vehicle most car hire companies will mark you down as a no-show, they may cancel your booking or rent the car to someone else and most of the time you won’t get a refund.

Tip – If you know you’re going to be late contact the car rental company to let them know. Most companies will only hold your car rental for an hour or two at the most past the pick-up time. Simply just not showing up will mean you’ll loose your booking with no refund and you’ll have to re-book another car at last-minute prices.

Flight delays – Most car rental companies will monitor flights if you gave them your flight number when you booked, and hold your car for a short delay. If you know your flight is going to be delayed before take-off, call them directly before you arrive to discuss your options with them.

Things to check when booking a hire car

When booking your car rental be sure to check what is and isn’t included in the price before you book. Sometimes going for the cheapest rental can end up costing you more money in extras and hidden charges!

Check the following:

• Costs for adding an additional driver – check the fees for adding additional drivers as this can sometimes outweigh the savings made booking a cheaper car rental.
• Transmission – check if the car is automatic or manual, if you’re not comfortable driving in a different country it may be best to choose an automatic as this will give you less to think about and more time to focus on the road.
• Air con – If you’re driving in a hot and humid country this is a must!
• Fuel policy – Generally we feel full to full is the best option. The full to empty fuel policy means you will be paying a premium for the fuel as they usually charge you for the full tank upfront when you collect the vehicle, and you will also be paying for any unused fuel when you return the vehicle.
• One-way fee – If you are dropping the vehicle off at a different location is this included in the price? Some rental companies add this on as a separate charge.

Check these things are included:

• Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) –  this covers you for standard damage bodywork to the vehicle, usually with high a excess pre-charged to your credit card at the time of booking.
• Theft Protection (TP) – this covers you for theft of the vehicle, with the excess charged to you.
• Unlimited Millage – most car rentals come with this as standard but if your hiring more specialist vehicles for long distances be sure to check.
• Free Amendments – check if you can make changes to your booking without incurring additional fees.
• Free Cancellation – it’s best to have free cancellation included if you can, travel can be unpredictable and plans can change quickly.

Tip – Make sure the credit card you use is in the name of the lead driver on the rental voucher, otherwise you will have to pay again.

Resources for booking car hire

When we book a rental car we generally just use two comparison websites as these search a broad range of companies, and most of the time they bring back the cheapest results.

If you want to book directly through a car rental company, here’s a few of the more popular and well known rental companies.

• Thrifty car rental
• Dollar car rental
• Budget
• Europcar
• Hertz
• Sixt

Tip – When you collect your car hire make sure you have enough credit limit or available balance on your credit card. Most companies will ring-fence a large deposit on your card, which you wont be able to spend until you return the vehicle in satisfactory condition.

We always carry 2 or more credit cards and use one for car hire and the other for hotels and accommodation.

7 Take out additional Insurance

Most car rental companies will quote you with the most basic cover (CDW) and (TP), they then try and sell you additional cover and policies at the collection desk.

The collision damage waiver (CDW) and theft protection (TP) are only partial cover and if you damage the vehicle or it is stolen then you will have to pay a large excess to the rental company. You will not be covered for damage to windows, wheels and tyres, as well as any breakdown fees or towing costs.

This is why we highly recommend you take out full insurance cover when renting a vehicle abroad, this will cover you for all the above and the insurance company will reimburse you for any excess paid to the car rental company.

Money saving tip!

If you take out the rental car companies full insurance they will likely charge you a premium. So if you’re long-term travellers like us or go on a couple of trips a year we highly recommend booking an annual insurance premium through another company — it works out cheaper having this worldwide cover for a whole year, than it would do having a full insurance policy for just one car rental booking!

A company we highly recommend for booking an annual excess policy is icarhireinsurance.com. They cover you for the CDW and vehicle theft excess as well as any damage to windows, wheels or tyres as well as any breakdown or towing fees.

We paid £70.00 for a years policy through this company. If we had added on the full insurance for our 3 car hire bookings in Africa, it would have cost us in excess of £500! That’s a massive saving and we’re now covered world-wide for any other car rentals for the rest of the year.

8 Book accommodation

One of the best things about a road trip is the freedom to stay in many different places, as well as different types of accommodation. You could stay in a fancy hotel room one night and a motel room the next, or stay in apartments, stocking up at malls and markets, cooking your own meals as you go. If you wanted to save money on your accommodation you could even pack a tent and stay at campsites along the way.

Just remember the whole idea of a road trip is about experiencing the freedom of the open road. So when planning a road trip don’t loose all your flexibility and book up too much in advance!

Thanks to websites like Booking.com and Airbnb, there are many different options for accommodation out on the open road!

Resources

Airbnb has over 4 million listing across 191 countries and has some of the most unique and quirky places to rest your head. There are a huge variety of options including villas, home-stays, apartments, cottages, eco-lodges and hostels.

Booking.com has over 28 million listings worldwide and they have a fantastic customer service team available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We use Booking.com for most of our hotel bookings and we highly recommend them! They cover many accommodation types including hotels, apartments, lodges, B&B’s, guest houses ,holiday-parks and campsites.

Tip – If you want to stay flexible and don’t want to book all of your accommodation in advance, you could book hotels with free cancellation (most will let you cancel up to 48 hours ahead, but be sure to check). This way you can keep an element of flexibility without the worry of accommodation being fully booked out.

8 Download these apps

Roadtrippers

This is the perfect app for when you’re planning a road trip! You can plan your trip on the app, save it, and share it with a group of friends. The app comes with a highly customise-able route planner where you can discover millions of different places and add them to your trip, there’s everything from local restaurants, scenic points, national parks and hotels.

The app is free and available to download on Android and IOS.

Waze

Waze is a map and navigation app that also lets other users share real time traffic updates. There’s a whole host of information that can be shared across the app’s community such as hazards, accidents, speed-traps and even where you can get the cheapest fuel.

The app is free and available to download on Android and IOS.

Gas Buddy

On long road trips you’re going to need to stop for gas quite a bit, this is where GasBuddy comes in handy, the app lets you locate the gas stations with the lowest price. You can filter your searches by price, location or brand and even include things such as car washes and rest-rooms. It gives you real-time information on the lowest prices from a huge community of users and will inform you of any upcoming price hikes so you can fill up before.

The app is free and available to download on Android and IOS.

Spotify

No road trip is complete without access to all your favourite music! Spotify lets you download music and create your own playlist from a rich library of artists and bands. On top of this you can stream radio, live music and podcasts. In order to listen to download and listen to music offline, anywhere and without ads, there is a monthly subscription of £9.99 or $9.99.

The app is free and available to download on Android and IOS.

Parkme

Never pay a premium for parking again with this handy smartphone app. Parkme lets you find the cheapest and closest parking to your destination. In certain cities there is even real-time information on available parking spots and street spaces. When you’re searching for parking it brings up all the local parking lots in an easy to view map with prices, allowing you to find the cheapest spot with ease.

The app is free to download and available on Android and IOS.

HotelTonight

Hoteltonight specialises in last-minute hotel deals, so if you want to keep the freedom of the open road but need somewhere to rest your head at a moments notice this app is for you. The only downside to this app is that currently the database of hotels isn’t as big as some of the other companies out there, but you can save a good chunk of money (just be careful of any hidden taxes or fees).

The app is free to download and available on Android and IOS.

9 Put together an epic playlist

Can you imagine driving along a coastal highway with no music, or through breathtaking mountain passes with just the sound of a rattling engine!? No, neither can we! Your epic playlist will only make a road trip more memorable so make sure you download all your favourite songs and maybe throw in a few new ones for good measure!

Here’s two of our favourite apps for downloading those classic road trip tunes

10 Do A Packing Checklist

Do a checklist and cross items off as you pack everything into the vehicle, this way you won’t loose items or leave anything behind!

Remember to bring important documents such as driving licences (including the paper part) and any insurance documents with the relevant contact numbers.

Useful Items To Bring

• Car cooler box – to keep your snacks and drinks cold and fresh.
• Travel pillow – for passenger comfort.
• Travel mugs – keep your drinks warmer for longer and avoid unnecessary spillage.
• Entertainment or travel games – to keep the family and kids entertained.
• UV window shade – protect your eyes and skin.
• USB charger – to keep your phones charged up, essential if you are using your phones GPS.
• Solar charger – keep any other electrical items charged on your trip.
• Flash light or headlamp – in case you need to change a tyre of find something in the car at night.
• First aid kit – for any minor accidents.
• Sunglasses – protect your eyes from the glare whilst driving.
• Swiss army knife or utility tool – a good range of tools for fixing minor repairs or opening cans and bottles.
• Sleeping masks – for your tired passengers.
• Blanket – for passenger comfort.
• Black bag – for a bin, to stop the car getting cluttered from snacks and empty drink bottles.

  11 Before you set off

Make a note of any emergency contact numbers. If you need to, buy a local sim-card but be sure you have an unlocked phone to use it.

Perform vehicle checks

• If you’re picking up a rental vehicle make sure to check the vehicle over for any additional damage that isn’t marked down already. Cover yourself further by taking pictures of all four sides of the vehicle.
• If you’re picking up the vehicle at night, make a note of the representatives name and check the vehicle over carefully the next morning. If there’s any un-noted damage, scratches or mechanical concerns report them immediately.
• Check for a spare tyre, jack and roadside emergency kit.
• Check the fuel type (it should be noted on the agreement). Putting the wrong fuel in is regarded as negligence and all CDW cover would be void.
• Before you set off check the engine oil, tyres, water, coolant and brake fluid. Even when you’re hiring a car it’s best to do your own checklist.
• Check the clutch is not burning out, you can do this by putting the car in fourth gear, then depress the clutch slowly, while stepping on the accelerator. If it releases fully without stalling ask for another vehicle.

TIPS

• Service stations and highway stops will always charge more for fuel, so try to fill up in towns where there is more competition and fuel prices will be lower. If you have to stop, look for a services with multiple gas stations as the prices will be cheaper.
• If you have a spare car key bring it and give it to someone else in the group — we got charged a massive fee after we lost our car keys on a beach and were stuck in the middle of nowhere! This could have been avoided.
• Don’t always rely on a GPS and bring a road map also.
• Don’t hire a GPS from the rental company, they usually charge you a set daily-fee which can soon add up. There are plenty of free apps that will work using your phones GPS and without internet, using pre-downloadable maps.
• If you’re leaving a big city, fill up the night before your trip and get an early start — it’s always best to leave before or after the rush hour.
• Consider how much baggage and extra weight you need in the vehicle — we’re not talking about kicking a passenger out! But any un-required baggage will only slow the vehicle and cost more in fuel.
• Always stick to the speed limits, not only safer but your fuel will go a lot further.
• Carry some change and spare cash for toll roads.

12 Have An Epic Road Trip

We hope these tips have helped you plan an awesome road trip adventure! and saved you some money in the process!

Don’t forget to pin this guide on Pinterest: