We often always travel by road. Here are my time tested tips to make the most of your upcoming road trip.
- Do your research – Where do you want to travel? What’s the next place on your mind? Mountains, beach, historical site, off beat places? I know , it could be a daunting task with so many beautiful places and options to cover in this one lifetime. Take a deep breath, list out the options and then finalize on the destination by considering the number of holidays, distance, climate and budget. Plans may change along the way, but at least you will have a general idea.
- Create an itinerary – Once your destination is decided, next best part is creating an itinerary. The amazing thing about road trips is that you can plan to cover some interesting places on the way. While travelling with pet, make sure the enroute places cater to pet. Temples for example cannot be added to your agenda with a pet. But places like dams, waterfall, scenic spots can definitely be enjoyed along with your furry friend. Create an itinerary for the destination as well – key places you want to cover, what and where you want to eat. This will ensure you do not waste any of the precious time during the course of holiday. Also, in case of unexpected delays like traffic or breakdown, you can prioritize the things you want to do from your itinerary.
- Take advantage of the public holidays – If you are in a regular day job like me, it’s a good idea to have a look at the public holidays calendar. Take in a few days before or after the holiday. Also consider the weekend days you could possibly take advantage of. Ta-da.. you get more number of days for your vacation!
- Decide the route – Google map has totally taken over the traditional maps. But few points to keep in mind.
- Google maps shows multiple routes to your destination and usually suggests the route that takes less time or sometimes even less toll. So be very careful when selecting the route and do not blindly take a route based on the suggestion. Always a good idea to do enough research during the planning phase, check reviews by people who have travelled and then decide.
- We have witnessed many a times that gmaps suddenly decides to bring some adrenaline rush and adventure into our seemingly boring journey.. As part of this scheme, it suggests a detour from a good highway and takes you through some fields, bad roads, people’s houses and complete off beat roads. Our
intensive researchconclusion based on our travels – google assumes us to be on service road when we are on the left most lane and then takes us all over the place with the good intention to join us back to the highway. I strongly suggest to come to the middle/ right lane when it suggests a detour and see if its still valid.
- Book hotels – Book hotels that are in a central location to avoid unnecessary commute and to ensure all your itinerary spots get covered in a breeze. Check multiple booking websites to avail the best offers or discounts. If travelling with a pet, look out for hotels that are pet friendly. Plenty of options out there. In popular hotel booking websites, you even have an option to filter using ‘pet-friendly’. However, what we have experienced is that sometimes the hotel may be listed as pet friendly in the booking website, but may not be when you call them directly. So it’s always a good idea to call and check with the hotel directly and then go ahead with the booking.
- Sanity car checks – A week before your trip, ensure all the basic car checks are done – service, fuel, air, fast tag, seatbelts to name a few.
Do you have any tips or tricks to make the most out of your vacation days? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!
